Alan's School Journal

Male, 54 years young

Introduction

Hi all...I have been interested in trucks/trucking on and off all my life. I spent some time in the armed forces with two tours in South East Asia in the 60's and 70's, have worked as a professional musician, a detective, and the last twenty years as a tool maker. Decided it was time to jump before I run out of time. I signed up for school at U.S Xpress. It was handy because they are only a few miles from my house, and they are rated one of the best in the country. It was a shaky day when I quit my job and realized I was making the big change. U.S. does not pay you while you are in school. They do, however, pay for the school if you agree to work for them for a year.

Day One

First day was the usual paperwork, drug test, physical by doctor "glad hand", and starting class. Our class started with 11 bodies, three women and 8 fellers. Two guys dropped out right away. For those that are thinking of school, go get the CDL manual from your driver's bureau and STUDY STUDY STUDY it. You cannot pass the General Knowledge, Air Brakes, Hazmat or other endorsements without studying. We only had three days to get passed this hurdle. I did well and also came out with doubles/triples and tanker endorsements. Everyone in the class did pretty good also. Then we moved on to studying and testing for safety, laws, handling rigs, backing, air brake systems, night driving, hazards, mountain driving, braking, and skid recovery. (just to name a few). Everyone got thru this week O.K. but at times it was hard to stay awake. Big change in activity level that I was used to, and a LOT of information to soak up.

Week Two

Second week started road driving. Scary and also a thrill. After a day of tooling around in the country, my instructor took us into town. This was REALLY scary, but all did O.K. We split into groups of three for this. Each group had an instructor and a truck. We would drive about half a day and do class the other half. Drive test at the end of the week. I did fine on that. We lose one girl. She was set back to the beginning of drive week. She had a hard time keeping the truck centered in the road and she and her instructor thought it best. Now down to 8. Third and final week. We start working on maneuvers. This is it. Not a lot of fun at first. We worked on straight backing to get the idea. Then started on alley dock, blind side parallel parking, and serpentine backing. These are the maneuvers required for CDL in Ohio. I do very well on all but the alley dock. When you back into the cones there are no reference points and it's murder. Finally got a system, but don't have it as well as I would like. Also working on pre-trip inspection this week. This is also a test requirement and is pretty extensive. Passed the school final test Friday with flying colors. Oh yes...we are also required to keep a drivers log during the whole school period. We covered that in the first week.

CDL Day

I thought I was going to have a stroke before I got thru this day. Nerves nerves nerves. Worried about the pad. Many failures here. If you blow it, you can retake the test in a week, 3 times max the you must wait 6 months. A lot riding on this. Job, income, etc. Did the pre-test part fine. Feeling a little better. The CDL man took the truck to the CDL pad. I was first. He had parked it out of line with the first maneuver and I should have taken it around but didn't. The first shot is a right hand turn around a cone. I hit it cuz there was not enough room. My fault, but there went 6 points. This also threw off my lineup to the alley dock. Now can't get truck straight for first approach to 90 degree turn. Sweating, mind going into burn. Made the two 90 degree turns and started the back. Trailer drifted way off. Did a pull-up. Another point. Tried to get straight. Another point. Mind into severe burn now. Turned wheel the wrong way and ended up shoving it in with tractor on the blind side. Got it straight and stopped at the right point (don't know how).

Next was parallel park.  I had been doing very well at this on the school pad, but managed to botch it a little and turned in the backing a little slow. This cost me points. Mind in severe overload now as thoughts of failure and financial hardship started popping into my brain. Went around for the serpentine. All the 9 days on the pad I had NEVER missed this once. Got to the end and ready to start the maneuver. Turned the WRONG WAY. Caught it and backed up. MORE points. Got lined up and backed around the cones. Was slightly off due to wrong way turn. I knew I still had a point or two left because the examiner did not stop the test. I was so "freaked out" I almost missed my reverse turn BUT caught myself just in time and backed around. Came out close to the boundary, but made it. Shaking now and really messed up. I think at one point my heart was going so fast you couldn't count the beats, then I think it stopped altogether. Got out of the truck and the examiner said I passed with two points yet to burn. The relief that flowed over me was unbelievable.  The other guys passed O.K. and none had the fun I did.

Now the road test. Very easy after that fiasco this morning. I cut one corner a little wide and crept up on a stop sign a little. The examiner was a cool guy and did not get excited about anything. I told him I had almost died on his pad that morning and he laughed. He said most feel that way, but was glad to see I could fix all my turns and maneuvers. At one point just as I was checking a mirror and keeping an eye on a car passing me, he asked me what was on a road sign we just passed. I said "I have no idea.  I was looking out the mirror and I thought you were watching the road". He got a big kick out of that, even though I missed the point, but still passed with a great score. Sunday the two ladies did their test and both failed the pad. I felt so very sorry for them, as I knew they could do it. I saw them on the school pad. The stress and nerve thing is a really bad problem and it got them. They have to wait a week now before retesting. It will really be a financial hardship for them. Our little group has almost become a "family" and it is hard to see any of us so distressed.

Monday I will go to company orientation. Have a few days off and then out with a trainer.

Finally. All I can say is, if you wanna do it.......do it. Don't think that trucking school is just driving around a little and passing a couple of tests. You REALLY have to knuckle down and study or you won't make it. You will still owe the school whether you go to work or not. I saw so many who flunked out, both in classes ahead and behind us. Some didn't study at all, and were staying up late at night and socializing. Save that until afterwards. Don't think you can hide drug use either. Almost every class had at least one yokel with some stupid excuse as to why he/she didn't pass the drug screen. Those were sent out of the school immediately. Besides, I'm just starting on this career, and I don't want you on the road with me if you can't control your habits.

Good luck and work hard and you can do it. I hope you do not have the brain melt down I did, but it CAN BE DONE. Al

All the news that's fit to read since my school posting...

After school I was assigned a trainer, of course. He was a very nice feller and was new at training. We could not have been more different, however. Age wise and culture wise. He was in his mid twenties, and I am 55. He liked to listen to rap (very loud) and I did not. I also had problems understanding what he was saying most of the time. Anyway, it was not going well. Then one night after about three weeks I was driving out of a little town in N.C. and I realized I was not seeing well. My right eye had clouded over. My eye doc had said I had a small cataract, but it was not a problem. NOW it was. In short, I had to break training and have an implant put in. I was off training for a month. They made me bring in a letter from the doc saying I could work. Then I had to get another company physical, including the old "grab and squeeze." I couldn't understand why I needed a hernia check when I had eye surgery....Go figure. They also told me I had to start road training all over.

After I found out who my trainer was going to be I was O.K. with that. Anyway, I was assigned a the new trainer and this time it was perfect. The guy was about my age and had been in the service about the same time as me. He had been trucking for YEARS, had received about every truck safety award there is, and had not had a ticket for 18 years. He could back a truck thru the eye of a needle and parallel park as easy as you would a car. I think he knew every crack in every highway in the country. EVERY place we went he knew somebody, or they him and always knew where the best eatin' holes were. And that was NOT the T.A./Pilot/Petro's.

We went to Canada, Jersey, Arizona, and all parts between. All the while I was learning and enjoying every mile. He showed me how to set up to back and it worked every time. I was able to shove it in and unload/drop and never even wake him up during the last week. I experienced the cold fear and adrenaline rush of having a car pass you going the wrong way on the interstate. It was around midnight and I had just gone thru Albuquerque. I saw the lights of a car bouncing thru the median. Next thing I knew, the guy went by me the wrong way looking like he was out for a Sunday drive. I heard on the CB that he stopped and turned around and no accident was caused by this idiot.

I also had the fun of having a blowout on a trailer tire. I also learned to REALLY watch four wheel vehicles. Folks driving cars seem to have absolutely NO thought of their own, their family, or your safety when while they are talking, playing with a computer, shaving, putting on makeup, using the cell phone, reading a book, or anything else they can do while driving. Then it was over. I passed the written test 100% and the check ride was a breeze, thanks to my trainer.

I took a few days off and was assigned a truck. The very first run I had was into Chicago.....alone. But that is another story. Anyway I drove over the road for awhile. I have found that most truckers are very helpful, and skilled at what they do. Then there are the ones that are rude and vulgar and don't care about anyone. There are also the ones who drive way too fast for common sense and risk everyone's life around them. These should be arrested and locked up. It's no different taking a truck down the road at 90 miles an hour than randomly firing a gun into a town. I have seen some horrible accidents involving trucks, and contrary to popular belief, it WAS the truckers fault in nine out of ten cases. Too fast and too close seem to be the common problem. My DSR took a liking to me and I had an excellent record of delivery time so I was able to snag a dedicated route, with his help. I now run between St. Louis and Dayton three/four times a week. Get the miles, and get home every weekend. I miss over the road a little, but sure like getting a good paycheck and some time at home. A driver is supposed to work for a year before being eligible for dedicated, but I was in the right place at the right time. I am grateful that I was able to get good training at last and get a good job driving.

One thing I learned from my trainer, and my own life experience, is to try and be positive about things. Going around complaining all the time and being grouchy is a sorry way to waste your life. I also stay away from drivers who act this way in the company terminal. They gather in little groups to discuss how they would run things. I pick the groups that are usually laughing it up. WAYYY more fun. Be careful out there...learn to "cover your a-s" and don't drive fast, tired, or follow too close. Don't be afraid to ask for help, and NEVER be embarrassed to GET OUT AND LOOK. See Ya............Alan