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CeeBee's School Journal Male, 47 years young
Introduction
My name is Charles Bryant (hence the nickname CeeBee, my initials). I've been married for 23 years and have one daughter 2 1/2 years old. The reason I decided to get into trucking was being downsized/reduction in force from the Government job I was doing. I hope my journal provides some insight for other folks/newbies considering a driving career.
A Professional Steering Wheel
Holder I started driving school on 9 Mar. 2002. I only attend on weekends and that was my first one. The instructor came in and introduced himself. He is definitely a "people person". After letting us know what to expect from him, he gave us an overview of some of the subjects that we would be covering during our course. I really didn't have a concept of how much there is to learn to be a "professional steering wheel holder". Class continued and we started covering the CDL driver's manual. We will be spending quite a few hours in this publication until we cover the material that is needed to obtain the CDL permits.
10 Mar. 2002
Brought more of the same as yesterday. Our instructor makes things really interesting by interjecting stories from his past driving career which really makes the class all the more interesting. The days are long (we start at 0800 and finish at 1800/6:00 p.m.) but I'm sure things will move along better after we start to actually "play with the equipment". More to come after next week.
D.O.T Regs &
Mechanical Knowledge
Yep, it's time for more classroom action. We get issued our DOT books and talk a lot about brakes, exhaust, suspension, steering and lot's of other good stuff. Our instructor tells us that soon we will get to go outside and have a look at some of the equipment. It's ok with me though, the winters in Central New York have a way of making you want to stay inside sometimes. 18 Mar. 2002 - It's still cold and snowing outside, so we'll be back into the CDL book today. There's still quite a lot of information to be covered in this publication also. We receive our Drug and Alcohol briefing and there's lots of videos to be viewed as well. We were also notified that a representative from a carrier will be visiting soon to give his "pitch" to us. It seems that we're called to accounting pretty regularly so far. Getting all the loan paperwork in order. That's about it for this weekend. More will be posted later.
Moving Right
Along
Time for some Chapter 9 action. The Haz-Mat chapter of the CDL Manual. Our instructor says we'll get to check out some of the trucks this afternoon. The Haz-mat material is quite "detailed". Class I seems to be a very explosive subject :)
24 Mar. 2002
After getting to check out the equipment, I can't wait to get down to the "hands on" portion of the school. There is still quite a bit of "classroom" stuff to be completed before we actually get to the good part though. We covered Drop & Hook, Air Brakes, and combination vehicles today and we're still preparing for the BIG CDL TEST. More to come next week.
The World of
Pre-Trip
Today, we're hitting the pre-trip, and drop & hook pretty hard. We're also doing the DOT Regs again today with some "videos" thrown in. Again I'm thinking "wow, there sure is a lot more to truck driving than what I thought".
31 Mar. 2002
Our instructor tells us that we have to call and get our DOT physicals and drug screens set up. Today, we're also doing "practice CDL testing" which is good. I'm planning on going and taking my CDL test within the next couple of weeks depending on how well I do on the practice tests. It seems that we're getting tested quite a bit the last couple of weeks. We've had cargo, and air brake testing yesterday. Today we'll be getting the first of 3 tests on the drop & hook. The instructor tells us that next week, a recruiter from a company is coming in to speak to us. I'm thinking "this should be good".
Hmmm....Hours
of Service?
We got our Log books today. It appears to be a "never ending" paper trail. Ha Ha! After assuring us that we did NOT need to keep 2 log books, our instructor went on to explain the details of how to log our hours, and of the importance of keeping our logs up to date. The recruiter came in after this class and gave a really impressive presentation. I was very surprised that he kept our interest for the full hour. I will wait for a while before I put in an application. The rest of the morning was spent on low clearances, railroad crossings, and transmissions. The afternoon we got to spend outside watching the class before us practice their parallel parking. Our instructor also gave us a demonstration on straight line backing and pivot points on the trailer.
7 Apr. 2002
Today we continue working in the log books, and then city driving and mirror use. We'll also be going back to the DOT Regs for a hours of service recap. The placement director for the school also comes in today and assures us that he'll work with us to obtain employment. He also mentions that since we'll be receiving the "coveted" PTDI certificate that it will be easier to find a good job.
9 Apr. 2002
I go to the DMV today to take my CDL test. The examiner was surprised when I told him that I wanted to take all the endorsement tests also (i.e. Tanker, Haz-mat, passenger, doubles/triples, air brakes and tow truck also). It took me 2 hours, but I passed everything except tow truck and doubles and triples. I'll have to go back and take the doubles and triples test again. He was surprised that I did so well on all the tests.
11 Apr. 2002
I take my physical and drug screen today. I'm just about ready to start driving!!!
Now Where Was I
at??
Today we're doing map reading, money management and the "STIMULATOR". Having a military background helped me a lot in the map reading portion of instruction. The only problem I had was with the "trip planning" part. Using the 50 miles equals 1 hour formula helped me quite a lot though. We spent the afternoon on the STIMULATOR (it's actually a transmission simulator). After spending about 30 minutes going though the gears though, it will "stimulate" you ha ha. We also started practicing straight line backing today also. Relief from the classroom at last!!
14 Apr. 2002
More testing!!! Today we're being tested on the DOT Regs. We also talk about defensive driving, and maintenance. More videos to be watched. Living in the northeast made me pay attention to the defensive driving portion. Roads up here can be quite tricky in the winter.
20 Apr. 2002
Today we go over the trips that we planned last week. I did fairly well, although I did have a couple of errors on my log book (not counting the 15 minutes for my pre-trip). Phase I is almost over. Only 3 more classroom days to go.
21 Apr. 2002
More drop & hook testing today. I've got it memorized by now. We also get to use the Super 10 transmission. It's quite a bit different than the Eaton-Fuller 9 and 10 speeds that we've been using.
27 Apr. 2002
We're watching more videos today. Some are about shifting, and others are about defensive driving. We're also recapping the DOT Reg. preparing for the big 50 question test coming up tomorrow. Phase I is almost complete.
28 Apr. 2002
The morning is spent doing the DOT final (50 questions). I did fairly well on it. The afternoon will be spent learning the "Field Rules" and Safety Rules. We start our "Road Rides" next week. Which will be an experience for me. I'm already getting a little nervous....LOL
Road Rides!!! 3 May 2002
I figured that since we would start our road rides tomorrow that I would come to school today and might get a chance to brush up on my shifting skills. I started out doing a couple of drop and hooks and they came and told me that I would be going out on my first road ride today. I was lucky it was our instructor from the classroom portion. I knew him better than the rest of the instructors which made me feel a little bit more comfortable since it was my first road ride. He took me to I-481, told me to relax and "just drive the truck". I made it out of the break down lane and back to the school. I had the most problem with downshifting. The instructor told me not to worry that I would get better with more practice.
4 May 2002
My first day in Phase II. The field is set up with 4 stations (i.e. 4 trucks). Pre-trip, drop and hook, and 2 straight line backing trucks. We are broken down into groups and spend an hour at each station. I didn't have a road ride today since I had my first one yesterday. No problem though. I need practice at the other tasks as well. I took the straight line back test and passed. You have to back up 3 times with out hitting the tires.
5 May 2002
After passing the straight line backing test, the instructor demonstrated the see-side back and set up another station. I have a morning road ride, but I don't think it went as well as my first one. I'm still having problems with downshifting. I also had what the instructor called an "unsafe act". I changed gears in the middle of one of the turns. To top if off, I froze at the entrance to the school when I returned and did a neutral stop. I had another road ride in the afternoon, but didn't have any "unsafe acts". I still struggled with downshifting. I also had a couple of neutral stops in the afternoon. What a day!!! I'm starting to get frustrated with my "in-ability", but I'm going to hang in there for a while longer. I'll post more after this weekend.
Hang on and enjoy the ride!! It's back to school today. I spend the morning working in the yard. I'm feeling pretty good about backing now, unlike when I first started. I'm working on the "see-side" and the straight line still. I'm also still practicing the drop & hook and the pre-trip. At 2:30 p.m. I have my 4th road ride. It starts out to be "really scary" due to the fact that at the first light I came to, there was a "box truck" behind me. When the light turned green, I thought I had it in 2nd, but 2nd was right next to reverse and I didn't notice the red light on the dash. I was lucky because the box truck behind me saw the words "STUDENT DRIVER" and wasn't right up on my ICC bumper. It was enough to scare me and my instructor. Luckily the rest of the ride went better. It was a mistake that I won't make again.
12 May 2002
It's raining pretty steady today. I have the first road ride today. It went fairly well. I was alert to the fact that the roads were just getting wet, so I was extra careful about braking. I only had one "unsafe practice" today. I completely forgot I was driving a "big truck" and the road went into 2 lanes and I forgot to stay to the right. When we got back, my instructor told me I'm making progress, but I still need to learn the "speeds per gear", which I will work on. When using this method, I think it improves my downshifting. The rest of the day was a total "wash out". It rained steady the rest of the day, so in the afternoon we took some labs in the class room (i.e. Bills of Lading and road hazards). That's it until next week.
Off-set and
Parallel Parking!!!!!
Today we were given demonstrations on the off-set backing and parallel parking maneuvers. For a "newbie" like myself, these maneuvers were difficult at best. My "road ride" went fairly well today. I only made one mistake that would have failed me on the road test. It appears that I didn't learn my lesson from the previous week- end about staying in the right hand lane. I came to a stop light where there were 2 lanes to turn left (which was the direction I was turning). Instead of being in the "right one", I was again in the left one. My instructor was good enough to point this out and told me he would help watch my right hand lane and to go ahead and proceed with caution. In the afternoon we were tested on the see-side back. I did pretty good at this test. I think it's because I use my rear tandems to line up the trailer with the "box" that I was backing in to. The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing in the field with an hour spent on cargo securement.
19 May 2002
We start today setting up the field and doing more parallel parking. Our instructor emphasizes the importance of this maneuver. Since this maneuver incorporates 3 separate backing maneuvers, (see-side, blind-side, and straight line) it will be part of the New York state road test. We'll be practicing this maneuver quite a lot. We still continue to do all the other backing maneuvers, but the parallel parking will get "extra attention". I hit the drop & hook, and the pre-trip in the afternoon and then I have my road ride at 1600 (4:00 p.m.). When we left the school, we took the same route as the day before. When we got to the left hand turn with 2 left turn lanes, I made note to my instructor that I would be in the "correct lane" today...ha ha. I actually had a fairly good road ride today. At the completion of it, my instructor made note of "PROGRESS"!!! I'm starting to feel more comfortable about my downshifting as well!!! After my road ride, we spent an hour in the "mirrors" lab. We learned that these are an important tool in the backing part of the course. We'll be off next weekend due to Memorial Day, but my journal will continue starting with 1 and 2 June 2002. Until then, I'll still be learning to be a "professional steering wheel holder".
Can you forget how to drive?
Well, we're back at school today. We set up the yard and start our training. I've been notified that I'll be going out on my road ride at 0915, which in my opinion is better than the 0815 ride. So I'll get in some see-side backing, and some pre-trip study. In no time at all, it's time for my ride. After an hour of not doing anything right, I make it back. It appears that I've forgotten how to drive!!!
The rest of the day was spent on getting back to the basics. I did some straight line practice, some shifting practice, and all the other maneuvers that are available to me. Hopefully, it will all come back to me tomorrow.
More of the same!!
Today I've got the first road ride. It starts out a little sluggish. My instructor told me that I was "slow" on changing gears. He took me to a "tight" right hand turn. I looked in my passenger side mirror and couldn't see any space between my trailer and the guard rail!!! I really thought I had messed up. I hit the brakes immediately. Fortunately, I didn't hit the guard rail. Luckily, there wasn't any traffic coming, so I just pulled straight out and then swung it around.
The rest of the day was spent in the yard, practicing drop and hooks, pre- trips, backing, parallel parking and the rest of the maneuvers. We closed down the yard early and had a "lab". And guess what the lab was about? USE OF MIRRORS!!!.... Ha Ha
Better Days!!
It's really busy today. I'm feeling pretty good. My road ride isn't until 10:30 today, so I'll get in some practice before it's time to hit the road. When it's time to go, I jump into the truck and take off. I've put last week-end behind me. I'm really concentrating on what I'm doing. I call out my hazards, bridges, and use the correct procedures to cross the railroad tracks. It's all coming back to me now. My instructor advised me that the ride was one of my best so far.
Representatives from H.O. Wolding and Werner came in this afternoon. They both have good recruiters. Both reps gave very good information on their respective companies. I've already got a pre-hire from H.O. Wolding and may try to get one from Werner. The rest of the day is spent doing maneuvers and the pre-trip and drop and hook. Things are really looking up!
Polishing up on skills!
Today starts out like all the others at school. Roll call and then we set up the field. After last weekend, I really think I need to start polishing up on my driving skills. I'm still perfecting my off-set and parallel parking maneuvers. My road ride is at 10:30 a.m. today, so I'll be getting ready for that also.
My road ride went fairly well today. Besides grinding a few gears and depressing the clutch a little too far sometimes, I did o.k. My instructor today noted that I need to work on my speeds per gear. I have looked at my paper that gives that information a couple of times, but have never "really" studied it. I'll have to get that down to memory! My downshifting has improved since I've started using the formula "let the RPM's get down to a 1000 and downshift". We have another lab later on in the afternoon. We get an assignment to plan a trip from Bangor, Me. to Brownsville, Tx. After really getting into it, I'm realizing that there is a lot more to planning a trip than what I thought. I'll let you know next week how it comes out.
Half way
Today starts out with roll call and then setting up the field. I'm not going on my road ride this morning, so it'll probably be this afternoon. That's ok though, it'll give me a chance to work on the other stuff that I need to know. I've been studying my "speeds per gear", so I'm really anxious to get on the road to see if I remember them or not...Ha Ha!
After lunch, I'm told that my road ride will be at 1430 (2:30 p.m.). So I have an hour and a half to study my speeds per gear, and get in a pre-trip. Our instructor has told us in the past to try and do at least one pre-trip and one drop and hook each day we're at school, which I have been doing. When it's time for my road ride, I jump in the truck and take off. The trip is great. It seems that every time that I get to drive, I'm becoming more and more comfortable in the truck. I was really nervous for the first 6 to 8 rides, but now it seems like I'm really getting used to it. My instructor wrote "good" in all categories on my evaluation for today. Learning the speeds per gear sure helped when you miss a gear. You can always recover by looking at how fast you're going. Great concept!!!
I really didn't think I hit that curb
officer!!!!
Another day at the National Tractor Trailer School begins. I'm told that I'll be getting my road ride at 10:30. Our class is really starting to "dwindle" right down though. We started out with 23 students and now we're down to about 12 or 14. I'm not really sure why folks drop out. Whether it's monetary or lack of motivation, one would think the student could work it out.
I hadn't realized it before, but our instructor's hadn't been taking us through very tight turns. When it was time for my road ride we left. At the intersection of route 31 and Henry Clay Blvd., there is a really tight right hand turn. There were 2 sheriff's cars sitting in the left hand lane where I would have to go if I negotiated the turn correctly. I was really intimidated by this situation. I took my eyes off of my mirrors for just one second and when I looked back into them, I could see the rear tandems up on the curb! Of course that is an automatic failure at the road test. I'll really have to start paying more attention to those "tight turns"!!!
Well, I get to redeem myself later on this afternoon. I'm told that I get another road ride at 1545 (3:45 p.m.). I'll be going with a different instructor this afternoon. When it was time to leave, I would take more precautions on those turns. It turned out to be a pretty good ride. At least I didn't hit any curbs. The only note on my second ride was that I was at an angle on my parallel parking when we returned. That's about all this week. Talk to ya next weekend!
Living in the MIRRORS!!
Wow....I really don't care for the first road ride in the morning, but I've got the first one today. We were out by the airport on Taft Road and I was making a right onto Route 11. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. I looked in my mirror and it looked as though I would be clearing the curb. I took my eyes off of the mirror for just one second and then look back in them and saw that I had brushed up against it. BUMMER!!! The instructor had me pull off the side of the road and drew me a picture of how it should be done. Then we went around the block and it worked much better when I set up for the turn properly. The rest of the road ride went good. The instructor noted on my evaluation that I had poor judgment on my turns. I made a promise to myself today to start "living in the mirrors" when I turn. I'm also going to start trying to set up properly for my turns. I won't be a school tomorrow. We're going camping, and I came into school for a couple of days last week so I would have enough hours to take a day off. So I'll talk to everyone next week!!!!
Gotta Love that City Driving!
I'm almost done now. Today will be my 16th road ride. We get a total of 20 rides before we are finished. Most of the day today will be spent on pre-trip and parallel parking. We have roll call and then set up the field. I don't have a road ride this morning, so it'll probably be this afternoon. One of our instructors reiterates the importance of the pre-trip. He explains that this is crucial due to the fact that you can fail the test before you even leave the curb. So I will really work on it.
I'm told that my road ride will be at 1545 (3:45 p.m.) today. We're having a lab on "turns" from 1500 to 1745. When it's time for my ride, my instructor tells me we will be going downtown today. Driving in more traffic than usual and all those nice tight turns really "perked" up my mirror skills.....not to mention that "pucker factor". When we got back the instructor noted on my evaluation "city driving" and "excellent ride". I'm really starting to feel comfortable in big trucks... :-)
More fine tuning
Another weekend at school starts. By this time, it's really starting to get a little boring. You can only do so many parallel parks, off-set, see-side, blind-side, and straight line backs, pre-trip inspection, drop and hooks. One of our instructors told me that I did good on the trip planning that we did a couple of weeks ago. I finally turned mine it. I'm not getting a road ride this morning, so it will probably be this afternoon.
My road ride is at 1330 (1:30 p.m.) today. My instructor takes me around a few tight turns, and then we stop at a large mall to work on the parallel parking. I'm getting this maneuver down pretty good. The ride was a good one. My instructor noted on my evaluation "excellent job" and my parallel park was 12 inches from the curb....number 17 road ride complete... :-)
Road Ride Number 18
After roll call, I'm told that my ride will be at 11:30 a.m. I seem to do much better on the later rides. After we set up the field, I get my pre-trip and drop and hook done. Then it's time for my ride. I had a good ride today. I'm much more comfortable behind the wheel now. My instructor notes on my evaluation today "excellent job" and that I've made a big improvement on the use of my mirrors and parallel parking. As stated previously in this journal, I'm going to be paying "real" close attention to those mirrors when turning now. Toward the end of my ride, a fellow motorist made me feel good. After completing a tight right hand turn, I looked down at him and he gave me a "thumbs up" sign. It made me feel great knowing that the motoring public appreciates good driving!!
The rest of the day is spent on maneuvers, pre-trip, and parallel parking. The last couple of rides will actually be school testing. That will be next weekend. I'll be letting you know how it comes out!!!
Gearing Down
It's almost over now. Today the new weekend class that is just starting Phase 2 of their training will be having their first road ride. I will be taking the next to last one of mine (in school that is). I'm told that I won't be having my ride until this afternoon. Our main instructor asks for volunteers. I raised my hand and asked if I volunteer, what am I volunteering for. He told me to help wash the trucks. I told him that I would help do it. He told me and a another student that volunteered also to come with him. He told us that he would be testing us first. After we set up the field, he told us that we would be tested on see-side, blind-side backing and the drop and hook. I was tested first, and did the see-side back with only one pull-up, and was dead on the dock. I then did the blind-side with only one pull-up also. I was a few inches off on the blind side but was happy with it just the same. I then did the drop and hook without any problems. All that practicing was finally paying off. Now if I only do so well on my pre-trip and road ride. I spent the rest of the morning helping clean up the trucks for the next class.
I was told that my road ride would be at 1345 (1:45 p.m.). I was a little nervous and almost forgot to do the "in cab sequence" in the right order. After I started the truck back up, I almost forgot to pump the breaks until the warning light/buzzer came on. We left, but didn't have much time left to go very far. When we got back, I did 3 parallel parks and didn't do well on the first 2. I was at an angle to the curb. The 3rd one was the best. I was about 2 feet away, but at least I was straight this time. My instructor told me that I scored a 90. He told me that he was deducting 10 points due to the fact that I had to do my parallel park 3 times. That wasn't a problem for me. I was happy with the score I received. At least I hadn't committed any "unsafe acts" or failed the road ride portion of the test. The rest of the day I spent helping to finish cleaning the trucks.
Toward the end of the day, we're told that our DMV test will be on Wed., 24 July 2002 and that we will have 2 trucks to choose from. We're also told that we won't be having but one more road ride, which is the most important one. Today counted as road ride number 19 for me, and there is only one more (the DMV test). I'll let you know how it turns out after I'm finished, but before I report to a company for orientation. If you've read this far, thank you and be safe out there!!!
Making the grade
Our class had our graduation party this past Saturday (20 July 2002). A good time was had by all. Great food, drink, and company. All the awards were handed out along with all of our certificates. It was a bittersweet feeling for myself. I have made a lot of friends here at school. I hope to see some of them out on the road.
Today, (24 July 2002) I arrived at school early 0730. I'm as ready as I'll ever be for "the big road ride". 2 of my classmates drive the 2 trucks down to the testing area and the rest of us drive down. There was unusually large amount of traffic this morning due to the road construction on I-81 south. When we arrive, we're briefed, and get our truck assignments. I have the 3rd ride. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous. The first guy out passed. The next 3 failed. This fact made me even more nervous. Then it was my turn. I started out by doing my pre-trip. After the examiner saw that I was familiar with this exercise, he told me to skip to the back of the truck, which I did. He told me that he knew the brake lights and turn signals worked and let's get started. We proceeded to the cab where I did my in-cab sequence. After this was completed, I adjusted my seat and away we went. Knowing that 2 of the 3 students that had failed due to hitting a curb, I was watching the mirrors extremely close on all my turns. I hadn't stopped talking since I got in the cab. I was telling the examiner everything that I was looking at or doing. He wasn't much of a "conversationalist" though. I was treating the road ride just as I would as if I was taking one at school. After doing some city driving, we went north on I-81 to 7th North St. and got off, turned around and went back south on I-81 to the Spencer St. exit. Right before my exit, there was a straight truck in the breakdown lane with a lighted arrow pointing left. There was a small red car in the left hand lane next to me. I checked my mirrors and stayed a little bit to the left hand side of my lane. The red car laid on the horn. I told him that I saw him in my mirrors and that I wouldn't come into his lane, but that I wasn't about to hit the straight truck in the breakdown lane either. I think I saw the examiner smile a little at this point. After getting off the exit, we took a side street and the examiner told me that this is where we're going to do the parallel park and straight line back. I missed the first attempt at parallel parking (I was too far from the curb) and my trailer wasn't straight, so I did it again and did it much better the second time. Then I did the straight line back which I didn't have a problem with. I figured I had really blew it on the parallel park. We then headed back to the test area where we started. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me it was a good ride and that I had passed. I'm now a "Class A" driver.
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