Kenneth's School Journal Page Two
6th
week (In Progress)
My nephew called Friday night to ask about the school and see if I qualified on the nine-speed. It's so special to have folk care about what you are doing. If you know someone who is going to school, please be patient when they can't talk about anything but Truck Driving. It's difficult to get it out of your head. I know I appreciate it when someone shows an interest and is willing to listen to me prattle on about the school and what we are doing.
I've been hitting the study guide pretty consistently this weekend. I hope I won't forget something when I take the Pretrip inspection practical exam. I'd like to "max it." I don't think I will do too badly. Some folks have a problem just talking through stuff. I don't have that problem. I just go through it like I was teaching a class on the subject and keep running my mouth the whole time. I'm sure the instructors get tired of hearing me when we are on the road. I'm always calling out overhead and side clearances, gauges, and conflicting traffic. The last couple of rides, I've stopped doing so much talking while I'm driving and I think they appreciate it. I do still say "Checking the tach and checking the mirrors" after every shift. It lets them know I'm doing it and reminds me that I have to. Makes sense to me. I've decided to go ahead and test for the "doubles and triples" endorsement. It's less than $10.00 on the license. I'll have it if I go to work for an Over-The-Road (OTR) carrier who needs someone to make a run at the last minute. Actually, from what I've been reading, the triples drivers stay pretty much on the interstates. When they leave the "super-slabs," it's only to go a short distance to the terminal or they drop a trailer at a rest stop to shuffle off the others in town. I think I can handle those converter dollies better than I can handle unloading shingles at a construction site. "Oh, for a palletized load," right? I'm hoping for a dry bulk container load myself. I guess I'm repeating myself here. Well, you never know when a recruiter will be reading on-line in the motel room. It can't hurt to advertise.
My Brother kidded me, just a little, about having trouble shifting the nine and ten-speed transmissions. When he went to school, they had to learn to shift what are called Triplexes and Duplex transmissions. They don't sound like much fun at all. The way he explained it, some of the shifting actually took place by reaching through the steering wheel spokes to activate a selector arm. He also mentioned that a few arms have been broken in the process. I'll be happy to stick with one little ol' range selector switch, thank you very much. I know that there are some 13 speeds and higher out there. I just don't know what I will encounter in the workplace. If I go to work for one of the National Carriers (as I hope) they are providing Century-Class Freightliners, for the most part. They are mostly nine and ten-speed gearboxes as I understand it. Whatever I drive will take a little getting used to. I'm sure that I will be "floating" through the gears without having to clutch between every one before Christmas. Hey! There's always the possibility that I will get an automatic transmission. Nah, too much to hope for. Did I tell you they are putting cruise control on the new trucks as standard equipment now? Yeah, that's true. I LOVE Cruise Control. They even have it on the School tractors, but we don't get to use it. I'll probably try it when I start to solo. I'll just engage it in the 55-mph zones to check it out. I don't want to rely on it. I just want to see how the truck responds compared to what I'm used to in automotive cruise.
Monday I qualified on the second truck today. Now I have qualified on the nine-speed and the ten-speed transmissions. I also passed my Pretrip inspection with an 88%. That's not as good as I would have liked, but I'm not arguing. Tomorrow morning, I will have to pass the skills tests for the CDL. That's a pretty simple process on the training field. The lanes are two and three feet wider than the School standards that we have been practicing. The Dock-backing exercise is done from a 45° angle instead of the 90° we have done for the school. For NC State standards, we back to a lane, lined with cones, that is two feet wider than the truck on each side. For the school, we back between actual Semi-Vans to a dock and only have a foot on each side. I can't imagine having a problem with tomorrow's events. When I have completed the skills, I can take my CDL Road Test. That will be scheduled around the other students waiting for Road Qualifications and CDL Road Tests for those who have qualified on both transmissions. What fun. I'm so pleased to finally feel comfortable driving. I almost didn't sweat during my road qualification this morning. It feels more and more natural every time I get into the Tractor. I must say that all the students have stood by me and encouraged me through my nerves and doubts. Thank you folks. You are a super bunch of people. We will continue to be just as supportive to those yet to qualify. They really need our good words and pats on the back. Keep us all in your prayers. We can sure use it and I'm sure you can use the practice. (That was a little joke from your KennethR.) I have to catch my logbook up and do some reading tonight. Talk to you soon.
Tuesday
of the Sixth Week
Jag is over, so I can write a journal entry. Today was another good day in the Basic Course taught by the staff of the North Carolina Truck Driver Training School. 1(800) 691-2220. As you have been reading, I am in my sixth week of eight. It’s hard to believe how much I’ve learned in the last five weeks. From never having driven a Tractor-Trailer Truck to preparing for my official CDL Road test. All the students are making similar remarks. There’s a lot of excitement among the students. Roger and Marvin went out for a “Solo” drive today. They did a Pretrip inspection on one of the road units and took off pretty as you please without an instructor in the truck. What a thrill for them. They are the first two students to have completed all the requirements and they each have their North Carolina Class-A Commercial Driver’s License. They went over to the DMV and picked them up yesterday. I wish to take a minute to address an issue with regard to this journal and its appearance. It looks like it is all run together without paragraphs. I’m sure it is hard to read this way. I assure you that I do compose and submit my journal in paragraph form. The Trainee Journal Section of the Newbie Driver Site scrunches it all up after they get it. (Note from webmaster: I know it does that but don't know why... it drives me crazy, too... Sorry.) The spelling errors, - - - are mine. I just wanted you to know that I am not a complete idiot about writing. Well, not complete anyway.
The Skills evaluation went like clockwork today. The Field was reset from the higher standard (closer tolerances) school set up to the DMV set-up. Five of us drove the easier skill tests and did very well. I made a perfect score. I’m sure some of the others did as well. The instructor is a professional. He wouldn’t think of sharing the results of one student’s performance with another student. I wouldn’t presume to ask him either. I do know we all did well and were pleased with our achievements. I am on the list for my CDL Road Test tomorrow. There are students who must be given an opportunity to qualify on the nine or ten-speed vehicle on which they haven’t been successful. I’m sure they will go out first. I’ll let the journal readers know when I have passed my Road Test and obtained my own Class-A CDL. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were tomorrow night? In tomorrow afternoon’s classroom time, we will be taking our Logbook test. It’s an important grade in the school. After keeping logs for the past 21 days we ceased keeping logs today. That’s kind of a break we get in this school. The head instructor has the students keep logs until he feels we understand what we are doing. If he is happy, so am I. It was nice of him to compliment me on the neatness of my log entries. I feel like I should, at least, try to make the log readable if I’m going to maintain it for someone else to look at. What good is a log that looks like a prescription? When you have to show it to the nice Federal Highway Administration representative (DMV Officer) you might wish it was a prescription because you will have to take your medicine in the form of an Out of Service Citation if it’s unreadable or non-existent. Enough for tonight. I’m a bit tired and I still have to make my lunch and prepare the coffee for in the morning. The cat boxes are already clean and I have my clothes selected for the morning. Wish me good luck on the Road Test tomorrow and on the Logbook test as well. Thank you for your positive feedback on my journal. If you, too, would like to contact me, please use my email address at: kharrod1@ec.rr.com.
Good night. God Bless. KennethR - - - Wait a minute! Did I just say God Bless KennethR? Yeah, I guess I did. Oh, well. From my lips to God’s ear. May each of you be richly blessed as well.
Wednesday of the 6th week
Dear Diary, Oops! That’s not right. I know this must be getting tedious for some of you. The answer, I’m afraid, is to quit reading it. Things are happening so quickly in these last three weeks of school. I earned my Class A CDL today. I am now certified to drive anything less than the Space Shuttle. Actually, I would be authorized to drive the trucks that haul the Space Shuttle and its components. Now that would be a nice job to get. Not much chance of it, but it would be a nice job. I have the Combination/Airbrake Class "A" Commercial Driver’s License with Motorcycle, Tanker, Hazardous Materials and Doubles/Triples endorsements. Sounds impressive, huh? I feel so much better about myself than I did a couple of weeks ago. The instructors seem to be pleased with my performance behind the wheel and in the classroom. This afternoon's Logbook test allowed an hour and a half for completion. I took about thirty minutes on it and got 100%. I’m so pleased that I studied some of my notes last night. It made the test go so much better. My School average, at this point, is still 99%. Some are doing better, but I’m very much pleased with that percentile. The fact that we are halfway through the 6th of 8 weeks makes me feel even better. I wonder if I’ll be able to get a good job? Some of the Students will be going to Smithfield, NC tomorrow for Recruitment day. There are only going to be six firms represented by recruiters. I’ve decided to remain in Morehead City and practice my driving skills. If there were going to be a couple of Firms which operate Tankers and Dry Bulk carriers, you can bet I would be driving the hundred and twenty-five miles or so to talk with them. At age 54, I’m just not willing to start loading and unloading 53-foot cargo vans. I sure hope I find a firm soon. I’d really like to chat with them about hauling myself out to their terminal and into one of their trucks to begin my adventures “Over The Road.” I’ve decided to stay at the training field in Morehead City, tomorrow, to root-for the students who haven’t qualified and shake their hands when they do. I believe there are only three of the fourteen who haven’t qualified on both the nine and ten-speed transmissions. They have their qualification on one or the other, but not both. It’s just a matter of time and enough driving to give them a sense of confidence in operating the equipment. Each time they drive, they learn something else. One day they learn not to press on the accelerator when they start off so the truck won’t lurch. The next day, they learn that stopping at a traffic light is sometimes better than trying to make it through the intersection. Stopping allows you to forgo all that downshifting at the last minute to get the beast in gear. You simply put the truck in the starting gear after you come to a stop. There are other little tricks you pick up from the instructors. These guys are a marvel. They have yet to get upset at a student visibly. They don’t yell and they don’t badger. If you have a question or need some guidance, they are right there for you. If you tell an instructor you feel like you need to work something out on your own, they back off and let you try it your way. (Within strict safety limits, of course) Having given you the good news about my earning a CDL, I will probably not write again until the weekend. Now, if everyone qualifies and gets their CDL tomorrow or the next day, I’ll be shouting that from the housetops! This is a good class of students. It’s a fine mix of culture, race, age, and gender. Everyone gets along. It’s as though everyone wants the next person to do as well as they hope to do themselves. When someone qualifies, there’s always a bunch of hugging and smiling. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s always handshakes all around. Competition is a personal thing. Each student is trying to do the best job they can. I compete against the course curriculum, not the other student’s grades. Everyone seems to feel the same way. It’s an honor to be associated with these folks. Till next time - - - take care of each other. Life is so short. Tell someone your life is better because of them. Doesn’t it make you feel special when someone says that to you?
I’m KennethR ( Class “A” Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator. Professional, in training)
Thursday - 6th Week
Thursday was a "Dark day at Black Rock." Robert quit the school today. We all talked to him and begged him to stick it out just two more weeks. There was no talking to him. I'm afraid he had some very significant personal problems at home. While it wouldn't be appropriate for me to talk about the nature of his problems, I will just say that they were of sufficient gravity to have him "Test Out" of the course.
"Testing Out" is a process whereby the school staff, who are third party testers for the NC State Department of Motor Vehicles, will test a student by the DMV standards. There's not a person in the class who couldn't have passed that driving and skills test a couple of weeks ago. The Standards of the "North Carolina Truck Driver Training School" are much higher. If a student opts for the CDL testing before he or she has achieved the School required qualifications, they are not allowed to graduate. They will be allowed to obtain a CDL, but no certification as a school graduate.
Seeing Robert go was a heartbreaker for the whole class. We are sorry to see him leave and will miss his positive attitude on the field and in the classroom. We will miss his smile and warm daily greetings. So long Robert - - - "See ya'll down the road, Jack." Two of the students went to Smithfield today for the Recruitment day. I hope they get a lot of good information. They are both excellent drivers and have their CDL's already. They will have no trouble getting "Pre-employment" job guarantee letters. I wish successes in driving to each of them. They will be back and will both graduate with distinction. They are Brothers-In-Law. The Father of the one graduated from this same school some thirty years ago when it was a University of North Carolina course of study. Now his Son and his Daughter's Husband will both be graduates as well. I hope Roger's Dad will be able to make it for Graduation. I'd like to meet him.
Speaking of Pre-employment letters, Theresa got one after applying to Swift. Congratulations Theresa. Swift sounds like a good company. I hope you will have an interesting and profitable relationship with the company if you decide they are the outfit you want to work for. As for me, I solo'd twice today. I was able to refresh myself on driving the Peterbilt Cabover 10-speed. I haven't driven it since my third ride during the second week of school. I don't mind saying I was rusty as an iron nail in driftwood. My first co-driver was Jo. She's been doing so well in the course. I was glad to have her along this morning as I was searching for the operating and gearshift ranges of the truck. James and I went out again on the Peterbilt this afternoon. I did much better and was able to help refresh James on the vehicle as Jo had, earlier, done for me. It's sure different without an instructor sitting over in the Passenger seat with a performance report check-sheet handy to grade the drive. For the next two weeks, we will be driving all three of the “Road Trucks” to hone our skills in handling traffic patterns as well as gearshift patterns.
Until next time, I will just say that not all student drivers you see have a learner’s permit, and not everyone you see in the passenger seat of a “Student Driver” Truck is an instructor. Doesn’t that make you feel all safe and warm inside? If I don’t add anything tomorrow night, I’ll try to write over the weekend. KennethR is sleepy now. I’ll have to crawl into that queen size sleeper berth I call a bed and get my beauty rest.
G’night everybody. And Robert, if you ever read this, good luck and Godspeed to you.
Saturday Morning 6th Week
I have been doing a lot of soloing for the last few days. I have soloed in the Peterbilt 10-speed and the Freightliner 9-speed. They are using the Freightliner 10-speed to try and get the last student qualified who hasn't quite got it yet. The backing events are coming more and more natural to me all the time. The plan is to divide my time between the training field and the road. I must spend enough time on the road in each of the Trucks that I can do well on the final road test. The final road drive could come in any of the three road vehicles. It is my obligation to know the operating range and shift patterns of each. On the last road test, they don't charge you with any grade points. It is strictly demerit or "rank" points as they call them. "Rank" points can't fail you, but they can lower your grade from an "A" to a "B" or "C" if you get enough of them. They are given for such infractions as not being able to see the back corner of your trailer on the driver's side when backing. (That's called a lost mirror.) You can also get a rank point for rolling over a cone or hitting a barrel on the practice field. If a student gets a combination of 100 rank and grade points, he or she will still graduate with an "A." So far, I have 12 grade points and I might have one Rank point, but I'm not sure of that. Up to 14 grade points is equivalent to a 99% standard grade. So far, I'm still doing all right. I believe we are to be tested on the field events this coming week. Unless I am mistaken that will take place on Thursday. I'll keep you posted with the results. Between now and then, it will be practice, practice, practice. I have to get upstairs and get some breakfast put together for Linda. Take care, and don’t work too hard in this heat. Use sunscreen if you are going to be outside.
Till next time, I’m KennethR,
Week
Seven (Monday)
The training field was scorching hot from the time we got there this morning to the time we left this afternoon. I began the day on the Backing exercises as I do most training days. Something I haven’t mentioned to date is that the training field is on the parking lot of a bankrupt Shopping Center that is being transformed (Renovated) to provide new office space for the County Health Department. We have been working with the contractors and workmen when they needed to get supplies in and stayed out of their way when they had to pour cement, etc. Today, we found out that they will be doing some significant work that might encroach upon the areas we use for two of the three backing events. The principle instructor called us together and suggested that we "test out" on the events today instead of waiting until Thursday. We all agreed. The chase was on. Folks qualified one right after the other. I got three points for "pull-ups." I am "Pickled Tink" about it. That's like getting three questions wrong on a hundred and fifty-question test. Let's see? I guess that works out to about a 98% grade. I can tell you I didn't do any of the events over to try to better my score. A note of celebration: (Not about me) The last student qualified on his second vehicle this morning. That means that we are all qualified for our Class "A" CDL. Most of us have them in our pockets. The others are putting the money together for the DMV charges that can be as high as $90.00. Congratulations Jerome! Nice job! Now, all he has to do is pass his CDL Road Test and CDL Skills elements and he will be given a sealed envelope to take to the DMV and obtain his final license. I am so proud of all of the students in the class. Each has worked hard and done what appears to be his or her very best.
This is the seventh week of eight. There's not much more for them to throw at us. The majority of our time on the training field from now on will be used in waiting an opportunity to Solo with one of the other students in the Road Tractor-Trailers. We still have to do the "Forward" Driving-skills test which may seem easy compared to the "Backing" Tests, but it is ‘sneaky’ hard. That will take place sometime toward the end of this week or the first of next week along with the "Coupling/Uncoupling Test." Yes, this school does teach Coupling and Uncoupling of fifth-wheel vehicles. It's an important part of driving. There have been many preventable accidents caused by "CDL Mill" School graduates who don't know how to properly perform this essential function of a professional driver. We will be graded on both events.
Our classroom time was spent this afternoon taking a couple of tests. I got a hundred on both. Fortunately, we took it upon ourselves to quiz each other during the day today on the Rules and Penalties for driving infractions. Everyone was well prepared. There were actually six 100's in the class of 13. That's not bad for a test on Rules and Regulations. Well done, Classmates! The Backing / Coupling/ Uncoupling written test didn't net but four 100's. Thank goodness I was one of them. My overall grade average dropped to a 98 today after the Backing events. Still shooting for that final "A." I don't see any reason I shouldn't get it if I keep studying, which reminds me; we have homework tonight. I had better cut this short. I might not even get to watch 'Jag' tonight. (Yeah! Right! Hide and watch. I’ll be watching if I have to have the Safety Rules and Regulations handbook in my lap while it’s on.)
Thanks again for reading my journal. Hope you are gaining some insight about what goes on in a Certified School and stay away from those "Mills" where they take your money and don't give you as much in return as you expect.
KennethR will be closing out this journal entry with a wish that all your miles are paid miles and all your accidents be avoided.
Entry two of the Seventh Week
Here it is Friday and the end of the 7th of this 8-week Truck Driver Training School. Things are starting to snowball here at the end. We have so many tests to complete before Thursday of next week. Wednesday will actually be the last day of classes. Thursday is equipment-moving day when they move all the trucks and trailers to the next satellite location of the school. That will be in Kenansville, NC, which is about a hundred miles from Morehead City, where this class is finishing up. I understand they give students with the highest grade point average an opportunity to assist in driving the trucks. Six trucks and thirteen students. I guess you don't have to finish to far above the middle of the class to get a chance to drive. I wouldn't mind the drive to Kenansville, but I would hate a crowded ride back crammed in the sleeper berth of one of the road units with four or five other students. I think I may pass on the opportunity.
This week, we have been busy practicing the forward skills course set up earlier in the week. We have also been practicing the Coupling/Uncoupling exercise. Most of the folks have been soloing with the road trucks too. I haven't been doing much Soloing. The others have kind of paired off for practice. Some, who are going to be driving one truck, have been practicing with their buddy on the other. It's been hard to find anyone to solo with. We are not allowed to take the vehicles out alone, so I have been on the training ground most all week. I did get to drive with James the first of the week, but he is going to be tested on the Peterbilt 10-speed. Since I am going to test on the Freightliner 9-speed, I haven't asked him to ride along with me. No sense getting the operating ranges and shift patterns jumbled up in his head just so I can get driving time.
Monday, we'll have a couple of quizzes in the classroom and the beginning of the review for the final written exam. We then go to the training field for the first opportunity to test on the coupling/uncoupling. Tuesday is the day for the forward driving skill tests that include the forward serpentine, 90° turn (Where you must roll across a 12-inch square with the rear duels without hitting a tire next to it. The tire represents a right side curb), offset alley obstacle, and 100-feet long 9-feet wide alley. (Pass through and stop with the front bumper within 6 inches of a line on the pavement without going over.) Wednesday is the "Big Day" with the final Road Test and the final written Exam. By Wednesday afternoon, we will know our final grades and our Class Standing. I'll let you know how it shakes out. I expect Roger or Marvin to earn Honor Graduate status. They have both been outstanding students and hard workers. James is not out of the running by any means. I wish them all the best of luck. It will probably come down to whomever does the best on the Final Road Test. I won't be in the running. My "A" grade may hold up, but It is going to be low enough to put me out of the running for Honor Graduate. Again, I'll let you know.
So, for now, I'll just sign-off by saying this is your one KennethR reporting all the news that is worth reporting. Have a great weekend and don't get in trouble. If you drink, make the decision not to drive before you take the first sip. If you wait till after you've had a drink, you will be making a "DRUG AFFECTED DECISION."
Monday of
the Eighth Week!
Today, we had two tests. I got 100% on both. One was a written test and the other was the coupling and uncoupling skill test. I also got to “Solo” on the road twice today. That was fun. I enjoyed it. There are only three more graded events: The forward driving skill evaluation on the training field tomorrow morning and the final written exam tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck. The exam will have 100 questions and will include elements from all the material we have covered during the course. The final Road test will take place on Wednesday. When we are finished with the final road test, we should know our final grade. There is a possibility of dropping quite a few points on the final road test. It is much tougher than the qualification drives we went through for the two trucks. The CDL road test doesn't compare, and was a “walk in the park” beside the final road test. The road test could easily lower an overall standing in the class a complete letter grade or more. The road test can’t cause a student to fail the course.
As for failing, I don't have to worry about that. I could run into something on the forward skill evaluation and only get 50 points. I could get every answer wrong on the final written test and only lose 100 points. With the 15 points I have now, that would give me 165. You have to have more than 180 points to fail the course. Actually, I would get a "C" if I completely blew the Final Road Test as well. My intention is to try to do my very best on the three remaining events. If I can "ace" them, I will get my sought-after "A." I don't see any realistic reason for doing less than that. Time will tell. Since we will be finished on Wednesday, a “little” time will tell.
A friend of mine brought up the question of mountain driving. I have experienced driving in the mountains in an automobile. I have seen the trucks lined up at the top of a long downgrade checking their brakes. In the course of classroom discussions, we have reviewed, in length, the requirements for mountain driving as well as the requirement to insure brakes are adjusted properly before proceeding down a steep or exceptionally long slope. There are some pretty famous places for slopes. Donner Pass, CA Reno/Sacramento I-80 West bound (3-6% for 30 miles) Black Mountain, NC (6% for 5 Miles) are just a couple. (I understand Fancy Gap Mountain in Virginia is closed to truck traffic going down into NC.) I hope to drive them all. You will be pleased to know that trucks and trailers manufactured after 1997 are required to have ABS (Anti-lock Braking Systems) and self-adjusting brakes. Companies I have reviewed for possible employment all claim equipment newer than an average of three years. I am pleased to hear that.
There is a litany of things we haven't been able to do or practice during this course. No course can hope to teach everything. We haven't done any night driving, snow driving, or "skid-pad" testing to learn about controlling skids and jack-knife circumstances. We also haven't had the opportunity to experience a thrown retread at 65 miles an hour or a blowout on the steering tires. We haven't driven in New York City, Chicago, or Philadelphia either. These things may present themselves over the course of the next few years. I pray they won't. It would suit me just fine to confine my driving to the Southern half of the United States. I will go where my carrier sends me. Rochester in February should be a fun trip; don’t you think? I don't, but if the folks up there want tomatoes or celery, a trucker will have to bring them in. They don't mail all those Valentines cards to the stores; a trucker has to drive them in. Same thing with everything you eat, wear, or drive, or the computer you are using right now. The next time you hear a truck idling in the night, while the driver tries to catch up on his or her sleep, don’t complain about the noise. The next time you’re stuck in traffic behind an eighteen-wheeler trying to get someone to let that big-rig in, please be patient. The next time you have to back up a smidgen to let a trucker make that wide turn because you pulled up beyond the white stop-line, remember; If you have it, a trucker brought it. Be kind in your mind. I’m KennethR.
Final
School Entry
Did you ever think you might like to run away and join the circus? What stopped you? Was it the fact that you didn’t know how to be a trapeze artist or a tumbler? Of course, you could be a clown. But there are problems there too. What if you weren’t funny or what if you were the one who was always getting spanked with that big paddle? You could always help with the equipment. Sure, you could be a “Roustabout” and put up the big top and take it down. Even the Elephants helped with that job didn’t they? But, you didn’t run away and you didn’t join the circus. What’s all this got to do with Truck Driving? Let me explain.
The circus is over here in Morehead City, NC as far as truck driving is concerned. We have taken our last test and driven the last vehicle as students. The final road test has been driven and, metaphorically, the tents have been struck. It’s been a long haul the last eight-weeks. Times have been good and bad. There have been some tears and disappointments, and there have been many more smiles and feelings of accomplishment. Where we started is a world away from where we finished. The ones who stuck it out and made it through really are professional truck drivers, capable of taking their place beside the best on the road. Sure, we all have a lot to learn and are like babes in the woods compared to the million-mile safe drivers on the road. Believe me when I say that the company, that hires a graduate from the North Carolina Truck Driver Training School, will be getting a driver they can appreciate. The graduation dinner will be held tomorrow night and we will go our separate ways. I don’t know if we will meet again down the road. I would love to pull into a little diner in the Arizona desert one-day and get to buy one of my classmates a cup of coffee and that last piece of apple pie in the counter display. It’s good to have my license in my hip pocket, but I’m going to miss going in every morning and seeing those shining faces with hands in pockets and shivering against the morning chill.
Once we got the day’s driving assignments, it didn’t take long to see those sweatshirts start peeling off. James, Marvin, Richard, Debbie, Robert, Roger, Doug, Jobyna, James (the younger), Theresa, Bobby, John, and Jerome: I may not remember each of your names, but I will never forget the effort you put in these last eight weeks. Some of you didn’t stay till the finish, but that’s okay. I respect each and every one of you for what you have accomplished. Everyone who started the course earned their Class “A” CDL and Robert’s family problems didn’t take him away until the sixth week. God bless each and every one of you. May all of your miles be paid and traveled safely.
This will be my final School Journal entry. I rubbed a curb on one of my turns and scrubbed a few gears during my final road test. The instructor gave me the thirty points I earned which made my school total 51 points for a final grade equivalent of 96%. My standing in the class is somewhere in the top third or so. I’m proud to say, my efforts did earn the “A” with which I was hoping to finish. I may write again during my job search. Will the industry be looking for a 54 year-old Army Veteran to run the highways and byways of this land? I don’t know. Time will tell. I’ve enjoyed writing this journal. If you enjoyed reading it, I’d like to hear from you. Drop me a line at: kharrod1@ec.rr.com “Live long and prosper” would be the parting benediction from Mr. Spook. Phineas T. Barnum might say, . . . (?) well, who cares what P. T. Barnum would say? We didn’t, after all, run off and join that circus, did we?
Something tells me that the things we’ll see, in the next few years, on the road, could be billed as “The Greatest Show on Earth” even without Jumbo the Elephant or General Tom Thumb. As for me, KennethR once wrote, “Keep me and mine in your prayers as I keep you and yours in mine.” - - - I like that.
After School
The saga continues for old KennethR. Since graduating on the 26th of April 2002, I have been the laziest one man you have ever seen. Oh, I’ve cut the lawn a couple of times and done some cooking. I’ve also been cleaning the cat boxes, but I haven’t hit a significant lick since the Thursday night (April 25th) graduation dinner. At least I haven’t been behind the wheel of anything but my own pickup truck since then.
Okay. You are wondering about my truck-driving career. Me too. I have been calling a few tanker and bulk carriers operating in this area only to be disappointed in their, now familiar, “How much experience you got?” I tell them I’ve just graduated from the prestigious 8 week North Carolina Truck Driver Training School. Not one outfit seemed impressed. What a way to take the air out of a guy’s sails. I should have understood during school. On the recruiting day, (You may recall that I didn’t go to Smithfield for the recruiting day.) the only folks who showed up were the big National Carriers Operating Terminals in the Central North Carolina or Piedmont Region of the state.
Now, North Carolina has a great Interstate corridor in the central section. There is I-77 to the West and I-95 to the East with I-29, I-73, I-74 and I-85 running down between them. I-40 goes West to East across to the center of the state. In Raleigh, it takes a pretty severe turn to the Southeast. It peters out in Wilmington. That leaves a whole lot of Northeastern NC uncovered by the Interstate system. We’re, pretty much, devoid of the national chain’s truck terminals. They are all in the central area or in the Southwest Central “Charlotte” area. The regional carriers just don’t seem interested in hiring out the school or giving a rookie driver a chance.
On the graduation trip that Linda and I took to Myrtle Beach, SC, I saw a huge terminal crowded with Tyson Refrigerated Vans (Reefers). This place is in Holly Ridge, NC less than an hour from the house. I was thrilled! Could hardly wait to get in touch with Tyson’s Recruiters. Don’t get excited. Tyson doesn’t claim that great terminal and processing plant as one of their terminals. It was an acquisition in some merger. They use the terminal, but they don’t “count” it as a Tyson terminal where a driver might leave his or her truck during “home time” and so forth. The Tyson representative went on to tell me that I would have to live within a hundred and some miles of their terminal to be considered for employment and that the North Carolina Truck Driver Training School was not on Tyson’s list of “Certified” schools. “Huh?” I said, as though someone had just told me my head was on backwards. I couldn’t believe the oldest, and one of the most respected, truck-driver training schools in the nation could have been left off their list. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do. Would I ever be able to find a job? Would I have to wait for a Federal Interstate Highway to crawl out here to the Crystal Coast of North Carolina?
Don’t get me wrong. There are a “Blue-Million” trucks on the roadways around here every hour of the day. “If you have it, a trucker brought it” is the motto of many an Internet writer. It’s no different in Northeastern NC. Where was I going to find a job? I made a mental shift from tanker and bulk carriers to National Carriers and Dry Vans. I had talked to the Swift recruiter (Turner Totten 1 (800) 347-4524 ext 131) while going to school. Mr. Totten gave me a good feeling about working for Swift. I called, and was treated with respect and courtesy by the Swift employees. They have scheduled me for Pre-employment Orientation next week. I’ll have to go through their “Rookie” program, but that was to be expected. I’m relatively sure that, after all the disappointment with local and regional carriers, I will be driving Over the Road in just a couple of weeks. At Swift, the orientation is three days. Drivers are then assigned to a trainer for four weeks. This time is devoted to introducing a rookie to the rigors of the road. Drivers are subjected to keeping logbooks, handling Bills of Lading and Waybills, and interacting with the dock foremen and/or consignees at the end of a hard day’s drive. Oh, yeah! Driving. Rookies are given the opportunity to do more driving than they have ever done. Depending on the trainer and company policy, the rookie will start out with some hooking and unhooking, daytime driving, and backing into the dock. Nighttime driving, city driving and driving with the trainer asleep in the sleeper berth will come pretty quickly in the program. Swift likes to give their drivers “home time” when possible. In my case, they will only try to route me close to Emerald Isle, NC (Because it’s off the beaten path.) every couple of weeks. That’s going to be rough on Linda and me, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice to try this new career, and so is she. After four weeks in the truck with the trainer at $350.00 a week, I will be assigned a truck and another Rookie partner. We’ll drive for four weeks together and have the opportunity to bounce what we’ve learned in the first month off each other. We’ll split 32¢ a mile while we are together. Let’s see; at 16¢ a mile, I will have to log 2500 miles to make $400.00 before taxes. If I drive the maximum of 60 hours during the week, I will have to average close to 42 miles per hour. I’m not going to get rich driving for Swift. I am going to get some valuable “Experience.“ At the end of the month, we should be given our own trucks and allowed on the road SOLO at 26¢ per mile. You figure the weekly pay for that. I’m too depressed to do the math. Ha! Ha! Okay, I’ll do the math for you. At 26¢ a mile for an average speed of 40 miles an hour (Not a chance!), I should be able to log 2400 miles. That works out to a weekly paycheck of $624.00 before taxes. Now, their going to take at least 30 or 40% of that for FICA and other Taxes, so I’ll be putting myself in jeopardy on the roads for some $370 bucks a week. Ah, yes. But think of the places I’ll go and the sights I’ll see. Think of the Talk radio I’ll be able to listen to. Think of anything that will keep your mind off the fact that I’ll be making $6.17 an hour for the driving time. I haven’t even talked about the (unpaid) “on duty - Not driving” time I will be putting in at the loading docks. The fact that I’ll have to live with and on the truck every minute of the day giving the company virtually a twenty-four hour guard on their truck. I have to buy my own meals, find a place to do laundry, and scrounge a shower whenever I can find the opportunity. Are you sure you still want to be a truck-driver? I am! I want to be the king of the road, a knight of the highway, a prince of the pike, or the lone wolf howling through the night on 18 wheels and five hundred miles ahead of me. I want to be thought of as a crazy coffee drinkin’ E-flat double clutching, tractor-trailer driver. I want to see those little kids pumping their arms up and down in hopes of hearing my air horns. I guess the tranquility of the truck’s cab is a trade-off on the best of days. It is said that it takes a certain kind of person to make a living from the cab of a big rig. I’m going to start testing myself against the necessary standard in the very near future. I’ll try to keep you posted about my progress. As things happen, I’ll let you know. Don’t give up if you are just starting out. It’s an adventure. You have to expect the Land Rover to get stuck in a mud hole on occasion. That’s why they sell winches for the front of those things. Hang in there. I’m sure going to try. Till next time, I’m KennethR. Whenever, wherever it might be, whatever you do, - - - be good - - - bye now.
Swift
Orientation
I am fresh back from Swift's three-day employment orientation in Eden, NC. The one I went to is on the Virginia border North of Greensboro, NC. It takes me about four and half-hours to drive there. The Three days were filled with paperwork and watching some computer generated video of company policies and procedures. There were 19 of us when we started on Tuesday morning. Swift transportation requires a physical no more than 60 days old. If you just got one three months ago, they pay for you to get another. That’s okay. It was a good physical. Urinalysis, of course, is routine. We didn’t know there was to be a Urinalysis first thing, so most of us had used the bathroom before going to orientation. Then, they needed an additional sample when we got over to the hospital for our physicals. (This one for blood in the urine and high sugar levels, etc) There was some coffee and water-drinking going on that morning. One of the guys dropped out during the physical. He just left, checked out of the motel, and never came back. While we were filling out the various forms for employment and watching videos, the office staff was busy doing the last minute checks on verification of past employment from our employment applications. If there were any gaps in employment, (They hate gaps in employment.) they brought the application to orientation and had the person fill in what they were doing between jobs. The Eden terminal is a hub of activity. There were a couple of dozen folks answering phones and every one of them had tons of paperwork on their desk. Drivers were stopping in to the driver’s lounge to submit “Trip Pak’s” and do some catch-up paperwork. (If you can’t do paperwork, you don’t need to think about trucking.) I thought it was all about driving and safety. Now I believe it is mostly about dotting the “i” and crossing the “t.” There are so many ways to get it wrong that I just don’t see how I am going to be able to get it right. Time will teach me the right way. During breaks, we went outside to shoot the breeze and look at the trucks in the yard. The majority of the trucks looked to be Freightliner Century Model “condo” sleepers. They are nice. I got up in the cab of one and found it was decked out with AM/FM Cassette, CB, Satellite Communication (Qualcom) and Cruise Control. This rig was so nice. It appears Freightliner is paying attention to creature comforts and Swift is paying the price to recruit and provide for quality, professional drivers. By the end of the second day, it was obvious they were spending some money on us. Motel for three nights, (The little “Lobby Breakfast” was included.) and lunch on the second and third days at Golden Coral was expected. The medical screening couldn’t have been cheap. The man-hours being expended on our employment investigations have to be formidable. The bottom line of Swift was a wake up call for us folks in the orientation room. With the money being spent, we started feeling better about our chances of actually getting hired. 18 of us were left after the three days. I guess it went all right for me. I'm home awaiting the call to come back and get in the truck with my trainer. That will be a month in the truck with a Swift trainer/driver who will teach me about the Satellite Dispatch System (Qualcom) and the ins and outs of Swift's paperwork. After the training period, I'll go out on a truck with another Rookie for a month. I know the guy. He was in my orientation class. He is a younger man in his late thirties. That's good in case it snows in July when we go to Dallas or Albuquerque and we have to put the chains on. Ha! Ha! I guess we'll try to roll as many miles as possible to make some money. A lot of that is up to the Driver Manager (dispatcher) and the loads. It is certainly going to be an adventure. When I get back from the end of the 8 weeks, I'll get issued my own truck and be on my own. That's going to be scary. There are a lot of people at Swift to help me through any problems I might have in routing or paperwork glitches. You’ll see those “Slow” Swift trucks out there on the roads. They are governed down to something like 60mph (100kph for our Canadian and World readers). This is a safety and financial decision on the part of Swift. Lower speeds save fuel. Slower speeds on fleet trucks have to make a difference on insurance rates, don’t you think? I know Swift’s safety record is a pretty good one in the industry. With any luck at all, it will stay a good one as a result of this last orientation class.
Till next time, I’m KennethR. Soon to be Driving for Swift Transportation.
The week
after Orientation
As I said last time, I have finished my Orientation with Swift Transportation in Eden, NC. I got home last Thursday night and have been waiting to hear from them about finding me a driver/trainer. They said to call them on Wednesday morning to check. I got my Swift Driver ID number and my logbook ID as well. They couldn’t find me a trainer. I’m a non-smoker, so that makes it harder to place me in a truck. The Swift Terminal in Greer, SC needed trainees pretty badly. I could have driven the seven or eight hours to the other side of Spartanburg and gotten right on a truck. I really didn’t think I wanted to do that. When I called back a couple of hours later, they had found a trainer who was finishing up a trainee this week. This guy sounds too good to be true. A married man; he retired from a career in education and decided he would make a few dollars in trucking. He’s an Owner/Operator with a 1999-Century Class Freightliner. That 70”condo-sleeper is going to be a dream to travel in. I had hoped to find a person around my age so we’d have some possible things to talk about. Believe it or not, this guy is seven days younger than I am. We both just turned 55 this month. When I asked him what kind of music he liked, he said not to worry about that. He also didn’t want me to worry about cassettes or CD’s. Why? Well, let me just tell you. He’s having Xfm installed on the truck this weekend. That’s a satellite fm radio system that you can tune in to your favorite music or talk-radio station in Cape Hatteras, NC and listen until you get to San Jose, CA. without losing the station. Now that’s what I call a radio. If he can get a load out on Monday, I’ll meet him at the terminal and we’ll hit the road around noon. The plan is to stay out on the road for a little over three weeks (Give or take a day or two.) or until we get enough miles to satisfy Swifts training progress program. They require four weeks or fifteen thousand miles (whichever comes first). I don’t know if I will get to do much computing over these next weeks. I’ll try to find a place to plug in with my laptop. If not, I’ll just catch up the journal when I return. I’ll be keeping my logbook, of course. That should make it easy to retrace my routes and destinations over the next few weeks. I’ll try to at least hit the high spots on my next entry. Until then, watch out for those Swift and MS Carrier trailers. It might be old KennethR at the wheel of the tractor pulling it. You wave at me. I’ll be the white-bearded one with the big grin on my face.
June 22, 2002
A lot of highway has passed under this butt since the last time I was able to sit down to my computer and write a few lines. I took my laptop on the road with me, but I couldn’t seem to get on-line with it. Maybe I’ll make a better effort to learn those procedures in the coming months. It will be so nice to be able to do some computing while I’m in a layover or rest period or during a detention period. DETENTION?? You say you never heard of “detention” outside of public school? With this detention, you are supposed to get paid. Let’s say I am scheduled to pick up a load at 5am at a paper mill in Versailles, CT. They should, reasonably, load me up within an hour or two of that time. If they keep me waiting (Detain me) for four hours, I can claim “Detention Pay” from my employer (Swift). It’s an hourly amount they pay while you are being unreasonably detained at either the shipper or the consignee.
I met my Driver Trainer (DT) on Tuesday the 28th of May. We chatted awhile, and I loaded my gear on his truck. Ike Godfrey was a perfect match for me as a DT. You already know that from my last entry. I was given a Glove Compartment, a Cubbyhole above the Passenger Seat, a locker/cabinet and a section below the bunk. Ike gives his trainees plenty of storage space for what we take along. If you train in the summer, don’t worry too much about those work boots. A couple of pair of sneakers will serve you just fine. (Lace them loose so you can slip in and out of them when you go off duty to the sleeper berth) I was assigned the lower bunk. That gave Ike a chance to stow some of his soft-pack gear on the upper bunk and not have to put it away all the time. The only time we used both bunks was during a layover or long wait. When we were rolling, Ike put his sleeping bag and pillows down on top of mine and sacked out on the bottom bunk. (That’s the law, you know. No sleeping in the upper when the truck is moving.) The system worked out just fine and I’ll do the same thing if I ever get to be a trainer. I could go through a litany of where we went on each run and what we were carrying, but I don’t think that’s what you are looking for in a newbie journal. I liked the training period. It was comfortable and we enjoyed our travels around the Eastern USA. Ike is, primarily, a Fed Ex contractor for Swift. His Truck says Owner Operator leased to Swift Transportation and his Vans are labeled Swift (or MS Carriers) but it’s all Federal Express inside. The only time we didn’t haul for Fed Ex, was because they didn’t have a load and we were routed to a shipper who had a load going from near where we dropped to near where we could pick up another Fed Ex load. I must admire the Swift planners who didn’t give us many empty (Bobtail or Deadhead) miles.
Speaking of miles; it took us 24 days to accumulate the needed 15,000 miles for me to complete my training period. If we hadn’t had a couple of maintenance down days, we would have made it in three weeks. We lost our air-conditioner halfway through the training time. Since Ike’s Condo has a window on either side of the lower sleeper, we continued to roll without A/C, but I can tell you, it was miserable trying to sleep when the truck was sitting still. The last half of the three weeks was wind blown while driving but it put me in mind of an old movie with truck drivers who suffered through the elements. We just talked louder and played the XM radio at full volume. The XM radio was certainly worth the effort. Any kind of music we wanted and we didn’t have to worry about losing the station, just the satellite signal. That did happen quite a bit, but it only went out for a few seconds at a time and it came right back. (Sun Spots, I guess) We also enjoyed talk radio and informational channels as the mood struck us. I’ll definitely be investing in an XM receiver for my truck. I’ll be getting a truck antennae. Ike used the “Automobile” type. It may have been part of our problem in receiving the signal on occasion.
Okay, Okay! Where did we go? If you insist, I’ll give you the high spots. Eden, NC; Greer, SC; Indianapolis, IN; Atlanta, GA; Williamsburg, VA; Irondale, AL; Tuscaloosa, AL; Monroe, GA; Orlando, FL; Palatka, FL; South Boston, VA; Sandston, VA; Coldwater, MI; New Boston, MI; Chicago, IL; Decatur, GA; Charlotte, NC; Jonesville, GA; Romulus, MI; Marysville, MI; Morrow, GA; Dulles, VA; Franklin, MA; Versailles, CT; Austell, GA; Mobile, AL; Albany, GA; Tifton, GA; Gary, IN; Galesburg, MI; College Park, GA; Durham, NC.
These were only the pickup or delivery points. We got to some of these as many as six or eight times in the three weeks. Of course, there were also all the spots in between where we just passed through on the highway or stopped at a truck stop to pick up fuel or a Subway Sandwich - - - or ANOTHER thermos of coffee. I didn’t mention Lexington, Livingston, Corbin, Cincinnati, Dayton, Mebane, Alachua, Jacksonville, Barkersville, Kenly, Bruceton Mills, East Point, Vermilion, Seymour, Manchester, Berea, Caryville, Jonesboro, Findley, Franklin, Richmond, Hopewell, Ruther Glen, Wauseon, West Middlesex, Fishkill, Ironto, Athens, Franklin, Florence, Ridgetop, Suwannee, Corinth, or Oglethorpe. These were all stops we made to change drivers or refuel. I could have mentioned the state, but you will see all these places too in your travels. I didn’t mention the places we just rolled on through. I slept through some interesting scenery and exotic named locations. Ike, as I said, is an owner/operator. As such, he doesn’t have to fuel up at the terminals the way the company drivers do. Ike uses the Pilot truck stops pretty frequently. They seem to have “Subway Sandwich” concessions at most. You can get a 12-inch sub, have them wrap in two packages and save the second 6 inch for the next meal. Pilot showers are large and clean. They have a toilet, a sink and the shower. What a great little break it was to get in there and get cleaned out and cleaned up. When you get at lease 50 gallons of fuel at a Pilot, you get a shower chit. That chit is good for one shower or a shower apiece if you are a team. We tried a couple of the company terminals for showers. They leave a lot to be desired when compared to the Pilot facilities. I will be able to use them, but if I ever get to fuel off the terminal route, I’ll use the Pilots and get a shower to boot. Actually, you can purchase a shower at a truck stop and they only cost about $5.00. That expense is reimbursable through Swift. They will pay for a shower a day. It’s just a matter of saving your receipt and turning it in with your “Trip Pak.” The Trip Pak is an envelope, into which, a driver places the Bill of Lading, the trip reimbursement form and any receipts for that specific job. The Trip Pak is turned in at the end of each trip. If you don’t turn in a Trip Pak, you don’t get paid. Swift still gets paid, but the driver doesn’t. Trip Paks are important. Learning to sleep on a moving truck is something you have to do. You don’t have to try that hard. After the first couple of days, you are forced to sleep. You body won’t let you keep going without it. There is a safety net on the bottom bunk of a modern truck. You can use this for your own peace of mind if you like. The purpose is to keep you from being tossed out of the bunk on sudden stops. I don’t know anyone who actually used the net. None of the rookies I talked to used it. I did use one of the straps of the net system. It’s like a short seatbelt at the back of the bunk against the rear of the cab. I took to sleeping with my arm through the loop. If Ike had to pile on the binders, the strap kept me from having to find a spot to grab on. Sleep periods are funny. We did about 5 hours on and five hours off. The goal, when we took the wheel was three hundred miles. Anything over 250 miles and five hours was good. A lot depended on traffic conditions. I always seemed to get the smooth roads when I was driving. When I got into the bunk, I felt like Ike got off the interstate and looked for an old “corduroy road.” We laughed about it. He really wasn’t planning it that way. It just worked out that I had to sleep on the rough pavement. Same thing happened in the big cities. If we had to go through Cincinnati, Atlanta’s Beltway, or Chattanooga, when I was driving, it was smooth sailing and we kept up a steady pace. Ike seemed to get all the traffic jams and stop and go stuff. I didn’t mind that at all. Thank goodness for the North Carolina Truck Driver Training School. Their 8-week program prepared me more for getting out on the road than I ever thought it would. After the first day, Ike was able to let me drive and he went on to the sleeper. Backing the 53 foot trailers was a lead-pipe-cinch after all the backing we did with the 28 foot “Pups” in school. Straight Backs, night backs, 90°/45° backs, blind side backs were all a piece-of-cake. Ike was able to help me on my “Set ups” for backing. There is a learning process for how far you go by a slot before you start your turn for the set up. I was glad to have him along. He was pleased that I went to the school I did. As a matter of fact, we discussed that he might request graduates from my school for his future trainees. They say honesty is good in any relationship. That goes with a Driver Trainer too. Let your DT know if you are unsure about something. Lose your false pride and bravado during the training time. If you don’t know something, say so. If you need help, say so and IF YOUR EYES BLINK MORE THAN TWICE BECAUSE YOU ARE SLEEPY, WAKE UP YOUR TRAINER. Even if you have only been driving for a couple of hours, it can sometimes get to you. Stop the truck. Pull up on an off ramp or rest area. Do a walk-around inspection of the load and the equipment. Do some deep breathing and moving around to get your blood pumping. Run in place at the rear of the trailer for 15 seconds. When you get back under the wheel, you will be awake and refreshed. Before you start out again, pour your coffee or open a soda. Get your crunchy snacks handy and pull out slowly after you signal and have a clear road. If you still find you are sleepy, wake up your Driver Trainer. If he or she is too tired to drive or if they don’t have any hours, then you can pull off and both sleep for a couple of hours. DON’T FIGHT SLEEP AT THE WHEEL! Just make up your mind that you are not going to do it. No load is worth your life or the life of that little child you might kill because you thought you could make it just ten more miles to that truck stop.
Most trucks today have a cooler or refrigerator in them. If yours doesn’t, you might consider getting one. They have some at Wal-Mart for less than fifty dollars that you can put a few drinks in. I hope your truck will have a real refrigerator. They are the best for cooling. On the road, you can usually stop at a Super Wal-Mart with a food section. A couple of suggestions for food on board might be a loaf of wheat bread, some brown mustard, a package of sliced turkey, individually wrapped slices of cheese (American or Swiss). Peanut butter and jelly never tasted so good as it does when you are in the middle of nowhere waiting to be loaded and the guy at the guard shack won’t let you use the vending machines. A package of flavored bagels keeps pretty good and you don’t have to have cream cheese on them to nibble while you are driving. I mentioned crunchy snacks earlier. Salted Sunflower seeds (in the shell) are good to keep you awake if you eat them one at a time. Another good crunchy is Corn Nuts. If you haven’t tried them, start with the original flavor. Again, just eat them one at a time. They seem to keep you busy and your mind focused. Don’t ask me why, they just do.
I had two mishaps on the road. At one airport, I turned a bit sharp and the trailer’s tandem wheels brushed a concrete barrier protecting a stop sign. I thought I had learned my lesson about turning too close until I was trying to turn around in a rural driveway. I didn’t swing out wide on the blacktop the way I should have and my rear tandems on the right side went in to the ditch. The trailer (which was loaded) tipped enough to bind against my tractor’s tandems. I couldn’t move. We had to call for “On Road” service. Swift was great about that. They had a wreaker out there lickety-split and I was back on the road within an hour or so. There was no damage to my equipment or private property. No claim to file and no accident report either. If you are going to have mishaps, I hope they will be like mine. I’ll try to remember to “Steer for the rear” and I hope you will too. That big ol’ truck takes a wide track and you can’t be rushing it to get out of someone’s way. Let them wait or go around you. Concentrate on the turn. Take it slow and make sure you are going to make it before you power through.
Pay your bills before you go out on the road. If you depend on your company paycheck to pay bills, you might be disappointed. They will pay you, but your first check may be delayed. When you call home, you don’t want to be arguing about bills. Take care of it before you leave. If you can possibly swing it, take enough money that you will have a hundred dollars a week while you are out. You will be buying your meals. You will be seeing things that will help you when you get your truck. String rugs (three for ten dollars at many Pilots) are good for the seats in the truck. They get pretty hot and damp. You can change a string rug. You can’t change the upholstery.
A laminated trucker’s Atlas is essential to good trip preplanning. Your non-laminated atlas won’t last long in actual use. A good exit guide is nice to have, as is a Truck Stop guide. The difference is that the exit guide is for the interstates. I like mine and could only find one at the Detroiter Truck Stop in Michigan. Everyone else was sold out. Truck stop guides are available everywhere and will tell you where all the stops are and what they offer. I’ll pick one up on my next trip. I mentioned Wal-Mart stops earlier. If you find you didn’t bring enough clothing, you might have to pull in and buy some more underwear or a couple of tee shirts. The fact remains that the money goes. It goes pretty easily. There are a lot of trucks out there. Not as many as there are four-wheelers. Let me tell you something. You might think another trucker would understand your plight in having to pull out into traffic or change lanes, but it’s the four-wheeler that will let you over or stop and let you come out. Don’t let your fellow drivers get away with bad-mouthing the four-wheelers. They are just trying to get along out there from point A to point B just like you are. Some of them do stupid stuff. So do some truckers. Steer clear of all of them if you can. Keep your distance. Leave yourself an out. Think ahead. Ask yourself some “What-if” questions. What if that fellow stops? What if that light doesn’t change - - - what if it does? When you see and read a sign, go on the lookout for the next sign. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to miss a weigh station sign. Another easy sign to miss is “All trucks must use left lane.” I think I told you before, but if not, I want you to consider Swift as your first company. Sure, Covenant and Schneider are good firms. J. B. Hunt might get a piece of me yet, but Swift has been good so far and they have done what they said they would do. All these company’s are in the business to make money. They aren’t trying to cheat you or mislead you. Listen to what they says, not what you want them to say. If you go with Swift please put my name down as the person who first recommended them to you. If you stay with the company 6 months, I will get a bonus. I hope to become a trainer for Swift in the next year or so. If I do, I might get to meet someone who read my journal. Wouldn’t that be something? Oh yeah! I’m Kenneth R. - - - Kenneth R. Harrod. Look for me going 62 mph in a 75 zone. I’ll be the guy with the smile on my face and that lack of worry because I have peace of mind. Swift governs their equipment down on the road, but they also give me the time to get there. I’ll get my miles, and God willing, I’ll get them safely.
"I Thought It Could Work." July 06, 2002
When I reported to the Terminal in Eden, NC, I was told they didn’t have a non-smoker for me to do my second four weeks of driving with. There were five or six other drivers around looking for partners and the other “odd man out” happened to be woman. We had been talking, in the group, and had even been out together (again, as part of a group) to dinner the night before. She smoked, but said she only smoked about a pack a day and that she could be courteous as a smoker. One thing led to another and we were the last pair that could be assigned to an available truck. We decided to give it a try. Her trainer had been a man, so I figured she would be okay on a truck with a male partner. When asked who would be the number one driver on the truck, Lori pointed at me. They issued the truck to me. Lori also asked “You can back up, can’t you?” I replied that I could back up pretty well. I didn’t realize that would mean I would be expected to do ALL the backing into customer’s docks. I’m a stickler for details. I have to have the paperwork straight right off the bat. “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.” It’s the only way I stand a chance to keep things in order. I pre-plan my route and write it out. I keep the particulars of each trip in my “bible” as taught by Ike (My trainer and he by his trainer before him.) I’m also a driver who wants to get to the customer in as little time as possible. If I can get delivered early, I can get another load and be on the road. If you don’t keep the wheels rolling, you don’t make any money.
Little by little, the pressure began to build. Lori didn’t seem to take to my dedication to the mission. She thought I was coming on a little strong and making unreasonable demands upon us as a team. An old army sergeant, I guess I do come off as authoritarian and bossy. By the third or fourth day Lori had enough and I was beginning to understand what a mistake I had made in saying okay to a “courteous” smoker as a partner. We lasted eight days. Lori demanded the Driver Manager route us to Eden so she could get off the truck. I wish Lori all the luck in the world in finding a partner to complete her rookie training. Lori is a fantastic driver. I even got her to back up to a dock in Alsip, Illinois. She did a pretty good job. I talked her through it and I believe she learned more on that one back than she did in all her previous training. It’s not that I’m that great. I just believe something may have clicked in her head. She found out that on final adjustments to the dock, “pull-ups” to the right will move you over to the left and “pull-ups” to the left will help you aim your trailer over to the right on the docking bay. I think I finally gave her something she could use.
I was assigned a new partner yesterday. Bob will meet me at the truck on Monday morning and we’ll be off and running. Bob doesn’t smoke. We got a chance to meet for a few minutes before he took some time out to be with his family this weekend. We agreed on most everything we talked about. I told him I like to roll and he said he was a driver who wasn’t afraid of the hours or the miles behind the wheel. During this last week, I’ve gone to upper state NY. I’ve also seen Chicago’s suburbs and Atlanta’s. I got to search out a few “turn-around” spots and didn’t run it into a ditch this time. As a matter of fact, I have to brag that I didn’t run it into anything that I wasn’t aiming for this time. We logged over five thousand miles in seven days. (5478) Not all those miles are paid miles. It seems the stories of “atlas miles” vs. “road miles” are true. I was expecting a ten- percent difference, but I wasn’t prepared for the much larger numbers. Our official “paid” miles during this same period was less than five thousand. (4690) I think that’s between sixteen and seventeen percent off. In dollars, it means that I won’t get paid for 788 miles. I get shorted a hundred twenty-six dollars and the company gets to keep all the revenue from the driving Lori and I did to deliver the freight.
Paying Atlas miles is smart business on the part of any trucking company. It keeps the driver from straying off course in the pursuit of personal matters. It would, as an example, have been nice to see Niagara Falls while in upper-state NY. I didn’t go that way because the routing wouldn’t allow it. As a driver, you must keep your focus on the job. We’re not out there to do a bunch of sightseeing. We’re paid to deliver freight. It would just be nice to get paid for the legal miles we drive in trying to do that.
The sights we do get to see are wonderful. I’ve seen some mighty pretty country in the last week. There’s a drive up US 72 from Huntsville, AL to Chattanooga, TN that goes through part of the Tennessee River Valley. It was nice. The last time we went through, it was dark, but I caught it on the first trip down there. I’ll look forward to going again. There and so many other places of beauty I’ve yet to see. One of these days, Swift planners are going to mess up and send me out West. I’ll get to see the Painted Desert and Monument Valley up close and personal.
Did I tell you about my truck? I was issued a 1999 Freightliner Classic XL. It has all sorts of running lights and that great big hood out there you could play football on. Turning? Hell you can’t turn this thing around without asking the Wal-Mart store to back up a couple feet to let you use that part of the parking lot. Seriously, this Classic design is nice and it’s a “Trucker’s Truck,” but the Century model and the Columbia can both turn inside my radius. The cab is roomy and allows for getting up and down a bit easier than in the Century model. There’s more legroom and the QualComm is mounted out of the way so I don’t have to avoid stepping on it every time I get up and move. The truck has over three hundred and fifty thousand miles on it, but it’s in good shape and I have grown to appreciate it. Easy to spot in a truck stop, I’ve named her Blanche after my Grandmother. The first thing I did was buy a 12 volt cooler at Wal-Mart. The next was an XM radio at a Flying J truck stop. I got the Sony like the one Ike has. I knew how to hook it up and installation is easily accomplished without a technician. I’m sure there will be other things in the future, but for now, I’m satisfied. When I got the truck, it didn’t have a fender mirror on the left side that made it look out of balance. (It also made me feel uncomfortable in traffic.) The convex mirror on the passenger side was wobbling all over the place and couldn’t be tightened. The Swift terminal maintenance staff in Atlanta was incredible. On Thursday, the fourth of July, they took Blanche in and gave her a service. Then they proceeded to replace my flasher assembly (which went out the night before) and installed a new convex mirror and a fender mirror on the left fender. These guys were swamped with work and they looked like they could take on an Army. What a great crew. Thanks to all the folks in Atlanta’s Swift terminal who worked on Unit 12440. Nice job.
Now I’m home for a couple of days and I’ll be catching up on my email. Don’t hesitate to write. I’ll get to you in time. It’s just a matter of finding a few hours when I get home. I shouldn’t be but a couple of weeks on the road this time. Bob and I both have over four thousand hours (one week) toward our second phase Rookie Training. Swift requires four weeks or fifteen thousand miles whichever comes first. I have a feeling we will rack up the miles before we put in the weeks. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers. We’ll be out there bringing you everything you can think of. My email address is: kharrod1@ec.rr.com
Thank you to those of you who drive four-wheelers. I’m always amazed at how willing you are to let a big ol’ truck into traffic in front of you. If it weren’t for your consideration, we’d be stuck a heck of a lot more than we are. Get yourself a cheapo deluxe CB radio and say howdy when you see us. Even a little hand-held job will let you talk to the trucker closest to you. We mostly monitor Channel 19.
I’m KennethR. “The Voice.” Until next time, whenever, wherever, it might be. Whatever you do, - - - be good - - - bye now.
July 24th 2002
Is it still just 2002? I’ve been away from my computer for so long, I feel like I’ve forgotten everything I ever knew about typing. Using the Qualcomm computer in the truck just isn’t the same. Swift has to pay for every character sent on the Satellite System, so they like for you to abbreviate as much as possible.
An example might be: we r bk frm r trng 4 2 wks hv ovr 15k hrs pls schd 4 sfty cls n mphis (We are back from our training for two weeks. Have over fifteen thousand hours. Please schedule (us) for safety classes in Memphis, Tennessee.)
It’s kind of fun trying to produce abbreviations the driver/manager (DM) will understand. There’s an awful lot of just dropping vowels. s srprsng hw mch u cn rd wthot mny vwls. (Is surprising how much you can read without many vowels.) Numbers are used a lot. B4 is an example. 2 is used for all forms of the word to. Single letters are sometimes confusing. F U no wht I mn. (If you know what I mean.) It can get you in trouble if you overdo it. Over abbreviating the phrase “if you see Kay, tell her hi.” This happened to one driver I know and he got to do some tall explaining about the message that read - - - f * * k tl hr hi. I couldn’t even bring myself to type it here. I think you get the picture. Be careful on your Qualcomm messages! The important thing is to abbreviate, but make your message clear.
Bob and I got along much better than I got along with Lori. There were adjustments to make for both of us, but that is going to be the case in any team. Teams of men and women (married and unmarried) are successful all over the country. Also teams of two women or two men have their troubles and never get along well enough to make it on the road. Bob and I wanted to roll for miles. Most of the time, one of us was sleeping while the other drove. Bob wanted to drive for long hours. I convinced him to use a five-on five-off system for my sake. I can’t handle those marathon drives the way I did as a kid. Part 395 in the safety manual says you can only drive for 10 hours without at least eight consecutive hours of rest. It also states that you can break up your sleep (rest) periods as long as one of the periods is at least two hours. Because of this rule, you can drive five and go to the sleeper for five till the cows come home or you run out of weekly hours.
Swift is a 24-hour a day, seven day a week operation, so their drivers are logged-on-duty up to 70 hours in eight days. Your log, if properly maintained, will tell you when you are out of hours. To make the greatest amount of money driving, you avoid logging “On-duty Not-driving" hours. Take your meals off the clock and stay in the sleeper when you aren’t driving. Time spent in the passenger seat is "On-duty Not-driving." To log mealtimes as Off-duty, you must have written permission from your carrier. The first page of the Swift Driver’s log is a written permission slip to take meals and coffee breaks as off duty.
Many new drivers want to know how this logbook cheating works. I guess there are many ways to “cheat” the logbook. Some drivers try to keep two logs. That’s not a good idea. The fact is, your carrier is only going to pay you for the miles they say your trip is going to take. If you “log” more hours than that trip would equate to in miles, you are shooting yourself in the pocketbook.
I’ll try to illustrate. Let’s say you are going to make a run of 500 miles. At an average speed of 50 mph, it will take you 10 hours. If you average a speed of say 58mph, the trip will only take about 8 hours and 36 minutes. If there is a traffic jam and you only average 38 miles per hour (very likely) your trip will take just under 13 hours and 10 minutes. What do you log for hours at the end of your trip? Your odometer says that you actually went 587 miles from start to finish. Let me tell you something about those odometers. What if your speedometer says you are going 65 and the “RADAR feedback machine” you just went through tells you your speed was 61mph? That means you have an “optimistic” speedometer. When you think you have gone 65 miles, you have only traveled 61. This is a loss of four miles for every 65 you think you are traveling. In the 500 mile trip (above) you would think you traveled almost 531 miles by your odometer. That means the company didn’t really cheat you out of 87 miles. It was more like 50 or so miles or 10%.
Companies use computer software atlas programs to compute your trip mileage. The miles are figured using their routing. The miles are almost always in their favor. What I mean is that you usually drive more miles than the trip calls for. Back to the logging of hours. What do you log for your hours? I would use the company mileage. That mileage will be accepted by the DOT as correct. Now you have to ask yourself what average speed to use. If your trip were out across the desert, you might get away with using a high average speed, which would bring down your hours used on the trip. Some drivers try to consistently keep their average speed up high. I try to move it around on the low side of 55mph. The above trip would be logged as 9.25 hours on my log. If it took me 12 hours to make the trip and I was at the consignee‘s dock, my logbook might make it look like I’d been sitting there for nearly three hours. If I log that as Sleeper-Berth time, that’s almost three hours I will be able to actually get paid for driving in the future. That’s cheating, you say. I guess you are right. I am not telling you to make false entries in your log. Goodness knows, I would never do such a thing. I was curious, during school, about how creative logging worked on the road. The above explanation is one way folks get a few more hours to drive when their actual miles driven are consistently higher than their miles paid.
Enough about logs. Bob and I took off on the 7th of July and got back at “Oh, dark-thirty” this morning. We pulled into Eden, NC at 03:00. Since we have been on the road, we have been in nineteen states from New Jersey to California. We’ve seen sights on Interstates 10, 15, 20, 27, 30, 35E, 40, 59, 64, 70, 75, 81, 85, and 95 not to mention 440, 285, 220, 295, etc around cities to numerous to mention. That’s only 12,000 miles approximately 706 miles per day. in the seventeen days we were out. Keep in mind that I am counting log miles. There was one weekend when we sat for over 31 hours waiting for a JC Penny Distribution Center, in Langhorne, PA to open up and take our trailer full of merchandise. They got there Monday morning. We got there just after midnight on Saturday night.
Now might be a good time to stress something about truck driving. It’s not just driving a “Big Ol’ Truck” and learning to double-clutch a nine or ten-speed gearbox. Driving is the easy part of trucking. The hard part is the waiting and the frustration. (Amen, Ken!! Sorry to interrupt, but couldn't help it, Sincerely, webmaster.) Waiting for twelve drivers in front of you at a shipper to get their loads before they will even talk to you only to find out that you have to go over to the other plant to pick up your load, which has been loaded, and waiting for several hours. Now you are going to have to drive through the rush-hour traffic around I-285 in Atlanta. Driving is sending message after message with no reply from your Driver/Manager trying to get directions to a fueling location along your route. So you call the home terminal and they tell you your D/M took off early for personal business. Sure, they’ll send you the directions.
Frustration goes with the job. Traffic and tight schedules are always a conflict of your interest. The driver is (like it or not) the carrier’s representative at both the Shipper and at the Receiver (Consignee). He also represents his or her company along the way at truck stops and terminals. This representation by a driver comes in the form of appearance, and most importantly, attitude. A nice smile to a hassled shipping clerk before you even ask about your load goes a long way. It’s a rare driver who says first, “do you need to get a drink or something before you take care of me?” That kind of consideration goes a long way to establishing yourself as a professional driver and a caring human being. Chances are the shipping clerk won’t go for a smoke or get a drink until he or she has bent over backward to get your load located and send you out with your Bill of Lading. Time and again, I’ve seen bitter and haggard office staff transform before my eyes into smiling and helpful folks.
I mentioned appearance. I know it’s more comfortable to drive in a pair of cut-offs and your favorite “Deadhead” sleeveless tee shirt. Would it kill you to keep a clean shirt with sleeves, a pocket and a collar on the truck just to wear inside at the shipper and receiver? A presentable driver will find a good appearance goes a long way to getting you out of some shipping office and on the truck where you can hang your shirt back up and get hooked up for the big miles.
When the company says they can’t find your trip-pak for a certain trip, don’t blow up. You will get your pay eventually even if they have to contact the Customer Service Representative at the Consignee and get a copy of the Signed Bill of Lading proving you delivered the load. Take if easy. Let your D/M (or Dispatcher) do his or her job. They will be more willing to work in your best interest if you aren’t fussing and cussing. The company can’t reimburse you for your tolls if you don’t include them with your trip-pak paperwork. Get yourself a stapler and understand that paperwork is, occasionally, still going to be misplaced or lost. You might lose out on a four-dollar toll reimbursement, but you will get paid for that trip you delivered to California. They aren’t in the business to cheat their drivers. Be a pro. Represent your company and present a positive image to the world at large. It will pay you in smoother transactions and personal piece of mind.
I’ll see you down the road. I’ll be the guy driving the Swift truck that says “they’re all right” when you ask me what it’s like working for Swift. Bloom where you’re planted, don’t hide your light under a bushel and turn the other cheek. Treat those folks you meet like they might be where your next raise is coming from. Smiles do pay dividends, even in this market where a dividend is hard to find. Thanks again for letting me share my experiences with you in this journal. I’m Kenneth R, “The voice.” I’ll see you at a Wal-Mart Super Center picking up a few groceries for the truck. Please say hi and thank you folks who have taken the time to write to harrod1@ec.rr.com
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