September 10, 2001

Today started off with a trip to the "Medica Clinica" on Jonesboro Rd. where our class of 6 completed our physicals in about 4 hours total. Seems to have been a little long, but when has a clinic visit been short? When back to class we began our QUICK overview of sections 2 and 3 of the Georgia Commercial Manual, Driving Safely and Transporting Cargo Safely. Since we will be going to test for our permit on Wednesday, our instructor has had us highlight known test questions in class, then to read the entire sections on our own time at home. At the end of the class we took a very informal 100 question practice test, I did very well as did everyone else. This should be a quick learning group. I have to get a new S.S. card tomorrow, so hopefully I won't miss too much highlighting.

September 11, 2001

Today we covered sections in our Georgia Manual covering combination vehicles, and air brakes. I never imagined how detailed the curriculum could be. After lunch we took our school finals on the areas of, general knowledge, combination vehicles, and air brakes. I scored 95%, 90%, and 80%. Tomorrow will be devoted totally to the DMV and my class A learning permit. 80% is the lowest passing grade. My fingers are crossed! I feel I have to note....today was also the saddest, most upsetting day of my 27 years.....that's all I'll say about it here.

September 12, 2001

Today I got a 95% on my general knowledge test, 88% on combination vehicle test, and (of course) an 80% on my air brakes test! Yeah! I took the test at the Sandy Springs DMV. I arrived at 8:00 A.M. and left around 1:00 P.M.. A couple of the questions really bothered me, so I was going to write one down to show Scot my instructor. BAD idea. Let me tell you, in case your a big dummy like me, they DO NOT like it when you try to copy some of their test! I'm lucky I got to finish the test! Well let it be known that hydraulic brakes are the ones you test when stopped, not service or emergency. Back to class tomorrow.

September 13, 2001

....hydraulic brakes on an air brakes test.....the nerve. Well anyway we highlighted over Hazardous Materials today and had an introduction to the almighty log book. Haz Mat definitely is not nearly as easy to "common sense" your way through as the other sections. I still scored an 83% on our practice final. Not bad at all if I may say so. No doubt about it, Scot has alot to do with it. Ex-military/cop/truck driver who gets to the point (and past it) very quickly. I'm glad that I can learn this way. I found out today that me and my class of CRST recruits are on an abbreviated version of MTA's 3 week program, ours is only 2. I'll be driving in the lot for the first time tomorrow, and if all goes well, I'll be fully licensed (with a HazMat endorsement) next Friday! WHEW! Fast!

September 14, 2001

Today was spent testing. All day. A 66 question DOT test, 100 question final, and a log book test. I did pretty well on the DOT test, scored 89%. The schools final wasn't so bad either, 93%. The log book test was confusing since it was written in word problem form, but I managed to score over 90% on that one too. Monday will start our actual driving instruction. I expect to spend a good amount of time on Pre Trip inspection. I'm told we will do a lot of yard driving though. There is a rule on the yard that states simply "Use no fuel...". Apparently we aren't supposed to use the gas pedal, just ease out the clutch. It all looks as hard possible from the outside, but the instructor says that is the best way to learn, we'll see.

September 17, 2001

Today was the "Big" day. Started off the morning following another class over the Pre-Trip inspection. After that we were in the truck, lined up straight between two rows of cones about 100' long, 12' apart. "Go straight to the end and then back straight to here". Back!? Well much to my surprise, after a few hints from the instructor, I eased off the clutch...rolled to the end....put it into reverse and eased off the clutch again....and rolled right back where I started! Biggest hint was not to turn more than "..a touch..". Dead on advice. So after lunch we were off to the "shifting range". Which turned out to be a stretch of South Fulton off of I-285 that ran towards Palmetto. Almost no traffic, four lanes with a huge grass median, easy hills, and a light or two thrown in for experience. Perfect. By the end of the day I was doing well enough for the instructor to ask me to drive us back to the yard! So there I was, 5:00 P.M., south side of I-285, first day behind the wheel....it was COOL! I love it! Can't wait 'till tomorrow....

September 18, 2001

Arrived late today, so tired of moving. Started off with some more straight line backing..still good. Then we tried parallel parking. That's right...parallel parking. Well just the trailer really. So to the right is "blind side parallel", and to left is "sight side", because one way you can look out and see, and the other way you can't. Duh. So we started with blind side. With ALOT of coaching we were all able to do it, sometimes. We all managed to pull off at least one from both approaches, that would pass the test. Just have to learn to do it on our own now. After lunch we went to a truck stop, well the only good truck stop in Atlanta. Had no idea how much stuff you could buy, or things you could do at a truck stop. Massage, chiropractor, shoe repair, knife shop, electronics shop, laundry, shower, movie theater, food (fast or sit down) doctor, video games, and alot more, they even have these humps in the parking lot where you can hook up for T.V., internet, and power! More than I expected, and it was HUGE! Not the biggest from what I hear either....I'm gonna love to see more. So then I was in the drivers seat again. From the Petro on Bankhead Hwy. around the bottom of I-285 to I-675 to the Ft. Gillam exit. Then we took turns driving from Gillam to Stockbridge using I-675 and crowded backroads. Wal-Marts, short lights, impatient drivers, we got a little of everything today. I have got to smooth out my upshifts, and start to downshift more. Again, I can't wait until tomorrow.

September 19, 2001

Today all the skills in the yard clicked with me. All except for alley docking. I can back straight back for 100', parallel park on the blind side and the sight side, and my road skills are improving, but I can't seem to back into a dock at an angle. I still have 2 or 3 days to get it though, and as good as I am at the rest of the maneuvers, it shouldn't be a real problem. Driving still is a thrill! Every time we go out I feel more and more at ease, and it gets more fun every time. However...today I was told to u-turn at a stop light, as it was green I felt rushed, and didn't set up properly. I had to make it a left turn at the last second, and I wasn't set up for that either. So I missed the police truck that was waiting at the stop light by about 2 feet! He wasn't about to back off. I took us down a 2 lane road that we weren't meant to go down. I did okay down it and to another road that was only partly better, Fulton Industrial Parkway. If you know this road you know why it wasn't a great road to practice on. Anyway, all in all it was a good day in which I proved myself in the yard, and also that I could handle a mistake that lead to a tense situation. I'm still really looking forward to tomorrow.

September 20, 2001

Started this morning fueling the truck at a Conoco. Not as easy as just filling a car, but nothing complicated either. Then, by command of the instructor, I drove us way out I-20 to Douglasville, and took Hwy 5 south to Whitesburg. It was all 2 lane, 55 mph country roads and I loved it. It wasn't boring like an expressway, and it helped build my confidence for holding a lane. But then we came to what they call a "round about". Atlanta does not have such things, and I've only seen them on TV. So as I maneuvered around it I was so nervous that I didn't pay enough attention to my instructor and missed our "turn". So I circled it twice. Everyone around it seemed really entertained, and I only rolled over a rubber thing that surrounded the middle of the circle, so I guess it wasn't a bad mistake. I'm always thankful of the huge sticker on the bumper that reads "STUDENT DRIVER", seems to take some of the embarrassment off. After lunch it was back to the yard for more practice. I had to adjust to the differences in maneuvering a day cab (no sleeper), and a sleeper cab. I'll have to keep adjusting tomorrow. Georgia has recently changed it's testing laws for CDL, and the tester can only test 5 students per day and since we test at another driving school with it's own students taking seniority over our students, it looks like I won't be testing until late next week. Students ready to test at our school are really backing up. We were supposed to test this Friday, tomorrow. Oh well, practice makes perfect.