A Few Tips for Driving School

From:  "Driver's ABC's - Surviving the First Year".

• Pay attention and listen during the classroom segment. Many people have a misconception that driving school is ALL driving but it is not complete without classroom work.  A common attitude is, "I'll blow my way through the class to get to the driving." This will hurt you a great deal in the long run.

• Be patient with yourself. Don't expect to breeze through the course. Some people learn incredibly fast, making it look easy. Most do not. If you have a classmate who seems to ace everything he/she does, realize that person is the exception to the rule. Most people struggle with something -- the class and/or the driving.

• Reap all you can from the experience of your instructors. Whether they have 5 years of experience, 15 years or even more, they have valuable knowledge that you need.

• As they say, attitude is everything. Keep yours in check. If you're struggling, realize you need more practice/work in that area. If you're doing well in something, don't let it go to your head.

• When backing, you will learn a great deal more if you watch others. It is easy to see from outside the truck where the backing maneuver went wrong. It looks a whole lot different from inside the truck. Don't stay in the truck when your partner is backing and don't stand around yapping.  Watch them. Watch their errors. Learn from them. You need every single second of backing practice and knowledge you can get.

• No matter how well you do in school, keep in mind that it is SCHOOL. It is a controlled environment. People are around who can help if you get into trouble. If you get to the point that you think school is too easy, don't let your guard down and don't give in to this.

  If you develop this feeling, you are not challenging yourself enough. Try different backing setups. Ask for a tougher route. Believe me, when you hit the "real world" you will not be bored.

• Do your homework! This is school, after all, so surely you expected to get homework.

• Many people try to work a job at the same time they go through school. This isn't easy. If at all possible, cut down on hours or quit the job. You need your full powers of concentration for school and that's very hard if you're exhausted.

• Try not to be absent. Things do come up in life but you'll be far, far better off if you can be present every single day.

• Most driving schools' biggest enemy is the lack of sufficient time to teach all they would like to. No matter how good the school, they're still up against the clock. Take advantage of every single day by being there.

• Don't resist learning things because you don't see the importance of the issue. Realize there is a reason for what you're being taught -- don't bother to try to figure out it's significance at this point -- you'll find out later...and you may regret your past stubbornness.

• Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you don't have to learn something at school because your trainer / husband / boyfriend / friend, etc will teach it to you on the road. Maybe they will -- and maybe not. You simply can't afford to take this chance.

• Don't blow off the Pre Trip Inspection and it's importance.  Further, don't let yourself believe that passing the CDL tests makes you a truck driver. These tests are very minimal and in all reality, are far too easy. (I know you don't believe that right now.)

• If you've driven in the past or have some exposure to the industry, do not "flaunt" it all over the place. It's entirely in how you present your knowledge/experience. If it somehow adds to the instructor's presentation, great. If what you're saying is perceived as bragging to your classmates, they will quickly develop a dislike for you.

• Be determined to make it. If you are not determined to work hard, you may want to give up when the going gets tough. You can do nearly anything if you have enough determination.

• If worse comes to worse, and only then, be prepared to accept that maybe trucking isn't for you. It truly is not for everyone. Be very leery of a person who says, "Anyone can drive a truck". It is simply not true. Most people can learn to operate a truck. That fact has nothing to do with whether a person actually enjoys driving a truck.