By this time, all three of us were reaching the point of fatigue, with all of us able to do pretty well but falling victim to stupid mistakes. I was told that I exhibited a virtually perfect drive through one of the test routes in the 4th week, but then bollixed up an “emergency stop” that the testers like to make us do. I have since reprogrammed my mind that in this context “emergency” means a boring tour guide-led experience of easing off the road, shifting out of gear, applying the parking brakes and turning on the 4-way flashers, and does NOT mean “Holy shit, thing thing is on fire so get it off the road f***ing now!!!!” Treating an emergency stop under the second mindset results in lots of yelling and bad words from the instructor.
We had a discussion about which of the three trucks (all Mack CH models within a model year or two of each other) we are going to use for testing. Unit 208 is what we had been driving. It has good power and a freshly rebuilt a/c system. However, it is also really hard to shift smoothly and has some REALLY touchy brakes that would remind you of almost any US car with power drum brakes built in the mid 1960s. Unit 195 has a far more forgiving transmission for shifting and has brakes that modulate better, but the engine is really worn and it is slow as an old dog. It also has a right side mirror that is a little funky and makes the trailer look askew when it isn’t. 177 is the oldest and is really only suited to work on the parking lot for parking and maneuvering practice.
The vote went for No. 195, which did not hurt my feelings as it’s the one I had my best-ever drive in.4 weeks in saw the first time I had a driver yell at me out in traffic – I must have slowed down on an exit ramp too soon to suit him. He got next to me and yelled out of his passenger window “Hey why don’t you learn how to f***ing drive!” He must not have seen the great big words “CDL TESTING SCHOOL” and “STUDENT DRIVER” on the rear and side of the trailer, or else he would have known that I was doing exactly what he was suggesting.
Speaking of downshifts, those are finally under control. The transmission in Unit 208 is OK going up the gears, with the instructor telling us to shift at not later than 1600 rpm. The transmission is VERY picky on when to downshift, and likes going into 4th at 40 mph, 3rd at 25 mph and 2nd at 15. Cracking the non-synchro downshifting code feels like a great accomplishment. And feels really bad on those times when I fail to accomplish it.
I should probably note that this entire process took place during a long stretch of good, dry, sunny weather. We may have had only one really rainy day, and even then it was not terrible – and that was a day we were backing through cones on “the range” and not out on the road. It was a nice change to be outside on a clear, hot day after a lifetime of sitting in air conditioned offices. At least the trucks have good a/c units to keep the physical temperatures down in the cab. The emotional temperatures were higher, of course, with nerves building about the coming tests.
We had the last couple of companies present to us, and it was time to get started on employment applications. Marianne told me that as of the end of the next week I would change my status from “student” to plain-old “unemployed” (although I prefer retired). There are a couple of interesting options – as always, there is a trade-off between the best pay and the most desirable hours. But before I could get a job as a driver, there would be some tests to pass.
I can’t wait to see how this turns out! I’m guessing that most of this instruction took place last year, so hopefully by now you are well established in your new career.
Congratulations on nearly being a driver!
The ad choices appearing on the page for me interestingly enough is for Burlington-Trailways bus company soliciting CDL instruction and employment.
The principal at my kid’s junior high school was a charter bus driver on the side, and occasionally his jobs would intersect and he’d drive for a school team, or an overnight field trip.
Well done JP!
Pretty cool this entire career change .
There’s always some jerkhoff who simply likes to be angry all the time, the concept of actually driving slower in the slow lane is missed by those types .
-Nate
I like the “emergency stop” story. Yes, easing off the road isn’t quite what first comes to mind when I think of emergency stops. One of my daughter’s horseback riding instructors has them do an “emergency dismount” occasionally, which is basically dismounting the horse while its walking – but really, that term sounds like you launch yourself off the horse in order to save your life. Same kind of distinction.
As I read about the driver yelling at you, I wondered if that guy was a plant from your school in order to test the Student Drivers’ patience… but I guess not. And I’m sure that won’t be the last time someone randomly yells at you.
Can’t wait to hear about Week 5! Thanks again for this series.
There are many idiots out there on the road. I just finished a 1600 mile drive from AZ to MN. My truck and trailer is 53 feet long. Plenty of people seem to think that passing you and then immediately cutting in front of you is a good idea and then some of them slow down! Then there are those that hang along side of the trailer, usually at the rear, not sure why they do this, afraid to pass? Then there are the drafters who ride up so close to the back of the trailer that you can’t see them.
I’ve seen any number of big rigs with a sign saying, “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you.” I’ve definitely taken it to heart.
All of these things happen to me regularly, and all of them are irritating. I don’t get as much of people pulling in front and slowing down because the truck speed limit is 5 mph lower than the car speed limit, and most drivers of cars pass me and keep moving – because they can.
I guess that’s one advantage of a dual speed limit.
I’m curious – from a trucker’s perspective – what you think of the dual highway speed limit. From a car driver’s standpoint I don’t like it because it increases the speed differential between cars and trucks, which feels unsafe. But I wonder if there’s any advantages for truck drivers that I may not be thinking about.
90kmh is the heavy and towing vehicle speed limit here cars are 100/110 kmh very little regilar traffic goes fasdter than the trucks and most of this country is two laned with 3 lane death strips or passing lanes, seeing a monumental crash from on high gives you time to slow and hopefully avoid the wreckage ahead and not get involved.
“Then there are those that hang along side of the trailer, usually at the rear, not sure why they do this, afraid to pass?”
Definitely afraid to pass- Driving between the big towns, I regularly see drivers approach a big rig at a fairly brisk pace in the passing lane, and then slow down as they close on the tail of a truck and either hang behind the truck FOREVER, or pass the truck so slowly a line of cars build up behind them in the passing lane.
I can understand a little trepidation passing an 80,000 pound truck, but this behavior only increases the time spent near the hazard, potentially in the truck driver’s blind spot.
My motto is – Pass with Authority. Pull out and make the pass, get out front and keep moving.
I think some people get by and tuck in and set the cruise without thinking.
Yep in any truck cab the blind spots are amazing cars hide behind windscreen posts mirror’s, anywhere they can, they dont know coz they can see the truck.
I see cars constantly stuck right next to the left rear corner of trucks. They are moving along Ok and then get to that spot and are like magnetized to that corner. When I come up on a truck to pass, on a 2 lane highway, I get by as fast as I can. No lingering.
With those other cars I am usually coming up behind the truck and expect the car, in the next lane over, to continue. I time everything down to the second so they pass and then I change lanes at the last moment without touching my brakes. Instead they mess the timing up and in the end I have to slow before immediately getting right on the cars tail. The driver sees that and then hits the gas to pass the truck. Why now? Had to run into this at least a dozen times on US 5 last week.
I have no idea why there are no paragraph separations in this piece – it looks normal in the edit stage, then appears like this on the site. Weird.
Fixed now. Removed spurious html symbols. I’ve seen that before when copying and pasting from an email or such.
Ah, thanks!
I’ve thought about doing the CDL thing but always worried about things like my eyesight, or skills like shifting and backing up and maneuvering in tight spaces. All challenges that maybe I could meet.
Then I think about dealing with all the jerks on the road and it’s game over right there.
Well done JP emergency stop wow done a few of those, neaqring the top of a hill one night I saw a truck pull onto the road ahead of me so I slowed 44 tonnes uphill loses speed well then the other truck stopped dead so stood on everything trailer brake on hard the lot when I finally stopped I could clearly count the tar spots on the other guys trailer rear wall, he had lost all air pulling ofrf the road neatly wasnt in the menu presented and its scary when it doesnt stop with a loaded Btrain behind you, whereever the tacho needle settles on upshifts is your downshift point blip the throttle in neutral and just slide the gearlever in as the revs come down a couple of hours on your own minus the instructor will have you perfect.
I guess we could say good luck with the test…..
I don’t remember where you are, but here in Indiana a lot of driving positions open up at harvest time. It could be a big opportunity to get some time in and be driving local. I did it last year for the first time and will be back this year. My wife has been driving for the same operation also. Good luck on the test and see you on the road.
There are a lot of wingnuts whose hobby is to make commercial drivers miserable- they’ll follow too close, pass slowly, pull in front and slow down, pace you so you can’t move into a different lane, ect. When we hauled oxygen (healthcare), there was an ‘Exempt’ railroad crossing we had to go over and without fail someone would call the office and ‘notify’ the branch manager probably trying to get someone fired. “Your truck number 35 didn’t stop at the Route 57 railroad track!!!!”. Our manager kept a copy of the Federal Motor Carriers book on her desk and would read the law to the asshat caller.
I will have my CDL for 28 years come this “Convoy Day” ( think CW McCall song)
I would like to pass on the best piece of advice I ever got about trucking.
I’m a third generation trucker. My Dad had passed before I started driving, but I asked my brother what was the best piece of advice Dad gave him. Without pausing to think he said, “If you don’t get in a hurry, you won’t get in a problem.”
Every time I forget that, it reaches out to smack me up side the head.
It sounds like your instructor’s methods are similar to what mine were when I was training new drivers for one the big carriers. These folks were just past the stage you are at – brand spanking new license in hand ready to go to work. Basically, we were finishing school for a few weeks before sending them out solo. We were over the road, running in a team type environment.
I would put them in the passenger seat the first day, and get to know them a little. On day 2, I’d put them in the driver’s seat, after showing me their pre-trip.
Before starting the truck I would tell them, occasionally they might hear a very loud voice coming from the right seat. Just do what the loud voice tells them to do, and after the situation clears, I would explain what happened.
I only had to do it a few times with each student, fortunately.
I was pleased to get a phone call about a year after my first student went on his own. He said, “How did you get in my jump-seat today? I heard a loud voice that kept me from rear ending a school bus.”
Also, if you’re going to be OTR – I strongly recommend you do an old school thing and put a decent CB in your truck and listen to it. There’s not as much chatter as in the old days, but in bad weather, you can get useful information from drivers coming from where you’re going to. I had to deal with some bad weather in Vermont this week, and saw 3 jack-knifed trucks on I-89 blocking both lanes. I tried to warn the drivers going the other way a few times, but nobody acknowledged my warning so for all I know, they spent all day Wednesday waiting for some one to clear the road instead of getting off at the exit before the mess started and going around it.