What? Are you that instructor he was complaining about?

It takes more than 20 minutes to figure out how to shift a big truck. I know people who've been driving for quite a long time and still can't shift properly, let alone downshift well. Besides, nobody hits a mini-van because they were looking at the tach while dropping a gear. They hit it because they weren't paying enough attention, or because the 4 wheeler driver did something silly, like cut off the truck and jam the brakes. I know of a former 2million mile accident-free driver who rearended a mini-van. Bad things happen, period.

Dude. What in the hell?

A forgiveable error to look at the tach while shifting. One that must be made to learn though. I did the same thing but before the road test I learned to trust my ears more than my eyes. If I'm shifting by ear thats natural. Then if it doesn't glide into gear I might glance down for exact confirmation on whether the rpm's are too high or low. I certainly wouldn't yell at someone for it. I went to a school to learn. It was there goal that I be able to pass the road test. And I did. However in retrospect I would have preferred driving with an experienced driver in the passenger seat for more time than I did at first. And would have wished they would have emphasized the ear method as a priority instead of a choice.

Rolling Thunder, I'd be going back to the cab driving in a SECOND if I were you!!! Sounds like you did very well for a cab driver and enjoyed yourself. Good luck!!

There is. They read, they ignore, they go, then they get the wake up!

__________________
My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

when i started as a trainee in 1985, i got 100 bucks a week!!! they have always tried to screw the trainee's,then for the first two years.

I drove a cab for about a year and a half too. Days and Nights. Dangerous work. Especially at night. i've had three robbery attempts. One with a knife (have a small scar on my face to remind me), one with a gun (never was shot though), and one failed snatch-and-grab attempt. The area I worked in is very very bad...

It can be fun work though. If he goes back to it I wish him well and I hope he keeps safe.

if someone touched one of the driver's controls while I was driving, I would ask them NOT to mess with them again. if I had a situation with a passenger (or "instructor," if you want to call him that) screaming and blocking my view of the guages while I was driving, I would immediately pull to the side of the road and contact the state police or a DOT officer. I would report to the officer that the passenger was harrassing me, being loud and disorderly, and creating a potentially deadly hazard by interfering with my ability to safely drive the vehicle by disabling the use of the guages. maybe this "instructor" would relax as the officer is writing him a ticket.

Or he would start pissing blood all over the place. I dunno, CR England drivers aren't know to be sane, hasn't there been a couple of stand-offs involving CR England drivers?

Thanks, RobW...

Yes, emmys may just be 'Andy' from CR England. It would not surprise me. I would never rear-end anything while looking at my RPM's simply because I know enough to keep a safe following distance so that I could glance down safely. I still passed on my second try, so I am a licensed CDL driver and there's nothing emmy/Andy can do about that now.

Maybe I will just get a truck driving job out in the midwest just to piss him off.

lol

No, but you're right. They DO cram a lot into it for just 2 weeks. Truthfully, even though I am licensed, I still do not know enough to go out there on my own. I will certainly need to go with a company that will send me out with a trainer first. (Just make sure that company is not CR England).

In the last 2 weeks I sat out in their smoking area over-hearing all the horror stories. Many about trainers who have been driving a truck for SIX MONTHS!

What the hell is that? I assumed that these trainers would be people who have been doing it for at LEAST 3 or 4 years. Not six months. I would not want someone training me who did not have at least a few years of experience. It's like the blind leading the blind.

Yes, there is a way to know when to shift just by the sound and feel of the engine, but admittingly, I don't know it yet. I had maybe a total of 3 and a half hours behind the wheel experiencde prior to that road test. While in NY, they require at least 30 hours of combined behind-the-wheel experience prior to the road test.

CR England preaches safetly and all that, yet, they hand you a license just like that. To be honest, I am somewhat shocked that I even have this license. So much for safety.

Here ya go. 3 hours of training and here's your license! And meet Henry, your trainer. He's been with us for 3 months. He's going to train you!

Sick...

But when all is said and done, jumping over to my side of the semi and covering up my gauges while putting your body in the way of my shifting is NOT professional. No way. It was a childish and dangerous move. Not only dangerous on the road because doing that to someone in a regular car is not safe, nevermind a tractor trailer, but he's also lucky I am not crazy - because I really did come very close to ripping the gear shifter right out of the floor and sticking it up Andy's ###...

You'd like that, wouldn't you, Andy?

I bet you would.

Billy