I'm beginning to understand the frustration

It's arrogance like your post is the problem, not some new kid still needing practice.

I'm not trying to be insulting, but the simple fact is overconfidence is what causes most wrecks. Taking a few pull ups is 1,000 times better than thinking you are clear and rip a hood off. It doesn't help state testing is absolutely different than what you will be doing in the real world. For example, in school I never heard of the Smith system, or even G.O.A.L. Those two philosophies will prevent 99.9% of the wrecks out ther.

GOAL is simply Get Out And Look and is exactly that. Get out and see where your trailer is in relation to everything else. You can't do that for the test, which is the best way to get the trailer where it needs to be. There is also Smith system, which in a nutshell states to leave an out in case something happens, and to pay attention so you can tell if something is happening and avoid it before it becomes a wreck.

Slow down, and instead of being derisive to someone that is having trouble maneuvering see if you can help them. And sometimes that help is simply not to "joke" about their difficulties because to them it's not a joke. (Not saying that the op is, just a general statement.)

 

I was the worst in my class. I couldn't even pull up to get straight. nobody thought I'd make it. trainer told me after 2 weeks if I couldn't get it in the hole he'd send me packing. i was a nervous wreck terrified of backing. somehow I got it at the last minute and passed my cdl test on my first try. Been out a year now and haven't had any accident related to backing. since I'm OTR I've done every back possible now. in fact, backing doesn't really even concern me at all anymore. I barely think about it.

backing comes with time. that's all there is to it. some people will take longer to get the hang of it

 

Please pass this little tidbit along to your classmates. If for some reason they need to get off the highway and an exit ramp is near, try to make it to the ramp and stay off the shoulder. Now, if they do find themselves having to stop on the shoulder and it's time to re-enter the highway....DON'T JUST PULL OUT IN FRONT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC!...pick up speed with your blinker on so we know of your intent, and WAIT til the time is right to get back on the highway. I am seeing this way too often these days.

 

Took me 6 months to learn how to shift.

 

Maybe you didn't mean to, but man! you do sound arrogant. Everybody deals with stress in different ways. I am one of those who laughs when stressed out.
And nervousness has a way of confusing the simplest of tasks... let alone backing a tractor trailer.
Don't worry, you will make rookie mistakes yourself, just give it sometime.

 

I was so bad at backing my CDL instructor got out the truck, said you're on your own and good luck, you'll never get this and he went inside the building. It was then and ONLY then I figured out what I needed to do. Having someone yell #### in my ear wasn't helping anything. Once he got out and it was me, the truck and the cones.....then it made sense.

I later went on to be the only one in a class of 35 students to make a 100 on the backing part of the CDL test.

 

You know how it is man....people go to school for a couple weeks, learn a couple of basics and they have all the answers. To the OP, you talk this trash now.....wait til it's late, and you have to park at a real tight Pilot, no lighting, and a long nose Pete is on the driver side.

 

Pride goes before the FALL