Help a trucker wannabe out!

BigDon,

I just can't see myself going around with 4 copies of my keys. That just isn't me. I think I'll hide a key somewhere on my tractor since it appears there are many places to do so and that should do it for me. I'll use the rock idea as backup, although since I'll be a company driver, I doubt the company I would work for would like that.

 

Over here in PA they have the DMV closed on Mondays and Thursdays. Why Monday? I have absolutely no idea, but when I went to the DMV the Monday following the beginning of class, they were closed. It wouldn't have even occured to me to check, I simply wouldn't of guessed it.

I'm glad you continue to be impressed by this thread. I'm glad I was about to get in there and pass all of the tests on the first try. It really was more challenging for me because I simply have a very weak mechanical background. Right now I'm book smart, and it's going to be a big learning curve for me the first couple of years. I'm just being realistic.

 

Anyway, now that I have time, here's my account about the DMV test. I like to be very honest, so everybody can be aware of what my experience has been like. If I said I got everything right on all of the DMV tests, you'd better believe I did....but.....not even close.

So with the tests I had at the driver school, I felt like I was in pretty good shape for the tests I'd have at DMV and it turns out I was. Things could of of been smoother though....

So I had a really crappy night's rest, I was clearly nervous about the test. Things didn't get better when I got there. I got there 15 minutes after the place opened, and there was a huge line. So I had to wait an hour and a half to take the test while two of my classmates were taking them already because they got in at the open of the day. This waiting time only caused the tension to build.

When I was directed to one of the computers, I realized I would be taking this test with one of those cubicle partitions between me and this huge crowd of folks sitting and waiting at the DMV. So my two classmates have finished, and the one is laughing with the DMV tester about how easy the test is (and he talks in a really loud voice), and a kid immediately starts to scream at the beginning of my general knowledge test.

To add insult to injury (and I suppose to build tension) each question you answer, you are given the results of whether you were right or not right after you select that answer! So now I'm sitting there looking at the number of questions (70) and figuring out how many I need to get correct (55) vs. how many I can afford to get wrong (15). So my classmate is bragging, kid screaming, and I'm doing all of this math in my head (can't help it, comes naturally with payroll, reports, etc. I did beforehad), and I proceed to get the first question wrong! To make matters worse, when I reread the question, I knew the answer and it was one of the easier questions.

Now I'm *really* getting concerned, and very nervous, and proceed to get 5 wrong out of the first 11 questions! What's really pissing me off is I knew the answers to 4 of the ones I got wrong, but I was just not testing well and getting easily distracted. So I stopped for a couple of minutes (I had to sit at my seat until I completed the general test and could take a real break only between tests) and breathed and relaxed. This is when I took notice of some headphones sitting right by me which were designed for those who have trouble reading, so the questions can be read to them. So I put those suckers on and it cut down the noise drastically.

Between my small break and cutting the noise down, I proceeded to get 2 more wrong for the rest of the test which is about as well as I could have expected with the general. Now I needed to pass the brake test. I *barely* passed this test, and needed it for my CDL. Upon review, it turns out that some of the questions on the test for brakes were not the same answers as the one for in the book I'm supposed to be using to study for the test (which was a DMV issued book, not the fault of Northampton). As an example, according to the book, if you have a crack in your brake drum as large as 1/4 of an inch, you need to replace it. On the test the correct answer was 1/2 an inch! So it came down to the last question, and I wasn't completely sure of the answer, but I thought it out logically and came up with the right now. I breathed a sense of relief knowing I could now get my CDL no matter what, and took a break.

After I went back, I took the other tests and passed them easily. In fact, I found the Hazmat test to be the easiest and got only one wrong out of 30 questions. What kind of annoyed me about the test was there was no way to get better then 80%. As soon as you hit the amount of correct answers it needed, it would stop the test and give me an 80% and essentially give me no credit for the questions I didn't answer, even if I didn't skip over those questions.

So there's my account of my experience with taking all of those tests. I had 6 tests total, and think that taking them and passing them in a week's time when I hadn't studied this book one iota before starting this class is a testament to the hard work I put into it, but also how well the school did in preparing me for it.

Right now I'm very impressed with the curriculum as am I with my instructor.

 

Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been keeping pretty good studying and going to school. So here's what's going on....

-We have been going over trip planning, which is pretty interesting. I learned a lot since I really didn't know how one would go about planning a trip OTR. Obviously I can use a map to get from point A to point B, but I learned how to provide an ETA on a trip, and how to allow myself a good amount of time to get there, and also to ensure that I'm early in most cases.

-We had to memorize how to test airbrakes and do airbrake leakdowns, and once memorized, we had to write it out in an essay format. As an example:

Start with the wheels chocked, engine off, and full air pressure
Disengage the brakes. After a general leak down, combination vehicle should lose no more then 3 PSI in 1 minute....you get the idea.

-We also had to memorize 3 different scenarios for crossing train tracks, going up and down hills, and emergency stops. We were told we'd have to memorize these things going into class, and it seemed impossible. We went over it so many times that when it came time to do the essays it was very easy, and I didn't miss any points.

That means I'm completely done with the tests and written parts of my class, and finished with a 99.3%, which I'm very pleased with.

-The plan for tomorrow is to finish a trip plan scenario, and go over pre-trip inspection in detail. Once we've done that, we are planning to go into the yard and work with a truck!!!! My understanding is we'll get to sit in the truck (this will be my first time EVER sitting in a big rig) and learn to dry shift so we know get an idea of where the gears are located, and how easy it is to shift.

My instructor says it really only takes two fingers to shift, it's so easy, and there are folks who get so nervous they are gripping the shifter as hard as they can. He wants us to have respect for the truck, but not to be afraid of it. We have to learn to control it, not feel like we are not in control.

 

Another interesting thing to mention is that on Thursday afternoon we have a recruiter from Werner come in. Obviously he made the company sound pretty good to work for, although he was very much automated in his initial presentation of the company. It was obvious he had done this before. The important points I gleaned from his presentation:

-Werner requires you to spend 300 hours teaming up with and driving with a trainer. In essence it's like I'm doing team driving instead of driving solo. I realize all companies do this when somebody gets out of school, but 300 hours is on the higher side. My understanding is they send alot of freight the way of a team, so one might be able to finish training in 4 to 6 weeks.
-They pay $.26 per mile to start after training is completed.
-They have a 2 day orientation, play for the bus trip, breakfast and lunch, and pay for the time you are in orientation.
-They only pay $350 per week for training, which is rough to say the least.
-Beginning salaries at Werner are around $35,000 to $37,000 according to last year's W2 forms for first years. I'm sure this only includes W2s from those who stayed with the company for a year, and excludes all of the folks who left the company early in disgust.
-Medical coverage can begin after the first month, which is a huge plus.
-They only have equipment that is 2008 or younger, and the average age of their vehicles is 1.5 years.
-They have APUs in 95 percent of the vehicles, and should have them in all vehicles by the end of September.
-They are developing a program in which you can determine if you want to stay out for a week and get 1 day off, or 2 weeks and get 2 weeks off, etc. so you have more control over how long you are OTR.
-They have some sort of arbitrator you can contact who keeps track of how training is going, and how you are getting on with your trainer. They claim to be the only company with this type of position, but one has to wonder why they *need* this position to begin with. It sounds like a corporate way of trying to address a serious issue they were having with their trainers and then presenting it as an advantage to new folks they want to recruit.
-They really wanted to emphasize that they are the only company allowed to have paperless logging. It seems like a pretty cool system, and seems like Werner does do some pretty big investments in the future. In that sense they seem pretty smart.