mistakes that let everyone know youre a rookie

If you can spend 4 days of following the planned route, and never TOUCH a highway that begin with "I", you might be a Roehl driver!

 

I saw a rookie move today. Dude came to dock a trailer across from where I was unloading. Tight docks and ya gotta jackknife the tractor otherwise the tractor will be sitting in the street when you bump the dock. Anyways this kid took about 20 minutes to get into his door only to realize that he forgot to open the trailer doors. Poor kid had to pull all the way out, open his doors and then back in again.

 

Hahaha, I've done that. Most of our trailers are roll doors so a person kind of gets into a habit of not having to think about it.

 

I opened one door once at AB in Williamsburg, VA....that was a half-arsed move....

 

A good rookie mistake is to figure out what foot to use when you start to climb into a cab over. And some conventionals. Or where there isn't a deck plate, and the guy just found out that his feet almost touch the ground , when you straddle the drive line. Or throws a chain or the hook side of a strap and nails somebody that was standing on the other side of the load. Then the team.. Co driver sleeping, driver stops in rest area, go to head. wakes co driver. He gets out, driver comes back.. Drives off leaving co driver.

 

I left my brother last week in Arizona. Got bout 30 miles down the road. And got a call. I said why you calling me from the bunk. He said I'm at the truck stop. Doh!!!

 

As they say... Crap happens.. Some put their boots or shoes next to the driver. No boots co driver gone.

 

I left my heart in San Francisco, and my brother in Arizona. Tony Bennett goes country.

 

Here's a good rookie mistake that the old guy tried to do. Was pulling a 9 axle with a big transformer. Stopped to do some dust control, finished . Didnt even think about it, climbed back in my truck , didnt see my pilot car guy standing between my trailer and booster axles in back, started to leave.. Saw something in my mirror. Poor escort guy almost got run over. Thank God I didn't.

 

Still to easy to miss. Put your pillow on the wheel, they won't miss noticing that!