Recent newbies

My first night out with a trainer, I had to take 94 through Milwaukee and Chicago during the pm rush with a heavy load of paper rolls. By the time we got parked in Gary that night, my trainer almost needed a crowbar to pry my hands off the wheel. I was such a wreck that night that I could barely walk.

But I quickly learned, as you will, that it's not half as hard as I thought it would be.

 

I used to be a surgical nurse... Trucking still makes me sweat, to many unknowns. Unless Dr Oooops was in the room.

 

You should be nervous for the first couple weeks. That should fade into simply being aware of your surroundings.

If, after a month, you are experiencing strong anxiety when performing basic maneuvering, then trucking may not be for you.

Even after years of driving, there are going to be scary situations. There is one VERY narrow bridge that I cross now and then that make me pucker up at both ends when there's another truck on the bridge passing me going the other way.

Every time I make a delivery to Norfolk, NE from the East, I cross that bridge after leaving the interstates and moving onto secondary roads.

 

Many folks out here that should not be driving a truck, they scare me more than you can imagine. The four wheelers are the least of my concern. The ELDs will just, and are, exasperating the situation.

 

After nearly 7 years I still get nervous.
And I would have it no other way.

The moment you stop being afraid is the moment you start making mistakes.
And from the reports I have seen, it is those drivers with 4-5 years experience, or more, that cause many accidents.
They get too confident and overlook the smaller details.

I am more confident in my abilities at this point, but I still take my time when backing or turning.
I can hit the mark with fewer corrections, and get into docks that would have left me speechless a few years ago.
But I still have that sense of... what am I missing.
And I think it is what keeps me safe.



Don't worry about backing in to a spot at a busy truck stop.
They will wait as you back, and back correctly.
Get out and look as many times as you need, and make them wait. Maybe they will learn something.
Your career is dependent on how careful you are - never forget that.
When you try to rush things, bad things happen.

 

Are you really nervous, or just careful? There is a big difference. You can be confident and careful, but It's not possible to be confident and nervous.

 

I guess some people just have to bring in electronic logs into every thread.

Plan your time correctly and they don't matter!

From my point of view it is those drivers that try to stretch their time so much that they can not run legally.
They want to push things so hard to make that extra buck that they can not get a handle on simply being a safe driver.
They tailgate other vehicles trying to get more miles.
And all the while they are texting while driving.
Scum of the trucking industry, and I see them all too often.

 

The metal gated bridge? Where you lucky enough to go on it when they had half closed with tarps? It sucked the cones was so close you either hit the cones or the tarps or the side of the bridge

 

I am still nervous to some degree.

Less now than when I started, but it is still there.
And while I can be confident of a situation, I can still be nervous of the outcome. There can always be that one little mistake that takes it all down.

Being more careful is the first step.
But beyond that is being/staying nervous enough to double and triple check yourself.