Took out a road sign on my CDL road test today...Now what?

Welcome to life. This is how things are, and they are unlikely to change anytime soon.

The fact is, only one person is responsible for hitting that sign and its you. We can build a time machine and examine the past from now to the end of time and we will never change that fact. It happened and you can't change it. But you can #### sure waste a bunch of your time and energy trying to make it "not your fault" instead of using that time and energy in a more productive manner.

Me personally, I don't think feelings are important or anyone else's business really. I keep seeing these billboards that say "All Feelings Are Valid" which cannot possibly be true. If all feelings are valid then all ideas are valid, and this is simply not possible. I understand that I now live in a world preoccupied by feelings. But guess what? Feelings can't teach you how to drive a truck. Feelings can't do anything at all actually. If you are dependent on feeling a specific feeling in order to act in a specific manner, you are screwed because feelings are inherently irrational and not necessarily connected to reality. This is a fact that we cannot change.

But feelings can absolutely influence you to waste your time and energy in ways that are counterproductive. But when you take an action that is counterproductive, the feeling didn't do it. You did it.

I'm a rookie and pretty much the entire process of obtaining my CDL and starting work with a mega and getting to the point of relative competence felt uncomfortable. So what? I had a goal and I committed to it and I wasn't going to be stopped. Period. And I'm not done. Everyday I'm working on my skills, even if I don't feel like it. I absolutely hated studying for the pre-trip. So what? Was I going to let that stop me? Heck no! To this day I hate trying to find parking and squeezing in at truck stops. Is that going to stop me? Nope.

But this ain't about me, it's about you. There's no power in being a victim. There's virtually unlimited power in owning your situation, your mistakes, and your feelings and acting in the manner that will result in YOU getting what YOU want. Everything else is mostly background noise in my opinion.

There's no need for a rebuttal. I typed a bunch of stuff that cannot possibly help you unless you glean something from it and make it your own and act on it. Maybe I just like to watch myself type and use a bunch of words to say not much of anything at all. But I've been where you are and I'm a little farther down the road you are going down and I'm telling you that if I took the time and energy to worry about my stupid feelings I would not be where I am and where I am is no great accomplishment. Yet. This is a grind. You are either a grinder or you aren't. If you aren't, this is a great opportunity to become one. But you can't grind from your comfort zone, especially not at first.

And motivation is crap to quote David Goggins. I'm not trying to motivate anyone. Inspiration and motivation always wear off. What then? That's when you find out what you are made of. Can you be the source of your own motivation? I can tell you from experience that your mental and philosophical approach can make a huge difference in the actions you take, and the actions you take or do not take tell the whole story. Feelings don't tell the story at all.

 

guess you missed the part about the car pulling out on him midturn and him adjusting to the change in circumstances.

 

pass the test, you still have to go to the dmv. there IS time between those two.....

I

 

NEVER NEVER NEVER get in a hurry. You're not walking across the street. You're not in a car going to pickup your friends. You are driving the biggest baddest piece of equipment on the highway so take your time even if it chaps the popes ###. Do it right. You have to be the grownup. You have to be the person watching out for everyone else and sometimes that means not making the turn when you might have made it. It's very simple. Go slow and do the safe thing. Most newbies get in a hurry and panic. Take a deep breath and slow down. As time goes on it will become second nature and speed will come.

 

@VinnyVincent dont get discouraged mistakes happen. I will tell ya besides watching videos on making turns, go get ya a small tractor trailer and practice. It might sound silly but I have found that it gives the student a basic understanding on how tractor trailer works. Btw did you went to the dps near hwy 3.

 

Did you get to re-test?

 

Yep it was highway 3. The next test is scheduled in March at the N location off 45 and Veterans

 

I have to wait until my lawyer settles the ticket I got. If I pass the CDL test before the court date, he won't be able to get the ticket off my driving record.

 

Are you going to rent a smaller trailer with a single axle tractor.

 

All my backing practice is on the dual axle, plus I think most of the rental trucks for testing are automatics?

I could maybe look into renting just a trailer. Not sure how the insurance would work on that, though.
Honestly I think I've got it in the 53'...I just made a stupid split second decision trying to make the turn with the car there. From now on I'll always wait.