Stopped by police

most police are sympathetic to the trucker, in my experience. They know a couple of simple tickets for someone else might cost you your job.


K

 

Watch that thought, when you are in the big rig I hear (Know for a fact in Indiana) they are pulling over big rigs for speeding or anything they catch you doing wrong! There has been so many fatalities lately they are watching ya guys. SO please make sure your logs are current and legal!
I know Indiana had it on the news they was not tolerating speeding from truckers. In Indiana we had several issue's with truck drivers that involved death or possible death. 1 story I might post on accidents or something casue you guys would die if you didn't hear it, well maybe you would you have heard allot of stuff so it might not suprise you!
Anyhow I just wanted to say please make sure you don't speed (well we all do, but please be carefull)

 

I only have ever had one negative experience with a police officer and that was in Hoboken, NJ. Guy was being a real "you-know-what".

 

Funny I should happen across this thread....
Today was my first "real" day of CDL school..(yesterday just spent half the day getting paperwork done, medical & drug test.)
The school I decided to go with a school that is ran by a family friend, so a little break on the tuitition, + I went and studied and received my learner's permit PRIOR to sign up, so that cut a HUGE chunk of time and school expence out.
Anywho...
DAY 1.. 12 noon Today I am the only student.
did a walk around semi-informal pretrip, Q & A, discuss all that goes along with it.. (45-1hour).
I did a few idle offs, trying diff. gears get a lil feel for it...time to swap seats...
Instructor drives to a local deserted industrial park.. swap seats..

Pick a gear...I choose 3rd....WHAT? ya 3rd I said...hmm ok giver a try..
bblllaaaaa CLUNK engine dies.. silence.. i look over.. he says, you read the books I gave ya right, ya studied this pattern for a couple hrs..
OK then what are you doing wrong? look down clutch in wigle shifter outta 3rd....ok it WAS in 3rd.. !*$*@($# ok ok I flip lo-hi switch, how 'bout we try 3rd this time eh? he laffs, I bet the next time you'll either look of feel for it, Before you pop a gear right? STRIKE 1 on me..
motored around mainly goin up and down through the gears to get an "ear" for the engine while tach gawking... went a lil ruff at first but got the swing after about an hour...
(Hardest part for me is not double-clutching, it's just getin' the R's up enuff to drop down 2 gears.. 1 gear pretty easy just a burp, 2 will require a bit more practice.)
Things went real well for the first 3 hrs., never off tracked into any snowbanks, and no broked teethin the trans.... Hey, this ain't all that tuff...outta the blue he stays STOP! STOP! NOW! whoa..... no gearing down... ride the brake drag the engine down listen to the jake sing...Inch to a stop.. slight drive wheel skid... hey.. not bad.. not bad at all.... no mind you.. while these roads had been plowed, they were still snow and ice covered over 80% diff lock is disengagued, empty '53 van.
we pull into a lot, set brakes, let it idle and start setting up some cones.. a few straight backs, at 14' wide..a 'lil easy for me..( I tow a '24 travel trailer behind my envoy all summer long so backing a truck, while a bit different, isn't all that hard.) the tuffest part is the depth perception at 60'. Instructor tells me, I want the trailer drop-bar centered between the last pair of cones, not past, nor too far forward, I give you 3' leeway towards the cab.. only failed the blind 90degree back due to not "goaling" it.(Get Out And Look well in my defense it was an empty lot, but still no excuse.) reset all the cones to 10' did all the drills again...No cones killed..
WOO_HOO! lol
End of day...
Total actual wheel time - 4.5 hrs.
Total mistakes - 4 mishifts, 2 recovered 1 backing


Tommorrow 9-4:30
will have to slip seat with another student for 2 hours as he/her is on a limited schedule,(can only go 2 hrs. every 3rd day or so.)
so from11:00 on is my wheel time with a short break for chow.
I was asked how I felt.....tuff call
One hand, I'm finally learning to do something I've always wanted to to ...Drive a Rig!
Other hand, I am TRYING to drive a rig lol.....
20seconds after I slipped behind the wheel, I realized, there is MUCH more to this than just driving.... control & split second decisions are the norm. In time I hope they become 2nd nature, just as they did in IMCA.
Best of luck to ya'll..
My humblest respect for those who drive day to day...hats off gents & ladies.

Nos
(going to soak my left leg can't wait to get my cdl an not have to clutch each an every gear..)

 

I hear ya... (by the way, this complex is 1/2mile x 1/2mile, with maybe 10-15 different buildings with multiple access roads, loading docks and the like, so it's not just 1 parking lot.)
While it was deserted for the most part, the south side was occupied, so there was SOME traffic to contend with, but this is at no more than 25 m.p.h. . ON the north side wide open, with all the control signs an what not. Still lots of room..more than enuff to cycle up to 8th.
On the + side, the local DMV is closed this coming Monday, so I was told if all goes as well as today, that he'd take me up there and set up exactly as they will come test day, so I can get a bead on my turns an counter steering out...basicly give me a full on test, from pretrip on through to road test So I can gauge my progress and work on what might be lacking..

Leg still sore as all heck...epsom salt works wonders tho...LMAO! :smt023

 

As far as trucking, I drive the 'left' coast quite a bit, and you can do 62-63 mph in CA wihtout getting a ticket if you 'don't pass' anybody (the 55 mph is to let 4-wheelers pass!), but OR will nail you for 60+ mph---and since they don't recognize Prepass (but use its signals to log you, they call theirs Green&Go ) will give you a ticket theoretically for 55+, since with all the hills & mountains, to avg 55 mph you must be speeding somewhere!!!

 

I just got to the "left" coast for the first time in a rig, figured out the Cali speed thing pretty quick, tho I keep 'er at 60 just to be safe.

When you say OR doesn't recognize pre-pass, does that mean you can't by-pass even if you get a green? Or do they use it for both purposes?

I ask because I may end up going through there to get back to the right side of the world.

OH! And why the * does Cali not have mile markers on the interstates? They have them on CA-58, and CA-99. CA-58 isn't even 4-lanes the whole way, and CA-99 is really just a connection between Sac, and Blondiewood.