Finished on the trainers truck

I had my first preventable 2 weeks after going solo and the day I got back from home time.
A tight docking situation in Otay Mesa and that stupid low yellow pole was out of sight in my mirrors.
Guess I should have gotten out to look?
I may have noticed it as I was doing the turn around, but then it was out of mind. Then the crunch.

About 5 years in I snagged a low hanging wire with the trailer and ripped it out.
Someone probably didn't have internet for a couple days.
It wasn't hung to regulation specs, but it was my fault anyway.


Gman, never lose some sense of that fear, no matter how long you are out here.
Early accidents are usually caused by inexperience, but those later ones are caused by someone that thinks they have a handle on everything and so gets somewhat complacent.
The correct term is ####y, just like Han told Luke.
That will get censored, so let me restate a valid non-swear word... C - o - c - k - y.
As in... Don't get ####y, kid!

 

And don't forget, a #### is a male chicken. You know, a rooster.

I once was a waiter at a restaurant called #### of the Walk in Pensacola, FL.

 

Sounds nomal. Back in every time you stop. Every time you avoid backing you are putting off the day you are good at backing.

Take your time.

 

You have just completed the toughest part of starting out. Surviving the trainers truck. Congratulations. Others have offered great advise. Just go slow, think though everything, and don’t let anyone make you rush into a mistake.

 

Relax, take your time. Don't throw yourself under the bus. If nobody saw it, it didn't happen.

 

A lot of good advice so far.

In a different vein I will offer this:

WRITE STUFF DOWN

• Write out your directions
• Write out your etas
• write out your availability
• Compare what you thought was your eta at the start of the load to what actually happened. Self anyalis is the basis for improvement. So sayeth every philosopher from Plato and Laozi to me.
• Don't think your phone or tablet will have a signal inside the building. If it isn't preloaded before your go inside, assume it won't load.

GO TO BED

• After you get done for the day you will be tired, but after you get out of the truck, eat dinner etc, you will feel refreshed.
• Youtube and ebooks mess your body's sleep clock
• Make sure you are giving yourself a "bed time" (turns out your parents were right after all)

Use "Active Listening"

• Repeat the instructions the gate guard/shipping clerk gives you. This allows your mind a second chance to understand the instruction and a chance for the guard/clerk to correct misstatements
• When given a number in a xxx-xxx-xxx format, read it back in an -xx-xx-xx-xxx format, it forces the other person to think about what you said
• When told to back into a dock, ask "can I break the seal". 95% of the time you'll get an eye roll and 'yeah, toss it in the back', but 3% of the time the clerk will realize they missed a step in the instructions and 2% of the time you'll remind the brain dead clerk he has to check the friggin seal
• If asked "have you been here before" say "it's been a while, so could you refresh me on things?" This shows you care and avoids them treating you like a newb. Even with a decade under my belt I still answer this way, as it's often more than a few months since I last came into that facility, and who knows what has changed in the meantime and/or what I've forgotten.

Track your pay

• Understand your pay structure
• track miles, accessory pay, etc.
• Figure out which loads pay you the most and which are screwing you.
  • Sometimes the load that "screws you" actually pays pretty darn good
  • Knowing your pay structure allows you to have beneficial conversations with OPs about your best utilization
• Understand which loads are crud but put you in a position for a good load
• Take the good with the bad. Some loads are good, some loads suck, but the sucky ones will stick in your mind. Make an effort to remember the good ones and make sure you are looking at the "big picture" when you are deciding if you are paid decently or not.

 

Just remember you can go down the mountain slowly 1,000 times, you can only go down the mountain fast ONCE slow and steady is fast and safe
Welcome to the best job in the world
#NBA never broke again

 

I have been solo alittle over a year, so I am not far ahead of you.
1. Do not be afraid to ask someone to help spot you. Truckers will seldom just offer their help. They will sit there and watch you struggle if that is what you are doing. But, I have not had a single occasion where, when I asked for spotter help that the aid wasn't gladly given. You gotta ask for it!! But, they will!! Believe me, in my first few months I asked regularly. Never was I given anything but sincere aid when asked. I have, on several occasions in the beginning while trying to back into a tight dock, gone and knocked on the door of a truck next to me. Always got help and never had anyone who seemed off-put by it. Not saying that may not happen. But, it has never happened to me. I was always rendered spotting aid when I asked for it.
2. NEVER EVER, be too lazy or proud to get out and look! Numerous times if you think you need to!!!
3. Be extra careful when it is dark. I found it is much harder to see when it is dark and requires EXTRA caution (I had 2 minor preventables in my first month at truck stops with a contributing factor of it being dark).
4. I drive out West where grades are common. DO NOT try and go down a grade at a speed faster than you are comfortable. Other trucks are going to zoom past you and you'll think they must be suicidal at the speed they are going. But, don't be tempted to speed up beyond what you feel comfortable. In time, on its own, your ability to manage grades will improve. Let that happen on its own time frame. Being pushed down a grade by gravity in the beginning was one of the things that scared the bejeezus out of me. But, with time and experience, I became more comfortable with the whole thing and without even realizing it, I was able to be comfortable at better speed. However, I drive a reefer and am often pretty heavy (my usual gross is approved 77k), I still tend to be slower than many others, but with being heavy that's appropriate anyway.
5. My first month solo SUCKED!! I was stressed out every day to the point of crying and thinking I made a mistake even thinking I could do this. Second month was still stressful, but just a bit better. Around my 3rd month, my stress levels started declining and after around 6 months I really started to enjoy it all. I'm starting my 14th month solo now and so glad I stuck it all out.
6. I hope you get a truck with a radar system that fusses at you when you are too close to the vehicle in front of you. In my opinion, one of the biggest differences between driving a 4 wheeler and a rig is the following distance needed to be safe. Even empty, you are usually over 10 times heavier than those 4 wheelers and all that inertia and momentum means you need more following distance. Those radar systems help teach that and get you acquainted with better, safer following distance. Do not be begrudgen to it. Use it as a tool to help you learn how to be a safer driver.
7. Priorites!!! My priorities are 1. Being Safe. 2. Being Legal. 3. Getting my load to the destination on-time. I encourage you to never sacrifice safety and legality for a load. It is your soul in that truck, not the dispatchers. It is your driving record, not your dispatchers. If your company does anything to even hint at coercing you to drive when you do not feel it is safe FOR YOU!!! or to get you to run more than your legal hours, they are simply not worth working for to begin with. And, right now there is a driver shortage, so you are not stuck at any company you are having issues with.

Otherwise, good luck to you. This site and the folks on here really really helped me. I encourage you to come here often, post any 'stupid' questions you think you have. There are alot of good souls here and they will help immeasurably if you give them the chance.

 

There is some good advice already posted here - and I agree with most of it.
As others have already stated - there are two things in particular that you need to pay close attention to and do every single day;

1. Take your time and do NOT get in a hurry!
2. Get Out and Look (GOAL) and do it as many times as it takes

Also - if you want to improve your skills sooner then you can and should continue to practice. What that means is do not just work on backing and close maneuvering when you have to do so at a shipper/receiver etc. but go out of your way to find opportunities to get some extra practice in on your own when you can.

Just be courteous and use common sense (don't block up the customer's yard or the truckstop unnecessarily) and instead find an out of the way place to practice when you can.

 

I should also add something that should be self-evident, but dang if it is not a big cause of a lot of preventables. Watch your clearances. I was scanning over some of these replies and started to keep a mental list of all the situations where a driver simply got ate up with the (redacted). The below images I can't confirm if any are real.






Please!!!! Don't be one of these kinds of truckers. If I took the time I could post 30 more such photos and gifs. Stay safe, think before you do. Drive and deliver, then bring it home safe and sound! That is how you have a long career!