Chattanooga State TTC Commercial Truck Driving

well, today started the beginning of my second week in CDL training. i can say without a doubt, Chattanooga State technical community college has the best instructors ever. they are all former drivers, and since the school has a 3rd party state testing license (we do the DOT test on site, the DOT has the testing schedule and has shown up for supervising tests before), the instructors are riding with you every day and they know where each person is weakest.

from the moment we were taken out bobtail for the first time, the teacher treated each person behind the wheel as if we had the trailer. you all remember the usual phrases......push pull, both hands firmly on the wheel, let the wheel slide when coming out of a turn, grab that shifter firmly, scan the trailer every 2 t0 3 seconds when making a turn, 8 to 10 seconds when driving straight, speed takes away distance........... you all get the point.

they are not taking us on any of that sissy interstate driving. they take us downtown in the real world, in real traffic. i have been cut off, tailgated to no end, honked at, stared at, cussed and we all just laugh about that.

they have informed us what an instant failure is on the test, such as running over a curb. and while they preach and teach you to set yourself up for the turns using all available space, there are real situations you will get in that there is just no avoiding these things. key areas are when they ask a question, and when you answer correctly, it is followed by "Remember that." so that tells me this area is going to be a part of my road test.

downshifting is a huge part of what they teach along with everything else. speed takes away distance, so use all your available space. even though this is just the start of the second week, it has already helped me exponentially behind the wheel.

the funny thing about the real world situations, is the second day hauling a trailer, one of the trucks went down. so it was taken to be repaired, and a "spare" was used to run around in town. well, the spare had worn out syncronizers in the transmission as well as a bad throwout bearing. it kicked out of second religiously, took 3 tries to get it in 5th, and being a 10 speed, 7th wasnt any more kind than 2nd. talk about pissing me off in a right hand turn in the middle of the lunch rush hour downtown. halfway creeping in a turn it throws itself out of second LOL

we were cut a lot of slack for having to do hand over hand steering with one hand while grabbing a gear in the middle of an intersection while halfway through a turn.

it is like they told each of us in that truck that afternoon, if you can drive this junk and deal with the problems, you got it made. man was that so much the truth. the other truck got fixed and one that was borrowed by the other campus was returned, and now it feels like i have been doing this 15 years compared to the junk we used that first day.

overall, the two biggest habits i have to work on breaking is using a finger to turn the turn signals on and off, and to remember to SLOW DOWN SLOW DOWN when setting yourself up for a turn. there are 6 weeks total, so this is just the beginning. i look forward to more instruction from a great school.

i only wish each driver had the change to attend such a fine institution with excellent trainers. if anyone lives remotely close to Chattanooga, Tennessee and you want an A1 driving school to attend, check out the program they have here.

the 95% PRE grad hire rate isnt too bad either.

more to come.............................

Rob

 

sorry for the late reply, but they would like you to have the permit. if you do not, you get backing and parking practice until you get the permit. the only downside to this is that the first day everyone goes out driving, it is bobtail to get a feel for the tractor. if you do not have your permit then, you get thrown behind the wheel of the tractor and trailer, and that is more intimidating for many people.

 

the final weeks were really no different than the first few weeks really. there are some who catch on with the turning of the trucks and some who do not.

i was in the truck far more than many of the other students, i had my permit from day one. there were some that still did not have the permit halfway through the class. now i do not know if they changed that rule, but they need to if they have not already done so.

i say that because i was always out there navigating the downtown roads here in chattanooga, and i was hardly ever able to get any practice docking and parallel parking and yes, those are on the final road test.

my last 4 days of the class i spent on the yard for the entire day doing the parking sections.

the last week is tough on some. the instructor sits in the jump seat, and says nothing. it is up to you to decide when to turn and the instructor will only step in if you are about to screw up or get into a situation that could be bad.

they require that the student give "commentary driving" as well. when the DOT testing starts, one of the instructors is state certified to administer the road test. you dont have to go to the DOT unless you are an out of state resident. then you have to do it in your home state (I.E. alabama or georgia) and they take you down there in the school truck for the test.

i wont say what the road test course consists of, but i will say that what they have you doing downtown with the turns and setting up for the turns makes the road test a cakewalk.

when test week approaches, they schedule you in there one at a time. you wont see anyone who is being tested that day, as they are gone before you ever get there. they do that to prevent the test route from being handed down.

tell her to JUST PAY ATTENTION and its really not that bad. i wish her the best of luck

Rob