Looks like I'm headed for DTS

Hi Horton72

I'm glad my posts are being seen. The reason I started posting is because I couldn't find any info about DTS and very little about System Transport.

We'll definitely meet up when you start on the 10th. My class will be on week 4 at that point, so we'll be out in the yard all day while you're doing classroom for half the day and yard for half the day. Looks like you've got a bigger class than ours. I think one guy said 20 people signed up so far.

 

Last couple of days have flown by.

The class started on offset and 90° backing. I nailed the offset back repeatedly while the other guys were out driving. My turn to drive sucked. I was stuck in a truck that nobody likes (not even the instructors) because it's hard to shift. this truck is not normally used for road driving, but the Idaho truck was in Coeur d'Alene so the Idaho seniors could take their driving tests. More on that in a moment.

Needless to say, my shifting sucked, so I got flustered, and then my driving sucked.

Next day was all road driving for me. I took my evaluation drive on what's called the "Airway Heights Loop". I got a 94. I seem to have an aversion to looking in the right mirror when I do my mirror checks.

After the evaluation, I got my first taste of what's called the "Maple Loop". I didn't do so well on that one. I just kept making stupid mistakes. One of which was to shift into 9th on a long uphill stretch of the freeway. The engine bogged down, and one of the other students blew past me in another truck.... pretty cool for him.... I'll never hear the end of it.


Saturday class was mostly concentrated on doing 90s with each person getting in one road drive. I took the Maple Loop for the second time and did much better. The instructor even said it was a good drive. My 90s were nothing to write home about, though.


The school....

All the seniors have tested at this point. From the Washington group three failed and two passed. Two of the fails retested the next day and passed. From the Idaho group three passed and one failed. I don't think the Idaho guy can retest until another group from Idaho goes over to test. That will be about three weeks from now.

We'll have a week with the seniors out of the way and no new class started yet. I'm hoping this translates into some concentrated driving and backing.

 

Maple Loop:

Exit yard

Take overpass across I-90

Take W Geiger Blvd into town (becomes S Geiger)

S Geiger become W sunset and then becomes W 3rd Ave

Take a right at 3rd and Maple

Take the onramp onto I-90 heading west

Take exit 276 onto S Grove Rd

Take a left onto S Geiger

Follow Geiger back the way you came.


If I'm hearing right, you get to do this loop 5 times. 5th time you will be evaluated.



After that, you get to do a Division loop twice:

Leave the yard

Take I-90 east

Take exit 281 onto S Division

Head North on Division

N Division splits off into N Ruby

Take a left on Mission (I think. I wasn't really paying attention to street signs when I rode along for that one.)

Take a left on N Division and head south

Veer off at Spokane Falls Blvd and take a left on Browne St

Take the onramp back on to I-90 heading west.

Take exit 276 onto S Grove Rd

Take a left onto S Geiger and head back to the yard just like the Maple loop.


After that, it's all "free" driving... wherever the instructor feels like having you drive.

 

Tomorrow (Monday) will be the first day with the morning and afternoon classes integrated and no senior students. It should prove interesting. There will be more driving going on with more time to do it... but also more students vying for attention. Since the two halves of class haven't really interacted at all up to this point, it might take a day or two for the dust to settle.


When the new class starts on the 10th, the important thing to remember is that the main focus will be getting your learner permits. Any time out in the yard will really just be getting used to being around the trucks and observing. The focus will be on our class driving and backing.

Once you have your permits, the second week will still be focused on us driving but squeezing you guys in as time allows. It will be exciting because you get to do some driving, and it will be frustrating because you don't get to do as much driving as you'd like.

The first half of the third week will be the Washington seniors testing out which means very little in the way of driving and a lot of hanging around and being quiet. The reward is that by Thursday you'll have the place all to yourselves and by Friday you'll be done with classroom time.

This is where my class is at right now. Up to this point I've done more straight line backing than I care to remember, one afternoon of offset backing, three attempts at 90° backing (Saturday class), one lesson moving forward with shifting, and seven loop drives.

That's actually quite a bit of driving for only being second week in. If I had known what to expect I'm sure I would have been a lot less frustrated.

 

It's two days into integrated class and all driving. Things are going pretty well. Guys who have been missing drive time are catching up, and everybody is getting solid backing time in.

Monday was split for me. I spent the morning backing and the afternoon I took a drive. Today I got in two drives. The second was my evaluation on the Maple loop. I scored a 92, but the instructor shook my hand and said I had really showed some improvement.

I'm pretty happy with my driving these last two days. I've got a lot of work yet to do, but I can definitely see where things are getting better each time I drive.

 

During lunch break yesterday, I talked to the System recruiter. Things look pretty good for me slipping right into a regional gig (11 Western and Canada) if I can get my passport together in time.

I'm liking the idea of home every weekend even if the money is not as good as OTR.

 

Evaluated on the Division loop today. I only scored an 87, but I was pretty happy with the drive. It's a tough loop, and I was with the hardest instructor in the worst truck to shift. I got the highest eval of the three he did on that loop today.

Now it's on to free driving.

Tomorrow we begin evaluation on vehicle inspection in the morning and go take our endorsement tests in the afternoon.