How did you learn to drive?

the "dutch" way.

 

i walked up to a driver one night, he was surrounded by a few others bsing in the parking lot. i was 3 sheets to the wind and ready for a fight. but out of curiosity i wanted to see if the fella smaller than my size 5ft 3in. wanted to fight. as i walked toward him i said "hey little man!" is this yellow peice of junk yours?" with all 6 guys hearing my insult fly,,the biggest turned to me and grabbed the beer out of my hand saying, "you aint worth the time or red tape! Get back to the bar before i smash ya." now this guy was 6ft 8in, better than 300 lbs. v/s my size. I told him flat out i wasn't talking to him. another average sized man stepped toward me and before he could say anything i pushed passed him, reaching for the little guy behind the giant. "hey shrimp! Is this #### bird yellow piece of trash yours?" The big giant grabbed at my collar and began to lift me off the ground one handed, just as my heart pounded in my ears, my feet just shy of 3 inches off the ground, my collar choking me,,,,,the little guy said "this yellow truck is mine and you have no call disrespecting me or my truck since i know nothing about you." he tapped the giant on the arm and the giant put me on the ground, holding my shoulders so i didnt move. talk about rethinking the fighting thing. the little guy said "fine if you think my truck is trash, then i place a bet here and now. you be here at this spot precisely in 2 weeks, sober, clean and ready to ride. then you will see.
2 weeks later i showed up. same spot, same time, and sat there waiting...and waiting,,,after 5hrs he finally showed. driving up behind me. he said alright good to see you keep your word. now get in the passenger side, and you drive when i get tired, not more than that. that was 1992

 

Self taught. When I was 20 (1995) I took a job at a small ma and pop trucking company. I washed trucks and trailers. I changed tires and changed oil. I practiced coupling, backing and shifting. When I turned 21 the boss offered to pay for my CDL. Only road training I had was moving trailers from the main yard to the storage yard. 2 miles on a country road all by myself. No licensed driver riding with me. I took my driving test 3 months after I got my permit. Passed and was given a $5 an hour raise immediately.

 

Running from the cops.Old pete was the only thing around so I jumped in and figured it out.

 

1971 my dad laid aholt of me and threw me into the river and yelled "sink or swim boy". Oh wait a minute that was how I learned how to swim.
Well learning to drive a truck was pretty much about the same story only it involved an old Mack Cabover with a quadraplex transmission and a Thermodyne engine. I seem to remember a lot of cussing and hollering also.

 

Didn't even get thrown the keys. They stay in the trucks. Boss said take that truck hook on that hopper and get these bins to the elavator by friday. I had never even been in a truck before. That was 2 years ago now I run 3000 a week and still work on the farm.

 

I find it very interesting that so far the poll is revealing that 38% of drivers either went to driving school or were taught by a company, significantly less than half. This should be a wake up call to those that are considering getting into the industry. IMHO schools seem to be set up to train folks to pass the DMV, to then supply fresh recruits for major carriers, who in turn have high driver turnover built into their business models. This is a money making machine, with insurance companies as the boogeyman in the closet to scare new recruits into forking over their money for training.

There is nothing in government requirements that says you have to attend a school to get your CDL. Anybody can get their CDL on their own. You get a medical exam, pass the written exam, and pass the driving exam... you have a CDL.

Training to drive a truck is done one on one with a "trainer", which can be a relative, friend, or someone you networked to find. In the "old days" this was an O/O looking to hire a codriver or driver for a 2nd or 3rd truck. This still applies today. Now large carriers seem to have scared every newbie into believing that graduating from an accredited school is a requirement. This is not true.

 

Farm boy here. Been running equipment since I could reach the clutch. Our first truck was a piece of crap International transtar ll cab over. Rode in it with my brother all the time. Said I wanted nothing to do with driving truck when riding in that pile. No power steering no a/c hot as heck all the time. But low and behold I drove the #### thing a few times before I hauled it to the scrap yard. I really learned to drive on a T-600 decent truck. Ha I remember it had a big can Cummins and single straight stack on passenger side must had like 4:11 gears cause running the interstate at 65 or 70 that thing was screaming at 2000 rpm or better. I loved passing trucks cause that straight stack screaming always scared the drivers. First love was a 377 Pete my brother bought cause he wanted a good truck welliI pretty much called dips on that truck and I put a lot of miles on it hauling grain.

 

LEPTON1, THANK YOU. IT took me less than two weeks to learn to drive but in the right way of driving,,,,it took me 6 months to learn how to HANDLE a truck the right way. thru ice & snow throughout the northern states. through sand storms across the desert plains, and a tornado or two on the east coast. never would step away from that knowledge if someone tried to buy my life away. there is no replacing the training I received in my 1st year not just from the little man I spoke of, but from all the veteran drivers that I ran with, spoke with, worked with for months on end. Thank you again. and be safe out there.
"BAYOU BABY" AKA "CAJUN TROUBLE"