Quality Drivers School - Celadon Trucking - Indianapolis, IN - 2013

They determine that solely on the diameter of your neck. Mine is 20 inches - I mean - look at my profile pic.... I have no neck. We are the no-neck Irving's from Escanaba, MI lol.

The other part of that is, my BP went through the roof that morning. The nurse tested my left arm for about 5 minutes. Then decided to try the right. She had that cuff pumped up so tight that I thought my arm was going to pop off. Anyway, because I was slightly above 140/90 143/92 to be exact, they gave me a 3 month with a sleep study requirement before recertification. That is all, no big deal. Peace.

 

Well, another day down at Quality Drivers/Celadon. Today I learned that I can offset and parallel. So, now I am being moved to the intermediate level on the range. I have also been told that I will get to start driving on the road tomorrow. The really cool thing I learned today is that this 10 hours minimum road time requirement isn't a requirement. It is the expected amount of time it will take you to learn the skills for road driving. If you are scoring 4 and 5 out of 5 when you are on the road, you will be considered ready for your road test. Once you can pass their straight line, offset, and parallel course, the pre-trip inspection, and road practice tests there at the school, they will send you to test. Yay! I hope I do well on the road tomorrow....... Peace.

 

Thursday, Day 14 - I got to drive on the road today. I also found out that you CAN NOT float gears on the test in Indiana. I can do that decently. I can double-clutch going up decently. Coming down, HELL NO! Ok, not that bad, but I really struggled with double-clutching going down. LOTS of grinding and often not getting it in gear. The clutch - neutral - release & rev - clutch n shift is just not wanting to work in my head yet. All I know is, I see a situation I need to be slowing down for and it isn't happening fast enough for my comfort level. Then, all I want to do is brake.... Which is wrong. So, I need to work hard on that.

The next thing I need to work on is stopping before the line at a stop light. And finally, I had a couple times of wanting to turn too early. So, in my first hour on the road, driving a rig, I don't think it was too bad. I was able to shift up fairly smoothly, and brake generally smooth. Range switch flowed smoothly for me. I didn't run over any curbs or medians. I didn't kill anyone. I kept proper spacing. I was shifting focus from near, far, left, and right. I will focus on my key issues and it should all come together.

I also got on the range again today. AND I SUCKED SOOOOO BAD! I don't know how I can do it near perfect yesterday, and just suck today - but I did. Oh well. I know I can do it, because I did it yesterday. I will regain my focus and nail it tomorrow. Good night for now, all! Peace.

 

Greetings all! It is Sunday evening, 07-21-2013 and I am sitting here taking a break from studying pre-trip to say hi. I spent the weekend at home, and got back here to the hotel @ 5. Ate dinner, and been relaxing in the room with a study guide. I finally feel rested after last week and the heat wave we went through here. It is supposed to be cooler this week - we shall see. Anyway, it is time to pack it in and think about sleep. This week is the "prove you can pass the test" week so I have to get my A game going. Good night and God bless. Peace.

 

Thanks, Simon Sez. Week 4 started today. I was told today that my road scores are good and if I do well on the range the next couple of tries then I will go test on Wednesday. I REALLY want to go test on Wednesday! I feel like I have pumped my head full of information and it is ready to explode all over the examiner. So, on to pre-trip study for the rest of the night and then off to polish range skills tomorrow. Sleep well. Peace.

 

Sorry to leave you all hanging - I have passed all my required tests! I am officially a Class A CDL holder. I have been through testing and orientation with Celadon. Did that last week. Now I am waiting for a trainer to go out with.

The trainer I was assigned last Friday was sent to TX over the weekend and not expected to arrive in Indianapolis until Thursday or Friday. So, I am waiting here at the house for word that he is here.

My final thoughts regarding Quality Drivers:
The school is very good, but designed more like a go-at-your-own-pace program. The first week is all classroom to study the CDL manual and acquire the permit. Then it is up to your skills on the range and road. The quicker you pick everything up, the sooner you are sent to test. If you have an attitude or if you sit around complaining, that is exactly where you will be left. They work with the students who want to succeed. I know, that seems rhetorical, but it is very true. There are people there who think they should be handed everything including their CDL. They act like it isn't something to be earned. I watched this happen over and over again. People who you hear complain about the school are typically people who didn't get in the truck and practice when they had a chance. They didn't try hard and ask questions. They just sat around on the lot, collecting their food card at the end of the week, and complained about how unfair everything is. The instructors are there to assist you, not do it for you. They made it very clear that they aren't there to babysit but to teach. They have strict rules and they will enforce them. As with anything, it is what you make it. I would say that if you are a self-motivated person who will work hard to achieve what you want, you will really like their program. I know I did.

I will continue talking about my time with Celadon as a trainee and then as a solo when I get in to that phase, hopefully tomorrow. So, stay tuned and Peace.

 

They did it completely based on my neck circumference. Had me do a home test overnight at the hotel, then gave me the CPAP machine. I have 10 weeks until I have to start paying for it. The total cost of the test, CPAP, and exams was $1200. That is way less than the $5000 I was quoted through the place my doctor wanted me to go to....... Of course, I wasn't sent to an overnight full study either. CPAP is doing it's job, but I don't really feel any different since receiving it.