OMG, but did I meet a sad driver today!

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by ethos, Sep 27, 2016.

  1. Lucy in the Sky

    Lucy in the Sky Medium Load Member

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    I had about 10 hours tractor trailer experience when my boss sent me 1500 miles to upstate new york. Could barely shift, couldn't back my way out of a paper bag, and had a 7 year old 4 wheeler GPS and thought atlas' were from a by gone Era.

    But you know what...I managed to come back home with the loads delivered and no scratches on the paint. I taught myself everything mainly from watching how other drivers did things (especially backing) and got great advise and help from several good natured drivers.

    Is the training route safer? Of course. But it's not as though all who get thrown to the wolves never come out alive
     
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  3. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    As much as this is part of the problem, I am in the belief that the road test is way way too easy and the written needs more mechanical questions added and I am thinking after interviewing a lot of drivers who can follow directions and/or read a map, map reading should be added too.

    I interviewed for a local job here a few years back, the manager of the place said no nav units to be used for his test. The test was to describe turn by turn directions to common places here in the area, like the casinos. I didn't have issue with it, did what was asked and he reviewed it. His comment floored me, he said that one out of twenty applicants can do that test. He also had a map reading test, again no nav units allowed. He said find this address on a map and I had to, not an issue for me but only three out of ten can pass the test.
     
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  4. KMG365

    KMG365 Light Load Member

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    Hopefully he isn'the delivering bananas to Scranton.
     
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  5. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    I wonder if the newbie will be dispatched to hunts point. There is a particular street between the 95 and that access for LIE and Throgs that you have to work through under the EL. If you are not careful and ready it has a offset set of poles that will KILL you the hard way when you smash into the middle set unaware that you have to be ready to do an offset exercise under there to the right at about 30.
     
  6. Florida Playboy

    Florida Playboy Road Train Member

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    I remember that. It's on the left and you have to swerve to the right, correct? Then you turn left on some street, go where it ends at another street and turn left to get into the market.
     
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  7. Florida Playboy

    Florida Playboy Road Train Member

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    The Bolds were the best phones ever made in my opinion. You can get one from Ebay for twenty bucks and hook it up to Verizon and have a smart phone for cheap with no contract.
     
  8. Brandonpdx

    Brandonpdx Road Train Member

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    After sitting at a nearly dead stop on 78 east in NJ this morning for better than 2 hours I've also concluded they give out CDL's way too easily. Whenever there is some huge wreck on the interstate that destroys everyone's commute it's usually always some bozo in a piece of junk mega truck. "What color truck was it this time?" is little inside joke.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2016
  9. Brandonpdx

    Brandonpdx Road Train Member

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    I sold it on Craigslist and got a decent penny for it. Like around $250 I think it was. I got it right when it first came out on AT&T. I got a Curve 8900 after that which was a flimsy little peice of junk by comparison.
     
  10. MACK E-6

    MACK E-6 Moderator Staff Member

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    Looks like I made it to work just in time. A Con-Way flipped a wiggle wagon over on the Beltway this morning.
     
  11. Sharky88

    Sharky88 Heavy Load Member

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    Err no a cdl s hool get you the skills to Handel a truck it doesn't give you the skills needed to be a driver. I've been on the road for 20 years and never went to a cdl school. Back then trucking was all family. The family taught you and you went to work. Now you go to a school for 3 weeks get a licence and think your a truck driver. NOT!
     
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