2 weeks of school left, scared to drive local?

Yeah I agree with you on that, it's been a long long time ago since I did OTR. Industrial was the first thing that came to mind. Shows you how much I know about OTR.

See, I told you I wasn't Pro OTR...Ha

 

Yeah I agree with you on that, it's been a long long time since I did OTR. Industrial was the first thing that came to mind. Shows you how much I know about OTR.

See, I told you I wasn't Pro OTR..... Ha

 

Remember this saying, staple it to your forehead, staple it to your hand, staple it to your ###, learn it, love it, live it. The saying is...YOU CAN ONLY GO TO FAST ONCE, YOU CAN GO SLOW AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT...You can go slow as long as you want, people can go around you. All it takes is one time going to fast, and your done.

 

The biggest thing I notice here is that when someone says local everyone immediately pictures tight alleys, hard docks, tons of cars, danger, danger, danger. I got news for ya. I've been local for almost the entire time I've been driving and I rarely, if ever, run into the "tight" docks or unloads that all the doomsday folks talk about when someone mentions local. And I don't drive a little daycab with a 40' trailer either. I'm local with a double sleeper and 53' behind me so I know what tight can be. OP, if you want to go local, by all means do so. My first job was foodservice and I learned quickly how to navigate tight restaurant parking lots and other rough spots. Just take your time, be smart and if you aren't sure, get out and look. There are alot of good paying local jobs that will keep you in your own bed every night so don't be afraid. Some work may be harder than others but nothing in life is free. Bottom line, you don't need OTR in any way, shape or form to be a good driver. Good luck.

 

you guys are way too negative, and wrong. I went to the cheapest 160 hour school I could find. Then I got a local job straight out of school. No trainer, no training, handed keys on the first day, told to load up and go. I drive in Chicago. I do liftgate deliveries, commercial, residential, and construction site deliveries. Downtown, tight alleys, one way streets, underground docks........ Been at it 2 years, doing fine.

 

Not sure why you'd think OTR would be easier than local. OTR you are almost always going somewhere new, and it won't be all interstate driving. Local, you get to know the area well and the customers.

If you are scared to drive the truck with a trailer, then you likely aren't ready for the responsibility of driving commercially. When I went through school, I was definitely unnerved when we first started driving trailers, but I was never "scared". It's a huge responsibility (literally) and you need to build confidence quickly. If you don't have that, panic will set in and ruin everything.