Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Anywho company's running me into the ground,one thing they've shown me in my almost 1 1/2yrs they have the miles,if you want them,or maybe I've just been fortunate.

 

Is it backing into a dock maneuver? What if you can't get it in, or take too long.

 

Nah backing into a parking spot on the yard,trust me you're overthinking it.

 

As long as you don't actually damage the vehicle or commit some egregiously dangerous faux pas like taking a cloverleaf at 50mph or running a bus full of nuns and kittens off the road or something, you'll be fine.

If you commit a normal rookie mistake, Bill will simply make note of it and will pass it on to your trainer as an area to work on.

 

The miles are there for sure, I had over 8000 on this check. Sometimes you get a slow week, but it always seems to even out over the space of a month.

 

If your first test is high, tell them you want to do a resting bp, where you relax for 5 minutes before retesting.

 

Ok thanks for replies, seems the consensus for the road test is if you don't cause an accident, you're good.

 

Meanwhile, my current load has enough time on it that I'm gonna take a 34.

 

I have done that more times than I can remember. That fresh 70 makes you look good to the planners, especially when you get it a couple thousand miles away from the yard.

Many times I have looked at the 8 day totals and shook my head at the low daily miles and was sure my next check was going to be crap then payday rolls around and I am pleasantly surprised.

Granted I do stay out for at least 2 months which is a big factor in racking up miles. I take a week for hometime and everyday the truck is parked I make a mental note of how much money I "lost" that day. Makes it easy to stay out and chase loads.

 

When I did my road test last year, the last time I was behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler was during CDL school in 1995. I was so nervous, scratch that, so scared that I got about 3 hours sleep the night before. I would watch YouTube videos on pretrips, setting up for backs, how to take tight turns etc anything to help prepare me for the test.

3 minutes into the test and I started to relax, Bill went through a basic pretrip he wanted me to do, he actually talked me through each area he wanted checked, nothing at all like a DMV test where you had to memorize and go through every item.

Once behind the wheel he explained how the automated manuals worked, that they need accelerator input to move forward and that they can roll back unlike a car type Trans. He knows that most new CDL holders learned on manuals and have probably never even seen an auto truck so he ensures you know what to do.

When you are on the road, take your time, don't worry too much about going slow. You will be in a strange truck on unfamiliar roads and he knows this. Remember your turn signals, I forgot pulling out of the driveway and he gave me a friendly reminder. No fuss, no drama, just a simple "Are you forgetting something when making a turn?". I didn't even make it off the property and I messed up, but he didn't seem fazed at all. Throughout the drive he was chatting and joking, it isn't at all what you might be thinking or have heard about other companies.

Bill is a good guy, he wants you to get the job. As the fleet manager I am sure he doesn't like seeing trucks sitting with no drivers, but he also doesn't like seeing trucks getting wrecked and he just wants to make sure you aren't the type who is likely to do that.