Bad training experience. Dangerous?

I am currently enrolled in a CDL class A training program. It's not associated with a company, because I didn't want to go that route. In other words, I'm paying for the thing myself, going through a school not associated with a company.

Anyway, after a few days sitting in a classroom, today was the first day in a rig. It was my first time EVER sitting in a rig, i.e. I had never even been a passenger in a rig before today. So after riding with the instructor for a few minutes while watching him drive and shift, I was thrown into the driver's seat, never having sat behind the wheel of one of these things in any capacity whatsoever. Not even just messing around in a parking lot.

Might as well start at the beginning. First off, I'm a small guy, both in height and weight. Just sitting in this thing, I couldn't see out of it. When I rolled down the window and tried to adjust the drivers side mirror (all I could see was trailer, not road or anything else) the instructor yelled at me, said there was nothing wrong with the mirrors so don't touch them, and if I was having issues it was me not the mirror. Well, I couldn't see out of the passenger side mirror either because there was a big cb radio mounted right in the middle of the dash sticking up in my field of view. You might say I should have adjusted the seat higher, which in fact I tried, but then I couldn't reach the pedals very well, and the cb was *still* in the way.

So after not being allowed to touch any mirrors, I was then told to pull out of the parking lot, into the city, and start driving. Among traffic and people. Without ever having done this in any capacity at all. Well, if this didn't freak me out enough, then being yelled at for (quite naturally) doing almost everything wrong while in the extremely stressful position of 1) trying not to kill anyone while 2) also trying to listen to the instructor's yelling and somehow correct what I was doing wrong, and to somehow even process all of this stuff happening at once... well, lets just say it wasn't an ideal situation.

Look, I don't like being yelled at, but I'm a big boy. At the end of the day, while it isn't the most ideal or conducive learning experience, I can deal with it and persevere. I can deal with stress, being freaked out, being thrown into a bad situation, whatever. I can deal with difficult things, challenges, etc. I'm not an entitled snowflake. My issue here is safety. I don't mind learning and being corrected - but the correction and instruction I'm being given, even if it is 'correct' or 'by the book' or even legal by government standards, is not safe in this situation, by my appraisal. Let me illustrate.

Example: I kept being yelled at for 'coasting.' Well, the following (apparently 'wrong' way) is what I've done in my car for decades. Upon approaching any kind of 'slow down' or 'stop' situation, I simply pop the gearshift into neutral and apply the brake. If I stop, I sit there with gear in neutral and foot on brake, until light green or whatever, then I simply pop it in gear and start moving. Well, when I applied the same technique to the truck (the only technique I've ever known) I'm screamed at at the top of someone's lungs, and told to put the thing in gear and keep it in gear, 'stay off the clutch!!,' blah blah. This is while I'm rapidly approaching a stopped car or whatever in front of me. Look, I'm sure you'll all say what the instructor is saying is 'by the book' or technically correct. And I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with, though, is the very real possibility (and it almost happened several times today) of plowing into some stopped car in front of me, or into an intersection, because I don't know how to do it the 'right way' yet, haven't practiced it, and if I had only been allowed to do it 'my way,' no such danger would have ever been present. Being forced to pop the thing in gear, keep off the clutch, and keep barreling towards someone's rear end in some enormous monstrosity of a vehicle while every fiber of your being wants to decouple the engine from the transmission and apply braking... this just can't be good or safe at this juncture. For some professional? Sure, I guess. But for some guy who was just thrown into the drivers seat, and who's instinct is exactly the opposite? Look, being forced to do it the 'right way' on the fly, among cars and traffic, without ever having practiced it... I just found it extremely dangerous.

Another offense I kept committing was not sitting there at a red light directly behind someone's bumper with the thing in first gear, clutch pushed all the way in. Again, I'm not a big guy, I'm not a tall guy, and I don't weigh very much. This clutch is very stiff (I'm sure they all are). It's also very far for my leg to travel. In my own car (yet again, all my experience and instinct is exactly wrong) I sit with the gear in neutral and foot on the brake. When the traffic starts flowing, I pop it in gear like it's nothing, and away I go. Now it's important to understand that I don't mind doing it the 'right way' if it is indeed 'right' to sit there in first gear with the clutch mashed to the floor. I *want* to do it the right way, whatever that is. But again, my concern is safety. What if my foot slides or pops off the clutch, like it almost did several times, and I go plowing into the car ahead of me?

I could keep on going here, but that's probably enough. One thing I'd like to know is how normal it is to just throw a guy directly into driving out on the roads among other cars in traffic having never sat in one of these things his entire life. I'd like to know how normal it is to not be allowed to adjust mirrors or see out of the truck. Finally, I'd like to know how I'm supposed to safely correct my bad instincts and driving habits (coasting, etc) without risking killing someone.

If you have any advice on what I should do, I'm all ears. By the way, I have a friend who drives trucks professionally every day, and when I recounted my story to him today... well, I'll wait until I hear from some of you first. I'm still in 'processing mode' here and trying to figure out what to do.

Thanks for reading.

 

I never told him how it was supposed to be done. My concerns are outlined in my post. Not reading, or not addressing my concerns, is not very productive.

 

I get that, and was working on it, and happy to work on it. Just not when I'm approaching stopped cars, and missing downshifts because I'm (quite naturally) not practiced at it yet, and am not in any correct gear for slowing down, yet there the cars are getting closer and closer while someone screams to stop coasting, keep it in gear, stay off the clutch, blah blah.

 

The mirror thing is 100% true, and yes you are getting the full story. The guy I was paired with, who was in the back bunk, pulled me in the bathroom later after we took a break, and told me "he was wrong to tell you not to adjust your mirrors - don't know why he did that."

Also, I have no axe to grind with the instructor. I like him (well, when he's in the classroom LOL).