Been otr solo for almost 2 weeks, somethings I have learned

Well this wednesday I will have been otr on my own for 2 weeks. Here are some things I have learned.

1. and probably most important, it gets easier with experience. This is true with anything but when you first start in that truck on your own and get that first load assignment it can be a little overwhelming. Your brain can lock. What do I do first? Send the load confirmation....no wait, I first need to see if I have the hours to complete the load on time. After a few loads you just start doing everything automatically. When I first noticed this a small smile spread across my face as I realised I was progressing from steering wheel holder to a driver/trucker. It's a good feeling.

2. DON'T PANIC. Things will go wrong. You may miss a turn, or even worse make a wrong turn. The worst thing you can do is panic. And at first you will panic. Calm down, go with the flow. Find a place to pull off and check your map. If you have internet access via laptop or smartphone utilize google maps. I have made more than a few wrong turns and have yet to find myself in a place I could not get out of. Pay attention to your signs though to make sure you don't get into big trouble with low overpasses or weight restricted bridges.

3. 4 wheeler drivers cannot be trusted. Expect then to do the most stupid dangerous thing possible and be prepared to react. Most commonly I see a 4 wheeler driver pass me. This driver does everything right and leaves a large cushion before coming back over in the right lane in front of me. But behind that driver is an impatient 4 wheeler driver who just cannot wait and swings into the right lane about 3 feet in front of me and hammers it to pass in the right lane as the driver ahead in the left lane is trying to come over. I can give 2 dozen more examples of stupidity like this but you get the point. Just keep thinking that every 4 wheeler driver out there has the express goal of trying to kill themselves and want to use your truck to do it.

4. Backing takes practice. No 2 ways about it, experience is everything. I treat backing like I treat a game of pool. When I shoot pool I analyze the table and do not always use the easiest shot. I save the gimme shot because I know I can make it, I take the harder shot. You will never get better if you always take the gimme. And that gimme will not always be there. Same with parking/docking. At a truckstop try not to always take the pull through spot. Often I will go to the back of the lot and try a blindside back into a bunch of empty spaces where it's safe (I also get to walk farther to the ts which provides a bit of much needed excercise). There will be a time when it's 2am and you have to park for the night and the ts is packed. Bet your ##### there will not be a pull through space available at that time. You will be glad you practiced those difficult backs. Also, some of these loading docks will be tricky to back into and when you are backing and pulling forward trying to figure it out while you hold up everyone else you will be wishing you had practiced more.

5. Avoid the truckstop trap. It will be tempting, avoid that game room. I am a gamer by nature, have been since my first atari 2600 we got when I was 5. I was an arcade junkie when I was a kid. But these truckstop game rooms are nothing but money pits designed to separate a trucker from his/her hard earned cash. Not just the money you spend there, but the time you spend. And time not on the road is money right out of your pocket. Even during downtime I can think of a dozen other more constructive things I can be doing. Shower, laundry, grab a meal, clean my truck, or sleep. Also when eating beware of the professional driver only counter at the country pride and other ts restaurants. It is nice to shoot the bull with other truckers swapping BS stories, but be aware of that clock. It can be easy to blow 2 hours there talking to a guy on his 34 hour reset that could care less while you got a load sitting out there. Time is miles my friend.

I am sitting in the freightliner service lounge in York waiting for my ac to be fixed while I type this. I have many more things I have learned but I will end with this last and most important thing I have learned.

6. I have a lot more to learn. The day you think you know it all while driving is the day you need to hang up your keys and do something else because eventually you will find you didn't know everything and that could come too late after you have killed yourself and/or someone else. I'm sure there are several million+ mile drivers with 20, 30, or more years experience who could tell you they learn something new every week if not every day. The job changes, and since it involves humans and humans are fallable you can not count on them to do the same thing every time a situation rises. Something unexpected happens and you learn from it. If you don't learn from it you are destined to possibly make the same mistake.

Be well and drive safe everyone.

 

my biggest problem with backing is chasing my trailer. I back into a spot but do not get my truck in front of the trailer soon enough. Its no biggie, one pull up and I'm straight. I just have to wrap my mind around the fact that though my trailer is still angling to the passenger side I need to keep getting in front of it. Its just scary not knowing where you are on that blind side.