Big Rig Intimidation

The first time I drove a truck I was 6 years old sitting in my Dads lap,no I was not intimadated!It was 53 GMC with a 4 banger.As I got older then I got worried.Now I am 59 and more worried than ever.Best advice I got is DO NOT TAILGATE and if you feel yourself getting a case of white knuckles take a break!!!!!!!!!!

 

I was 4 years old when my father would take me on deliveries in a gasoline tanker truck. While I was growing up sometimes my mom would take me to a street corner and along came my dad to take me for a ride. They would always take all day and the company knew about it. I was hooked and every chance I had I would ask my dad about trucks on how they did this and that. As I got older I got to ride with other drivers and they would show me a thing or two.

When I got my class A, truck driving schools were not in the same standing as they are today. In fact some companies wouldn't even hire a driver if he went to truck driving school. All that really mattered was if you could drive the truck. So the road test by the employer was the turning point if you got the job or not.

When I went for mine it was given by Ryder because the company I was trying to get hired on leased their trucks. I was nervous of course but passed the test. My first run was from Jacksonville FL to Miami with another driver. It was a team operation. That driver had many years experience and he asked me if I wanted to drive or sleep first. I went into the box and it was around 5pm. I laid there scared and nervous all the way to Vero Beach where we stopped to eat. I ordered my food but could not eat it because of nerves. Then it came time to drive. I had no training in school but I did drive some smaller trucks around the base I was stationed at and I had a head full of information from the gasoline drivers. I did ok.

You have to have some confidence in yourself but you have to be open to any information that will help you. Don't ever think you can know all there is to know because you never will. The trick is knowing what is right for you and what is totally off the wall. Be a sponge and soak up all the information you can. Keep you eyes and ears open and your mouth shut until you have questions to ask. And there's no dumb questions. Your attitude has a great play in the game today so being a good student no matter who the teacher might be is the way to go. Good luck and every driver has been in your shoes.

 

There's nothing wrong with being a bit intimidated at first! I was, but as I got to driving, I became very comfortable most of the time with it, and developed major respect for the vehicle I was operating. Just don't ever let yourself become complacent. Once you get into it, you'll get past the intimidation, get to the respect point and then you're hooked! You can take the driver out of the truck, but you can't take the truckin out of the driver!

 

The only thing I found intimidating about a truck was learning to shift. I've never been intimidated by actually driving one, no matter where, or what. Respect the truck, respect the road. Know what you and the truck can do together and never exceed that limit, if possible don't even get close to that limit. No matter what you're trying to do. If you're doing something you've never done before, take your time. This can be a new dock that you have to blind side back, mountain driving in snow, or even simply following directions around a city. Few things short of an accident can start a day off worse than following a shippers directions through Chicago at 8:30am and discovering your pickup is on the other side of a bridge with an 11' clearance. (I wasn't even mildly amused at having to back up two blocks in traffic on a 2 lane street.)

 

Actually DRIVING the truck never bothered me - nor did (does) backing. It may be a challenge, but it's *fun*
Dealing with traffic -even on a darn near deserted interstate made my palms sweat the first few weeks. Now I have my comfort zone - as long as nobody is in it, I'm fine. I still look for safe places to put the truck in the event a UFO swoops down and clips my front bumper, though.

City driving.. my anxiety climbs. I know where I can put the truck.. but I have no clue what that idjit in the mini-van is about to do. I turn the radios off and crack the windows - my ears might well detect something my eyes miss.

I'm not sure this qualifies as "intimidated".. but it certainly qualifies as 'heightened nervousness"

 

I agree with Cybergal! Best post so far in this thread. (Always a good idea to agree with moderators!) But seriously, the "intimidation" you feel when you start matures into RESPECT as you gain experience and training. The respect for your rig - its size, weight, and its relation to smaller vehicles as you head down the road - is something you must NEVER lose. Otherwise, you become one of those hot dog drivers who drive the truck like it's a sports car. You see them every day in ditches, medians, etc.

Best of luck! Keep us posted!

 

I'm not completely clueless regarding large vehicles. I grew up on a farm, drove a combine in the field as a kid, tractors, etc. I've driven U-haul type vehicles hauling furniture and music type stuff a bunch of times. And I've got a couple of bus drivers in my family.

But, interstates are one thing, city streets are another. There are so many conditions that I am not used to driving any vehicle in, like heavy snow and ice. I'm used to high winds, fog, heavy rain, but not in a large truck.

It's going to be a challenge, and like some others on this thread, I hope I never get complacent.

 

OK, Mystic, be intimitated, be leary, be carefull, with this bag of tricks and the training you get, you will get started, get better every day and survive.


When you get ####y cause you are getting good at what you are accomplishing read the top line and apply it.

Now quit mucking about and get out here..

 

Lurchgs You are right, have a comfort zone. Old timer used to always say, Son always leave yourself a way out..

 

Like others have said, it was never the machine that intimidated. Having run tractors, combines etc ... growing up, the size was not an issue. Surroundings were an issue, still are. Getting lost on "cherry blossoms floating in the wind lane" is intimidating, don't care how long you have been doing this. Mechanics is easier to overcome than the unknown of the other obstacles that come with the job. As has been said by others, I am more intimidated with my 20th year looming than with my second year. Now I know just how much can go wrong.