Day by day adventures of a new solo OTR driver

Best post yet Diesel, good way to describe the emotions of being lost in a non truck friendly environment. You get angry, then sad, then desperate, you start bargaining with the road and finally you just say #### it, whatever happens happens cause I don't give a #### anymore.

 

That was my biggest fear when I started driving... getting lost (and especially hitting a bridge). Luckily (well, maybe not luckily, but then again...) I've been thrown in those situations so many times that I don't let it get the best of me and panic. I start looking for a place to stop, especially a spot big enough to turn around. If there isn't anything, I generally stay on the same road unless I know for sure I can get off that road and get back on it going the opposite direction. I will slow down a bit at any intersections and look down them for signs, like the 4-ton weight limit on the bridge, the no trucks signs, and the low bridge signs, all of which I saw on side roads off of the one I got lost on yesterday. In a situation like this a GPS is a very valuable TOOL (I do NOT trust it to blindly guide me out... absolutely not), as it lets you visualize where you are going, what is ahead, and what options are available if you continue further down the road. I don't let a line of cars behind me scare me into driving faster or trying to pull over on the side and then sucking a tire off and rolling in the ditch. If I have to go really slow, I put on my 4-ways and they can wait. And, just like you described, I just tell myself "**** it, whatever happens, happens. As long as I don't do anything unsafe and I use my common sense and eyes to make good choices about how to get out of the situation, the absolute WORST that can happen is I have to just stop in the road, put on my 4 ways and call the police. Absolute worst case. Is the world going to end? Nope. Might I get a ticket and a yelling from Schneider? Possibly. But does it beat slamming into a low bridge, getting stuck trying to turn around in a muddy turn-off, or tearing up my fairings trying to make an illegal u-turn? Absolutely.

On to today... got unloaded quickly at the grocery warehouse and got a preassignment picking up out of our drop yard up there in MA. Its headed down to VA. Its a heavy load and (of course) not scaled, so that took a chunk of time to actually FIND a place to scale up here. Got headed South but didn't get too far, I shut down just after 4PM as I'm not pushing my luck trying to find a place to park. Not worth the frustration. Still, 400 miles for the day, if I can pull off an average of 400 for the next two days as well I'll be sitting at 2900 driven (not paid, unfortunately) miles for the week. Tomorrow will be a short day, as I've only got 370ish miles to go, but dealing the GW, I-95 in general, and delivering to a place right near Washington DC I know I am going to be dealing with some serious traffic, so I didn't show myself as available after the delivery until the following morning. Hopefully though I'll get a good assignment after this and can round off this crazy week in the Northeast with at least some half-decent miles.

 

370 miles through that stretch of road can be an all day affair. Good move setting your availability out. You should be driving through my old stomping grounds tomorrow if you take the NJ turnpike all the way. I grew up right off exit 2.

 

I know alot of new guys are reading this thread and many more in the future will. They should read it as it is an extremley detailed account of what life is like on the road. Diesel is a real guy and a real driver, I have met him. He is also thin therefore you know he is a rookie, lol.

The situation diesel was in is one of the hardest things to learn how to deal with because it is so situational. The proper decision will change every time. I go until I find a safe turnaround or a route back OR until the bridge is too low or the road simply wont let me go anymore. Now did diesel handle things perfectly? I don't know, I wasn't there but he did get his truck back to the Pilot with no damage and that is good enough. I tell all my students this and I will defend it against anybody. A GPS, trucker version, is the best tool the professional driver has ever had. I drove without one when I was new and let me tell you,, the stress level is so much less with one on your dash. You are not going to always be able to pull over and read your Atlas and when your lost like Diesel was the Atlas won't help you much anyway.

The one line in his post that stuck out to me was when he had to make the "mother of all buttonhooks". This brings me to my next point. You can see buttonhooks ahead of time on the GPS sometimes but even if you can't you must learn to look ahead and have a plan before you get to your turn. If you fail to recognize a buttonhook you will be in a bad jam and probably won't be able to make the turn, and therefore you will stay lost. Driving is all about having a plan, every turn, every exit. Plans make you smooth and remember big trucks don't like sudden harsh movement. Plan, plan, plan.

Every driver gets lost, just remember it's all about making the right decision. What is better? Putting your truck in the ditch, or hitting a bridge or stopping and calling the cops. Diesel was slightly incorrect about one thing. If you have to call the cops because of a low bridge or a turn that is too tight you will be congratulated and held up as an example of the right thing to do. Schneider would much rather have that outcome.

Calling the police will also work to your advantage when you drive into the wrong gate, which you will do at some point.
The guard maybe a jerk and rudely tell you to back up into the public road because he refuses to open his precious gate and let you turn around. This is highly illegal and if someone hits you and gets hurt then it's jail time. Just calmly tell him
that you have to call the police so then can block the road and watch that attitude change and like magic that gate will open.

Point is, you will make mistakes, please don't compound them.
Sorry for hijacking your thread Diesel.

 

two things to say today. #### the port in mobile, god #### union pricks took 6 hours to load me on monday, and hell yes for taking 2 hours to drive 20 miles in atlanta, not on the interstate. loading the #### up and going home tomorrow.

 

Very well said Ethos ....... and spot on. I have had instances where I have had to drive ten miles in the wrong direction to safely turn around (cussing myself the whole way), but it's better then tearing up equipment and your surroundings. Be safe!

 

I told you that you jinxed yourself, didnt I? Lol

 

I got the call yesterday afternoon. My recruiter got back the armpit hair drug test results.....I'm starting orientation on September 3rd!!!!!! I've been looking forward, with great anticipation, to driving a Big Orange! Diesel and Ethos, the posts that I've read from you guys have given me more information on what to do and what not to do, than anything that I've ever heard in my life. I greatly appreciate both of your insights and knowledge and will take what you have given out on the road with me. Thank you and everybody else for all of your input!!

 

You'll do great. Driving a truck is easy once you get all the compounding federal rules down - packed.

 

I got lucky and didn't start before the July 1st crap, so I only know how it is, and not how it was. My uncle is a truck driver of 26 years. He was with North American until they stopped doing freight. Then he spent 16 years at Crete. Now he's got a local gig hauling hazmat loads. He said that even with all his experience, he doesn't think they'd let him back out OTR because of all the DOT regulations that are in place now. It's just crazy.