experienced driver wants to tell newer drivers some things

I think you're not realilzing who that post was meant for - not an experienced hand, necessarily, but newbies who ened to learn the ropes.

 

If I remember right, he's a 5 year "veteran" and knows it all......

Hope that answered your question.

 

I didn't have a question, but I see your point.

 

Couldnt agree more with the original post. Im a rookie, everyone was at one time. Im also young, 25. When i talk to other new, young driver i cant believe the petty things they complain about. They ***** about how they didnt get the nice new truck right outta training. I got a truck with over 575000 on it, it pulled freight. How they didnt want this load or wanted that one, miles are miles. Of course my cdl school (unemployment payed my way and it was a school only, not a carrier) gave me the basics, backing, shifting, turning and company training built on that but i learned more out there by myself than the 3 months of school/training. Im still learning, everyday, and for as long as im driving i wont stop learning. One snowy night in a pilot off I68 (I know, dont say it) in md, everyone was sitting around, talking one the cb. I was picking the brain of the veteran driving, worried about running empty 50 or so miles on super single drives and other related issues a rookie faces. One guy got on and said he'd been driving since 1973 and was still a rookie. That will always stick with me. While a lot of new drivers think they can learn it all in the couple months they have been running, not all of us do. There a difference between confident and ####y.

 

I think something that has to be kept in mind is that there are newbies, and then there are newbies. I'm seeing a lot of new or prospective drivers on these forums who, like me, aren't young and have a whole lot of life experience behind them.

Trucking will be my third career. The first disappeared when the technology changed. The second requires things my body will no longer do and gets damaged more when I do them anyway, so the doctor told me no more. I could likely get some disability and scrape by on that and the wife's wages, but there's a mirror in the bathroom and I have to look at myself when I shave.

Throughout all of those careers, I've been writing. Sometimes for spare cash, sometimes just for fun. A lot of what I've written for money has been how-to's. There is a place for book learning and somebody has to write the books. If you guys think truckers are under-paid though, you should try freelance writing.

Anyway, all of my experience can be related to trucking (or anything else) to some extent. The importance of maintenance and doing small repairs before they become big repairs for instance, or the importance of taking care of the paperwork and passing inspections.

And there's all of that other experience. Farm work. Driving smaller trucks. Riding with friends who are truckers. Conversations with friends and virtual strangers.

Does it mean I can drive a truck? No. The biggest thing that experience teaches is that you have to learn things properly and you always need more experience.



Then there's the new truck and all the toys thing. Do I want a new truck when I finally start driving? You bet I do. I want something new and I want it to have all of the toys. Do I expect to get it? Of course not. I would seriously question the business acumen of a company that handed new trucks to new drivers. I don't expect to start at the top and I don't expect to get new equipment.

The toys...well, I still don't have a plasma TV at home, since I don't watch much, so I wouldn't bother with one in a truck, but a fridge for juice and a coffee maker would come in handy. Farm tractors have GPS now, so why not have it in a truck?The shower and bathroom sound nice, but I'm thinking that unless they come with an anti-gravity device weight would be a problem.

Automatic transmission? I don't really care, and specifically checked to make sure I'd be learning how to float gears at the school I enrolled in, but it would seem to me that fleet managers would want them to cut down on repair costs. I could be wrong on that, but I know clutches are always an issue on farm and construction trucks, especially with inexperienced drivers using them.

 

Dad taught me in a 66 needle nose Pete had a Detroit 6V72 w/ a set of sticks haul'n logs in the PNW. If there is one thing I learned you never know what is around the next corner. Expect the Unexpected.

 

alright I am medicineman as a member of the rookie team 15 months exp i have to speak in our defense.
I will admit many rookies are idiots, the problem is they see trucking as something to do they dont have their heart in it. Which makes them look stupid because they arent as open to knowledge and learning.

Your First Point

In most case we are atleast qualified to do something i never went to a actual school my school trained me in 9 days to drive so i learned through expierience and i think it made me better than the average driver because of it.I had one accident because i trusted a 4 wheeler not to be stupid. Most rookies who go to these schools come out thinking what the school taught is golden and vets tend to want to knock the rookies instead of helping them out which cause the im smarter than you battle, take the rookie under your wing and teach them something rather than talk about their lack of expierience.

Second Point
I cant deny that i was hand trained to drive so i had a job but i wasnt given extensive on road time to learn about everything i had to teach myself. The taught me to drive a single axle M2 with 37 ft trailer i eventually taught my self to drive a straight 10 dual axle colombia and 48 and 53ft trailers.

I agree with your third point

YOur fourth point I agree with also i dont know why anybody would expect the best equipment my last company gave me a truck with no ac no airide or anything i knew i had to work my way up and the same with my new company I dont know whats wrong with these guys,

Your last point also is true gotta due the research
Trucking is what we all make it and some rookies just make to much out of as do some vets just keep it simple and go with the flow.

 

Thank you, "I am Medicine Man" for giving it to me straight. I'm looking to become a driver and I will heed your advice.

 

it does not need refrigerators, microwaves, surround sound, plasma TV, satellite, and WIFI 6 month rookie who applied on Friday wanted that and more .

 

Whining about drivers who whine?