failed my cdl test, angry w/myself

I do it all the time in the real world.

 

yes, I am. is driver side (sight side), and blind side parallel. is random what three skills will be asked to do on the CDL test out of the six backing skills (strait, 90 degree, sight side off-set, blind side off-set, sight side parallel, or blind side parallel)
the length of the truck n trailer, backed into a parking space, close to the curb (cones marking the curb and the space available) the space is I think 15 feet longer than your rig, so you have room to maneuver the tractor under the trailer after you have backed the trailer into the space. it doesn't look like 15 feet, hehe, but I'm pretty sure that is what the regulations say.
just like a car, but bigger with a pivot point

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles for sure, in advanced flight school I failed a test and it's a horrible feeling...I have 3 weeks of practice before I have to take my test and there's only 3 of us in our class with 2 trucks so hopefully I get all the time I need...When you say not much driving time in school, how big was class?

 

Heck, my instructor in college told me some great words of wisdom. I failed my CDL twice on backing. Once was the tester being an ##### though. We got him fired and forced to be trained on actually how to drive class A.

Anyway, remember that it takes YEARS to learn to properly back. The few times you do it in long haul a week don't really help to gain much experience either. You have to do it over and over. We took a few lessons and just did backing. I'll tell you this, my leg was sore, 'till he got me to back without touching the clutch. I got VERY good at it. So good that I aced my final MTO exam. I was back and finished long before my instructor ever guessed we would be.

 

OK parallel parking just made my list of things to make sure I get covered in school..

 

when out on the pad/yard, is around 20 people for 3 skills trucks (one on 90 degree, one on offsets, one on parallels) on parallels station, is one side before break, other side after break. whither or not you get to practice both sides of off set depends on how backed up the line to practice gets. (some people are better at some skills than others, so sometimes the line gets backed up on a skill, and they start doing one offset instead of both to keep things moving). we rotate between stations, once you try one skill, then move to the next skill, work your way around all 3. most days, are enough people, I get to try each backing skill once. some days tho, I have missed trying one of the offsets, or one of the parallels due to running out of class time.
in the mornings, is 4 trucks taken on the road, with 4 people in each truck and an instructor/trainer person to practice driving, turns, clutching, and downshifting. in the afternoon, is 3 trucks going out, and the extra four people are on the pad/yard backing skills. the extra truck sometimes is put on the strait backing skill, so the newer people can practice, and gives an extra station to rotate to. (CDL test days only 3 taken out in the mornings, other is used to go test with, twice a week, and is gone all day for the test people.)
classes start every week, so cant really say how many in each class, after the week of class time is up, we are mixed up with other classes to watch and learn from others. everyone has their own little ticks and ways of doing things, the trick is to find what works best for you. (one guy looks for 2nd cone, one looks for 3rd, one looks for back of the box on the opposite side, one looks for landing gear spot, and so on) I've heard my class is one of the largest in a few months, we started with 14, but down to 10 now that we are at 4th week, class before me has 8, think class behind me has 6. think is 6 or 7 in the class who just got out of classroom. not sure how many are coming out of classroom next week, 4 or 5 think. the weekend class sometimes comes during the week, more practice time for them, and I get lost on who is in what class where on which week, other than the guys I sat in classroom with my first week, hehehe. and are a few like me, who didn't pass the CDL when their weeks were up on first try, and are layover to practice more to take the test again. you get 2-3 tries at the CDL test before the school actually kicks you out, gives up on you.
you are assigned truck or pad time each morning after roll call, and after lunch after roll call they call out truck assignments. there are 4 instructors who do the road driving (turning, clutching, downshifting skills) and they try to get it so you drive with each instructor at least twice before you go test, so you learn from each one's little tricks (like how to judge and turn to get around tight right corner and not curb it. one instructors trick works better for me than how a different instructor does it. both work, but the one is better for me. same with downshift; one likes you to be in 6th before turn lane, downshift to 5th after in the turn lane. the one that works best for me likes downshift to 5th right before you enter the turn lane, and I am better able to set up for turn instead of worry about making another downshift. both ideas work, but one works better for me). if you drove in morning, you on pad afternoon, and vice versa.
so if I'm thinking correctly, is about 30-35 people in school driving, and average 5-10 in classroom each week. 3 trucks used for the road driving skills, and three trucks used for the pad backing skill, and one truck sometimes used for road, sometimes used for strait back on the pad.
I do not blame the school in any way. don't get me wrong about that. only compliant about the school is maybe over booked with students, could use extra instructor and an extra truck and trailer. I have not had an instructor laugh or make fun of me, or be rude to me about my struggle with some of the skills (to my knowledge). had couple get aggravated a few times, but kept their cool over all, just told me how and when to turn to get backed into the space so next student got their turn. the instructors are a good group of guys here, I do not blame them at all. I just slow picking this up and getting it figured out. I've never drove truck at all, never backed a trailer, had no clue till I got to school.
I've had the same practice time as everyone else. yes, others have not got their CDL on their first try at the test, but others have gotten it. I was wanting to be one of those who got it on first try.
extra week wont kill me, just pinged my confidence a bit. I will get this figured out, is a matter of angels and judging distance (as Greg says "watch those tandems, drive those tandems back into the slot."), and I will pass it next time I go try. extra time on the driving courses wont hurt any either.

sorry this is long, felt the need to explain

 

Doesn't sound like a lot of time per student at all...I'm expecting 3hrs minimum and up to 6hrs a day driving with my small class...We also spend over a week at the actual testing site running the exact course we will be tested on, I'm too hoping to be one of those that pass on the first time...Good luck to you...

 

yes, exactly

yes.
on the driver side, sight side, left offset; I'm turning to much. with the new OK rule of you cant pull up and make it a strait back untill after your tandems have broken the plain of the front cones, correcting the mistake is totally blind to me. make sense? the left side offset is all done with right mirrors, and I not seeing what the instructors said I should see, so not sure where my turning or correction points are.
on the blind side, right side offset, I do ok. if I over turn, I'm still able to see the cones with my fender mirrors on driver side when I get the tractor back under the trailer, and can pull up enough to straiten out enough to get tandems turned into the barrier since is a small angle back from that point, then pull up to make it an easy strait back from there. isn't pretty, I have one extra pull-up, but it is strait in the hole (you get two free pull ups on the test). I don't see what the instructors say I should see in right mirrors when begin the backing turn toward the left, but I have figured out a guess to judge how far to ease back before turning steering wheel right and get lined up with trailer to correct if I've gone to far.
I just need more practice on the offsets. one side I'm ok, just sloppy. other side I'm over steering, and haven't figured out mirror points to make the correction. more practice should fix my problem with offsets.

yes, I agree. just so many students in line to practice, stopping and get out and look is frowned on. if come to a complete stop, instructor will come over and start telling how to turn the wheel to get it backed into the slot before you can even get the seat belt off and the door open. is a bit rushed so everyone gets their chance to try the skill. I understand their problem, and everyone needs chance to try, but some of us need to get out and physically see what is going on to be able to figure out how to properly back it.

yes, I am coming in to short (aim for second or third cone once I'm strait with trailer, then not cutting tractor back fast enough or to slowly, and getting out of the box. or not backing quite far enough because I've come short on my strait ease back, and trailer not far enough in to start with. I seem to be making that mistake on both sides (blind or sight side parallel). I haven't hit cones on the pad, but I knew my mistake in practice was not backing far enough, so when I went to test, I over corrected and backed to far and hit the back of the box.
I need a lot more practice on parallel, both sides. thank you very much for the advice, tips. I will try it next week and see if I can "adjust and fine tune" it to work for me.
we use either a 45" or 48" trailer, depending on the day, with the tandems slid all the way back. had been using standard double axle tractor on parallels, until the day before I went to test, they had a single axle tractor hooked up, turns easier and shorter to try to show some of the new class the basics for how to get it in the space. they do remeasure the space, so have the 15" and is legal depending on which trailer they have hooked up.
I agree, no such thing as to many pull ups, hitting a cone is never acceptable. but on the test, only allowed two get out and look, and two free pull ups.
one instructor says, "once you out in the real world, you'll see, some days it take me dozen pull ups to get in right...other days just one. you just do what you have to do, never ever hit anything. when in doubt, get out and look, reset if you have to. they might laugh, but at one time they were as new as you and had to pull up a lot too. better to have a bad day with lot of pull ups, then try to explain why you hit something because of to much pride to go slow, get out and look, and pull up and reset."
but in practice at the school, time is limited, lot of students needing their turn, so is a bit rushed. I understand their dilemma, and I just need more practice. I'll get it figured out, will be ready next time I go for CDL test.

 

we each get about an hour drive time on the road course each day (the clutching, downshifting, turning part. is just city streets first week. but second and third week we do get a bit of freeway/expressway/highway time), and like I said, if the pad runs smoothly, get to practice each skill at least once a day. after into the third week, if instructors think your driving skills are ok, you can request all day on the pad.
I told lead instructor I'd like couple days of pad/yard/backing only next week, and couple days of driving and pad skills before I go test again. he said "don't worry, I'll make sure you get plenty of practice on pad, and full days of both before you test again. next time you go, you will pass no problem." he is a nice guy, and I'm sure he will keep his word.
yes, I was advised but couple instructors that if I know someone with a pickup and trailer, practice with it. unfortunately, I know no one with pickup or trailer I could use.


thank you everyone for the good wishes of luck, and the support that I will get this figured out. I'm looking forward to posting that I passed and am on my way in new career!
hope everyone has a good week, take care and be safe

 

This is why it's better, and cheaper, to go to a community college instead of a commercial CDL mill. My course was TWENTY weeks, not four. Classes were smaller, and I pretty much had as much time as I needed to practice backing.