(Hopefully) New OD driver: Indianapolis

OD called me this morning and said corporate approved me and then asked me when did I want to start. Of course I said right away lol.

So Monday morning at 9am I go in and start the process. I have to do initial paperwork and watch videos then go from there.. :O)

 

Cellopudding,

Can you tell me what I can expect being a city driver in Indy? Will I be doing a lot of loading and unloading of trailers or mainly drop and hook? Also, do all city drivers get weekends off?

 

Day one as a new OD driver went OK. There was one other new driver that came over from Conway. He said there are several people that jumped ship from Conway to OD. This other guy that was there with me is a line haul driver.

We started on the computers doing our initial paperwork. Tax info, direct deposit, policies, etc.. (If anyone gets hired with OD, you need to bring all dependent information to day one training. Birth certificates, and social security cards. OD cannot add dependents to any OD insurance plans until they are verified) After that, we went to the break room and watched videos from around 11am till close to 2:30 and also filled out more paperwork. The videos were not OD specific. They are the same type I saw when I was with SAGE.

This morning I am linking up with my trainer. I will update either tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

Day two was a long one..

I got to the terminal around 820 and met my trainer around 830. We went out around 9am and did his run. His runs are on the eastern part of Indiana around the New Castle area and the farthest east he goes is to Connersville. He drove the first day so today he is going to have me start driving. I am kinda nervous because of course I haven't practiced in a while and I have done NO backing except when practicing for my CDL. I know when I start driving and backing to the docks, he will guide me and give me pointers that will help me, and after the three weeks are up with him, I will be able to get it on my own.

OD uses a new handheld system which takes away the shipping paperwork that comes with each item. So the only paperwork we have is when we pick up from a customer. All we do after dropping off an item is verify the item is not damaged then we put the name of the person taking the item and he or she signs the handheld. Thats it! Picking up is a bit different because the shipper has paperwork to give us. Still easy though. All we do is put a sticker that has the number on it on the item and the matching number on paperwork, then we take the item and give the shipper their copy of the shipping papers. Then we take the handheld and we scan the number that is on our copy of the shipping paper. Of course that number matches the number on each item. Then we put in the destination, number of items, and weight, and thats it! The first time he had me do it all, I have 6 different pallets that had three different items on each one! And not all items on each pallet was going to the same destination. So I had to make sure I put the correct number (Sticker) on the same destination item. LOL. It is easy but you have to slow down and double check the destination of each item. If not, that item will go to the wrong destination.

We finally got back to the terminal around 8pm. At first I was thinking of the long hours we put in driving, but then I thought to myself that I am going to sleep in my own bed and I am making better money then 99% of my fellow noobs out there. So I do not complain at all. And to top it off, as soon as I got in my car, my ex wife called me and said our daughter is messing up in school and needed me to talk to her. So because I am not sleeping in a truck stop in a different state, I was able to stop by and talk to my daughter face to face and not on a phone.

 

Good luck with your test.. One thing that helped me on the road test is to repeat everything outloud the grader tells you. That will help you not forget his instructions. Also, whenever I did something, I said it outloud. "Going into fifth gear. Splitter up. Going into six gear." And if driving in the same gear for a long time, I keep saying outloud what gear I am in. That way I dont forget what gear I am in. If you forget the gear you are in and grind gears, you can fail if the truck goes for the length of the vehicle and not in gear. I did that for everything I did and passed.

Good luck!!

 

Its ok to feel nervous.. It just means you want to do your best, thats all.. It took me 5 times to pass everything. 5 times!! LOL.. And I had to go through the butterflies each time. But there is a reason for everything. If I passed the first time I would of been with Schneider now sleeping in the back of a truck making pennies. But in between taking the retests for my CDL, I found the job with OD.