How did you learn to drive?

Sounds like a Johnny Cash song.

 

well i learnd 2 drive a semi at age 12, keys tossd at me and and put in hayfeild and told if i burnd the clutch i'd get boot up my ###, now days they teach u book work in a 6 week school with very little driveing on the road and call u a professinal truck dirver of course their weren't half the ppl on the roads back then as their is 2day, and ppl seem 2 b dumber also they think they can pull out in front of a big truck or slam on their brakes and expect that big truck 2 stop on a dime their just isn't any common since anymore we get in accident and it's our fault we didn't stop on a dime and that needs 2 come 2 an end i know some states have been changeing laws 2 help us but their not changeing fast enough, and they'll almost put any1 bhind a the wheel of a semi now days

 

Thanks. I hadn't seen it.

I voted "family member." Sort of the best fit, but not entirely true. Out of high school I worked for my Dad doing highway construction. We had an assortment of pickups, straight trucks, and trailers to move. I clearly remember one afternoon in Savannah at the end of a seal coating job. I was supposed to back the rig to within 6-18" of the curb to the right. Long story short: after a dozen attempts, a lot of coaching, nearly a fist fight and a bus ticket home, I got it. After that I could back anything we had through a slalom as fast as it would go in reverse. Even was able to figure out backing a sort of double trailer set up we used. An old 71 Dodge flatbed or an equally crappy Econoline box truck, pulling an air compressor, and a tandem flatbed hooked on the back of that.

One time another contractor had a semi with an RGN on it in our way. Driver was nowhere to be found and the keys were in it. I figured it out. I don't even remember what kind of truck it was. Dad was considering getting bigger equipment so I went and got a class 5 endorsement just in case. No road test required. Just an affidavit of skill from the old man and a long written test and done. Never did drive a semi after that. A few years later they passed the national CDL law. I had better things to spend $100 on than a DOT physical so I let it lapse.

Fast forward 25 yrs. Long story in another thread, but built a business with my son as the driver. He went to a good CDL school and had 2 yrs driving experience. I needed to be able to move the truck and he was getting a little prima donna attitude as well. I hired a local CDL school for a week refresher course that included a ride to the CDL range and road test. Passed that no problem, even pulling the alley dock as one of my backing tests. That was a little over two years ago.

I had hired another driver right after that (BigJohn54, RIP). My first real driving task was riding with him on his first run. We did a team run straight out to Kansas City to pick up a trailer I bought sight unseen. He ran out his HOS and I did the last three hours both ways. Of course on the return trip his HOS ran out about 20 miles before Monteagle EB LOL. My first real "load." 40k of dog food in the back, I rolled out at 0200, getting more than a little uptight about the hill coming. I had John believing it was no big deal while he was snoozing after a long day at the wheel. He couldn't see the sharp crease that was forming in the seat cover under me. Turned out not so bad. It's been all downhill since then.

 

here is the keys dont wreck the truck, in the 60s you did not need a special lic. to drive

 

my boyfriend too,lol

 

there is the truck, it is loaded and you go to....
good i did buy a roadmap the day before

 

When I was 13 my pops put me in the driver seat of his Freightshaker FLD 120 and told me to drive around the parking lot. Almost got it up to 4th gear before I had to throw the brakes on due to the aisle ending. Fast forward 13 years later I wrote my "D" or Class B and my air brake endorsement. Got thrown in to the seat of a tri axle dump truck same day. Another hand sat with me but he let me learn things on my own. Did that for about a week, went and passed my road rest and I was out on my own. Never went to driving school or anything. Go figure first week solo I got my Mack Granite stuck axle deep in wet mud and needed TWO bulldozers to push and pull me out. My face was never so red.