Impression of Roehl so far

You poor thing momma--there is no place on earth i hate more than chicago!! I would much rather spend a week in NYC and i hate that place as well. I think chicago should be off limits to big trucks but then its cuz i hate it so much. I been there a few times and it always takes me hours to get out! LMAO

I guess we all gotta do it but dont gotta like it! LOL But ya if you cant remain in a truck with a trainer for a few weeks--maybe he should go back to what he was doin and forget about truck driving! No offense to anyone--I spent 32 days with my trainer when i started out and it was tough at times but i survived it! Good luck to all and Be safe!

 

what do you mean hrs. to get out. traffic!

 

Well--let me start of sayin when i went into chicago i was driving for werner--needless to say they gave me directions straight into a 11' bridge. So, endin up stoppin traffic in the middle of lunch hour gettin out of there then made it to my destination in which i had to back down an alley to get into the dock which was beside a 10' concrete bridge and barely enough room for a 4 wheeler to get into. I come outta there -- all one way streets--and couldnt get out of there. I was totally lost and every road said "no trucks allowed". So i had no clue which way to go or where to go. Finally, an off duty jbhunt or schneider--dont remember which--directed me outta there. But it was horrible for i had only been in chicago one other time so i had no clue which way to go and was driving a long nose freightliner so wanted to make sure i didnt turn down the wrong road. It was quite an experience though- LOL

 

Nah i got lost terribly. To start off with they gave me directions into an 11' bridge--stopped traffic durin lunch hour to get out of that. Then after i delivered--it was all one way streets with lots restricted to trucks. I got lost and didnt know how to get out of downtown..Finally an off duty truck driver led me outta there but it took me a while. It was horrible.

 

Driving in chicago with a car is a challenge in it self,let alone a Big Rig and 53' trailer..
Now about starting out in my opinion. First of all us newbies must start somewhere, and at the bottom of the totem pole and work your way up the ladder as most jobs require. I've been working at a company for 23yrs with 5 weeks vacation and pay that is pretty good. Problem is that I really want to drive truck knowing that I must give up all my vacation and pay and start at the bottom. I know that if I can do at least 2 years OTR (maybe less) that I can drive local and make more money and be home every night. It's a sacrafice that I need to make, but I know sticking it out through the good and the Bad. The rewards will be there.
Now if I can only do what I say!!

 

Ok, I was gonna jump in here and say to the newbies--don't do Chicago without a low bridge map. But apparently in the last ten years since I used to do Chicago locals, they've been busy as beavers fixin' most of the low bridges and truck routes. Any Windy City drivers know this to be true?

I can't find any reference online about a low bridge map... and I used to have one.

I remember having to do a U-turn on 55th at Western Ave one time before I got that map. The place I had to deliver to was just on the other side of the bridge. It was marked 13' 0" I think. As I was sitting on the side of the road, contemplating what to do, a local driver pulled up to the bridge, nosed the top of the trailer under it... and scraped it all the way through. Obviously he'd done it many times before. I figured if he could do it, maybe mine would make it... I idled up to it and hung my head out the window as the nose of the trailer touched the bridge. No such luck--I'd have peeled the trailer open like a can of sardines if I'd have tried to go through. I had to back out and swing a U-turn right there.

At the PST yard in Hammond, there were always a few tractors and trailers in the lot that had received a "Chicago Drop Top"--it was instant termination to top a trailer.

 

I use to love driving around Chicago. If all you have to worry about is a few low bridges which are marked in the map book and some traffic, both which can be planned ahead for then that ain't much to worry about.

When you are use to driving through the passes and back roads out west all winter long going to a place like Chicago would be a relief for me.

I think some challenges now and then are good for any driver so that after awhile nothing seems that big of a deal. If you always have it easy then you end up being one of those road hazard trucks I see every winter doing 10 miles an hour and a driver behind the wheel with a look of sheer terror and fatigue.

 

I agree that a driver should be challenged, and that doing so will improve that driver's skills and abilities. But it also has to be done within reason, and at an appropriate time. Sending a newly-minted rookie into Downtown Chicago, with no directions, to a customer where hardly anyone speaks enough English to provide guidance, is more than a "challenge."

I like challenges, as it keeps the job interesting. But nothing trumps safety.

 

"then be a grown-up and deal with it.'

Yeah, I guess I am getting soft in my old age. I no longer put up with situations that I find unpleasant for extended periods of time. Life is too short.

 

Chicago has a 24-hour help-line you can call (800-number) for question about bridges on any route (in Chicago, of course).