July 14th Burleson Class - Journal

DAY 12 - well, i said i wouldnt say anything about yesterday unless their were some deaths, etc. Its not the kind of thing i like to report, but while driving on the highway we witnessed a wreck. A car had flipped over. It couldnt have been too long before because the ambulance hadn't yet arrived. Their were two fatalities. A man and woman, college students. The bodies were laid on the side of the road. A small tarp was covering them, but their feet were sticking out. A very sobering sight. Be careful out there friends. Stay alert, stay alive. You never know when itll be your day.

 

DAY 13 - today we are doing night driving. We came in at 3:30pm. First we went over to the course where our CDLtest will be administered. We ran through it. The next few days i believe we keep practicing it thoroughly. Right now im in the back of a dark semi riding while another student drives. Its very peaceful driving at night. I think ill prefer getting up and starting my day at 2 or 3 a.m. this should make it easier to find a parking space when my day is over, before all the lots are crowded. We should be done tonight around midnight.

 

Oh sorry. None of the trucks in the fleet are over four years old. I believe the veterans get the newer trucks, as is fitting.

 

I must have misunderstood your question twice then.
Yes you can take pretrip, in Texas, and airbrakes. I highly recommend it to avoid scrambling at the last minute while your here, and possibly not passing before your scheduled road test. Because once school starts you won't have much free time to do it.

 

DAY 14 - we got done last night at 1am. We couldn't drive again for 10 hours, so we started at 11am. Today, we took turns driving again. We mostly practiced on the CDL course. Im definitely not the smoothest driver. I still miss some gears. With one more day to go i hope something clicks. Im a little stressed out about it. I have a tendency when im paying attention to other things, to revert back to moving the stick like my car. Years of ingrained mussle memory is hard to overcome. If i do get my CDL then anybody can do it. Ive never backed up a trailer or boat in my life and never even seen the inside of a semi. Tomorrow we will go through the course again but wihout instruction. Overall, im psyched to be so near the end. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.... hope its not a train. Harold mentioned today that his next Burleson class has 12 students. Holy cow. Poor guy will have his hands full. Im sure, as always, some of the students will no show or change dates.

 

They haven't mentioned it. I dont know. But i believe if somebody doesn't make it, it will be their own fault. They fail the drug test, fall asleep, dont care, show up late, dont follow the dress code, get homesick, etc. If you come prepared, show that you care, pay attention, ask questions then Harold will work with you to get you through it. Once in a blue moon there is a student that just flat out cant get the concept of backing AT ALL. But i think that if students dont make it its probably due to the makeup of their character. They just are not cut out for the lifestyle, dont know what they are getting themselves into, or are the kind of person that has a hard time holding ANY job.