mistakes that let everyone know youre a rookie

Oops! I forgot my rookie mistake as a trainer! Met new driver in yard and reviewed load info from board and how to fill out freight bills. Explained route, and bob-tailed to pre-load yard with rookie following in second bob-tail. Arrived at pre-load yard, explained gate code, trailer counts, and how to inventory and schedule trailers for repair. Had new driver back under trailer, hook up, and then showed him how to pre-trip the equipment. And then, had him follow me to cement plant.

Once at cement plant, I explained how to position under gangway correctly. I reviewed safety equipment with him, and then had him follow me to top of gangway to open the hatches. I pulled the first hatch open and realized the trailers were loaded! I had forgotten to thump the trailers myself, and forgot to tell the trainee to thump them as part of the pre-trip!! I felt so badly, I paid the trainee the money he would have earned on the load had the trailers not been loaded already out of my own wages!! Wow! Did I feel like an idiot!?!?

 

Parking at a truck stop and not checking your fifth wheel and air lines before you pull off.

Using my Dre Beats machine

 

Never block the CAT scale in a truck stop. I've seen drivers park ON the scale or just in front of it to go in for their scale ticket. When they come back out, there are 5 VERY upset truckers behind them waiting to get weighed. There is only one certified scale, and a whole lotta folks gotta get weighed. As with anything else, be courteous to others.

 

Hookin' on to another carrier's trailer, and driving 300 miles with it. That's the reason they instituted a trailer control form at a Walmart DC some years ago... I believe it was a Swift driver pulling a TransAM trailer around, if memory serves.

Do make sure you've got the right one!

 

Was it at least the right trailer number?

 

Using my personal credit card instead of company card to fuel the truck. $400 mistake. Not accounting for time zone changes when planning a trip.

 

I've run into that problem with XTRA lease trailers. Shipper told me to pick up trailer #XYZ and started to hook up to it and the number didn't seem quite right. We only had a few lease trailers but the numbers were in a short range of numbers and that one didn't fit. It was 1am and I wasn't able to get a hold of any of my bosses so I decided not to pull it and went home for the night. I find out the next day that it was a different carriers XTRA trailer that they put our load on and they were pretty happy I didn't pull it.

 

Scaling your tractor and trailer, then parking your truck right in front of the scale.

Using my Dre Beats machine

 

Running to your last minute on your 14.

Sent from my HTC ONE courtesy of Tapatalk 2.