My List

Had just gotten back into a truck after several years of doing other things. The previous experience gave me a level of comfort that I didn't deserve, not having driven for a while. I was making stupid mistakes, then saying to myself, "I know better than that" once it was all done.

So, I made this list to help remind me of things I already knew, to get me through my first few weeks back on the road. Helped me out a lot, and thought it might help someone new to driving, so I figured I would share.


1. Never pass up an opportunity to fuel, especially if you can only fuel at certain places. Only exceptions are for weight and maybe taxes.

2. Use the bathroom at every opportunity, even if you don't have to go. It sucks having to pee a half hour after you left a stop where you could have gone, but didn't.

3. Don't be afraid to take a walk. This not only applies to GOAL, but also to pulling into a shipper/receiver. There is nothing wrong with parking on the street to walk through the gate to see what the dock, and the area around it, look like.

4. Your directions are never good enough. If there is more you can learn and/or plan for on your route, then do it. Five minutes of planning can sometimes save you hours on the road.

5. Be kind to the mechanics. They hear a lot of undeserved BS, and will often treat you better if you treat them better.

6. If you need to park, take the first spot you see as there may not be another further down the line.

7. There are times to go fast and times to go slow. Know the difference and don't be scared to go slow in places that deserve it.

8. Traffic behind you can wait. Better to have them wait a minute because you need to go slow, then get stuck behind you for hours of clean up when something bad happens. Don't let anyone push you to run faster than you are comfortable with.

9. Don't forget about overhead clearances.

10. You can't always count on making it to the truckstop you planned on making it too earlier in the day. Be prepared for this and have alternatives.

11. Eat healthy and take care of yourself.

12. Clean your truck every day. It will get out of hand fast if you do not do this.

13. Shippers/receivers care about how centered and square your trailer is to the dock. They do not care if it took you several pull ups or if you did it on the first try. That thing about not taking a pull up only applies to passing your driving test, and has no basis in the real world, despite what other drivers may tell you.

14. Slow down early, because you may not have the room if you wait too long. Also, downshift early for the same reason.

15. All those rules that seem stupid once you get out on the road, like counting out your following distance, not shifting on a turn or while crossing RR tracks, covering your brake going through an intersection, etc., still are important and should be followed.

16. Always check your fifth wheel, airlines and tandems whenever you stop or grab a new trailer. You never know what some idiot did when you weren't looking.

17. 15 minutes can turn out to be really important. With the way you round to the nearest 15 minutes, 1 minute can be just as important as 15.