New to the forum, Have questions, mostly stopping ?

You don't just have to worry about killing someone else . You need to worry about someone else killing you. . Read the Truck Accidents threads in the Truck News forum. Way too many drivers killed because of someone running into them.

 

11 hours of driving, 14 is your on duty time.

He didn't say anything about not taking his 10.

Just remember this: apply brakes as hard as possible with out locking em up. Hold a moment, release a bit of they start to lock, repeat. Don't jerk the wheel. Make a controlled steer into an escape route. Always be aware of an escape route. Never jerk the wheel. If you have to exit the road, hold your line and brake to a stop. Don't try to jerk back onto the road. Finally, don't kill yourself trying to avoid killing the idiot who caused it.

Depending on how quickly you're having to brake, there's no way you'll catch all the gears downshifting. Don't try. Be aware of your gears. Know what gear you'll have to catch next to get the rpms up so your Jane will be effective.

 

When vehicles cut off the interval you need to let off the fuel a little until you can reestablish your following distance. By letting off the fuel you are also preparing yourself to come to a safe stop should something happen in front of you.

And I stand by my statement. Never slam on the brakes and never swerve. It's very easy to jackknife with locked up wheels.

 

Try continually getting on and of the throttle running a loaded tanker . Getting off the fuel will just result in more vehicles passing and cutting in front of you .
Don't abs systems prevent lockup and allow you to keep steady pressure on the pedal ?

 

Well Ryan Ill try to answer your questions in the order you asked them:
First car cuts you off. Well never put your truck in neutral and brake, you should always keep your truck in gear in an emergency. But you also should be driving with an out in any case. By out I mean put your truck in a position to avoid not having another place to move to.
In the event you are on a 2 lane when it happens move as far right as you can without hitting the the ditch. In the event that cant be done take a little piece of the car with you. You do not have to slam the back bumper to the front one just nip off a piece of one corner.
Chicago is not that bad to go through just time it for off peak times, that is where trip planning comes in plan you through at 2-4 AM a lot easier than at say 4-6 PM or 5 to 7 AM. As for mountain driving well ask my wife she is the fastest I have ever seen in 18 wheels driving through them.
Backing a trailer is exactly the same as going around a corner but in reverse. Depending on where you are backing in try to back using your left mirror. If you preplan you can move the axles of the trailer forward or back to make it easier. It is not a race take your time do not over steer, over steering is the biggest thing new drivers do.
Never drove a stick well it is not rocket science, most new trucks are progressive shift, normally shifting from 1200 to 1500 RPM, each shift is done approximately 100 RPM higher than the last one. The thing you have to think about when you start is that you have to speed up your engine to match your driveline . This can be done two ways double clutching. ( clutch take out of gear, release clutch while out of gear, matching engine speed to driveline speed then clutch again and go into your next gear.) The other way most normally done outside driving exams is shifting at the sweet spot where your driveline is in perfect sync, here you do not need your clutch except for stopping and starting. No real way I can explain it you just have to figure out where the sweet spot is through practice and well practice.

 

Getting off and back on the throttle with a smooth bore tank = kicked in the back of the head.

 

Only smooth bore tanks I have seen are in the oilfield and they are normally empty when you move them. Do not know if any that would be road legal without baffles. I WOULD THINK THE DOT WOULD FROWN ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

 

Are you high? I pull smooth bore tanks every week with hazardous waste. It's quite legal.

 

That's too funny