No Experience At ALL - Getting Pre-Class Jitters - Cold Feet - Major Doubts

I wish I had gotten to drive on first day.

 

Gamgee, You don't have anything to worry about. I also am a community college student. Halfway thru my course. I had the same worries they put me in this huge truck for the first time and said drive. It was scary thinking I could run someone over or into someone. That was all relieved by the instructor in the right seat. He made sure I did not do anything I could hurt myself or anyone else. The one big thing he made it very clear was to breathe and not be so stiff. That I needed to relax and just think of it as just another Sunday drive in the country just with a longer truck. You will not be a professional driver the first drive so don't be hard on yourself just listen to the instructor and you will get better with practice. Be sure to ask questions as you need to they will answer anything you need. Remember they are not there to make you fail they want you to pass. Just relax and enjoy the ride. Any thing I can help just let me know.

 

My first week was all CDL manual book learning stuff and the instructor telling us stories from his own experience as we read through it.

Second week was backing at the range. You will probably have fun doing that. I did. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard while in the truck with other students. Some of those guys cracked me up.

3rd week was driving on real roads. That was hard. I was wiping sweat off my forehead and back. But I stuck with it and it quickly got to the point I was relaxed. Shifting fairly smoothly, even skipping gears downshift and upshift. The shifting especially worried me because I only ever drove automatic 4wheelers. But don't worry about it. You'll figure it out just like I did.

I was only on the road driving about 3-6 hours total that week. But they felt like very long 3 hours. Then it was test day, and passed everything first try. I studied pretrip hard every single day in school. I went out to the trucks with other students and we quizzed each other.

I know what you are going through. Best advice I can give you is to just do it anyway. The angst won't last very long. Company orientations are also difficult. You will see people get pulled out of the class room never to be seen again. But just do it anyway. You'll be in your truck before you know it.

 

I sure did not think I was prepared either. I was doing company training with CR England and I remember my first time in the truck just going straight forward and straight backwards at 2 miles an hour. I could not even do that, trying to go backwards I ended up jackknifing the trailer across everyone else's lanes and making the entire class come to a halt. I remember hearing about how a few people were even making Bets with others that I would be the first one to drop out at class of 60. Though in the end I was actually one of only about a dozen that finished. As long as you want the job enough to stick out the stress then you will have it.

The instructor came up to me and just said looks like you need a little help. He got in the truck with me and and fixed me right.

That was six years ago and now I'm making 80 thousand a year and expecting more and more each coming year with a piece of cake job.

 

That happened on the range when I was there too. LOL. It wasn't me that did it, but I remember looking off to my left across the rows of trucks doing straight lines. Then there was just this one truck completely turned the wrong way backing into other lanes. It's just a straight line back, but the guy was in the truck just cranking the steering wheel all over the place. hahaha!

When I arrive to the terminal I see the backing range and will occasionally see some creative backing taking place. Then after class some of the students come over to the driver area and they are like kids in candy stores. Walking around, talking with everyone, asking questions all bright eyed. I call them the eager beavers. Every class has a few.