Only logged 19 drive hours in school so far. Is it normal to be afraid of the truck?

One thing that I've noticed with what few hours I have behind the wheel, is that even if I were pissing someone off behind me (4 wheeler), they were so far back that I am oblivious to their state of mind. It can be intimidating having someone tailgate you, and having to see their crazy road rage eyes in the rearview mirror. But in the truck, its very calm and peaceful. I can see them back there, but I can't feel them. If that makes any sense?

 

Want to be a good driver...

Just remember that EVERYONE on that concrete ribbon is after a piece of you.

No one likes how fast you are driving. No one likes how slow you are driving.

Everything you are doing is WRONG in their eyes.


All you can do is the speed limit, keep it between the lines and use your signals to tell people what you are going to do.


Nothing you do will be right.


Get past all that.

You'll do just fine.


The ONLY thing you can control on the road is what you do inside that cab. And the biggest thing you have to control is your fear, your confidence and your calmness.

Realize there will be times you HAVE to turn the radio off just to concentrate on what you are doing at that moment.

There will be times you HAVE to ignore the phone.

Realize that there are 3 1/2 million other drivers on the road at one time who were in the same place you are today. NEW.

 

It is probably normal, I wasn't very worried, but I went from a car, to a van, to a class B truck then to a class A truck. I couldn't imagine going right into a tractor trailer, so I bet it is pretty normal to feel a bit fearful.

My best advice is to just think that if all these other crazy wackos can drive a truck surely you can It really does become much easier over time, things like shifting you don't even think about a few months in, you just do it. Just keep an eye out and don't worry about inconveniencing cars, safety is your concern not how quick the guy behind gets home to watch tv.

 

makes total sense:

the thing to remember is the idea that if person accidents to your rear that they are responsible is - maybe true - but accident of any kind is gonna be serious so the focus is do whatever you can to not let it happen at-all / ever

use the calm and peaceful to keep reserve safety margin, iow sort of like you have to relax and be tight at the same time, it is a developed skill, building hours / miles should bring it to you .... if you not an alky

(edit) - read what MNdriver posts, how he says it is a better wording of what I was trying to say

 

When you tailgate?

 

I was going to ask the same thing... When?

WTF?

 

im gonna edit that out as I have no room for a firefight .....

 

Why would you ever tailgate in the first place?

 

I have intense skills that everyone here will only hammer me about, so I am not going to argue, drop it as this is OP 's post and that wastes his learning .... to do what I have to do one has to control tons at fractions of an inch so since I have never nailed it in five decades nor had any incident nor would anyone believe what I have to function under just stay with op - which probably you are doing him a favor and I can take it so this issue is done

twenty thousand pounds at two inches clearance does not concern what OP asked about, which is highly highly relevant to where you will take this so address his concerns, not mine

I do it all the time in routine operations ...... I was trying to speak of something I know about & never had a close call .... drop it

 

His concern is safe driving, I think that has been established, so in the interests of understanding safe driving, especially for the OP, why would you you ever tailgate? My understanding is that it is highly dangerous and what if that truck you are behind IS being driven by the OP?

You may have intense skills, what ever that means, but what about the other driver? Is there a safety angle to this I am missing? I am always open to learning new things so feel free to share, it goes against everything I have ever learned but who knows, I could have learned wrong.