So how did everyone 1st week go driving solo?

You get use to it.The more exp you get the more you just shrug it off and do your thing.

 

Lookout for the Supertruckers™!

 

Patience pays up in there driver! If you can survive the northeast you can do well anywhere else. Good luck and be safe!

 

Got lost twice on my first load, found out I couldn't read my QC while driving.
Picked up my first 57ft trailer (Texas).

Got lost in Laredo some place wouldn't let me use their property to turn around.
Found the place, had to leave bc I didn't get the trailer inspected yet at our yard.
Got that done back at the place gave me a hard time bc Shipper put the seal on wrong door.

Had to put truck in shop after driving all night.
Didn't want to turn down second load so I drove tired.

All I remember for now.
Yeah it was fun.
That was like the first day.

 

All I really remember were the laughs I provided with my backing skills.

 

Miss my turn and found a gated resident road with a guard shack, thought I could go in and ask if he can open the gates so I can turn around. Well no one was in it and my backing was sloppy so I attempt to make a u turn around the guard shack. Well couldn't make it without tearing down the shack and now I'm blocking the entire entrance/exit. So embarrassing

 

Picked up a load in Nebraska, then made my delivery to Virginia okay. Qualcomm message received had a late load to pickup to go to Massachusetts. Picked up load in pouring rain then found the last parking spot in a medium sized truck stop which was a giant puddle of water. 3/4 of the way into the spot I thought my trailer was going over onto its side, guess that is why it was the LAST spot open in the truck stop.

Got up the next day and decided to go around New Jersey/NYC since during 8 weeks with a trainer I had never been there and I was not going to do it during my first week solo. Got to Connecticut went to bed no problem. Went to jump on the interstate and the signs said East or West, I wanted to go North so I did not get on a ramp and could not find a place to turn around and look at a map. I should have just jumped on the interstate and looked for a rest area but was confused. Tried to turn around in a small liquor store parking lot and got stuck. The owner of the store was PI$$ED, thought he was going to call the police.

Got to the city in Massachusetts and misread the instructions which said to go THROUGH the intersection with the traffic lights then turn left at the next intersection. I turned left at the intersection WITH the traffic lights. Came to a bridge ahead sign that said clearance 10' 6" so I stopped. A LEO officer came up and asked why I was stopped and I told him I could not make it under the bridge. He pointed to a small parking lot and asked if I could turn around in there. NO, not a small parking lot AGAIN!!! He gave me permission to make a right turn onto a street marked no trucks allowed. Barely made the right turn even with cars backing up for me then I was on a street with LOW POWER LINES. I switched from one side of the street to the other giggling the wires every time my cab went under them. Resident came out and was PI$$ED that I was on his street. Told him I was lost, could not make it under bridge and police officer gave me permission to go on the street and how much I HATED the low power lines.

Made the delivery, called my trainer that I thought I COULD NOT STAND and was barely talking to when I got out of his truck and said I was having thoughts of quitting. He said I thought you might have this problem. That was 10 years ago August 2004.

 

When it rains it pours doesn't it,lol.You can laugh now but back then bet you wanted to pull all your hair out,lol.Everything but good happened when I first started.The worst thing I could possibly say was to tell my dispatcher to go eay on me,im very green.She did everything but go easy on me.I was never so happy to take hometime as back then.During that time I got a dog and she helped me tremendously getting over my fears.