Things I wish my trainer had taught me

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Something every trainer needs to tell drivers. Mistakes will happen.

Missed turn.......trainee freaks out

Chill yo......if that’s the worst thing that happens today.......

 

even though i only drive a local truck i keep 2 quarts of oil in the truck at all times, i usually check the oil when im at a farm. i have to wait for the milk to load and its daylight. i have waiting time to check fluids. i also carry an oil can, i squirt motor oil on the mechanisms for the 5th wheel, its cheap enough and keeps that stuff working well. i also have a bottle of glass cleaner and inexpensive paper towels to clean the bugs off the windshield.

 

Keep the inside clean as possible- a pain yes , but 2 days of dirt and junk really sucks. ( plastic bags are great for trash).something to clean windows and mirrors and lites with. Do planning B4 rolling.

 

Man I have been preaching this till my dang face is purple!!!

 

HA.

THAT's awesome. All my stupid wasted life eyeballing a tiny notepad.

 

Dirty truck, especially cluttered dashboard, is an easy visual indicator to the DOT dawgs that other things might be messy (logs, paperwork, mechanical, etc). Been preaching clean truck FOREVER!!

 

I use Post-It notes. Much less mess, and they stick at a convenient place.
Try using the marker on glass at night when the light is not hitting it right. Can't see it.

 

my trainer was nothing more than a steering wheel holder. Couldn't understand hours of service constantly reaffirming the rules through dispatch. No trip plan skills he relied on me to do it. Didn't think he could read a map so I tested him on a delivery. Handed him the atlas 20 miles before delivery and asked him to guide us in, quickly realized he was just going off freeway signs so once off the highway I asked him what the street name was before our street: I already knew as I had studied the map hours earlier. By the time we arrived at the warehouse he still hadn't figured it out. I was fortunate to have already had prior experience or as a new or driver, I'd have been lost and quit.