Week One at Central Ref...(woman's perspective)

Here's my version of what Central Refrigerated is all about...

First Off, this is probably one of the most important thing I will tell you on this thread. GO TO YOUR LOCAL DMV AND PICK UP A CDL MANUAL FOR YOUR STATE. READ IT! DO THE TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS. KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BEFORE YOU GET HERE!!! Here's the deal, yes, each state has its own rules and regulations about speed limits, weight limits, restricted roads and the like. BUT, the rules and regulations for driving a big truck are regulated by the FEDERAL government. Therefore, any CDL manual is going to have the SAME information in it that the one from Utah does. I used my Indiana manual for the whole class and it worked just fine.

Day 1 (Monday): Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork! You WILL forget how to sign your name by the time this day is over. Okay, so we started off with 46 people on our first day. We took pee tests, the work-well test (small little physical test involving lifting and carrying 50lb. and 75lb. weights), had a security interview and finally a physical. We lost ALOT of people to the physical and the security interview. Its been said a million times before, but I must say it again DO NOT LIE ON YOUR BACKGROUND! We had one guy who had a domestic violence charge that was less then 5 years old, they sent him home, first day.

The people that were are in my class that are former military have said that Central's background check is even more strict then the military's. Why? I don't have a clue. But remember, after 6 weeks they're gonna give you a $150,000 piece of equipment and trust you with it and the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cargo that your moving. Its a liability issue.

After all the tests and stuff, we had lost 18 people and were down to 28. That huge! But we moved to a different classroom and started class with Tony, the head of the school. We talked about log books (even though central does electronic logging through the QualComm) they still have you learn paper logging, cause computers fail sometimes and if you can't log, you don't get paid. We talked about someother trucking things and got a bunch of papers to study.

Okay, I have to say this right now, cause if there is one thing that really pisses me off its this. They gave us things to study because you NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF, not just because they enjoy making copies!!! You have two nights, count 'em TWO might to learn everything that you need to learn to pass the DMV permit test. You get four tries, two on wednesday and two on thursday to pass. We had five people that barely passed on their fourth attempt on thursday and one who failed and went home. Why did they barely pass? Because they didn't study! Those people could be found screwing around, playing pool and just hanging out when everyone else was studying. Look, if you're not going to take this seriously, then don't even bother coming to school. There are those of us that WANT to be here and you're a disruption to us when you spend all day, everyday asking the same questions over and over because you can't be bothered to pay attention to what the teachers are telling you.

Day 2 (Tuesday): More classroom time. We watched lots of really bad videos about driving on wet or icy roads, turning, backing, and all that stuff. We also took practive tests for our DMV permits. Again, the people that didn't study were the ones that did horribly on the practice tests. They will give you handouts on day one that are questions and answers from the DMV permit. Tony will tell you that you should only use these as a supplement for your studying. Listen to what this man says. He's been teaching students at central for 5 years. They want you to pass. You make money for them, plain and simple. He would not tell you anything that would reduce your chances of getting your CDL. If you only study the handouts, you WILL fail your permit tests. Over half of my question (50 out of 100) were either directly from the book OR directly from the information that we got during class time, NOT from those handout!

Day 3 (Wednesday): Permit test day! First thing in the morning, we took out third and final practice test. Then headed over to the DMV. What an experience. I have never been to a better DMV in my life! They were organized and efficient. Central has a long standing relationship with this DMV so they deserve the upmost respect. You take the tests on a computer. They are multiple choice with three answers to choose from. Here's the thing, they WILL try to trick you. Read the question, then reread the question, then read the answers a couple of time and most importantly TAKE YOUR TIME!!! You get 5 MINUTES to answer each question. If you don't know it, skip it and come back to it. There may be another question later in the test that jogs your memory and gives you the correct answer to the one you skipped.

We did the DMV in the morning, so if you pass on the first try, you have till after lunch at 1pm to yourself. But here's the thing. Its not a chance to goof off. Yes, you've passed your permit test, but there's still alot left to learn. Pre-trip Inspections is the next big one. If you don't know anything about car engines, this may be difficult for you. I know a little about cars, but hardly anything about big trucks. Engines in big truck have alot of the same parts as car engines. Get your boyfriend, husband, brother, sister, mother...whoever to help you get at least a basic idea of what the parts of your car are. Alternator, fan and fan belt, checking the oil level, the transmission fluid, the coolant. Just the basic. You don'tneed to understand exactly how they work and what they do, but you do need to be able to point them out and the ones on big trucks are the same, only bigger!

Day 4 (Thursday): Those that didn't pass the permit test were sent back for their third and fourth attempts. The rest of us went to class as usual. Now here's the thing. In class that day we watch a BUNCH of their boring videos. The people that were at the DMV retaking their tests, missed out on those videos. Not that these movies were life changing, BUT they did include a ton of information that you need to drive a truck safely and properly. Do anything you can to pass your permit test on the first day, it is crucial!

Day 5 (Friday): Okay, this was our first day actually driving the big trucks. Alot gets said about the trainers and how they're mean and they yell at you. Not all of that is true. Yes, the trainer that I had the first day did yell at us and yes, I was upset and frustrated because he expected us to know how to drive these things, even those that had never even been inside a truck before. This was bad. It was wrong. and even when I tried to explain to him that I didn't know what I was doing, he didn't understand and didn't help me. I have talked to the head driving instructor about it so hopefully it won't be an issue anymore. But the rest of the trainers are great and they're mostly calm and they will teach you how to drive. If you don't ask them or tell them that you don't know what you're doing, they will expect that you have driven and will only give you the most basic of instruction. Talk to them. Communicate with them. Again, they want you to pass. You make money for the company and in return, they keep their jobs. Get as much information out of them as possible. On this first day that you drive, they take you out to a place that they call rookie road. Its a narrow two lane road that dead ends out at the Great Salt Lake. There's very little traffic and only one stop sign so you don't have to worry about dealing with city traffic.

After lunch, the two groups of students switched. Those of us that drove in the morning went out to the driving range in the afternoon to learn how to back. The morning group that had learned to back now got their chance to actually drive. The first backing maneuver that you learn is straightline backing. This is important. If you can't straightline back, you WILL NOT pass your driving test. We were out on the driving range for 4 1/2 hours. We had three groups, each working with their own truck. I got to do this maneuver 12 times! There are instructors there to help you. They will help you, that's what they do. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is, steer towards the problem. If you can see more of your trailer in your drivers mirror, turn the wheel that way, if its in the passenger mirror, turn that way. Don't oversteer, a quarter turn is all you need.

Day 6: (Saturday): This was mostly the same as Friday. We drove rookie road (some people went other places) and did more backing in the afternoon. This time we did Off-set backing which is definately more complicated, but you will be tested on it, so it very important.

Day 7: (Sunday): This is your one and only day off. We moved to the Ramada to make room for the next class back at the bunk house. Yes, they have a pool and wi-fi that actually works (the wi-fi at the bunk house is a bunch of crap) but, you are still in school.

Here's the thing, you need to study, ALOT. Especially if this is new to you. Just cause class ends at 530pm every day, doesn't mean that you go back to your room and screw around. You have two weeks, 14 days, half a month, to learn how to safely drive what is essentially a killing machine. 80,000lbs. Thats what you will drive at highway speeds. Yes, you go out with a trainer for 28 days after you get your CDL, but you will do most of the driving at that point. 75% to be exact. You have to back into 40 docks during that time period. Then, your on your own. Here's a reality check, 40-60% of new drivers have an accident in their first 6 months driving solo. Central is a good school, but its excelerated. Your not here for a vacation, you're here to train for a new job. If you don't think that two weeks is enough time to learn to drive a Big Truck, then try to find another school. Community colleges are a great place to learn and its much slower. But if you're up for the challenge, then get out to West Valley City, Utah and get on the road!

Okay, I'm sure this post is long enough by now. And I am sure that I've left somethings out. But I will be more then glad to answer any of your questions.

Be safe out there

 

yeah, the there, their, and they're thing drives me nuts too.

The first day, we had four people in the truck, the second they reconfigured it because they wanted more instructors on the driving range so we had five per truck. It wasn't to bad.We each got over 30 minutes of drive time to practice upshifting and downshifting. Each segment of class before and after lunch is about 5 hours. But you spend at least the first hour to hour and a half working on pre-trip. We also take a little break out at saltair, on salt lake after the first two drivers. So that uses up sometime too. I would love to get another half hour every day, but its all good. You also get some time behind the wheel during backing on the driving range. We keep it in 1st gear though and we never touch the throttle on the range.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it so far. One minor trainer hick-up, but that's been taken care of.

 

We haven't driven it yet, that is going to happen this thursday. I'm not totally excited about it yet, cause I'm still very new to driving a Big Truck, maybe on wednesday I'll be less nervous about it.

I'm glad we get to do it though. Nothing better then to go out on the road already having had a taste of mountain driving.

 

Sure thing Ramjet. I wanted to do daily posts from the beginning, but my laptop didn't like the wi-fi at the bunk house. I will try to be more regular about my posts now that I'm at the Ramada and into Week Two.