What didn't you learn in driving school?

Trust me when I tell you that skid pad training won't teach you how to recover from a jack-knife situation, loaded, empty or somewhere inbetwixt, -- and very few would even be able to tell you how either.

I attended a skid pad experience at Fox Valley Tech which included classroom instructions and written tests before going out in the cold weather. It was winter and many roads were already closed due to ice. Perfect for a skid pad.

The classroom instruction consisted, partly, with what to do in a skid condition, but very little how-to, comparatively. Really though, how many times do they need to repeat "steer INto the skid and de-clutch?
Instead, they covered Defensive Driving.
They explained it like this,
We're not here to teach you how to control a skidding Big truck.
NopE!
We're here to teach you what it feels like to skid in a Big truck, and more importantly, how to AVOID that feeling.

I can't argue with that logic.

Ain't that a HooT?!
'Round & 'Round, weeeeeeee ------
Oh what fun I had, 'till reality set in.
GulP!
Uhhhhhh, ........ can I do that again with a different attitude?
Had it been a real-life situation I shutter to imagine the consequences.

At FVTech, they had a short flatbed trailer tethered so it wouldn't come around and slap the tractor, but watching that trailer sway in the rear view mirror(s) was a sight to behold, and one I'd prefer never to see again.
It's said that If y'all can read who you drive for on the side of y'all's trailer, you've got a big problem, and When y'all can see a lot of y'all's trailer in one mirror, and not at all in the other, y'all are in a jack-knife!
Notice neither says what to do once that has been established.

A skid pad experience is not only educational, it can actually be fun at the same time. And rest assured, no animals were abused or harmed during my skid pad experience.

You are soooo right, Kansas.
Then again I wonder if some of them would even listen? I doubt that type cares if their actions inconvenience and/or create unsafe conditions. Some of them have been driving Big trucks for years. Ya'd think they'da lernt by now,
ya reckon.

Bumping the scales!
OH Man-0-Man, that's a GOOD way to p.o. the scalemaster in short order.
I had a trainee who got all nervous at the scales. Kept releasing the clutch too quickly causing the Big truck to jerk. Nothing I said calmed him down, and we were committed to it now. It was a platform scale that required a driver to come to a complete stop in the proper area to be properly weighed. My trainee stopped just shy of the painted limit line, and gave the scale a heck of a bump. The scalemaster yelled -- DRIVER!
BUMP MY SCALE ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL MAKE YOU A PEDESTRIAN!!
That got his attention.
Now,...... why didn't I think of doin' that?

What do you expect to expect going into California? Or New Mexico, Oregon, or having to park and bring your paperwork inside in Wyoming?
Part of driving a Big truck is an ability to think. The better one can think, sometimes outside the box, the better they'll be able to git-er-done. As long as y'all can think, you'll be able to figure it all out.

A lot of what'cha hear about the different states is bovine excrement. Exaggerated by someone who had a bad experience, probably deserved, who won't man up to it. A bad attitude with a chip on their shoulder, whinin' and complainin' --- (too) often found on CB channel 19 broadcasting their immaturity. I only listen to that type when I feel like laughing.

No mapping at all?
Hmmmmmmmmm
I wonder why?
IMO, it should have been covered. Before setting out on a journey, it's a good idea to not only know where the hail you're goin' --- like how to get there from here would be nice.
Good Grief!
No mapping?

As a driver trainer, it wasn't my position to "teach" a trainee to drive a Big truck. That is supposed to occur while they're students. It's also not my position to "teach" them how to read an atlas. Again, that should have been covered while they were students. By the time they climbed aboard my Big truck, they were trainees, -- on their way to being rookies. It IS my position to polish their skills, and I refused to pass any trainee who wasn't ready to be a rookie.
During my days as a driver trainer, the number of trainees I failed could be counted on one hand, and of them, two were passed by another trainer anyway. One of those crashed within a few weeks.
Imagine that.

Keeping in mind that the schools are there to teach y'all how to get a CDL-A, and mapping isn't on the DMV tests --- see where I'm goin' with this?
Schools drill on relative material. The rest is considered fluffy filler that y'all will learn on your own. And, if y'all stop and think 'bout it, they're right.
Y'all did.
Right?

Are you worried?
We'll be pullin' for you.

Ahhhhhhhh, backing.
That sure can be frustrating, huh?
I had a trainer who put it like this ----
How far have you driven so far?
'Bout five or six thousand miles, I reckon.
During that time, how far have you backed up?
Hard tellin'. Probably not even a mile.
Good guess.
How much straight ahead driving do you figure it'll take
before you're good at backing?
I don't see how driving straight ahead is going to improve
my backing skills.
Good answer.
So, why don't we head for party row that's empty now,
and practice backing up for awhile?
And that's what we did, and that helped. But backing requires a "feel". Hard to explain and, for me, harder to direct another driver --- other than to stop them before hitting anything. Oh, I can tell y'all which way to turn the steering wheel, but how much, and when to get back under it, that's the hang-up.

Practice.
If given a choice of doors at a warehouse, don't shoot for the easiest door. Go for the tricky door. If y'all are sweatin' bullets, y'all picked the right one. If anyone offers to watch your progress, make sure you both understand the hand signals to be used, then go for it. Put pressure on yourself. You don't want to look bad in front of others, do you? Worse yet, how you'll look to yourself. Imagine the feelin' when y'all put-'er-in --- one shot, no pull-ups. Especially when others are there to witness it.

And yes, it's perfectly all right to exit your Big truck as though it was nothing to put 48 or 53 feet into a narrow spot between two shiny Petercars with muscular drivers, who both just let out a sigh of relief.

YeaH!
But to do that, they'd have to take the students TO Brooklyn.
If all the students pitched in, it could pay the tolls necessary to get to Brooklyn. As much as it costs to get IN, By golly, I'd pay more to get OUT.

A school bus complete with school kids?
WoaH!
A LOT of responsibility goes with that gig.
Freight is one thing, but the kind of freight with two legs and unloads itself is another.
Be careful.

How'd you handle that?
Nervous?
Man-0-Man, I think that would be stressful.

Because you appreciate it, you can plan on it.

You're quite welcome.
I like your attitude when you say, "I'll learn it on my own time."
It very well may come to that. Always good to have a plan if it does.
Git-er-done.

Chocolate?!
Where?
My name is Shakey AfterShock, ..... and I'm a
chocoholic.
Which reminds me ----- where'd I put those donuts?
The chocolate ones.

That isn't too much to expect. Why didn't he provide any help?

You should have whispered 'sexual harassment' -- see if he could hear that.

You probably handled it right though. If you raised a fuss, someone like him would, or could, make things unpleasant for you.
Who needs that?

Although I didn't realize it at the time, I signed up for Big truck truck drivin' school at the perfect time. They were just putting the new sign up and were still getting ready to open for business when I went in to inquire about attending. The office wasn't all set up yet, but they were happy to supply their first potential customer with information and answer my questions. After thinking about it overnight, I returned and signed up, officially becoming their first customer, --- before they were even open.

The books we were to use arrived during graduation, which wasn't a bad thing as it turned out. Instead of book learnin', the instructors were allowed to wing it as they went, another good thing as it turned out.

I used to arrive early and leave late, which gave me an opportunity to hang with the instructors and listen to their road stories. Some of those stories were told in the classroom along with what was necessary to pass the DMV tests. Of ALL the instructions I received, the ones that I remember most often, are the lessons taught through road stories because they helped me relate by way of emotion. I often hear myself sayin' "That's what they were tellin' me 'bout" when confronted with new situations.

However, and IMO, unfortunately, instructors tellin' road stories is considered a waste of time, and therefore discouraged under normal circumstances. But because we had no books to study, and hopefully learn from, the instructors were allowed to conduct their instructions any way they could. I know the front office was worried that too few student would be able to pass without the books, but most actually did pass. And a few were there just to collect government money, never planning on passing.

For me, the way the instructors, with years of combined truckin' experience, were allowed and able to provide stories that illustrate the points they were making sure helped me remember those points.

Remember not to forget that.

A "fool"?
I think you're being too kind in your assessment of him.

As long as you don't let carp like that bother you, you'll be ok.
It isn't right for anyone to be rude and/or crude, but it's gonna happen. It's part of truckin', no doubt. And sometimes complaining creates another kind of harassment. It's a play it by ear thing.

"A lot"?
How about ALL of them?
Why else would they open for business?
And while we're on the subject of "$", ALL of the Big truck truckin' companies are in it for the $ too.
You'd be surprised to know how many folks think truckin' companies are in business to relocate freight, but that's just a sideline they must perform before receiving any $. If they didn't have to move freight, I doubt they would.

Really?
Nothing?

Were you allowed to float the gears during your road test for employment?
The reason I ask is, many of the truckin' companies say no floating gears. Double clutch.

If you're serious about having knee problems, you might find driving a Big truck challenging, especially in heavy, stop-n-go traffic.

Did you have to blind-side back during the DMV driving test?
If not, there's the reason why the school didn't stress it.
And BTW, "stress" is an excellent word to use there. :smt087.

.As long as you learn, mistakes are not for naught.

Now that thar is a good trainer.

What was their explanation for that?

Do you disagree with that philosophy?

If it were my business, I'd allow for inclement weather and include a waiting period, if necessary.
I know my capabilities and limitations, --- what I DON'T know is the abilities of the others sharing the highway with me. I'd sure hate to be taken out by some wingnut for no other reason than I decided to run when conditions weren't as safe as they could be.
Safety is no accident.

BINGO!

Read what you just wrote above.
Some companies don't even provide chains, they just pay any fine they receive for not having chains.

For some, but not all. Time management is difficult to teach in a classroom.

I believe I agree with you, ............. again.

The more a school does in general detracts from instruction to pass the DMV test.

Let's see, you attended a pretty good school, had a darned good trainer, and the company that hired you is helpful and is concerned about their new drivers?
Either you have good luck, or somebody upstairs is watchin' over you.

One thing about Schneider is their reputation for training. I attended driver trainer training in Green Bay by request because I learned it was more intense than what was offered in Los Angeles. I wasn't disappointed.
And, as an added bonus, I saw a LOT of Green Bay streets. I mentioned they oughta include a Packers game while visiting Title Town.
They chuckled.
HeY!
I'm serious.

 

I'm not insulted. I'm deeply concerned about chaining up. Now on our fleet we've been told not to chain just stop. But what if I can't? I do not feel I've been taught well how to chain..............and I keep trying to find better information but as yet have not.

####. I try hard I really do and suddenly I am a freaking wheel holder not a good driver.

 

Why do you say that?

 

ok, so i went a 6 month long cdl school, 4 days a weekm 5 hours a day, and i stayed overtime and graduated with over 500hours of training, however, with alllllll that training, only a smig of that has helped out in the real world, they should have tought me how to drive with a total weight of 80,000, not an empty 45ft trl. they should have tought me how to back in to a dock/parking spot next to other trucks, they should have had the school open when 1/5 an inch of snow hit the ground, they should have tought me about enter weight stations, and what to expect during a dot inspection, they should tought me how to open and close the trl doors, and tought me how to blindside back a bit more, they should have tought me about the cost of living on the road, and how companies would lie about the way they operate, they also should have tought me to open my doors before backing into a dock, and even how to communicate on the cb during bad weather, or maybe the should have told us what to expect when going down 8+% grade fully loaded, i think they should have tought us how to put chains on our tires in the snow, with a trl hooked up, not a set of dulls on the desk in the class room, i really thought they were going to teach me what to expect when going to a ship or rec and that we could possiable sit for hours on end just waiting, i feel as tho they really should have told us that we are the captin of the ship and we, the driver, call the shots in dangerous snowy conditions...
i think they should have explained, showed,taught us all of this before they sucked my $10,000 out for their, lack there of, program they call training.
however, the training i did recieve was great, and i recieved way more training then most of the " cdl mills ", cause the program was over such a long period of time that the information i recieved was able to sink in... really i didnt learn much more then the 3 weeks mills...

 

A good video on how to chain is on you tube. seansuth is the user name, here is a link to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JqHgoel8F8

 

Here in my area most of the DMV driving tests had you do a straight line and a blind-side paralell. So I assume they wanted more student's to pass so they focused more on the blindside than the sight side.

 

You are awesome. Thank you so much. I've been looking on youtube but I didn't find this one. Thank you again.

 

If Big truck truck drivin' schools taught you everything on your list to proficiency, you'd still be there. Not to mention it'd cost you a whole lot more.

The best thing y'all can learn is, some things you'll just have to learn on your own.
A big part of Big truck drivin' is thinkin'. The better y'all are at thinkin', the better y'all will do in the industry. SOMEtimes being self-taught is preferred over book learnin' or from an instructor. Ever notice how we tend to remember things we teach ourselves?
Ever notice how we tend to forget things that an instructor told us?

Hmmmmmmmmm
That causes me to wonder if any of y'all would ever consider becoming a driver trainer? Not right now, maybe, but in a few years, perhaps?
If not, why not?
If you would, why would you?

 

BINGO!

And yet another reason why The Trucker's Report is the best truckin' related website on the internet. The posters who help others find and learn what they're lookin' for make it that way.
And you're correct Texas-Nana, they're "awesome".
Yes they are.

 

aftershock, i agree with what u said, but like i said, i was able to learn and obtain the information was givin to me, unlike the 3 weekers who learn everything i did in maybe 2 weeks,
yes, i would want to be a driver trainer, cause i love helping others, especialy in this industry, but, i wouldnt because of the fear of falling asleep while a newb is behind the wheel for his first all nighter.... :/