What things should newbies never do

I notice all your posts except this question, are in the "Oilfield Trucking" thread. Which company did you go with?

 

Well I'm a recent CDL grad myself, but boy let me tell you!! LOL

Don't listen to o/o's if you bump into them. They fill your head with crazy ideas of wealth and fortune and then tell you they quit to become company drivers for some odd reason like faltering freight rates.

I just quit my company and bought a truck anyways.

As far as bonehead mistakes goes...

Don't stare into the Peterbilts darkness when you pass by them on two lane highways... the guy in front of you WILL slam on his breaks causing you to burn rubber!

Don't drive the cajon pass after dark (this goes for donners pass, etc but I've never been there yet) if you feel "a tad bit sleepy" cuz you'll fall out of consciouseness and have a near miss at the bottom rear ending another poor trucker whos almost as tired as you are. I almost did that myself. Beware.
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NEVER step on the gas to pass another trucker going down a hill. I did that... on the cajon pass... and found myself flying at 75 mph when I thought I was still going 60. The speed limit is 45 and at 65 you can lose your license.

Check your slack adjusters frequently. Each company has their own policy on them, be sure to check your boss and recheck the dmv manual on it. Mine were complete crap when I got my truck. Caused me to burn rubber and almost rear end people too.

Following distance is #1 in my book. Speed is secondary. Attention is sooooo soooo important. Nothing else matters. Unless you are a drug addict or idiot, then you have more problems and shouldn't be driving.

Girlfriends can wait. And they can ruin your career as a trucker in 0.1 seconds or at the ring of a cell phone while passing by highway patrol.

I got road rage a couple times while driving an 80,000lb truck. I'm also the coolest dude you'd ever meet. So it WILL happen to you at some point being a company driver. Try not to kill anyone cuz its pretty easy to mess it up.

Money should be irrespective of speed(ing). My company didn't think so. So I fired them.

Working hard should mean driving responsibly. Safety bonuses should be $25,000 paid quarterly imho.

Just my 0.02

 

Good idea to jump right in to tankers. Make those big paychecks from day one.

 

Gah.... I was going to try.... but you haven't even caught the faintest waft of the first fart yet... Soon you'll be shrouded in the Dutch-Oven and wonder 'Why, God!?!?'

He hates you.
That's why.