What would you do?

Hang in there...keep doing your best.

 

You will do OK with your first job. After driving those old clunkers, those newer trucks with your first trucking company will be easy. Have you chosen a company yet; if not, you should be researching now. Don't wait until you graduate.

 

Boy ... first relax. This is really like the real world, it doesn't matter what gender you are, there are idiots all over the place. If you get used to that attitude now, you can handle anyone. I had a dock manager who said to me "you're only the truck driver so shut up and let us load the truck" the truck didn't stay loaded long, I had him take everything off and I had it loaded right.

Second if you can put up with the worst trucks, learn how to know what their quirks are and how to handle them without being a baby about it (I am not calling you one but I work with one guy who cries about different things and it get tiring - like when a clutch isn't to his liking), you will go farther than most. I had to take a forklift safety/loading/driving course a few months ago and I got a really easy forklift to learn on but I told them to give me their hardest one because I didn't want to skate through the course, I got one of the worst ones they had and still past the test.

Go to the Smith-system.com site and learn a bit about safe driving, this is a good start.

All of this doesn't last long and don't get upset with it.

 

Like Ridgeline said, it won't last much longer and you'll be out there on your own. Making your own mistakes, not the ones the instructor tells you.

If you can practice your most difficult items, that's going to help, both in skills, and confidence. You get a couple of pull-ups on the backing part of the CDL test, so you don't have to be perfect, and you shouldn't stress about being perfect. You don't need a perfect score to pass the exam. I think, just be quiet, listen and observe, talk to other students/instructors, anyone might have a useful comment or technique. Hang in there, stay within yourself, you'll do great. One thing else. Once you do have your shiny new CDL, you'll go out with a trainer or finisher for about a month, so you'll still be in that subservient, student role. There really isn't any way around it, so, like I was told, and it helped a lot, keep your mouth shut and your eyes open, you'll be fine. You will. Once you're out there, it's a good way to make a living.

 

Do your instructors test you for your license?
If not, don't worry about it. Us wimmins are way fussier than guys anyway.
If they give you "I'm the instructor" crap...
1. they really aren't, they're just drivers that dont know how to explain stuff.. what most folks dont understand is that you have to learn HOW to teach a skillset. Very very few people can teach without learning first.
and
2. Stand up very straight, look him right in the eye, and in a very firm voice .. "Then would you please explain exactly how to....."

That usually scares the **** out of most guys. :0)
No stress! Good luck!
Mary
Pretend you're Professor Mcgonagall! \:0

 

"Left angle back" and "left alley dock" are sight-side backs. Piece of cake - you can see it.

 

Hello C & C! This one sentence really bothers me. A LOT! It tells me that you are extremely lacking in self confidence, which is not a good thing. I really hope that you can get past this, as I doubt seriously that they are setting you up. But if they are, then it is time to become assertive and demand some extra help, if that is what you think you need.

During your driving career, you are likely to drive many different types of trucks. And trucks in all kinds of shape. Sounds like everyone knows that truck # 11 has some problems. Perhaps, just maybe, and this is only my idea, you should make a point of grabbing that truck every chance you get, and show it who the boss is. It is just a machine, and will do exactly what YOU make it do. Even if it is a bit different from the other trucks, get familiar with it, so that your confidence level gets back up where it should be.

This is an excellent thing to have done. Use every bit of time that you can get. If they will let you do so, come early and stay late, to practice doing what you are not comfortable with.

Perhaps you need to look at why you feel they will set you up to fail. After all, it is in their best interest to help you to succeed. Have you had some type of run in with one or more of the instructors to make you feel that they have it in for you? If you have, my suggestion is to go to that individual and try to talk out your problems. You have little to lose by doing this, and you might gain a whole lot.

What kind of BS are you having to deal with? If it is any type of sexual harassment, you may well find yourself with a great deal of cash. See a lawyer.
If it is just general BS that they are giving everyone, then just shrug it off and live with it. You will only be there a short time anyway.

Well, at this point, you need to forget about the other school and concentrate on doing the best you can, at the school you are in. You will always be able to look through the fence and think that the grass is greener in the next pasture. IT IS NOT!

Typos and grammar we can live with! Actually coming on here and posting this, in and of itself, may be a surprising stress reliever for you! Seriously. There's a bunch of folks here who do want you to succeed!

I once had a supervisor who was an incredible arse. Couldn't do anything to please this clown. After nine years of working for him, I went to a class on "dealing with difficult people." I sat in this class for two 8 hour days, and got a lot of help, and a lot of tips. But the thing that helped me the absolute most, came in the last hour of the class. The instructor, after all the rest of the class, told us one thing that has always stuck with me. That was simply this, "If you are having a lot of problems, with a lot of people, perhaps the first thing you need to do, is look in the mirror. Ask yourself what kind of an attitude are you showing to people, that gives them reason to actively dislike, or even hate you."

I had to take that to heart, as over the years, I've probably had more than my share of problems with supervisors. I realized that I wouldn't want to have to supervise me. It was a very hard pill to swallow, and I had a hell of a time in changing my outlook. But when I did, it seemed to make all the difference in the world. Now I'm not talking about kissing arse, or sucking up to folks. I'm just talking about the attitude you put forth in your everyday dealing with them.

This probably won't apply to you in the least. But I hope that I've given you some food for thought.

I think everyone who reads this thread is going to be pulling for you to succeed. I know I am. Good luck, and God Bless.

 

Our instructor told us it was our choice as to which truck we used for testing. Not his. Not the examiner's. Not the school. If the examiner or other students had been using one truck, and we wanted to use another for our test and the examiner said "No, this is the truck we're using", the instructor told us to just say , "tough ####, I'm not, so wait right here and I'll bring that other truck over in a minute." That happened and the examiner waited without blinking an eye.

 

First of all.....take a deep breath. You are in training for a new career field. It is going to be stressful. Just looking at your post you have more intelligence than many on the roads, you will be fine. Training to drive and back a truck is a challenging task, but you will get it with some effort. The trainers may be thinking they are giving you the freedom to try yard maneuvers on your own after some instruction so that you can get a feel for how the trailer turns and how to correct yourself. I have found that for most people there is a specific "Ah ahhh" moment where backing and turning radius clicks, and it comes from them physically turning the wheel and seeing the trailer do what you want. It will be frustrating, and you will overcome it. The instructors may seem all powerful, but the reality is that everyone in the training chain is under a lot of pressure to pass potential drivers unless you blow crack smoke in their faces in front of management while driving the truck over the owner's Mercedes, and then they might suggest you take some time off before going for a drug test. There is $$$ at stake for them to pass you. So, take a deep breath and remember that you only have to live through this nightmare once.