Your first time out?

I went down to the DMV and got a book. Studied a few evenings, went and took my written test on a Monday, I think. Along about Wednesday or Thurday I look outside and my dad has my truck we had bought two weeks before hooked up to his brand new flat and says we are going to take road test. I had about 50 miles training session and took test, passed. Next day we loaded pipe and took off, in separate trucks mind you. All that to say, the only way to learn is to do it. It's been 20 yrs and I'm still learning.

 

I was ready to quit after first solo run. That's was 23 years ago

 

It was 5 minutes in the darkest corner of the house when I was 4. Just terrible!

 

I remember all of us being too nervous and never wanting to go first when it was time to drive in school. And I was definitely nervous at first going out with my trainer. But like others have said, it definitely fades over time. Now I can hop in and take on city traffic no problem. It just takes some getting used to. As far as sticky situations go, like others have said, just stop, set your brakes and figure out an escape plan. I make local deliveries around Denver now and have found myself somewhere I didn't want to be a time or two. But as long as you remain calm and patient you can generally fix the situation. I got turned around and turned down the wrong street once, I saw the sign that said no outlet and immediately stopped and set my brakes, I didn't try to keep going and hope I'd see a place to turn around. I happened to be at an intersection with a busy street, waited for them to get a read light, backed all the way across the street then went back the way I came.

 

The first time on the road in school I was fairly nervous. When i went to take my test I was even more nervous mostly because failure meant another 450 mi. round trip that I hadn't planned on in order to retest. It all worked out OK in the end. Haven't gone out with the trainer or solo yet and I'm already a bit nervous about it but I'm one of those people who can keep it together when SHTF. That doesn't mean that I don't have the nervousness boiling up in me. It just means I can keep from losing my yit when I'm nervous.

You are/were running around near my old stomping grounds. I spent most of my youth in Slavic Village. before and after it got bad. I haven't been to a Dave's in YEARS. We used to have one right near 71st and Harvard.

 

I am a mature American, and I was not nervous at all, refresher, testing, trainer, or solo. In fact, I felt a kind of joy to be out there just me and my truck. When I got into the CDL school and got started with going back on the road, I never did feel nervous. I expected to succeed, to make it happen, and the rest of it was just steps toward my goal. When the trainer would ask who wants to go? My hand went up every time, although sometimes the hoser would pick someone else, one of the shy ones, and make that person go first. I was one of those annoying people who can't wait to get it on....I'm sure they all loved me. Funny thing, though, of the 10 people in my class, I was the only one still driving after about 3 months. These CDL mills have a high failure rate, for many reasons.

As for nervousness, if you look at it as a kind of focusing mechanism, it can be useful.

 

First time solo in a rig I got so lost... other then that nothing major.

First time out with my new company my reefer craped the bed and i almost lost my load of oj. Still made it a day ahead schedule haha

 

It's still there over on Harvard/