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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;RoadSideDown, post: 11740783, member: 314577&quot;]END OF P&amp;D TRAINING!&nbsp; WEEK 4</p><p><br /></p><p>It finally arrived--on Wednesday this week my road trainers decided I was done training and need to start driving solo.&nbsp; Glorious day!</p><p><br /></p><p>It was great seeing one of them fill out the official completed learnings and task list to certify I passed their evaluation.&nbsp; I finally have my own ELD login ID and password.&nbsp; My trainer for the last couple of days has been feeding me tips &quot;for when you are on your own out there.&quot;&nbsp; Supposedly my company ID badge will be here Friday.&nbsp; But that delay pales in comparison to finishing training successfully.&nbsp; I know to the old timers this is peanuts, a blip on the real learning curve.&nbsp; But being a gate that must be passed through it seems like a huge milestone to me right now.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today was my first day as a full P&amp;D driver.&nbsp; But our terminal is undergoing some challenges and there was not enough freight loaded for the number of drivers we have so a few of us newer guys had to work the dock instead.&nbsp; It hardly mattered to me, I was floating on cloud nine just be a real driver at last.&nbsp; I was told to come in at 9am, but was approved to come in early to work OT on the dock if I wanted.&nbsp; So I arrived at 7am and worked the forklift until 9.&nbsp; Dispatch sent me to the yard to get some hostler training.&nbsp; Really great guy out there patiently started working with me on building and breaking trailer sets.&nbsp; Apparently the office had some confusion and quickly wanted their hostler moving trailers instead, so I was sent back to the dock for the day.&nbsp; Just being a full driver changed the dynamic around the dock.&nbsp; Several drivers stopped to congratulate me and offer some insights.&nbsp; Several friends from the dock were very happy for me and chatted as well.&nbsp; Ran into one of my CDL classmates and we caught up on things.&nbsp; He passed his cdl test the first time so is a week ahead of me in driving solo.&nbsp; Met a driver that drove for Yellow/Reddaway/YRC for 15 years, moved away and came back recently.&nbsp; We were all on the dock today.</p><p><br /></p><p>Rumor has it that Reddaway and YRC management are thrashing it out for dominance since each has a terminal in Portland a few miles from each other and obviously redundant.&nbsp; Our terminal manager suddenly left the company.&nbsp; Reddaway drivers get a $100/day bonus for coming here to haul our trailers but our drivers get no such thing hauling Reddaway trailers.&nbsp; With that kind of incentive our dock is far, far emptier than it was just a month ago.&nbsp; The last few days there wasn&#039;t enough freight to make a decent P&amp;D run for my trainers so they had to switch things around to get enough stops to make a run.&nbsp; Obviously Reddaway management is doing the thrashing and the YRC management is getting the thrash.&nbsp; Hopefully for the drivers and dock workers there is still more than enough freight to keep us all busy.&nbsp; If not, at least we are now trained and much easier to bounce to another company if necessary.&nbsp; I hope not.&nbsp; YRC has a lot of very decent, kind workers and I like it here a lot.&nbsp; The office is so understaffed it can make paperwork very frustrating.&nbsp; But the drivers, mechanics and dock workers are top notch in skills, fun to work with and help each other out in a heartbeat.&nbsp; Safety is practiced constantly and the equipment is well maintained no matter how old.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is my last post in this training thread.&nbsp; Training is completed, I am a driver now. So very much more to learn out on the delivery routes and highways and streets and parking lots.&nbsp; I am excited to do that.&nbsp; The final words of advice from my trainers were, &quot;take it slow, safety is the utmost importance, get out and look when you can&#039;t see the other side.&nbsp; And don&#039;t break anything!&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope this thread has helped others thinking of getting their CDL, or whether to consider YRC for training.&nbsp; I am very happy with my CDL journey with YRC and recommend it for sure.&nbsp; Free CDL, no strings, good quality and the REAL training starts when you go on the road with a driver trainer for a month.&nbsp; There&nbsp; are many other ways to get your CDL, some of them also free.&nbsp; This one worked perfectly for me.&nbsp; I am also very satisfied with my decision to get a CDL Class A.&nbsp; No regrets and lots of enthusiasm looking ahead. I wish you great success and an enjoyable career on the road.&nbsp; Message me if you have any questions about this.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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