Back!..... Back I Say!!

Today was a fairly good day. The weather wasn't good at all, rain, hail, cold and windy, But warm in my truck so that was where I stayed. My morning was filled with classroom lecture on backing and turns. The afternoon was practice driving on the Keller Range, and backing exercises. The 3 backing maneuvers we are required to perform in Phase One to get cleared to to go on road (And have to be repeated 3 out of 4 attempts) are: Straight Line Stop (means you have to pull up to a line and stop so your front bumper is in a specific box that is no wider than 2 feet deep. You only get One complete stop attempt), Straight Line Backing (you must back up through a marked lane that is 12 feet wide, and 80 feet long. No part of the truck or trailer can cross the line.), and Alley Dock Backing. Alley Dock Backing is hard to explain so here is another crappy drawing of what you have to do.


Well I got 2 of the three tests completed on my first try. I completed the Straight Line Stop, and the Straight Line Backing. I still have to pass the Alley Dock Backing maneuver, however I am going to need more practice on that one. It takes a bit of precision in the setup (the blue line in the picture above) if your just a little too far forward or make that "S" turn too soon or too late, your screwed. So that is going to take a bit of practice to get the distance and setup correct before I try to take the test for that maneuver. I have to make that 3 times out of 4 attempts or I fail and have to do it all over.

I did mess up my second Straight Line Backing test so that one got voided. Not really sure quite what happened but my trailer just got too far off line and I was not able to correct for it enough. However I did perform my last 2 attempts perfectly and passed.

My shifting has greatly improved today as well, only ground 1 gear all day today, Yea for me!!! Tomorrow I am planning on going down to the DMV near the college and taking my tests for my instructional permit. After I pass my backing tests and have my instructional permit I can start driving on public roads. I hope to meet all the requirements by Wensday next week. I am dreading going to the DMV tomorrow. I am not worried about the tests, just the pain in the ass of dealing with the DMV.