Well this might seem like a petty thing to be happy about, but I passed my first driving test today. Today, we had about an hour of practice driving around the skid pad oval course, then an instructor rode with each of us and evaluated our shifting skills. After successfull completion we were cleared to go on what is called the "Keller Range". The Keller Range is about a 1 mile course with a wide variety of obstacles and situations like Low Overhead Clearance bar that the instructors can raise and lower, simulated railroad crossing, up hill grades and down hill grades, sharp turns, stop signs, narrow road sections, and even a stop light. This is really a shifting course with all these elements added. We are encouraged to to work on shifting up to our high range gears and back down repeatedly. It is much more exciting that the boring oval course.
My shifting has improved greatly since my first attempt, but my down shifting still needs some work but is getting better and better. I still need more practice on getting my road speed and rpms matched for the gear I want, but I am getting the hang of it. Today was really the first time I have been able to shift into high range (high range on my 9 speed starts with 5th gear) so it was a bit of a learning curve even during my driving test. The weather did not help one bit, as soon as it was my turn to take my test it started to rain VERY HARD, thunder and lighting. Not really the distraction I needed when driving a new course, shifting into high range for the first time, and downshifting from high range to low range, plus addressing all the obstacles on the Keller Range course. Needless to say I did not do as good of a job as I feel I could have, but it was still good enough to pass my test. I take a bit of pride in this as not everyone passed their test, and I have only had effectively at this point about 1 1/2 hours behind the wheel and a total of 7 miles under my belt. I only had 4 miles and about 1 hour of total drive time before my test. So the fact that I made this "minor" accomplishment pleases me.
The other "task" I have set for myself is to go down to the DMV and take my 5 tests for my instructional permit this Friday. The 5 written tests I have to take are, General Knowledge, Air Brakes, Combination, Tanker, Doubles/Triples, and Hazmat. I am not sure I am going to take the Hazmat though as the new laws require a background check, fingerprinting, and the test with a nice price tag of $90. With money concerns right now I just might wait and get that endorsement later when I can afford it, or when my employer wants to pay for it. The other 4 I have to get to pass the course and I might as well take them all at the same time and get it done with. I have been studying and taking some online practice tests and judging by that I will easily pass them, but I would not get a 100%. So, I figure if I spend an hour each day studying and keep taking the practice tests everyday between now and Friday I will be only get 1 or 2 wrong overall (Yea, I am kinda weird about things like that, always the perfectionist).
Today we also had a recruiter from US Express come in and give his "sales pitch". But this is really starting to bother me, as for today for instance the recruiter took about an hour to give his little speech, but that also means that I had an hour less of training and practice time. There is already at least 1 recruiter lined up everyday this week. I have a bit of an issue with this. I am spending $1800+ for training, not a damn job fair. They should make this optional, in another classroom or something, those that want to hear the recruiters speech can go hear it and those of us that want to learn, study, and practice our driving should be able to do that. After all that is why I am there in the first place. So tomorrow I am going to bring this up with my instructor. I feel my time and my money is better spent learning to be a better truck driver, not attending a job fair on my dime. Not sure if anything I say to my instructors will change anything or not, but at least I can voice my opinion and disagreement with how my time and money are being used.
We also got word today that three members of the class that had issues with their DOT medical clearances will not be returning. One simply did not show up today as he was supposed to so we think he still failed the medical, the other two it was confirmed that they failed the medical. There is a fourth member of the class that dropped out because his old company that originally laid him off, called him to come back to work and decided to drop the course and go back to work.
Well that was today, lets see what tomorrow brings!!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Actually, I am thinking having the recruiters come out isn't a bad thing. It gives you a bit more perspective on what is out there (to some degree) and gives you a bit more info on what various companies are looking for & what they may be willing to offer a fresh graduate.
If nothing else, the types of people each company has doing recruiting can tell you a little about the company itself.
Just my .02
Hi kap95, I would highly recommend Fox Valley. It is the top rated truck driving schools in the country. An interesting little fact is that Fox Valley trained all the initial CDL testers in the country! They even wrote the first CDL test that was originally used in all 50 states. Each state now has modified their own tests, but the core of it was written by the instructors at Fox Valley Tech.
If your ever in the area, stop by and ask to talk to Rob, or Roger. They are the lead instructors for the truck driving program. I am sure they would be more than happy to spend a few moments and tell you about the program and give you a quick tour.
Post a Comment