So This Is How Alice Felt!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, but by the time I get home and everything done (had to go grocery shopping), made some dinner, etc I was just too tired to do much of anything but sleep. Not to worry though, you didn't miss much. Yesterday was a boring day. I didn't get to do what I wanted to do which was practice my backing as there were sooo many people practicing and testing for their straight line and alley dock backing, it just wasn't worth the hassle. So I went on a ride along with another student that recently got his CDL license. The school requires 2 people in the truck when driving on public roadways, the "extra set of eyes" philosophy. So that was yesterday. See, you didn't miss much.

Today, on the other hand was a TOTALLY different story! My day started with me practicing my alley dock backing. Then I tested and passed!!! YEA!!! This will be something I am going to practice nearly every day if I can, just to get really good at it. My co-rider Mike passed his written test on Air Brakes finally. Took him 3 tries but he finally passed.

First thing in the afternoon session we had a test on "over-head height clearances" and how to check to make sure you not going to hit something that might be too low. Bot that done and signed off on, it was really easy. Shortly afterwords we got a call over the CB that an instructor was going to take both Mike and me out for a road test on public roads. Mike went first, was gone for about an hour and received a passing grade. Next was my turn.

Let me just say this, while I have always had respect for truck drivers, I now have a whole new perspective! My road test started out easy enough, a few simple turns, get on the highway, change lanes, and take an exit. So far so good, no problemo! But that is when it all changed in a big hurry. My instructor started routing me though some VERY challenging construction zones. Areas where I only had mear inches on either side of my truck or my 48' trailer. I handled this "VERY WELL" according to my instructor, and while I agree that I did do a very good job considering the extremely narrow areas, turns, and oncoming traffic, I think I did fricking awesome on that part.
Next he had me turn into an industrial park that really was never designed with truck that are 60' long in mind. It was at this point that my downshifting went to hell in a hand basket. I am really not sure why, it is like all my shifting points changed. On the driving range I could ALWAYS (even immediately after my road test) downshift from say 5th gear to 4th gear at 20mph with 800 rpms, suddenly I could not. The truck simply refused to go in to 4th gear until I was at 15 mph and only with 750 rpm, EXACTLY. There is no difference other than location between this section of road and the driving range or even the school parking lot. So I am a bit confused about that. Mike reported having the same problem, the truck simply did not operate the same on "real" roads as it does at the school under identical conditions.
So anyway, driving around this industrial park with some very challenging 90 degree turns all was going well until an extremely hard and narrow right hand turn. I started to setup my turn and half way into it a pickup truck comes barreling down the road right at me. Now the rule is, that once you "commit" to making a turn you do not deviate, PERIOD! So that is what I did. However this truck was not slowing down at all. He was driving right for me at 50mph or so. When he got within 300ft of my truck I stopped my turn till I could tell what he was going to do. He had to stop, as my truck and trailer now have the entire intersection blocked off, with a deep ditch on either side. This a$$hole continues to come right at my truck and then slams on his brakes and stops about 2 inches from my front bumper with me laying on the air horn full tilt. Then he backs up about 500ft and stops. So I proceed with my turn, but my instructor is now leaning forward to see what the hell this retarded person was doing, so I could not see the path of my trailer around the turn. I stopped and told my instructor to sit back so I could see, he does and I continue. Now wouldn't just know it, the a$$hole in the pickup, spinning his wheels and the whole deal comes launching right at me again, but this time, doesn't stop! Now I admit, I made an error, I turned away from the truck to avoid the impending head on collision, and just as I looked into my right mirror to see what my trailer is doing I slammed on the breaks, and a second later my instructor yells the same thing. My emergency maneuver to avoid the truck playing chicken with me caused me cut my turn too short and now can not make the turn! I have to backup.

Now, many of you might be thinking, "So what!, What is the big deal?" Well in the trucking industry, backing up a 60+ft truck and trailer is no small feat, and it is dangerous. The car that was behind me now has to back up so I can backup. Double whammy! This is about the second biggest "NO NO" there is. You should never put yourself in a position that forces other vehicles to move out of your way, because of a mistake on the driver. However, it is better than losing the trailer in the ditch! So I performed my backing maneuver, and pulled straight and drove around the block to Re-attempt that right hand turn again. And wouldn't you just fricken know it, that some psycho SOB was there again!!! However this time I did not play his game. I stop before making my turn, put on my 4-ways, and waited. I informed my instructor what I was doing, and asked him to write down the license plate number of the truck so we could report the jerk. Just as the instructor starts writing down him plate he hauls ass out of there. I make my turn perfectly and on we go.

But wait, the adventure didn't end there! Apparently, my instructor had no clue about all the construction that his route was putting me through. Several times he asked to me make turns that I either could not make due to how short and narrow the areas were, and I would not attempt, or the turn lane was closed. Needless to say in rush hour traffic, with less than a foot of clearance on either side of me I was a bit rattled. As I approached an intersection (under heavy construction) I got this feeling that something was going to happen. Just that little voice that tells you to be on your toes. So I slowed down (missed a gear and quickly recovered) and sure enough halfway through the intersection a car darts out against a red light right in front of my bumper, I knew that I didn't have anyone too close behind me, (thank god for that) and I had to slam on my brakes. Not hard enough to lock the wheels up or anything, but much harder than normal.

The rest of the drive back to the school was uneventful, however my bad decision with the right hand turn, even though the circumstances were extreme was enough to prevent me from getting a passing mark on the road test. I will have to go out with another instructor tomorrow morning and be re-evaluated.

While I do agree with the assessment, I don't really fell that the route chosen was appropriate for my very first time driving a 60ft big rig on public roads. It was however a very sobering experience and a VERY educational one at that. It did push me to the limits of my skills and abilities, and overall I was told I did very well considering the challenges I faced. My instructor praised my driving control and positioning of my trailer in the VERY close quarters areas of the construction zones. He did say however that I needed to work on my downshifting, and that I needed to slow down and downshift for stops, curves and turns earlier than what I was.

All I can say is that if my instructor was going to "shock value" he definitely succeeded. But I still feel that the test was a bit un-fair as even the CDL holding students, nor ANY other student that took a road evaluation (Mike was the only person who got a passing mark, and he said he didn't do half the stuff I ended up doing) was put through the "paces" that I was. Many did however go through the industrial park, but none had to contend with all the construction that I ended up dealing with. Overall though I at least now know the things I really need to focus, work on and watch for.

For the evening portion of our driving, we received instruction on coupling and un-coupling our trailers. So at the end of the night, we had to park and un-hook our trailers and then park our trucks. Tomorrow we will hook up the trailers and repeat this processes every day from now on.

Time for this tired driver to go to bed, Night!