TRAINING BEGINS

“Slow & easy, make WIDE turns”. Kevin’s mantra rings in my ears every time I step behind the wheel of our 36,500 lb rig. When we are fully loaded, we are close to 80,000 lbs.

Training began September 1st with my husband as the trainer. Some of you reading will wonder if our marriage survived! Happily, yes. Kevin is, not only a very good trainer, but a very wise man and while allowing me to do the occasional screwup, he would later tell me a better way to do it.

I recognize, things that need improvement and will ask him how he would do it. Sometimes he had an answer, sometimes he didn’t. We are still happily married and more then that, enjoying our time on the road together.

The day before I joined Kevin he had a mishap with the steer tires on his truck which required the shop to change out one of our steer tires. The very first time I climbed behind the wheel of our rig and started to drive, it was like trying to hang onto a flagpole during a tornado. It shook and shuddered and I wondered… wow, can this be normal? Kevin assured me it wasn’t but couldn’t imagine what it could be.

Since I was the primary driver during my training, I coaxed this truck with a bad case of the shakes over roads that were rain-slickened, deeply rutted, under construction, and a myriad of other exciting conditions that made for true adventure! When we finally returned back to the shop, they discovered our front steer tires were a 1/4″ difference and changed off the other tire which now makes driving a whole different experience!

My second week on the road, we were asked to go on a truck recovery. This is when a driver abandons his truck out on the road somewhere and they need 2 people to go after it and have the trainer and trainee drive the trucks back to their yard. Abandoning a truck isn’t a good thing, as one can imagine and there are a bunch of reasons why it happens. This particular driver jumped into leasing a truck way too soon and got in over his head almost immediately. It was a good experience for me, as I was completely responsible for driving a truck all on my own without my trainer in the seat next too me.

My third week when smoothly and we then came for hometime for a few days. It resulted in prolonging my training for another week but eventually I came back to the shop to “test out” a process they use at the center to make certain drivers know what they are doing.

TESTING OUT

Arriving back at the center, I was given a stack of papers, verbal instructions, pen & paper and pointed to a desk. I waded through the stack quickly, completed a video & some related tests and after a day & a half was ready for the “BACKING RANGE”. Oooooh!

To be completely honest, I sucked at backing so far. While I was excited to get out on the range and learn how to back from the instructor, I wasn’t brimming with confidence that “I“ could get ‘er done.

The instructor was patient and kept repeating his mantra “always stay left” and “never turn right”. When backing up a 70′ rig, you need all the help you can get and that means visibility. You can see out your left window and see more of your rig through your left mirrors so constantly keeping your cab angled left helps you control “the back”. I passed on the 2nd day with a 90%! This doesn’t mean I’m a pro by any stretch, but I have confidence that at least I can get ‘er done after a fashion!

Then came the test drive portion of “testing out”. This is something that all transport carriers are required by the feds to do with all new hires. I was given a short one before training and then expected to complete a 20 mile trip with pre-written directions to follow. My instructor, Steve, was long-time driver with our company and was very pleasant. I chatted my way through the drive, telling him everything I was doing, going to do and why. I passed with a 98% score!

Kevin was routed back through the center to pick me up and we were on the road as a team at last! Yippee! An end to $50/day paychecks finally! My very fist dispatch I made $48 my first day. :-/

Professional Driver