First Week with the T.E.

I’m Baaaaack!

Dear Readers…

Many apologies for the much too, too long delay since my last post, but ya know, I have been busy, and have not been near an internet connection long enough to send you anything. Those of you who have attempted to sign on and read about my latest adventures are probably better off for it!

So what has been happening? I’ll do my best to fill you in from memory, as I was also lax in writing anything down the old fashioned way.

On Monday, April 16, I drove over three hours to Willard, Ohio to take my CDL exam. I was cautiously optimistic about my chances, in spite of the fact that I had been forewarned that it is extremely rare to pass the CDL test on the first attempt. I started out with the Pre-Trip Inspection. In this phase, the “applicant” (me) points out several items on the truck and explains what to look for in the way of problems. There are 90 items on the Ohio pre-trip inspection list, and one needs to get at least 67 of those items from memory, and you have a 30 minute time limit. I got started and when I was finished, the examiner told me I did extremely well, I only missed 10 items – mostly little things like the windshield wipers, trailer door hinges and so on. I felt pretty good and pretty stupid at the same time – only three days earlier I had the entire list up at Green Bay. Oh well. I passed,

Then on to the maneuverability portion. First item was a straight line back. Piece of cake. Nailed it easily. (“Well, duh!” I hear you say) Then to a right side offset back. This maneuver is simply backing the truck from an existing position to an “adjacent” dock, while staying within the boundaries. Took one GOAL (Get Out And Look) and popped it in there. I was surprised, for I had struggled with this simple thing at Green Bay. Was feeling good!

It wasn’t to last.

The next was the 90° alley dock. I will spare you the ugly, sordid, messy details, but I really, really REALLY screwed that up. CDL test was now done – I failed it because of my crappy backing. So now I need to have Green Bay reschedule me for another try sometime later. Damnit!

Get over it Dennis, and get on with your training!

I called Gary, my Training Engineer (TE), with whom I would spend the next 7 – 10 driving days in learning about life on the road – the real world where I would start putting into practice the things I had learned at the STA. I was to meet Gary in Kenton, OH, that evening where he was going to be picking up a load. I hit the road from Willard to Kenton; a little over an hour away. I was almost there when Gary called me as I was stopping to fill up my car in Upper Sandusky. On that call he gave me info on the load: a truckload of paper cups from Kenton to Hudson, WI, and he wanted me to do a basic trip plan before we left. Not a problem I told him.

As I was turning towards the gas pumps, my car suddenly wouldn’t steer. The engine was running, but the darn thing power steering wasn’t working. I immediately guessed the problem, and was mostly correct – my serpentine belt had broken. The rest of the problem was it had broken because the idler tension pulley broke. So there I was, blocking gas pumps at the Marathon station at 8th and Wyandot streets in Upper Sandusky, my car not going anywhere. The folks at the Marathon were very helpful and gave me the name and number of a repair shop only three bocks away. I called the shop to see if they could do the job, as it was already 4:30 p.m., and I didn’t want to be surprised if they were closed. The guy on the phone was even nice enough to give me thee phone number of the local AAA towing company, so I could save time instead of going through AAA’s central dispatching 800 number.

One hour and $160 later I was on the road.

Can you see that my first day was not going too terribly smoothly? When you’re done wiping your tears, you can read on. It is going to be okay.

Timing was good. I got to the meeting spot within 30 seconds of Gary. I was on the phone with him as I approached the plant, and he said he was only a block behind me. He parked his truck, I transferred my clothes and other road things to the truck and we sat down to discuss the nest couple of weeks. Nice guy, but he does not look like your stereotypical truck driver! He wears a short pony tail, tropical shirts and has a rather “beach” or “surfer” look about him. Intelligent guy – masters degree, retired after 20 years in law enforcement and now doing something he really gets a kick out of.

We bunked down in the truck for the night and at 7 a.m. were on the road across town to pick up our loaded trailer. The route I had worked out was the one Gary would have used, so we went with it – US 68 North to US 30 West. Follow US 30 all the way across Indiana to Gary, grab I-94 West to I-294 North to I-290 North to I-90/94 North, stay on I-94 all the way to Exit 2 fro Hudson. Gary started driving and about Warsaw, IN, we took a stretch break and I got behind the wheel. He planned it that way so I could get experience in city traffic – namely Chicago. The easy part was that we were on the outer bypass (I-294 / I-290) and we weren’t exposed to the infamous Dan Ryan Expressway. If you have ever been on the Ryan in the last 20 years, you will wonder as I do why in the world they call it an “expressway!”

Finally we arrived at the consignee, about 9 p.m. Room enough to park, so time for sleep so we can unload first thing in the morning. I slept very well that night and woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed about 6 a.m. Only problem was the receiving dock wouldn’t open for nearly three hours. We checked the truck over, caught up on paperwork and put the truck to the dock. My wonderful backing skills took up a great deal of the three hours, so it all worked out. Well, maybe not ALL of the three hours, but it sure seemed like it.

Unloaded and word from the home office was return to Kenton to pick up another load – this one destined for Brooklyn, NY. I was of mixed feelings about that – New York City driving is tricky enough that most trucking companies pay drivers extra to make stops in any of the five boroughs. However, I had never been to NYC – if you don’t count just flying in and out of JFK twice and LaGuardia once – so I was looking forward to the run. So we get back to Ohio, sack out and rise early to grab the load and run.

We were sitting in the lot, had just hooked up to the trailer and I was ready to start driving to Brooklyn, when Gary said to wait for a second, he wanted to check the satellite message system before we were rolling (the message system – Mobile Communications Terminal – is inappropriately named because it will not work when the truck is rolling) Guess what? We had been assigned a different load; this one to just outside Memphis. Oh well, I guess I will have to see New York some other time!

The drive to Memphis was a good one. All week long we have enjoyed beautiful weather, and in Tennessee the trees are nearly fully leafed out by now. I-40 from Nashville to Memphis is a rather nice drive! We arrived at our location in plenty of time for the scheduled appointment of a midnight unload. A pretty busy place this dock was! Nine doors, all busy, with 10 more trucks in the lot waiting for their scheduled delivery times. Not the biggest place, but what was there was in a constant state of motion, just like clockwork. Once our appointed time came, we backed into our slot and they began the unload. Gary and I bunked out during the unload and the rumble of the forklifts on and off the trailer gently vibrated the truck and rocked me to sleep; a sleep only to be interrupted by the dock hand banging on the cab, handing us our papers saying we could go. We pulled to an empty lot next door and parked for the night and out DOT required 10 hour break. In the morning – Back to Kenton again!

This is probably enough rambling for now – in a day or so I will fill you in on details of Week 2 with the TE. Before I go, a brief word about the runs we made:

Gary is a driver for what is known as a dedicated account. Schneider, as do most large trucking companies, has some shippers (manufacturers, retailers, etc) that they have entered into contract with, in which a certain number of trucks, trailers and drivers are “dedicated” to hauling fright for that company and that company only. As such, these drivers have more predictable schedules (although never totally predictable), and fairly well known and established routes they become familiar with. That is the reason that we deadheaded (deadhead means hauling an empty trailer) from Hudson, WI and Arlington, TN back to Kenton where the shipper is located. Once I am driving my own truck in what is called “system,” I could be sent anywhere in the country to haul freight for anyone. System drivers will occasionally have deadhead miles, but not very likely will it be 500 or 600+ miles like Gary and I did. There. Now you’re smarter. Don’t you feel better already?

April 14, 2007

Home.  And tired!

Some final notes about the Green Bay experience, then a quick look into the future to see what’s on the horizon.

On Friday morning (4/13/07) we hopped on the bus to the STA, filed in and took our seats for the final exam.  From our original class of 48, there were 27 remaining to take the exam – that’s quite a bit of attrition.  I don’t want to sound cold, but some of those who were gone weren’t missed at all – those were the ones with “baditude.”  There were a few I never really got to know, and there were some that genuinely surprised me.  So it was time for the last thing that scored.

Final exam: 50 questions: multiple choice and True – False.  Ninety minute time limit.  80% minimum passing score.  Two weeks of classes, sims, labs, road time, and backing all coming down to this one relatively minuscule slice of time.  Mess up here, and no graduation.

Ninety minute time limit.  I was done in 20.  The test was not hard, but it wasn’t a cakewalk either. If you had paid attention and done some studying these past two weeks, you would know this stuff.  There’s absolutely no way at all I could have passed it two weeks ago or even one week ago.  As I was wrapping it up it occurred to me that I have absorbed a fair amount of stuff in these last two weeks.

One by one we filed out of the classrooms and either into the lunchroom or outside the building to enjoy the first warm and sunny day we had seen since arriving.  Guys shaking hands, congratulating each other, joking around and watching some backing practice by the group who started a week behind us.  Interesting thought – they were the “underclassmen,” now they’re the Seniors.  Tomorrow when a new group checks in, all nervous and curious, these guys and girls who are backing today will be (and feel) like the wily, seasoned veterans.  So to speak.  Part of the ongoing process at the STA.

We stood around, chatted, waited, those who are smokers, smoked.  We were waiting for the last classmate to finish his test.  I had a bad feeling about this guy.  Not meaning I didn’t like him, quite the opposite.  He is of eastern European descent (Slavic I am guessing by his name and where he lives now).  Quiet guy, when he speaks it is with an accent, keeps mostly to himself, but when you talk to him, he’s rather nice and friendly.  He already has his CDL, he was going through this program to work for Schneider.  He has struggled with the classroom stuff all two weeks and has had to retake several CFLs.  I am not the expert here, but my supposition is that it is a language problem.  In a way that is too bad, because in the few times I have talked with him I had the impression he knew what he was doing.  Yet sometimes the way the questions are asked on the tests might possibly befuddle someone who is not really familiar with the tricky twists and turns of a non-native language.  You know how it is – they sneak a negative term in the wording to make sure you are reading very carefully, or use excessives: ‘always,’ ‘never,’ ‘must’ etc.  

In the end, he didn’t make it.  Got three tries and missed.  He was of a good attitude about it, although I could see the disappointment in his eyes when he got the results of his third attempt, but he didn’t make it an issue.  I think the worst part was that now he was an “outcast.”  While the rest of us (26 graduated) went into classrooms to hear a few speakers talk to us about the next phase of training, to receive our fuel cards and logbooks, to pick up our new workboots and such things, he sat in the lunchroom.  The big, empty lunchroom.  All alone.  Nothing to do but wait.  And wait.  Here it was, not even 10:00 a.m. and he had nothing to do until the bus picked us up at 4:30 p.m.  During lunch I went up to him (hardly anyone else had acknowledged him sitting in there). I asked him how he was doing, he smiled and said fine.  I asked him what was next for him, he answered “Go home and find job.”  He said that he would be allowed to return to the STA in the future; I asked if he might, he shrugged his shoulders and said perhaps, depends on what work he can find.  I shook his hand and gave him a pat on the back and wished him the best.   And the icing on the cake was that he was riding the same bus home as the rest of us.

Just before lunch, I talked to one of the training reps who gave me my CDL test schedule.  I have an appointment for Monday 16th at 1:15 p.m. in Willard, OH.  He reviewed the road course and what things the examiner might be likely to toss my direction so I could make sure to be alert and attentive.  So from my previous post it appears I was wr…  wro… wron…  misinformed   I will be taking my CDL test right away, and THEN go out with a trainer for 1 – 2 weeks.  Wish me well – several of the instructors have told us that Ohio is a tough testing state and in the past several classes, no one from Ohio has passed the CDL on the first try.  I will do my best. 

We were done at 2:30; the bus isn’t scheduled to arrive until 4:30.  After two weeks of jammed and crammed schedules, we were now BORED.  Some of the group had driven their own cars so they took off, and even gave rides to a few who lived along the way and had ridden the bus in.  From approximately 30 who had been on the coach to Green Bay, after attrition and ride sharing, we were now down to 10 for the ride home.

While waiting for the bus, I got a phone call from my T.E. (Training Engineer, the driver who I’ll be riding, driving and learning from out on the road for the next phase).  Seems like a nice guy on the phone, I told him about my CDL appointment and we made arrangements to meet about an hour away from the testing facility on Monday afternoon.  I am to bring a week’s worth of clothes, toiletries, sleeping bag, etc and we’ll go from there.  I am going to call him this weekend for more details before leaving the house Monday morning.   Wow.  It’s really happening now!

The bus arrives, we pile our stuff on and grab a seat.  We are much more talkative than we were on the ride up – we know each other, we have shared this experience and there is a bond of sorts between us now.   Oh, we are also a lot less tense!

I struggle to sleep in the rumbling, lurching bus and it is difficult at best.  We drop a few off at the Gary, IN, OC, take a 15 minute restroom break, then back on board for the next 2 1/2 hours to my stop at the Indy OC.  I finally manage a little shut eye and wake up as we’re pulling in to the OC at 1 a.m.  I shake hands with the remaining four guys on board, wish them well, grab my things and head off to my car.  I stop to fill up with fuel a couple of blocks down the road and settle into a nice drive down I-74.  It’s 3:15 when I stumble into my apartment, wearily drop my bags on the floor and hit the sack. 

….thus ends Part the First.

P.S.  I cannot say for certain whether I will be able to update this in the coming week.  If I can, I will.  If I can’t, I’ll keep as much of a journal as possible and post in one big chunk when I have internet access.  Fair enough?

April 12, 2007: Day 13

Relief, mild euphoria, accomplishment, pride and even a little sadness that this part of the run is coming to an end.

 Woke up to this today:

What a lovely sight on our final full day, my final day in the truck.  Some good practical experience behind the wheel, ya think? 

Had my final ride with John today.  Almost all of it was highway miles; we drove from Green Bay to Osh Kosh where we stopped at a truck stop and grabbed a cup of coffee and had a pleasant chat about a whole variety of things.  The entire trip was relaxed, we just visited and swapped stories; like riding with an old friend.  I owe John a lot, but he is not one to take credit.  When I thanked him for all his help and guidance and patience, he just said “Hey, you did all the hard work, I just sat here in the passenger seat.”  He did try to convince me that a year from now I wouldn’t remember his name, but that would always remember my next trainer (as yet unknown to me) with whom I’ll spend the next 1 – 2 weeks on the road and haulin’ freight.

Once we got back to the STA, we sat in the truck and chatted a little more, about the industry, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I guess we were both reluctant to shut off the truck and head inside, for we knew one basic truth: it was lunchtime at La Maison de Schneider.  Oh joy.  Of all the things I will miss about this place, THAT ain’t one of them.  However I did get to thinking that maybe they feed us that way on purpose – it will make road food seem grand by comparison.   Can’t have them giving us the wrong impression that the trucking lifestyle comes complete with gourmet fare.

During lunch, received some kind of sad news – another one of our classmates is leaving.  He passed his QRT yesterday, but in this morning’s HazMat class, he failed the section CFL (“Check For Learning” i.e., quiz).  You are allowed three attempts to pass with a grade of 80% and he missed all three tries, so end of the line.   I really felt bad for him.  While I don’t think any of us know for certain, we are all kind of speculating that we’ve lost 50% of our class since the 31st.   Washouts are common, but this is ridiculous!   There is always the possibility that someone will mess up on the final tomorrow as well, we’ll see how it goes.

Tonight, the only two things on my agenda are to pack, for we check out of the hotel in the morning, and to do a quick brush up on the classroom material from the past two weeks for the final in the morning.   I might splurge a little and go to a REAL restaurant tonight instead of the usual Hardee’s / Wendy’s fast food stuff.  But I might not.  Not really hungry yet but I am sure I will be within the hour.

It seems as if I just arrived.  It’s hard to imagine I have spent 14 nights in this room, but at the same time it almost feels like I have been here forever.  I look back on how little I knew just two weeks ago and how much I have learned in this time.  Wow.  Me.  Driving a truck.  A year ago if you had told me this is what I’d be doing, I would have called the “nice young men in their clean white coats” and had you hauled off to the funny farm.  Yet I am doing it, and it feels great.

This is my last post from the Green Bay Training Academy and the lovely and glamourous Baymont Inn.  I want to thank anyone and everyone who has joined me for any part of this ride, and I hope I didn’t drone on too badly in the last several days.   Time and all other variables permitting, I will do what I can to try to keep this classic of American Literature going through my next phase of training – I am as interested to see how it goes as you are!

In the meantime, be safe, keep the wheels turning, keep the shiny side up and by all means, D.H.S.!

April 11, 2007: Day 12

THE END IS NEAR! 

 No, I am not some so-called prophet of doom standing on street corner in a handpainted sandwich board.

One more day and a wake up.  We can see the end of the line as far as the training academy goes, and we are all at the same time tired and energized.

We took our QRTs today.  I did mine in the morning with Paul – an excellent trainer from what I could tell in the few hours I was with him.   We started out with me backing the tractor to the trailer and coupling it up.  Paul watched every move to make sure I didn’t leave out any steps, then in the cab and let’s roll.  I was a tiny bit nervous at first, but by the time we got to the end of the first mile, I was completely relaxed.  In fact, about halfway through it he said that I seemed to be quite comfortable driving a truck.  And to think that just 9 days ago I sat at the controls of an 18 wheeler for the very first time in my life.  This program is amazing!

On a different line, we lost another student today, and this one stunned me.  Mike was a cool guy (he’s the one with 11 kids).  After I came in from my QRT just before lunch, I bumped into him in the lunchroom.  He seemed rather nervous.  He was scheduled to test this afternoon and he asked me how mine went and what it was like.  I told him not to worry, it’s really not much different from driving with your own instructor, but he still seemed exceptionally uptight.  During our first break in our afternoon class, someone mentioned he left.   Another student confirmed that, said that he was in the classroom when someone came in and talked to our instructor to gather Mike’s paperwork and he saw Mike get on the shuttle van back to the hotel.

Now I can’t say for certain that he left over fears about his QRT, but I wonder.   With Mike gone my tentative count is a class that started with 48 total is now down to 27.  But I might have missed someone.  As I said in an earlier post, not everyone makes it, but damn, Mike – you were so close, dude!  However, there may be other reasons, and at times personal or family matters pop up that would cause someone to leave early.  My understanding is that in those situations, Schneider will let that student return in the future, but I can’t say for certain.   Whatever the case, I wish you the best Michael!

Oh, was classroom fun today.  We did some more on trip planning and sending satellite messages back to corporate with load delivery info, etc.  It seemed a little puzzling at first, but I think I’ll grasp that pretty easily.   Just learn the jargon and follow your guidesheet and it ought to fall into place quickly.  I do know that one of the students we lost was because of this very issue – he was doing fin with the driving, but was totally and completely in the weeds about the Qualcomm system.

We also watched a video about fatigue, one that from the opening moments you just KNEW how it was going to turn out: top-notch veteran driver with never a missed delivery time takes a hot-shot load against his better wishes – he is tired and would rather catch up on some rest (a hot-shot load is one that has to be there YESTERDAY, if you get the drift).   No, he doesn’t fall asleep at the wheel, as in a dead sleep, but the fatigue finally gets him with only 40 miles to go on a 1,000 mile run and he smacks into the back end of a school bus that is stopped to let kids off.

Although the video was a bit over the top and slightly corny, the message is a critical one.  Who among us has driven at least once when we really know we shouldn’t because we just want to get to our destination?  I know I have before.  However in this new “driver’s ed” I have been going through, we really see things with a different focus and creates an awareness to the point where I will obey my better judgement and rest when needed (on a side note, I have also been know to stop and nap for 15-20 minutes when I have been tired.)

Then once again tonight I got some extra backing practice in preparation for my CDL test.   Part of my QRT with Paul this morning was some backing.  Paul knew beforehand that I was having some struggle with the finer points, so he gave some great advice.  Sometimes it just takes a different instructor with a different point of view to allow the dense rookie see through the fog, and as far as backing, Paul gave me a lot.   So when we hit the range this evening, I did a whole bunch better than I did last night.  Not perfect, still some awkwardness and clumsiness, but much, much improved.  Oh, and did I tell you were were doing our practice in a snowstorm?  Yeah, winds about 15 m.p.h and snow falling and blowing everywhere.  At least that made it easier to see the tire tracks where I goofed up.  Just stay away from those!  See how easy this all is!!!

At any rate, I stayed late at the STA again for another 13 hour day and I think I’ll close the book on today’s adventures.  Tomorrow is a morning drive with John and afternoon HazMat class.  Oh, and I think we’re getting fitted for our graduation caps and gowns too. 

By the way, I passed the QRT.

April 10, 2007: Day 11

Has it really been 11 days? 

On one hand, it seems like forever, on the other, it has gone by so fast – but you all know how that goes.

Today’s post will be short – I am tired and still have homework to do.

First, a correction:  While I will have my QRT (Qualification Readiness Test) tomorrow, today was not my last day in the truck with John, we will ride together again on Thursday.

Today’s run was much better than yesterday (in most respects).   We ran about 20 miles south of here to Appleton, WI and did some “city” driving around there.  John put me in some more tight spots, most of which I did pretty well with, except one S.O.B of a combination turn - hard, tight right, immediately followed by a fairly hard left.  Much to my dismay, I was thinking too much about negotiating the left before I even finished the right and ended up cutting the right way, way too close – as in way over the curb, nearly taking out a light pole.  <Hanging head in shame>  But we got it fixed and I learned to settle down.  The second major league screw up was one that I have never, ever even come close to before – I shifted gears while crossing a railroad track. MAJOR LEAGUE NO-NO!!!  In fact, that right there would be an automatic disqualification on the CDL road test.   Stupid thing is, I realized what I was doing as soon as I started doing it, but by then it was too late.  However, at the end of the run, John’s comments were very positive, he told me that he knew where and how I messed up and that he was confident I wouldn’t do it again.   He has a way of keeping us focused and positive.

Classroom work was about scaling (weighing the truck) and how to slide the tandems (rear set of axles on the trailer) and the fifth wheel (the contraption that connects the tractor to the trailer).  That was fairly easy.  Sim class was about getting “unlost” in a city.  We were given a map to a small city, told to start at intersection such and such and pick up or drop a load at a different place.  Problem was, most streets you wanted to turn onto were no good for various reasons - low clearances, a fire, power lines down, etc.  The deal was you had to find your way around these obstacles and to your location.  Good practice!

Then at the end of the day, they had some backing practice for those of us from Ohio, for Ohio has a slightly different maneuverability section on the CDL test than most other states.  Bottom line is, I just got back to the hotel at 8:30 p.m., which makes for a very long day!

So, with your kind permission, I will close this tonight, and I promise to let you know about the QRT tomorrow.

Sleep well, be safe and keep the shiny side up!

P.S.  and DON’T EVER shift over railroad tracks!

April 9, 2007: Day 10

NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!!

Aliens from outer space invaded at some time over the weekend and sucked out my brains!  It’s true!  Today was another all-day in-truck experience with John and Dan and when I got behind the wheel it seemed as if everything I had been doing right just on Friday was now turning out all wrong. 

We started on the lot with me practicing some backing maneuvers.  Didn’t do too badly on the blindside parallel parking.  Not perfect, but not bad.  Then John had me set up for a 90° back. Man, I even screwed up the dang set up.  Once I got set, it got ugly.  Lot of silly jockeying before I finally got it in the hole.  I couldn’t even seem to get the straightline backing down today.  Once I was in the hole, I pulled out to do an offset back.  Fudged that.  After much swearing at myself for trying to think too much instead of reacting to what the truck was doing, I finally got it in.  Then pulled forward to offset the other direction.  Oh my.  Let’s just say I am glad you weren’t here to see it in all its ugliness.

(for explanations and diagrams of the above maneuvers, go here: http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/pdf_forms/HSY-7605.pdf .  Look on pages 116 ff.  You will need a free Adobe PDF reader that you can get here: www.adobe.com .)

Once we were done practicing backing (or when John and Dan got tired of watching me), we hit the road.   Why was I missing as many gears as I was, especially after being pretty smooth on Friday??  Eventually we made our way to downtown Green Bay, and let me tell you, there’s a lot of tight, tight turns down there.  And much to my sheer delight, John seemed to know ‘em all!  He sent me on a route that put me face to face with a tight right turn combined with a dangerously low clearance, and as SOON as I got through that, I had to do an IMMEDIATE left onto a street that had a quite snug switchback to the right.   After going around a block of more squeezed turns, I discovered he was setting me up to make a right turn back onto that same switchback, so now it was nearly a hairpin turn eventually heading back parallel to the direction I came from – AND a utility truck was parked alongside the curb making it even more tricky.   However, no one died.   I remembered John’s #1 rule when driving a truck: “D.H.S.”  The PG version of that is “Don’t Hit ‘Stuff’. “  Let me just say that all I was hitting were curbs.

I eventually calmed down a bit and started getting a little better (I leave out the really gory scenes  lol).  Either John thought I had demonstrated some improvement, or he felt sorry for me, or he felt sorry for he and Dan (he never said why) but at lunchtime we stopped and traded places at the wheel. 

Cool note – John directed us to an awesome Chinese buffet, the best I have ever been to.  It seems that this is a regular Monday ritual for Schneider driving instructors because there ended up being 4 trucks parked there, complete with trainers and students.  Boy does John know his truck!  We parked on the curb in front of this place, and there was already a pumpkin there.  He told me to pull in behind him, and I asked if we really had room without blocking the driveway with the trailer.  He said he was pretty sure we could get in there, so I pulled over and inched up on the truck in front of us.  John said “Keep going, you’ve got lots of room!”  Somehow it didn’t seem that way, I thought we were ready to drive up into his trailer!  But John insisted, “Keep going…keep going… keep going.”  When he finally told me to stop “right there,” we got out and I’ll be a sonovagun if we weren’t about 18″ from his rear bumper.  TRUST THE INSTRUCTOR!

After lunch, Dan took over.  Now I have mentioned that Dan has some experience, although it was many years ago.  But you know what?? I think those darned space aliens got into Dan’s room too!  He was making mistakes, not as many as me, but he was making them.  Of course, John being the smartass that he is, was riding Dan a lot (in a joking manner of course).  Dan was up to the task and fired crap right back at John (also in a friendly and joking style).  I think my brightest point of the day was when I zinged Dan a good one and completely busted John to pieces.  It came down like this:

John was giving Dan some grief about some little mistake he made, and Dan said he was going to bring a small tape recorder with him on the next drive and record all of John’s comments on his driving.  Then once he gets out of here and on the road by himself, he’ll play it back whenever he has a moment when he realizes he could have done it better.  Now normally, I keep to myself when Dan’s driving, but this was way too sweet.  So I piped up, “Hmmm, I think maybe I’ll buy stock in EveReady.”   I got a high five from John.

All in all it was a frustrating day for me, but yet it was one of the most fun days I had.  I really learned a lot today, and the biggest lesson was not to get flustered; to take it slow and easy and one step at a time.   At the end, John handed me my day’s evaluation and gave me a “good job” pat on the back.   I think I have come to know John, his skills and the seriousness with which he takes his job (in spite of the joking we have), and I honestly believe he wouldn’t tell me that if he didn’t mean it.  In fact, my evaluation sheet showed improvement in several areas and provided some constructive tips on the next steps towards improving my skills.

After we got back, John sat Dan and me down and told us to take out a pen and paper and write down our homework assignment.

1) Get on the bus at 5:30

2) Get off the bus at the hotel at 5:40

3) Have all your books and study materials put away no later than 5:45

4) Relax, have some dinner and take it easy for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday is our Qualification Readiness Test, and a different instructor will be evaluating us.  So that means tomorrow is my last day in the truck with John. I fully intend on taking full advantage of the time and his knowledge and doing the best I possibly can.

Then I fully intend on remembering him, his calmness, his skills as a driver and as an instructor, his sense of humor and my seven days in an Orange Freightliner with one truly inspiring instructor.

We’re in the homestretch now.   I can really start to smell the diesel fumes.

April 8, 2007: Day 9

HAPPY EASTER!

Time to get caught up on a few things while I have some time to spare.  Spare time is a very precious commodity around here!

Instead of my usual jabbering about what my day was like in the truck, I think I’ll take a little time to tell you a bit about how this program works.

The Schneider Training Academies exist to train new drivers to be safe and effective drivers for Schneider National.  (for more info on Schneider, you can go to www.schneider.com).  The program takes in new trainees, most of whom do not have a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).  On occasion there are a few students who already have a CDL, either from another CDL school, or perhaps they had driven for some other company.   For the non-CDL students, part of the focus is to prepare us to take our own state’s version of the CDL exam; for others it is to brush up and to learn the Schneider way of doing things.

The class runs for a very intense two weeks, starting on a Saturday, with graduation scheduled for the second Friday, 14 days later.  During that time there are generally four different aspects to the training:

1) Classroom time.  In the classroom we learn subjects such as DOT regulations, logging hours, general safety principles, map reading and trip planning, cargo security, etc.  Most classes will have some homework assigned to polish up the topics we reviewed in class that day.  Sometimes the homework is easy, sometimes it is more involved.  For example, last night one of our assignments was to determine efficient routes between two locations, specifically Albuquerque, NM to Kansas City, MO; or Delano, CA to Pocatello, ID.

2) Lab time.  The labs are outdoors sessions where things in and around the truck are demonstrated and we practice.  Some lab topics include 4-point inspections, coupling and uncoupling trailers, pre-trip inspections, intermodal container, dock activities such as proper handling and moving of pallets, use of pallet jacks, proper lifting techniques.  In a previous post I mentioned how detailed a pre-trip inspection is.  It was even a bit eye opening to learn that coupling and uncoupling a trailer is a more involved process than I had previously thought.  It’s not just back up, hook ‘n go.  It is important to make sure the equipment is roadworthy, everything is properly set up, the hook is good and solid, air lines and electrical lines are properly and securely attached, all the brakes work, lights work and so on.   And naturally, here in Green Bay the weather has been just DUCKY, with temps in the upper 20s and low 30s all week, 15 mph winds that cut right through you.  Yeah  labs are FUN!

3) Sim time.  The “sims,” or simulators, are high tech expensive oversized GameBoys.  I would say XBox, but the graphics aren’t quite that good!  You’re sitting in a truck seat / dashboard mockup with three large wrap around screens.  Think something along the lines of three 42″ large screen TVs.   The sims are used to teach basic clutching / shifting skills before we get in the trucks, defensive driving techniques, downhill braking control, emergency techniques such as downhill braking, skid control, blowouts, etc.  In some respects they do a very good job at imitating a truck, but not completely.   There can also be a nasty tendency towards motion sickness, although the only time I experienced it was when I was standing behind another student, watching what he or she was doing.  At that point, my line of vision was not on the same plane or level as the driver, so the motion on the screens was a bit unnatural.  It was less of a queasiness and more of a headache that affected me, although some of my classmates were more profoundly sensitive to it.

4) Driving.   This is the time actually spent in the truck with your driving instructor.   It covers all basic phases of driving a tractor trailer, from simple maneuvering on surface streets, to highways, turns – both easy and tight, backing the truck (done at the STA driving range), actual coupling and uncoupling at the start and end of your session with your instructor.   This is the part that I really enjoy, it is where I get to put into practice the things I have been learning in the above three categories.

 The training has a cost -$3,500, but nothing is paid up front, and if we drive for the company for one year after completion, all tuition expenses are waived.  Schneider pays our way to the STA (a lovely bus ride that could last as long as 14 hours), our rooms are provided at a local hotel.  The hotel provides continental breakfast and we get lunch vouchers for the STA lunchroom.  Thank goodness the cafeteria food is free!  I honestly can say that all the time I was in public school, every school cafeteria I ate in was vastly superior to this.  I won’t say the food is bad; it isn’t.  It just is quite far from inspiring.  Don’t be looking for this facility to appear on the Food Network anytime soon!

At the end of the second week, those who are still surviving with the program (we have lost about 10 of our original 48 students so far), will be evaluated in the trucks in what is called a Qualification Readiness Test, and we will also take a written final exam.  The successful graduates will be issued a driver number, a log book, and a new pair of workboots.  After the school, we head home where we will be assigned a Training Engineer (TE) who is a driver for Schneider.  We will run loads with that TE for the next 1 – 3 weeks, the length of time depending on how well we learn and develop in the real world.  When the TE feels we are ready, a Skills Qualification Test (SQT) is done by an examiner at one of the several Operating Centers (OCs) around the country, and the CDL test is administerd by the state.  Once we have all those things done, we’re official, we get assigned our own trucks and start getting loads to run.   Once we’re out on the road, for the most part we will run anywhere from 2 – 3 weeks out, then a few days at home.  The life of an OTR driver isn’t always the best for those with families to raise – assuming of course they’d like to be around the wife and kids!  As for me, since I am divorced with no children, the home time is not as much of a factor as it might be with some of my classmates – one guy has ELEVEN CHILDREN!  I think I know why HE is wanting to get out of the house for a bit!

As this was quite possibly the most boring post of mine to date (I can hear you all thinking, “And we didn’t think it possible!”), I will close for now.  Tomorrow I will fill you in on my latest progress and adventures.

In the meantime, if you have any particular questions, by all means feel free to ask away!  And don’t be afraid to click on the other links you see to your right - they contain a wealth of great information.

Be safe and keep the shiny side up!

April 7, 2007: Day 8

Oh my… so many days to catch up!  Since I have been busy and not updating as regularly as I had hoped, some of this is starting to run together and becoming a bit of a blur in my foggy, addled mind.  So please bear with me and I’ll do my best to fill you in.

Wednesday, April 4:

Got to the STA a little before 7 a.m. and met John, my driving instructor. Headed out to the truck, did our checks and then to the highway.  Guess what?  I am still making mistakes.  But I am improving!  Finding the gears a lot easier, getting a little better at setting up turns (but still need to get that bump and run in earlier!).   Since I seem to be doing better, and John is affirming and helpful, it helps me relax.  And i discover that when I am relaxed, I do things much more smoothly.  Of course I suppose it’s only normal that the first time behind the wheel one would be a bit tense.

Most of our driving is not far from the STA, in an industrial park area that nearly all the streets are legal for big trucks.  I did manage to screw up one right turn in a royal way (no one was hurt, relax!!).  Heading down the street, John tells me to take the next right.  Since I was trying to look far down the road, I noticed a sign for a “T” intersection about a quarter of a mile ahead.  As we get closer, John starts saying “You’ll want to be getting your bump and run in pretty soon!”  I wondered what he was dreaming about as we still had quite a way to the intersection ( bump and run puts you into at least two gears lower than you had been running, ergo, a slow speed).  All of a sudden John says “Where are you going?” – in a kind and gentle way.  That’s when I noticed the street to my right.   Yup, that’s the one he meant, I hadn’t seen it and drove right past it.  ARRRGGGHHH!  C’mon Dennis, pay attention to EVERYTHING.   Feeling sheepish, John just laughed and asked if I know what went wrong.  Yeah, I did.  So we drive around a bit, eventually coming back down the same street, and John says, “OK, the next right.”  I chuckled and asked “You mean the one I missed before?”  He laughed and said, “That’s the one!”  Made the turn, far from perfect, but once again, no one was hurt.

It seems a couple of my more critical issues are not getting that “B-N-R” done early enough, not setting up the proper distance from the curb on right hand turns.  Four feet is the desired space from the curb as you set up for the turn – that gives you room to get that big ol’ trailer around the corner, yet doesn’t open your right side up too wide to allow other cars to slide up inside you on the right.   Since I am on the topic, you have all noticed the signs on the back of many trucks that say “CAUTION: WIDE RIGHT TURNS”  We mean it!  It takes a lot of room to ease that 80,000 pound,  70′ long hunk of macho metal around a corner.  Some of you may have noticed this as you were sitting in the left turn lane when you look up and see this 100′ high grill on a semi bearing down on you as the driver works around that corner to your left.   Remember – we’re bigger, it might hurt.  But relax, the professional drivers will be safe and cautious, taking time to make that turn properly to avoid damage to anything.  But please, that doesn’t mean it is ok to ignore them; just because they are doing their utmost to be safe, doesn’t mean any of us can relax either.

We head out on the highway and do a bit of highway work where traffic is moving a lot faster and cars zipping around us.  We turn down a few side roads then loop back around, and before I know it, our morning is nearly done and time to head back home.  Once at the range, we practice a couple of backing maneuvers.  Oh yeah.  Lots of learning opportunities there!

Back at the STA, after finishing a tasty lunch.  Well, after finishing lunch. it’s back to the classroom for me, Dan’s going out with John.  They split us up and send half to the sim lab where we work on slow maneuvering.  My simulation is inside a big warehouse where I have to “drive” the “truck” around forklifts, crates, other vehicles parked in there and silly people who walk right in front of a moving truck.  That really wasn’t too bad; it’s good practice for paying attention to close quarters maneuvers.  My only gripe with it is that the front depth perception is completely non-existent.  When you are looking out your windshield and thinking you’re about to smack something, in reality you might have another 6 or 8 feet.  That part of it doesn’t feel at all like driving a truck.

Sim class is over, then a couple of different instructors take us outside to start teaching us how to do pre-trip inspections.  Did I mention we’re in Green Bay, Wisconsin?  It’s COLD!  And the wind is blowing!  Well, actually it’s only about 30°, but the wind is whipping at a steady 10 – 15 mph with occasional 25 mph gusts.   My long johns are back at the hotel – a heck of a lot of good they are doing there.

About the pre-trip.  There’s an incredible amount of things on a truck that we have to check.  And since it is part of the CDL exam we’ll be taking when we leave here, we have to know it.  And to make matters even more fun, in Ohio (where I am from) you are not allowed to use a crib sheet when demonstrating your pre-trip to the examiner.  You have to have it memorized, you have to touch or point to each object as you explain what you are inspecting, there are certainspecific terminologies the are used, and you have to properly identify and explain 67 of 90 items to pass.  This will be a challenge, but I am confident I’ll get it by the time I need to.  Just study a little bit each night – kind of like an actor learning his lines (no comments from the peanut gallery in Sandusky!).

Finally, this long, cold day is done.  Time for the hotel, a warm room and dinner.  But I get to get in the truck again in the morning!

Thursday, April 5:

To the truck!  We head out to terrorize the motoring citizens of Green Bay again, and before long, John looks at me and asks me where in the world I have been practicing – he tells me my skills are showing a marked improvement over yesterday, especially when it comes to smooth shifting.  That really made me feel good!  Of course, I proceed to make mistakes, and I STILL need to get my bump and runs in quicker and set up better for right turns.   Today he takes me around to start teaching me the buttonhook turn, to be used when a right turn is a bit too tight to handle in the normal way.  He talksme through the setup as we approach the intersection, then talks me through step-by-step.  Not pretty, but I don’t get discouraged, I learned something new and with practice I’ll get better and better.   After more of the surface street driving it’s back to the more open roads and he talks me through skip-shifting, i.e., skipping over a gear as you upshift – shifting from 2nd to 4th, from 4th to 6th etc.  Wow.  That was pretty darn easy and it’s not long until I am skip shifting about every time I pull out from an intersection. 

What I am beginning to notice is a type of “layering” in my learning.  Tuesday, I was a bit nervous and was trying to remember a million things at once.  Now as I gain more confidence in my basic skills I have less to fret over and the next layer of learning is added on top of what I am comfortably progressing at.  Even though there is a lot they throw at us and it gets intense, it is a good feeling knowing that the parts are falling into place.   John chuckles and says “You are really liking that skip shifting aren’t you?”  Well heck yeah!  It cuts out two times I gotta double clutch to get into 6th gear.  What’s not to like?!

As we’re driving down the road, John says “Let off the accelerator.”  I am wondering what is up? My speed was fine – when the next thing I know, John is popping the gearshift and taking the transmission out of gear.  As he is doing so, he says, “Now grab your gear.”  Boy I am glad I have been studying my gear recovery speeds [each gear on a truck corresponds with a certain speed and vice versa.  For example, at normal engine RPMs, 20 mph is 6th gear, 10 mph is 4th, 25 is 7th, 30 is 8th, 8 mph is 3rd)  I think I surprised him -  and myself! – because I immediately recovered my gear.  About 20 minutes later, after having done this to me for the 4th time, John says, “I’ll bet you’re wanting to tell me to leave your gearshift alone, you S.O.B!”  I am telling you, John sure knows how to keep it light and relaxed.

After driving (and another culinary delight) we head to more sim training and then to container training.  You’ve seen the “containers” – the big boxes that are stacked in ships, then on to rail cars, then onto a truck chassis.  They are not the same as a regular van type trailer and there are even more things we have to be on the lookout for when hauling these things.  Naturally, we’re outside again in the cold and wind.  But today is different.  Today I feel better.  First, because John had complimented me nicely on my improvements this morning, and secondly – I remembered to wear my thermies!   After the container training, it’s time to stay outside and practice on our pre-trip inspections.   I felt pretty good when I ran through mine.  Even though we only started yesterday, I was getting quite a bit of it.  Much more to polish with it, but it’s coming along.

Nevertheless, I am so glad to hop on that bus heading back to the hotel.  But tonight with some homework assignments, and feeling cold and a little tired, I forego the chilly walk down the street to Hardee’s and instead call for a pizza.  Boy, was that ever good!

Tomorrow – more morning drive time, some practice with backing and afternoon classes, sims and pre-trip practice. 

Am I boring you yet? 

April 3, 2007: Day 4

Dear Readers ~

Many, many apologies for not posting for awhile, but we have been busy, and I have been tired – both physically and mentally.  This is getting intense, but just like the McDonald’s tag line says in the TV commercials, “I’m lovin’ it!”

Because of a bit of fatigue, and a fair amount of homework and studying to be done, thse next couple of posts may be brief (if I can ever learn how to SHUT UP! )

On to Tuesday … 

What a day!

All day long in the truck.   We were assigned our road trainers (driving trainers) today and we hit the highways and byways.  Dan, a fellow student, and I were assigned to John who has been driving for Schneider for 8 years now.  John is somewhat younger than me (as is most of the class!!), but a very down to earth guy.  Easy going, yet a bit of a smart ass – in a fun and good way, very patient and is able to communicate concepts in a encouraging and supportive way.

We got the day started by heading out on the yard to find our assigned truck.   Ummm… not there.   Looked everywhere.  Can’t be found.  What an inauspicious way to begin.  So we headed back indoors to check on the whereabouts (our Great Pumpkin Hunt).  Seems that the truck had been sent to the maintenance bay at the OC (Operating Center, or “terminal” if you like), which was across town.  So we had to grab a ride from the STA to the OC to look for our truck  After several loooong minutes in the OC, they finally figured it out and we walked through the lot and found it.  We hopped in, stopped at the fuel island to top off the tanks, then we were rolling.   John was explaining what he was doing at each step along the way as we drove back to the STA to get our trailer.   He made it look so darn EASY.  Well heck, it can’t be that hard, I told myself.  It was soon enough that I realized the error of my thinking. 

 Got our trailer, John had Dan and me do a quick inspection of the trailer to get ready to couple it to the tractor.   John was taking acre of all the driving at this point, we were to observe and learn.  Got the box hooked on, and on the road.   As we rumbled down the streets, John again showed us several techniques: the bump-and-run (dropping into a gear at least two gears lower than you’re in to prepare for a stop, intersection, etc), the right turn setup, left turn setup, buttonhook turn, and so on.  We drove out of town a couple of miles and stopped so one of us could take over.   I volunteered Dan.   Now Dan has some experience.  Fifteen years ago Dan drove for Schneider for a couple a years, but gave it up and let his CDL expire.  He’s back to redoing the CDL and getting back into the business.

So Dan starts off.  He’s a little rusty, but some of that soon begins to wear off.  Not all of it, but enough to set the bar high enough for me to feel quite humble.

Finally.  It’s my turn.  I get behind the wheel and start it up.  Then we’re rolling!  Within the first quarter of a mile, I think I made practically every mistake in the book.  Missing gears.  Grinding gears.  Hitting the air brakes WAY too hard.  Screwing up turns.  Remember, that trailer swings WIDE.  It’s called “off tracking” and you really need to be aware of where your trailer is going.  Yeah.  Real easy.  Concentrating on a million things at once and hoping to get just one of them right.   Was I nervous?  Well, yeah!  Was I scared?  Not in the least.   I felt great confidence in John, that he knew what HE was doing and that he would not let us get into a dangerous predicament.   However, before long, I was feeling a certain confidence myself.  Oh I still have a lot to learn, but the butterflies were at least beginning to slow down their own manueverings in the pit of my stomach.   I was still making loads of mistakes alright, but John was patient (as I said) and quite helpful.   After I had been driving for awhile, we stopped for a break at a little place where I got Dan to snap my picture standing in front of the very first tractor trailer I had ever driven in my life.  Take a look at the picture below.  Now what you can’t see is the 48′ trailer behind that truck, but it’s there, and yours truly got it there all in one piece (with John’s help of course).

Eventually we headed back to the STA (with the humble author at the controls).  John directed me through the lot to a remote corner along one edge of the practice range.   On my right was a row of barrels.  On my left, a row of brand new Kenworth T2000s (*Kenworth is a brand of truck, T2000 is one of their many models.  They are mucho expensive.  Six figures expensive.  A row of Mercedes might be inexpensive by comparison).  John and Dan get out of the truck and John, Dear, Kind, Thoughtful and RESPONSIBLE John, tells meto put ‘er in reverse and back ‘er up in a straightline back down a make-believe alley with a row of barrels on my right, and a row of aforementioned Kenworths on my left.   WHAT?  Uh huh. Just back up and listen to the instructorand do what he says.  After a few runs, and listening to John’s sage advice, I got the hang of it.  In fact, a straightline back is really easy – once you know what’s going on, what to look for, and what to do.  In reality, if your truck and trailer are set up right, there is very little to do; it almost backs itself.

And not a scratch on any of those purty new trucks!

At the end of the day, when I got back to my room I was of two separate minds.  One was feeling quite humble and a bit sheepish for all the mistakes I made, for all the clumsiness I had on the clutch and the gearshift, for all the plain, stinking AWFULNESS that I so wonderfully exhibited during the 70 or so miles I drove. 

 But the other?  Can’t describe it.  Confidence?  Yeah, maybe that’s it.  Pride?  Yeah, a bit of that too.  I had not only driven the truck back home, in one piece, but had also backed it.  So even though I have so very far to go, I also realize John and the Schneider program brought me so very far in a few short hours.

Tomorrow – Just John and me driving from 7 a.m. to noon.   Dan’s doing classroom stuff, then after lunch we switch.

Can I learn more tomorrow?  Hell yeah I can!

What a scary thought!

April 2, 2007: Day 3

We’re starting to get busy now. 

After two fairly short days (yesterday we were released at 3 p.m.), we had our first “full” day – in the STA at 7:00 and not done until 5:00.  There are many more such long days ahead, and a LOT more to learn!

The morning started with a brief talk given by the Training Director for the Midwest Region.  Larry gave us some good insights about what Schneider is looking for and the dedication the company has to the most thorough training program that any company offers.  The company wants us to be successful, and it was a good thing to hear that on average, only about 1 of every 30 applicants is selected to attend training.   He was honest that not everyone makes it though the intense 14 day experience, for some will find it too challenging and drop voluntarily, some will just not be able to get it, some will learn that perhaps being a truck driver is not what they really want, so will be downright stupid and break the rules (for example, there is a strict zero tolerance policy towards alcohol while we are here.  Not just while we’re in training, bugt not at all.  Although it has not been expressed to us in so many words, I have heard that if you are late for class two times, it’s Greyhound-bound for home).   Makes me feel better about this place and this program – there are a lot of so-called “CDL mills” out there who will accept practically anyone and teach them just enough to be able to pass the CDL test.

About the few who “don’t get it,” Larry told us of the student who had some problems grasping basic safety issues.  When said student was driving with an instructor one day, he took off his glasses and began cleaning them.  While DRIVING.  NO HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL.  Huh?  Boy, I am glad they suggested to him that Schneider Training Academy just might not be a good fit.  I only hope that some OTHER program didn’t pick him up and let him out on the highway while having such habits.

Then it got fun!  Yesterday we were introduced – very briefly – to the use of the clutch and shifting a ten speed transmission.  This was all in theory, delivered in the classroom.  After our opening pep talk, we were broken into smaller groups and some of us went into the simulator (“sims”) lab.  If any of you are old enough to remember the basic driver’s ed simulators you had in your high school driver’s ed class, these are not even close.  High tech, with wrap-around screens, and even though the images were computer generated, it was a very good experience.

Our purpose in the sims was not to see how well we could drive, but to introduce us to hands-on experience of learning to shift and how to double-clutch.  As such, we were told not to worry too much about keeping the truck on the huge Game Boy screen, but to concentrate on getting comfortable with the clutching and shifting.   For some reason, those of us in Ohio have a different situation than those form the other midwest states, for they separated us into our own little group.  Either that, or they realize that we Buckeyes are more naturally gifted and they didn’t want us to embarrass the others???

At any rate, after a brief demo by our instructor, it was time behind the wheel (of the sim – do you think they’d trust us with a $200,000 semi yet?!?!).   Wanting to get the butterflies gone early, I opted to be the first guinea pig in my group of three.   I got behind the wheel, adjusted the seat, fastened my seatbelt and got started with it.

Now I was not terribly nervous because I have been driving a stick shift for 36 years.  Standard transmissions and clutches do not bother me.  And as far as the double clutching, 30 years ago I had a summer job for which I drove a “split axle” straight truck (a “straight truck” is a one piece vehicle, it doesn’t bend and disconnect like a semi).  I had to double clutch that truck, so I was not a total stranger to the process.   But this was different.

Once I got familiar with the feel of the shifter, running up through the gears was somewhat easy.  Somewhat.   We are being taught to shift based on engine RPMs, so it was important for us to be aware of the tachometer.  Start in 2nd gear (that’s right – in these trucks 1st gear is rarely, rarely used), run the RPMs to 1300, off accelerator-clutch in-shift to neutral-clutch out-RPMS drop to 1000-clutch in-shift into next gear-clutch out-accelerator.  After trying my first shift, I realized why they said that for today not to worry about keeping the thing on the screen!  However, I did finally start getting the hang of it.  Then once I worked through the gears up to 10th, the instructor had me do what they call a “bump and run” in which you can downshift into a much lower gear (e.g., 10th to 7th) in a single shift.  Since you need to be mindful of certain speed ranges appropriate for certain gears, it takes a bit of concentration at first.

All three of us in our group got two sessions in the seat, for perhaps 15 minutes total.  Yeah, we were pros!  <Ahem>  While we were getting the hang of it, we still have a ways to go!

Recess!  Well, outdoors time anyway.  Forty five degrees, damp, gray and windy.  A driving instructor took three of us to the driving range and walked though a four point inspection (Free Case Of Beer – I must post some of the terminology elsewhere on this blog!), how to enter the cab, how to enter the catwalk (area behind the cab between cab and trailer), and how to enter the trailer, all in a safe manner.  He demonstrated coupling and uncoupling a trailer, and it was much more involved than most folks know.  I am not saying it was difficult, but there’s much more than just backing up. clicking to the trailer, raising the landing gear and scooting away. 

Remember, we are outside.  We were not told we’d be outside today, so I had left my WARM jacket at the hotel.  It was fun.  I got dirty.  Put my knee into a puddle of water on the pavement while crawling under the trailer.  Yeah! That’s the life!

Did you know that the modern sleeper cabs are fairly spacious inside?  I was surprised at how much room there is in a sleeper berth.  Behind the seats there was plenty of room to stand up – with even MORE headroom above that!  But not to worry, I might change my tune about the “wide open spaces” a bit once I am out onthe highway for three weeks at a stretch!

This afternoon was more class time, and more detailed instruction on logging and hours of service regulations during which Tom (our instructor, remember him) went into more detail on the 10 hour rule, the 11 hour rule, the 14 hour rule and how Schneider applies those rules.  Because I had done a little research prior to coming to Green Bay, I was aware that Schneider’s policy is slightly more restrictive than DOT regualtions, and a bit less confusing.  But they all must be followed, and your logs must accurately record that. 

 Let’s take a little stroll through those rules, ok?

The rules say that a driver cannot drive more than 11 hours without taking at least a 10 hour break.  Nor can a driver drive once (s)he has reached 14 hours after coming on duty.  And of course, “on duty” does not just mean driving, it can also mean “on duty, not driving.”  Once you get 10 consecutive hours “Off duty” or “sleeper berth” or any combination of the two, you’re back to 11 available driving hours – as long as you don’t drive past your 14th hour after coming on duty!  Oh, and you cannot drive once your total on duty time in the last 8 days reaches 70 hours.   Sound confusing?  Well, it is – at first, but once you get the hang of it, and I am starting to think I am, it really isn’t that difficult.  And the log really helps you keep track of all of that.

Now please understand that these are my own words regarding the aforementioned rules, they are not exactly as DOT of Schneider words them, so there are going to be some technical inaccuracies and interpretations.  But my intent here is not to parrot the specific regulations found in the FMCSA Regulations Manual, but to give you one person’s POV and paraphrasing. 

Tomorrow is all day in the trucks.  They didn’t say what we will be doing (locking us in the trailers while the trainers drive over potholes?), but no classroom.  Dress warm, take the gloves and flashlight. 

But first:  SLEEP!