Day 3 of Truck Driving School

MikeJ

TB Veteran
Credits
189
Hi guys,

Today was day 3 of truck driving school, it was alright, not much to write home about really, we talked about pre trip inspections all morning long or at least for a couple hours. The school is really big into pre trip inspections, because the CDL testing facility is really big into pre trip inspections.

Ohio is pretty strict on the pre trip, you have to inspect like 67 things on the truck and do a full break check and all that good stuff. I have to read the manual a couple times over, it's not really a problem I've been in school my whole life so studying and doing homework in that regard is nothing new.

We talked about jack knifing today, and one of the instructors told us a story about how in 1995 he almost jack knifed, that's some scary stuff right there.

I know last week I was a little concerned about shifting the instructors at the school are fairly confident in there abilities and I don't think it will be a problem, the one guy said pre trip I can only help you on so much, as far as driving goes I can teach you how to drive the truck no problem. The first day you are with me and you drive the truck I take you straight down town to Public Square and make you go around the square. Public Square or the immediate vicinity or area around it is no joke, so that's good.

They told us stories about some students who get in the truck and they want to hustle and get driving and one day some student got in the truck and decided he was going to start driving forward, well you know the instructors tell you when to turn and how far out to go. Well this kid didn't listen thought he knew better and slammed the trailer right into another tractor parked at the truck driving school and tor the hood off of it.

They said they also have guys training out in the yard who get so upset that they get out of the truck slam doors, break windows and one guy even tore the hazard light switch off of the truck because he was so angry.

Look learning curves are very frustrating I know I've been there, my last 2 semesters at college when I went back to earn my associates degree, were like that, I have struggled with mathematics my whole life, I am better at it now, because I really worked hard the past year in college math, but I learned something, and that something is, when you are very mad frustrated angry, the best thing to do is walk away and cool down, trying to still work at it won't make you do it any better.

I know when I was struggling with college algebra and all the other backwards math they teach you that you unless your in a very special field will never really use if I was not getting something I walked away. I cleared my head and I walked away for a while and I tried to put my finger on what it was I did not understand and then I would seek help.

The yard instructors told us the same thing if you do not get something or are having trouble and you are slamming doors and breaking parts of the truck A. The school will make you pay to fix the truck, but B. a better thing to do is walk away and then ask, tell us what you are not doing well ask for extra help, you paid thousands of dollars to come to this school if you ask us for help will definitely help you, heck the fact that you came and asked means a lot to us we know your serious.

The yard instructors do seem to be very sincere they really do and they are kind of funny to, I mean they shout and yell, but that's all part of it and sometimes it is just so you can hear them. They are funny like the one instructor loves having the students drive him to McDonald's in the big truck ha-ha and he was joking around and razzing some of the other guys in the class. Actually all of the instructors are old school truckers, the guy who was teaching our pre trip class and works out in the yard is 70 years old, he is a cool guy and I like him.


You know the one thing I do not get, is who are these people who have never driven a truck before hop right in throw it in gear and go crash into something? I mean you know not that it happens everyday and it's not even the majority of people, but a person like me I have never driven a big truck before, like me when it's time to drive I am not doing anything and I mean anything until the instructor says so. For one it's a safety issue, I don't know what I am doing yet, wouldn't it be wise of me to wait for the instructor and then carefully do exactly what the instructor says?
Just seems like common sense to me.

As far as pre trip goes it's pretty extensive, and you know that's good, I mean shouldn't you know all the major components of a big truck are and have some idea of how they work? I mean you should know what a trailer apron is, what a king pin is defiantly should know what lock jaws are.

I have a little rule and it's just my rule even though I am not driving yet, but my rule is always check to make sure the lock jaws are secure. Even like if I make a stop at a restaurant to deliver. Once I am done delivering and before I hop back in the truck, just take a quick look doesn't have to take long, but just take a quick look to make sure the lock jaws are still around the king pin and just do an over all quick check, doesn't have to be a huge full blown pre trip I am sure you guys do little stuff like that all day long. Lets see we also had DOT physicals and drug test, I got my medical card before I enrolled in school so I did not need to see the schools physician and I wouldn't have done it any other way. I did have to take a drug test no big deal and then we took a DOT rules test which was both boring and tedious. Out of 45 questions I missed 4 and some of those questions were worded poorly and between that and the tedious reading well, I was kind of dizzy when I was all done taking that test ha-ha!



Here is a question I have those road warrior ramps that a lot of the companies use, when I worked at the restaurant our general manager fell on one of those slipped on some ice and landed by the knee on one of those road warrior ramps cut her knee open pretty good to and she had to go to the hospital.

Sometimes over the longer weekends the food service companies will drop a trailer or leave a box truck at the bigger places and that's what happened in this case. It was a weekend where we were busy but a holiday so we were closed on Friday and the food company left a box truck at our restaurant and we had access to it. I know now and then Sysco drops trailers at places I have seen them do it around here, not often, but they do it. Although I know Sysco does not like restaurant employees in the back of the trailers that is really a big no no, but if it's a good enough customer I guess they figure it's worth the liability.

Any how my question is and this while it's not a dumb question, but I feel silly asking it, but how do you guys handle going up and down the ramp especially in cold weather with freezing rain? Obviously having boots with good tread is a big part, but what else do you guys do to manage running up and down the ramp and not getting hurt or slipping and falling?

I know US Foods here in Cleveland has a lot of lift gates, Sysco not so much, but US Foods a lot of lift gates. Well pretty soon those US Foods lift gates will be Sysco lift gates, but that's another story. Actually US Foods here in Cleveland has a good reputation they have a lot of customers and the company is very nice to the employees. The Horse Shoe Casino here in Cleveland is US Foods customer and a lot of other high profile big places.

With the Sysco buy out though I never bothered to look into US Foods, by the time I am done with school US Foods will be a fallen flag and that will be that. Here in Cleveland US Foods has a big terminal and all those people who work at US Foods do not know what is going to happen.

I have been meaning to do it, but I need to send in my paper work to Sherwood Food Distribution, they have a big terminal here in Cleveland too. I do not see them around as much, but they are out there working they have a lot of trucks and a big warehouse in Maple Heights, Ohio so they must be servicing someone. Any how that about wraps it up.

As always thank you.
Mike
 
The ramp itself isn't usually a problem, it's ice on the ground at the end of the ramp or snow/slush that gets tracked into the trailer and refreezes at the top of the ramp that'll cause you to slip. Try to keep both clear and you'll be fine. Most of the time when I hear of someone falling off a ramp it's because a wheel goes off one side due to inexperience/inattention, brakes sticking/locking on the tire, or tripping over their own feet because they're running.

Then you have the days that they jam so much onto a 28' that none of the above will apply until stop 12 when you finally have a chance to use the darn thing...
 
When I was at apperts we had skinny ramps. The 2 wheeler would just like down the ramp on plastic rails. If you step on the plastic rails you could easily slip and fall. I've done it a few times. One guy slipped at the top and broke 3 ribs

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