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FedEx Freight | Downshift

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sourpickle

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Brothers and Sisters Need help here. I went out on the road today in the city and my mentor gave me a bad grade for not Downshifting at every Stop sign. And every light. Now tell me Does anybody down shift every single time when you drive out. Also he wrote down that I didn't use my seat belt in the yard when backing up. Or driving in the yard. Help me out here.:hide:
 
sourpickle said:
Brothers and Sisters Need help here. I went out on the road today in the city and my mentor gave me a bad grade for not Downshifting at every Stop sign. And every light. Now tell me Does anybody down shift every single time when you drive out. Also he wrote down that I didn't use my seat belt in the yard when backing up. Or driving in the yard. Help me out here.:hide:
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The downshifting bad grade don't mean jack driver. Just start doing it tomorrow. You'll be fine. As far as the seat belt that is a red flag area driver.... It is a policy that will get you fired pretty quick. Don't forget that belt tomorrow. TRUCK IT UP!!!:1036316054:
 
I learned to drive a stick on a 1929 Model A Roadster, and it had to be double clutched to shift and downshift. The brakes were horrible at best so that's a habit I've had since I learned to drive (using engine braking).

To this day I still clutch on up and downshifts (not double of course) and downshift while braking, almost every time. There are times of course that I don't, just depends on the situation.

I also never wear my seat belt in the yard.

roog
 
i down shift a lot not sure if every time though.i think i'm just used to doing it.i wear a seat belt all the time its like second nature to click it on b4 i release the breaks.

when your coming to a stop just make sure you don't free wheel.
 
sourpickle said:
Brothers and Sisters Need help here. I went out on the road today in the city and my mentor gave me a bad grade for not Downshifting at every Stop sign. And every light. Now tell me Does anybody down shift every single time when you drive out. Also he wrote down that I didn't use my seat belt in the yard when backing up. Or driving in the yard. Help me out here.:hide:
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As far as downshifting at every stop, NO i dont either. It all depends on the situation, stoplight to stoplight, no, when im getting off the highway on an exit, yes i do.

As far as wearing a seat belt in the yard, im sorry, you wont find 1 driver wearing a seat belt while in the yard. The next time you see him driving in the yard, make sure you go over to him, and make sure he's wearing his seat belt.:toxic: I assure you,he wont be wearing his either.:chairshot:
 
down shift between stop lights? Your mentor needs mentoring, your wasting fuel. As for seat belts in the yard nobody uses them, but maybe the hostlers should since they cruise around at light speed!
 
rodedawg said:
The next time you see him driving in the yard, make sure you go over to him, and make sure he's wearing his seat belt. I assure you,he wont be wearing his either.:chairshot:
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Do onto others as they have done onto you. :nutkick:

worn out says
As for seat belts in the yard nobody uses them, but maybe the hostlers should since they cruise around at light speed!:biglaugh:
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Maybe a nice 5 point racing harness in the yard horse.:1036316054:
 
I dont worry about shifting my state of the art ultrashift takes care of everything for me I just put on my hans device and poop you have to have the seat belt to hold you in from the jerking around
 
Dang pickle, sounds to me like your mentor is a douche bag you sure you ain't out of Tulsa...Downshifting is a waste of effort unless your on a grade, coming to a light or stop sign you will pick up more speed going into the downshift than if you just started braking when you were suppose to. In your situation you have to make the inflated ego stay afloat, just do what he says till your on your own, then catch him outside the gate and give him what for!
 
The mentor/coach is just trying teach you how things should be done...by the book. Hes just doing his job, maybe he could have left it verbal and not put it in writing, but thats at his discretion.(maybe he did and you still kept coasting to stops) While youre being coached they need to see that you understand the right way to do things, and that you are able to correct your mistakes as encountered. If you coast to a stop on the state cdl exam they can fail you for it, if you coast to a stop on an incline your brakes can fade and you may not be able to find the right gear when you need to, if you hit ice at an intersection while coasting with only the brakes slowing the set down you could start to jackknife and you wont be able to power up and straighten it out before "the point of no return"...etc,etc. Once you get on your own you can do it your own way, but for now you should be concentrating on proving that you CAN do it the right way.
 
Tin Man said:
The mentor/coach is just trying teach you how things should be done...by the book. Hes just doing his job, maybe he could have left it verbal and not put it in writing, but thats at his discretion.(maybe he did and you still kept coasting to stops) While youre being coached they need to see that you understand the right way to do things, and that you are able to correct your mistakes as encountered. If you coast to a stop on the state cdl exam they can fail you for it. Once you get on your own you can do it your own way, but for now you should be concentrating on proving that you CAN do it the right way.
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Unfortunatly your right, its like shutting the truck off half a dozen times to hook, takes more fuel to fire the thing back up 6 or 8 times than it would to keep it running. Sometimes by the book isn't always the right way to go about it. We have to ask ourselves, who wrote the book? Some college guy that researched trucking on the internet. That would be my best guess. PFG has some of the same mindsets as Fedex, PFG is a little more open to suggestion and they seem to have folks that have knowledge in the field they make decisions, example..we run 62mph but our power is 100%, they cut our speed but not our nuts. Now looky here, I done got away from the topic at hand. Do what your mentor,(I use that word loosely), says, then do what you have to do, get him out the gate, tell him how the cow ate the cabbage then beat it out of him for putting you through all that bull.
 
sourpickle said:
Brothers and Sisters Need help here. I went out on the road today in the city and my mentor gave me a bad grade for not Downshifting at every Stop sign. And every light. Now tell me Does anybody down shift every single time when you drive out. Also he wrote down that I didn't use my seat belt in the yard when backing up. Or driving in the yard. Help me out here.:hide:
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pickle your socalled mentor prolly just got his cdl a few years ago and thinks hes super trucker and now he has a raging ego trip going on flip him off when hes done messing with you hes a jagoff and dont hide when your talking about the idiot :biglaugh:
 
SMOKESTACK said:
He nit picked you plain and simple.
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Plain and simple. :beerchug: Put your seatbelt on, go with the flow. Smile, nod, and say uh huh occasionally. You will be out on your own soon enough. Then you follow the rules that are required to keep your job. You will figure out what those rules are. As for everything else, so long as the truck rolls and the freight moves, no one will stay on your backside. Water off a ducks back.
 
SPACECADETwACDL said:
Plain and simple. :beerchug: Put your seatbelt on, go with the flow. Smile, nod, and say uh huh occasionally. You will be out on your own soon enough.
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This should be a no brainer but one last word of advice. Learn to take the path of least resistance. Do you want a job or or do you want to be right. 3 yrs or 30 your coach has more experience than you and he is in a position to help or hinder you. It doesnt really matter what a hundred other drivers say they do every day, what matters is that they CAN do it the right way if they're told to or need to
 
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