Wow, the day has finally arrived! We are scheduled to take our CDL road test today! We got about 2 inches of snow last night which is not a big deal around here, but I was still a bit concerned about the road conditions. The last thing I wanted was another delay in getting my CDL. I woke up bright and early and was out of the house by about 5:45 am. As I walked to my car, I nearly fell on my butt due to the ice covering the ground. Then, I had one heck of a time leaving my neighborhood since the street was a complete sheet of ice. Not a great way to start the day! As I got onto the main roads, they seemed to be in much better condition but still had some patchy ice spots. By the time I made it to the school, the roads were in pretty decent shape so I figured we’d get the CDL test in.
I was the first person to show up and was extremely nervous. I felt ready, but being tested is not fun! There are a million ways to fail, and only a hand full of ways to pass. All of the ways to fail kept going through my mind. It wasn’t so much the CDL road test that worried me. The yard skills test was the one I was scared of. All it took was a few inches too far forward, a turn that was a little too tight, a bad 45 degree back, and I fail. I kept telling myself; “There is nothing to be nervous about. Just do what you’ve been doing and you’ll be fine. Even if I fail, I can just retest. This is not a big deal.” Well, that’s easy to say, but I was nervous as hell. One advantage to showing up early is I was able to get in a practice run on the yard skills test. I did just fine, but was still nervious for the test.
Once again, we waited around for the CDL examiner who came at about 9:30am. But I was jumping for joy when I found out it wasn’t the same examiner as the first guy who came out! That first examiner was the examiner from Hell! There’s no way any other examiner could be as bad as him. My relief was quickly filled with nervousness again though. The time was near. This is what 4 weeks of hard work came down to!
Before we could start with the yard skills test, there were a few students who needed to do their pre-trip inspection exam. These students were guys who had a class B CDL and were simply upgrading to a class A CDL. They joined our class about mid-way through. Luckily, every one of them passed the pre-trip exam. My school did an absolutely fantastic job at preparing us for the pre-trip.
Once they were done with the pre-trip, the yard skills test was up. I was 5th in line. I wish I was first. I just wanted to get it over with! The agony was killing me. The more I waited the more nervous I got. All 4 of the students who went before me passed. Awesome! Then it was my turn. I took the long…..very long walk out to the truck. I get in and the seat is moved all the way forward. I hate when people mess with the seat. The yard truck is sort of old, and kind of a pain, so it wasn’t easy readjusting the seat. But I took my time and got comfortable. I was so nervous I was nearly shaking. But now was not the time to freeze up. So I put the truck in gear, took a deep breath, released the brakes, and said to myself “just one more time.”
I was able to relax myself a bit and just concentrate on the course. The first thing I had to do was drive the truck forward through some cones, then stop at a specific point. The closer I got, the less points I would get (points are bad). If I was too far away or too far forward from this 4 ft area, it would be an automatic fail. So I pull closer and closer, then hit the brakes. Zero points! Phew!
Next up, I had to do a straight back between cones 12 feet apart and back up for about 100 ft or so. This has never been a problem for me. I turned on my 4 way flashers and backed her up nice and slow. Piece of cake.
Now it was time for the measured right turn. I was required to get the rear trailer tandems (wheels) as close to a cone during a right turn as possible. The first foot from the cone is zero points, the second foot is 4 points, the third foot is 8 points, and anything over that is an automatic fail. Hitting the cone would also be a fail. I decided since I got a zero on the pull-up, I’d just play it safe and take a 4 on the right turn. But as I made the turn, I could see I was in perfect position for a zero. It probably wasn’t worth the risk, but I shot for the zero anyway. I made it perfectly. Passing the CDL test page 2 –>
Find More At TruckingTruth:
The gang here at TruckingTruth has put thousands of hours into presenting this information for free. Becoming a fan of ours on Facebook (see the "become a fan" button on our fans box on the right), leaving comments, and sharing our site with the Facebook community would be a great way of thanking us and we'd really appreciate it! :-) |
Pages: 1 2
Subscribe
Follow The Buzz!
Share on Facebook
WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at what you did in just 4 weeks. Awesome. You have learned a lot and there is a whole lot more coming. I am ready to read more on your next adventures with the trainer.
Those skill tests may seem silly to do and now that you are a licensed driver, you can understand why its done. But the road test is much better as it deals with the real world of driving. You will do just fine in your training.
Now just relax a little as you deserve it before you start the training.
That is totally awesome! Now the real fun begins – out on the road. Congrats on a job well done!
Yeah, Rhonda is right – wait til you get out on the road and see how often you use that stuff from the yard – all the backing maneuvers. They didn’t pick those randomly. You’re gonna be glad you had so much practice time and got to learn all of that – cuz you’re gonna use it!
Wait til you get to one of those docks where they tell ya – “Go ahead and put it right there” and you’re gonna be like “WHAT??? What is wrong with you guys???” But you’ll get it in there.
My attitude always was “If it can be done, then I can do it.” So don’t ever think for a moment that you can’t do something. If it’s been done, you can do it. Just laugh, shrug your shoulders, take your time, smile, and soon you’ll be nappin in the bunk while they’re working on loadin or unloadin the truck.
And don’t worry if one day you’re in Jersey and you’re blockin a four lane highway trying to get backed into a tight dock – and even though your nose is against the far side curb, a cop decides to drive completely onto the sidewalk with all four wheels to get around you instead of blocking traffic for a moment to help you out. That’s just Jersey! True story!
Congratulations Comments and Glitter Graphics Code
TruckerMike,
You sounded nervous but you made it! It was really fun reading this blog and seeing the other side of the truck driving school. I’m glad you liked your instructors, having good instructors is important. The orange cones – $12 a piece, the owner with the big mouth, priceless.
Drive Safe,
Tanya