Comments By Mark O. ~MiNi-Me~

I'm in Knight Squire Training (week two) and had obtained my medical card from a certified DOT location that was an urgent care situation. When I got hired on with Knight I had to go to their doctor. Mostly the same, but this time there was some lifting 20/40/60 pounds onto different shelves. Not that easy when you're only 5' 2 3/4", but doable. There was more in-depth heart rate monitoring and a check on my color recognition. That was a bit of an issue with those "pick out the number" within lots of tiny colored dots, but then he pulled out different colored item that I easily identified.

So kind of a "face your demon" in effect....I think that'll stick. Thanks!

Help me with this....turn in the direction of what you do not want is correct, yes? Like, I don't like that trailer going that way so I will turn slightly that way to "ward it off"!

Anyone have a way to install this in my brain?

I'm looking for an honest opinion.I'm 47 year of age,is that to old to get in the trucking industry?

I am 54, headed into school, day three.

Can they reach the pedals?

I know it’s true Short truckers are in high demand

See Bruce K.'s 'Personal Stuff' thread. Yes, I can !!! 5'4 on a good day.

~ Anne ~

Taller than me Anne!!

BTW, day 1 under my belt!

This site is geared toward helping rookie drivers. You will find all kinds of advice on here because there are a lot of different folks in here.

That's the truth in TT. I have been a sponge on here for months, reading and making decisions. People like you OS have helped in so many ways just from your input and no nonsense, shoot from the hip advice. I cannot thank you enough for all you invest in complete strangers.

Keep in mind you are just learning this business. It will be like nothing you have ever done before. There are no shortcuts. You will struggle at first. It doesn't matter how smart you are - you will struggle as a rookie.

Because of this site, this wealth of experiences and advice shared I won't struggle as much. Thanks to each and everyone who has contributed over the years. No rose colored glasses here, I know exactly what I am about to embark upon....Monday morning at 6 sharp!

Let me start this by asking the experienced drivers to hold off on answering to give our newer drivers a shot at it.

Scenario : You arrive at a shipper, get pulled up to your door and put yourself Off Duty at 1800 (6pm). At 2030, they finish loading but your 14 hour clock has expired so you PC for 30 minutes to find parking.

What time will you get hours back, what time can you start driving and why ?

So new that I haven't even started school yet (next Monday the 25th) and just started using TT log book study tool yesterday. If I understand correctly you would start your 14 hour clock the following morning at 0630.

Thinking the PC (personal use) would not effect the 10 hour rest period.

Still learning so please correct if I am wrong.

Year or so ago in the state of Texas I was making a pass in the passing lane when a car merged into me. It scratched my passenger side step and there was a scratch on her hubcap. Texas DPS shows up and looks at the damage and tells me it's a "non reportable accident" because the damage was so minimal.

Is there a way I can find out if this is on my record or if there's points? Also it might be a dumb question but WTF is a "non reportable accident"????

Thanks for your time.

Here in Arizona, as I started getting ready to make this career change I was able to go to the DMV and pull an extended certified MVR. Cost five bucks and went back to 1996, the year I moved to the state. Showed everything.

After months of planning, tons of research and countless hours here on this forum, I got hired on at Knight and start the Squire program on the 25th of October. I am leaving the restaurant industry after decades of hard and satisfying work. I have done everything from McDonalds in my late teens, front of the house in all sorts of places, and even got my culinary arts and restaurant management degrees in the late 90's. I've owned my own restaurant, as well as a sports bar and grill in Mexico and my own catering business.

The money was great, the hard work and long hours rewarding but recently I have been looking for something to coast me into retirement (pun intended). At 54 years young, I have taken the leap. I was a little hesitant that my stature of 5' 2 3/4' inches would be a hinderance, but when I climbed up into my first cab (mainly to make sure I could reach the pedals, lol) that apprehension vanished quickly.

This amazing site; with all the valuable input from it's thousands of members, it has been of tremendous value. Special shout out to Brett for putting it all together. The High Road training program is nothing short of an amazing tool for learning everything I needed for passing my permit test as well as my hazmat endorsement. I am still utilizing more of the material to keep on learning all about weights, hours of service and more. The current (and past) moderators continue to offer inspiration, encouragement, a great sounding board for anything that comes up for all its members, new and old. Many thanks to you all as well.

So this was just an intro, I will be starting a diary as well. Some of those that I had combed through gave some great insight on what a newbie should expect, and why attitude and commitment are so very important!

Stay safe! Mark O. ~MiNi-Me~

Glad she's on the mend buddy!