Comments By Cleft_Asunder

I was in a cascedia 13-speed. I hope I get a truck I'm happy with because I really don't like the pro star or the peterbilt. I'm curious about the volvo's and kenworth t660/t680's.

Does Swift run straight 10's or super 10? I'm going to be so confused if it's a straight 10 since I'm used to the 13-speed.

Thanks for the reply old school. Gonna take it slow and try to get to 1 year as smoothly as possible. Maybe i will switch to 11 western for a while so i go on more familiar routes. One thing is for sure, i am going to take home time off as much as possible just to decrease the chance of an accident over the year.

Yes its difficult being a good driver especially if you like to experiment and take minor risks like i do to see the outcome. I learn the best when i actually make the mistake, but there is barely any room for it in this industry because it can put you in an accident. I wish someone would have told me how serious they take minor accidents because i wouldnt have attempted the things i have and used more caution. Thats what im really bitter about.

1st mistake you should of learned with your trainer use your right shoulder and as soon as its lined up with the center lines in road making your turn on too you make your turn 2nd yup GOAL but personally if you didnt feel comfortable backing I would have found another spot and when your not rolling go hit up an empty parking lot and practice good luck and dont give up just keep trying you will get it

Oh this wasnt that kind of turn. It was a mandatory 2 lane split if you want to make it. I didnt split and made the turn any way. It was my fault, i felt pressured to tough it out. Bad idea.

I will try again but extra careful like you said. If it doesnt work then screw it, i will switch careers or perhaps join tzu chi (a buddhist relief organization) which i was going to do before i got my cdl.

Thanks.

Second incident sight side back between two trucks at pilot, put about a 1 foot x 2 inch gash in another trucks fiberglass bumper with rear right of dot bumper. I wish i would have been told to avoid such a back until i was more skilled. Thats what i would tell a student if i was a trainer.

Remember GOAL! (Get Out And Look)

That brings up another point. Many new drivers are eager to prove themselves like i was. A good instructor should shatter that mentality by tellling the student to avoid difficult and unnessesary situations so their cdl stays clean.

I got out and looked but too early btw. Wasnt too useful.

What are your 2 mistakes?

First mistake was right turn at intersection, trailer went onto sidewalk and right side hit stop light covers bending them. I almost hit the pole that held the stop light. I had to reverse, go left then forward to widen the turn into oncoming traffic to clear it. Minor damage to trailer, no tears or holes.

Second incident sight side back between two trucks at pilot, put about a 1 foot x 2 inch gash in another trucks fiberglass bumper with rear right of dot bumper. I wish i would have been told to avoid such a back until i was more skilled. Thats what i would tell a student if i was a trainer.

Well, i was having a good time driving until my second minor accident, and now i realize im expendable. Now i feel like a guest who'se about to get kicked out.

Its difficult to avoid minor accidents as a new driver because of the many intricacies that can get you in trouble. A proper training and trainer will emphasis the most crucial information, such as low bridges or how you should avoid right turns in a 90 degree intersection as much as you should avoid blind side backing. You are lucky if you get a training program that is worth something. There is so much info my company should have provided but didnt and i have to deal with the repercussions. I'm not blaming them for my accidents but they expect too much from rookies.

The way these larger companies operate is that they filter out "bad" drivers. No accidents? You're a "good" driver! Hooray for you. It doesnt matter if you do 55mph down 6% grades every day, as long as you dont damage equipment, you're golden. Instead of building genuinly good drivers by letting them make the minor mistakes, they keep a taly; 3 "preventable" accidents and strike, you're out. You bad driver you. Meanwhile high horse joe (who sucks at driving) is accident free mainly due luck and he gets all the praise, while you (a potentialy good driver eager to learn) is going to be filtered out.

This field is too unfriendly to new drivers. Experienced drivers are judged by the same standards as rookies. There should be a 6 month window (at least) for rookies to be allowed to make minor mistakes with no jeapardy to their jobs. Instead we get our jobs threatened; a fantastic boost to confidence to know that if you make 1 more minor mistake its termination. I have one more strike but im a good and safe driver, but i cannot call myself a truck driver until i have made most of the mistakes. But the trucking industry has almost a zero tolerance policy for mistakes for rookie drivers, and that is inhuman and unfair. So i really have doubts about the field now.

Zonar's sales video

Wow.

Here is how an honest conversation would go on you first day at a company that uses this:

Hi and welcome to blah trucking! We here at blah trucking do not trust you a d*** bit so here is your log in info and keep in mind, we are going to micro manage the h*** out of you! We are a dysfunctional family here at blah trucking and place a high value on our bottom line and you are just meat in a seat pushing buttons and holding a wheel, which can be done by anyone. Stay or don`t, we just don`t care!

My response:

I`m kidding. I actually like that it can be removed from the dock without wires, easier to run over it that way...Oops, did it again.

This is exactly right. I went to CDL school to learn thorough pre and post trips, and the basics of the truck. Then I learned more with a trainer, and now solo. But Zonar believes you to be pre-CDL-school status... for the rest of your truck driving career. On top of it you get monitored if you're a good driver based on subjective company ideas of what a good driver is. Stuff like this doesn't get built by truck drivers, it gets built by business men.

"When a threshold is exceeded, the [driver gets a slap on the hand]." Zonar: The boss breathing down your neck. (And that was one of the reasons you became a truck driver, to avoid that) -_-

- You might not be accelerating hard enough to relieve the pressure on the gears when you let off the gas. Try mashing on the gas harder as you're accelerating.

- When you do let off the gas, don't do it slowly. Do it instantly.

- Make sure you have a little pressure on the shifter before letting off the gas and "pop" it out of gear the moment you lift your foot. Don't try to slowly ease it out of gear.

- You have a window of about 1/10 of a second from the time you let off the gas until the weight of the trailer puts pressure on the gears from the other direction and keeps you locked into gear. So you have to accelerate hard and pop your foot off the gas pedal quickly while popping the shifter out of gear at the same time.

When you see a veteran do it, it seems like they're doing it slowly and smoothly but in reality they're making quick, sharp movements off the gas and out of gear. Keep the word "pop" in your head. Like I said, you only have about 1/10 of a second where the pressure is off the gears. Jump off the gas and pop the shifter out of gear at the same time.

Good to know. Those points are probably why. I was definitely trying to do it slow and smoothly.