Comments By Kevin R.

This is a strange story and am not quite sure is going on here. I took my state exam last week. I passes pretrip and all skills but autofailed on the road final. After the test one of my classmates mentioned he had a problem with his permit so I thought it'd go over to the dmv to check mine. At the dmv I was informed that my permit was not in the system. I spoke to a supervisor who said that when I added a hazmat and tanker endorsement on 9/30 that instead of the endorsement being added to my original permit a new permit was issued on 9/30 which invalidated the first permit so I have to take the test over but can't until the first week of December. Should my school have known the original permit was invalid when I tested? I don't want to collect dust for a month so I want to join roehls cdl program. I'd wind up taking the test two weeks later or so but get more training. Have any of you heard of anything like this?

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll say I tried to quit smoking and failed. I'll talk to my doctor to see if he'll write me a letter saying I took it for smoking.

Hello there. I will be getting a hair follicle test in three weeks. I stopped taking the anti-depressant Wellbutrin about three weeks ago. I've heard Wellbutrin sometimes triggers a false positive on urine tests but not on hair follicle tests but I've aflso heard the trucking companies test for other prescription drugs in hair follicle tests including Wellbutrin. I'd rather not disclose that I was taking Wellbutrin. My parents were very sick for a few years and I developed depression while caring for them. Do any of you have knowledge about this subject or is there any and vice you cam give me on this topic? Should I disclose that I used Wellbutrin? Would that disqualify me from trucking?

We were told we need to see a foot between the front of the tractor and the stop sign line. I was leaning forward a little bit and the examiner was leaning back so it appeared to him I was closer. Another student who failed that way said that's what he was told. I am being tested by examiners at my school. In Pennsylvania you have to supply your own truck so I can't use the state facility. I'd love to but I can't find a truck. So if you know anyone near Philadelphia who owns a truck I'd appreciate if you pass my name onto them. Phillyguy333@gmail.com I'll work for a company that would let me use one of their trucks to take the test. If you've seen my other posts you'll see this school is kind of strange.

Sounds like you got a picky examiner, Kevin, but what 'cha going to do?

White lane lines? Depends on where they are. But you now have that rule: "don't cross solid white lines to change lanes" for the drive test.

The white barrier line is an easy solution: when you stop, come to your complete stop with the white line just touching the hood of your truck.

(Hint: in traffic, when you pull up behind another vehicle, make sure you see a few feet of asphalt (road paving) between your hood and the back end of the car in front of you.)

In your rookie year in trucking, you will most probably have a few more crunchers. Consider them experience, not failure. Learn from your mistakes.

I've passed pretrip and road skills. I auto failed on the road final. I changed lanes and crossed a solid white line. I also was told I stopped to close tint he white line at stop signs. I was leaning forward a little bit while I was driving so it looked to me that there was space between the front of my tractor and the white line. Someone else who took the test told me that the examiner is sitting back so they have a different angle than a driver who is leaning forward a little bit. I just need a little more road awareness. I have to remember to look out for solid white lines.

I'm going to be fine. If like the instructor on the range said that the normal operating range of the trucks is different on the test vehicles then that's my only problem. I'm going to ask the normal operating range of the vehicle and for five minutes to go through the gears to memorize exactly where they are at. When I had the opportunity to do that on the tractor I took out the last day of training I had no problem.

Kevin, I think I understand what you're saying. You went 10 of your 14 road trips without being told you were shifting wrong. That's bad, you should have been told on the first trip so you could work on it. And someone said that you could have studied how to double clutch, but you can read about it all you want, it's not the same as doing it. I don't know what to tell you, I just wanted to let you know that I hear you.

I think this is what Rick was saying above, but if you can shift by floating, then I think you just need to press the clutch a little when taking it out of gear, then again when going to the next gear, and you are double clutching.

It's j us t a matter of wanting to be prepared. I'm not sure if I'm missing something and want to make sure there are no "unknown unknowns" eh end it comes to operating the vehicle.

I found every instructor has their own opinions and has their own versions if what's right and wrong. It seems kind of harsh that they would fail you for not having your foot on the clutch before being in gear but maybe it's just me.

Things like going up on the curb or stalling out on a hill, hitting stuff, yes.

Anyways i think you should relax you probably are doing fine.

You posted a "gotch quote" that was taken completely out of the context of my post so i think that would qualify as negative. you implied that i do not have the personality to do the job which is negative and you are implying that " something is missing" so ill be very quick with this. The classroom training was excellent the range training was excellent the road training was terrible. I had to teach myself how to shift the vehicle. when it took my road final for the course i had trouble shifting and one of the instructors said that maybe it was because the normal operating range of the vehicle was different for that truck. so im going into my cdl exam on wednesday not knowing if i know how to shift so id like to find a simulator or something to get some practice to be sure i know what im doing. im a perfectionist when it comes to doing things the right way and feel powerless in that i can not practice driving for the final when i dont know if i can even shift. i didnt really shift properly until my last two training road trips and then had a terrible time shifting in the road final test. i did everything the same...rev up to 15..clutch neutral...clutch gear...rev up to fifteen..clutch neutral..clutch gear...but on the road final i got...rev up to fifteen..clutch neutral...clutch (griiiind)..ok no big deal i missed a gear...rev it back up to fifteen..clutch neutral...clutch (griiiiind)...so i have absolutely no idea why i had so much trouble in the road final and cant get an answer other then that some vehicles have a different operating range and it was my repsonsibility to ask that on the road final.

Kevin, you are greatly mistaken, I've read everything over several times. I still don't get it. After six months you can pass the test, I'm sure of that. I kind of need you to point out what I said that was so negative. I'm having trouble pin pointing what your issues are, it just seems to me that something doesn't add up here.

You make it sound one minute like you are an ace in the hole...

After being evaluated by recruiters from companies across the country ive been offered a half dozen prehires. i am reliable and hard working have no driving or criminal record and do not do drugs and very rarely drink

And then you make it sound like your afraid you can't pass the test. If I thought I could reach out there and give you a boost of confidence, I would. Personally I think that is all you are lacking.

The road training was only fourteen hours. The trucks can shift without proper double clutching. we have to demonstrate the ability to double clutch to pass the test. so we are driving along and being told we are doing it correctly without knowing we are doing it incorrectly because the truck is shifting without double clutching correctly.

Clearly you didnt read my entire post. the instruction was excellent until the actual road training began. I make that very clear. I have several prehires and a guy who used to be a salemen for the school who then bought his own product and works nearby visited the school and got to know me and asked me to come be his partner where he works so you're opinion via the internet is what i would describe as amusing. After being evaluated by recruiters from companies across the country ive been offered a half dozen prehires. i am reliable and hard working have no driving or criminal record and do not do drugs and very rarely drink.. please bother to read an entire post before commenting on it in such a very negative and misleading way.

Hey Kevin, I can't really tell what is going on with you, but my initial impression upon seeing your first question about the operating range was, "This guy is way over thinking this thing."

Then today you stated this...

the instructors are top notch. Professional, patient (and trust me they need it with me because i overthink everything and ask a million questions. if i am 90% certain of something i want to be 100% so i ask a question to be sure)

There's something really odd about all this because you make it sound like everything has just gone great all through the program up until the very end. I know if I was doing terrible while driving a big rig, and some guy kept telling me I was doing great I would already know something was wrong. Most of us learned to do this in a four week school. You say...

I have perfect attendance. I did not miss a roll call in six months. I have a 3.5 gpa. My classmates and i busted our tails in 95-100 degree humid weather at the height of the summer heat here in the Mid-Atlantic.

I'm sorry, but I just think there's something missing here. You have been learning for SIX MONTHS and you are still stressing about the operating range of the transmission! You guys ought to be able to pass that driving test without that kind of stress affecting you by this point in time. You should be able to hear how the engine is sounding and be able to tell if it is time to shift, or if you are lugging the engine.

There may very well be some kind of issues at the school, (although I'm not certain from what you've posted) but this whole career is going to have issues and monumental difficulties every day, and you are going to have to face problems that will drive a sane person crazy in a heart beat. This might be just the time for you to figure out how to take the bull by the horns and determine whether this kind of a career is right for your personality or not.

Clearly you didnt read my entire post. the instruction was excellent until the actual road training began. I make that very clear. I have several prehires and a guy who used to be a salemen for the school who then bought his own product and works nearby visited the school and got to know me and asked me to come be his partner where he works so you're opinion via the internet is what i would describe as amusing. After being evaluated by recruiters from companies across the country ive been offered a half dozen prehires. i am reliable and hard working have no driving or criminal record and do not do drugs and very rarely drink.. please bother to read an entire post before commenting on it in such a very negative and misleading way.

Hey Kevin, I can't really tell what is going on with you, but my initial impression upon seeing your first question about the operating range was, "This guy is way over thinking this thing."

Then today you stated this...

the instructors are top notch. Professional, patient (and trust me they need it with me because i overthink everything and ask a million questions. if i am 90% certain of something i want to be 100% so i ask a question to be sure)

There's something really odd about all this because you make it sound like everything has just gone great all through the program up until the very end. I know if I was doing terrible while driving a big rig, and some guy kept telling me I was doing great I would already know something was wrong. Most of us learned to do this in a four week school. You say...

I have perfect attendance. I did not miss a roll call in six months. I have a 3.5 gpa. My classmates and i busted our tails in 95-100 degree humid weather at the height of the summer heat here in the Mid-Atlantic.

I'm sorry, but I just think there's something missing here. You have been learning for SIX MONTHS and you are still stressing about the operating range of the transmission! You guys ought to be able to pass that driving test without that kind of stress affecting you by this point in time. You should be able to hear how the engine is sounding and be able to tell if it is time to shift, or if you are lugging the engine.

There may very well be some kind of issues at the school, (although I'm not certain from what you've posted) but this whole career is going to have issues and monumental difficulties every day, and you are going to have to face problems that will drive a sane person crazy in a heart beat. This might be just the time for you to figure out how to take the bull by the horns and determine whether this kind of a career is right for your personality or not.