Comments By Little Carolina

Well I got the confirmation email from my recruiter today and I will be taking off on Saturday May 11th. I am going to start packing my bags this week. Got my phone issue handled, and off to do some shopping for a few items. Laundry and then pack I am so excited! I will update as often as possible and Pebbles thank you for everything Girl! Thank you to Brett for the training provided on here as it has been a life saver!! Wish me luck!!

I took my Celadon road test and my 90 degree today and passed. yay me!!! I will finish my orientation wendsday and wait on a trainer. I cant stress this enough Quality Drivers, and the instructors are a great and very profession bunch. I have not been screamed at, they are very patient and work hard to get you were you need to be to test. I really enjoyed my time at Quality drivers.

I am so very proud of you Pebbles!!! I will be headed there soon!! I am ready and prepared for a wonderful time just like you had... May 13 cannot come soon enough!

I had so much fun doing the 90. watching my tandems drag like that was awesome!!

There were several times over the years that I had found myself in an area that was actually too small to get turned around in the normal way. Well if you jackknife the truck hard enough while backing up and you get the angle past 90 degrees, the trailer will actually start rolling forward as the tractor is rolling backward. You have to be really careful not to hit the side of the trailer with the cab of the tractor! But I've gotten out of a few spots that way. It's not something you really want to be doing if you can avoid it, but it's interesting to watch.

I will get to find all this out soon. I should have a trainer soon. My orientation ends thursday, so I should have one on or before the following thursday. I am so excited!!

Can I ask you a question about this school? Do they scream at you like Ive heard about the others? I can do this and am very confident but I cannot guarantee that I can deal with someone screaming in my face that would make me more nervous and cause me to wreck. What are your thoughts?

I can personally relate to the "Military" thing because I did that and earned the T Shirt! But one thing that I had an advantage over the other recruits was that I came from a military family and that being said I knew they were going to yell, scream, and belittle me every chance they got. Its called mental conditioning. What I didn't know is that if I just did what I was told, didn't make excuses and worked hard I would NOT get yelled at which is what ended up happening so just follow that rule and you should come out just fine!

Another update on my journey as a truck driver (future truck driver) I have been given a date to start at Swift in Michigan for Tuesday 30th April. I will have four to six weeks with my trainer then I might ask to go team for a while with a guy that I went to trucking school with.....just to get myself bedded in with map reading and somebody to help with docking the trailer.....I'm excited, but very nervous. I know I have to stay one year with what ever company I choose....Swift is my choice.....I know there will be rough times....and good.....I will keep posting to let you all know how I'm getting on. Bring it on ;-)

So excited for you! I know that you have worked hard. Keep us posted and Good work!

Juelma, I am so proud of you !!! And you should be proud too !!! Way to go, sister !! Now get out there and have fun.......

And I am next!!! I cannot wait to start learning!!!

Well my training week is over, I met my cousin in Wythville VA. from there we went to WVA, IN, IL, MI and back and forth for drops at different receivers, one pick up too. I learned so much. He let me drive in a large parking lot the first day, just going round in circles and changing gears. After a bit he let me hit the WVA Turn Pike for a little bit, had to stop at two toll booths! The double clutching was tough at first. We headed on for IN. He let me drive more the next day, then I really got the hang of it! I ended up driving over 1100 miles over the week! Down Shifting a little tuff and backing is a beast of its own! But he used to teach at a Driving School at a community college and he said that he thought that I was ready to go out with a trainer! He thinks with a little backing practice that I could get my CDL's!!!! It was a blast! I drove on interstates, two lane raods, parking lots, through Dayton, Grand Rapids, and Indianapolis, and also got some after dark driving in and going down a 5% mt grade (not huge, but it was over 5 miles long) to get practice using engine braking effect! I have learned soooo much! His truck is a 99 Pete (big sucker too). I feel so much more confidient about driving now, but I know that I still have so much to learn. My only thing is I am second guessin my company choice, I just don't know what to do. I really would like to drive for KNIGHT, but I can't get hold of them. I will be a good driver, it will be a huge learning curve and I know that I will be good for the company that best suits me. I had chosen Central, but I don't want to be punished because I don't want to lease (no desire what so ever) Suggestions please, I am prepared to go to Central on May 19th...so it is crunch time! As of now I will be going to central, but I really want miles! I know that the most important thing is getting that first years experience, and I am really interested in driving the west coast, and long distances, but will do what ever it takes with a smile! Just second guessing I guess!

Have you checked out Celadon/Quality drivers? I found out about them through one of the people who posts here and have followed her blogs and facebook as well and its been wonderful seeing how well she did. I got the nerve and applied and called them I was accepted for class on the 13th. They just recently changed their policy and you do NOT need to have 3 years prior work history now. They have been ultimately Awesome with me this far and very straight with me as well. You might check them out. There is absolutely NO cost to you except of course personal items Like if you smoke etc. They are paying my way there, hotel, food and the cost of my licenses This is a true blessing to me. Celadon/ Quality Drivers

I passed!!! yay, I am sooo.. happy!!! I have my CDL.

This gives me all the more confidence needed to get mine!!! Thank you for the encouragement !! You rock!

Oh believe me - everyone is a little scared but nobody is going to show it.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that it's just trucking. It's not rocket science. It's not brain surgery. You're just going to learn to drive a bigger vehicle and it's something that literally tens of millions of people have done before you and millions are out there doing right now. So how hard can it be, right? If millions of others have figured it out, you most certainly will.

Have all the fun you can and enjoy the opportunity. Work hard, listen and learn, and above all else remain confident in yourself. Do not ever doubt your abilities to learn the skills needed to drive a rig. But keep in mind that there will be certain aspects of it you'll struggle with more than others. That applies to everyone. No problem at all. Do not get in the mindset that "I just can't learn to do this one thing" - baloney. You most certainly can. Some things will click real easily, others will feel hopelessly impossible at first. Don't sweat it. Keep working, keep watching others, keep talking to instructors, and be patient with yourself. Give yourself time to figure it out.

Keep smiling and think positive at all times. No negative thoughts. No doubts. No worries. Just have fun learning how to move a big rig down the road!

I think what is keeping me looking forward not backward is the fact that I have taken big tests before such as my Nursing boards. If I can face those examiners I can definitely face the CDL exam. I just need to focus and learn and not think negative in any way shape or form. Negativity is not allowed from this point on! Here I go.....

Well I am set to leave for class on May 13th and I feel very ready thanks to the training provided on this site and the positive words from other drivers. I know that I can do this and I will! I keep telling myself that I will learn something new every single day in this career and that I am not the only one who is scared. I think for me its the backing that has me a little nervous but I think for the most part the test is what scares me most but who doesn't get nervous about a test right?! Thank you all for the support you have given me!

That is really great to hear!!!

I must say, learning that entire CDL manual is no picnic for anyone. That's a lot of very boring stuff!!!

I'm really glad the High Road Training Program has been so effective for people. Learning that manual is the first hurdle to getting that trucking career underway and it's a big hurdle!

Interestingly enough, there are now truck driving schools that are using our program to teach their classes, and more and more schools are learning about it all the time. That tells you just how effective it is

Between the High Road training and my husband quizzing me out of the manual its been implanted in my brain and I am ready! I wish I could test now LOL :) Thank you again!