Comments By Tim L.

Had a couple days to rest and decompress and feel much better now. we are on our way to North Carolina then Chicago and hopefully after those runs, It will be my driving test. I did some reflecting over the weekend and realize that even through our personality clashes, my trainer has taught me a lot. My last post sounded a bit like I didn't appreciate his efforts. I do, and will take a lot of his advise with me as I continue to develop as a driver.

I will be heading out with my trainer in the next couple of days. I don't know if you have been following my thread, but I just graduated the FFE Academy and got my CDL. I have to put up with whoever I end up with, no matter what. The instructors here at FFE do like to use those phrases that you mentioned and have already been beating them into my head till I'm half silly, but I know it is for the good. I will just have to persevere. RT, kudos that you have maintained a good attitude under your circumstances. Your almost there. Good luck.

I just want to say thanks to Brett, Starcar, Old School, and all the other mods. Their advice, encouragement, knowledge and High Road Training went a long way in helping me to make it through the FFE Academy and TEST AND PASS MY CDL-A DRIVER'S TEST!!! Woohoooooo! I am the proud holder of my CDL-A and a good job with what looks to be a very strong company. With the recent merger between FFE and KLLM, we were informed that we will be the second largest reefer transport company very closely behind CR England.

As for the road test today, I have to confess I was a bundle of nerves, but I did my best to appear confident to the examiner. I got some points deducted here and there, and my parallel park could have been better, but I did not hit any curbs during the entire test, which is automatic failure. Those who did not pass will still have the chance to pass again tomorrow. They will even get a third try if necessary, but that is it. BTW, I mentioned earlier that the DPS exam would include an alley dock, but that was not the case.

Tomorrow, those of us that passed the test have the new one day orientation, then it is possible I will ship out with my trainer on Wednesday. I am looking forward to learning all I can while under his tutelage. It may be tough, but I will persevere no matter what. I will continue to post my experiences, so that I can hopefully be of help to others

Day 13. Today was the end of our training at the Academy. We started the morning with a class on safety, then practiced more alley docking on the range in preparation for our final backing evaluation. For the eval in the afternoon, I was graded on my straight backing, parallel parking and alley docking, fortunately passing all three. Only one student in our final eleven struggled and failed, but they worked with her one on one and she eventually passed. We had an afternoon class on railroad crossing safety, and we were done. Tomorrow, the students that did not come in with their CDL's already which includes me will go to the Texas DPS location in Dallas and do our road test, parallel park, straight back and alley dock. If we pass, we will be proud holders of a Class A CDL. We actually finished with one day less training than normal because of the Labor Day holiday.

We are the first class through the academy that will benefit with a new company mandated one day only orientation instead of the usual two to four days. If all goes well, I should be meeting my trainer and hitting the road as early as Wednesday. I am looking forward to that, as I intend to make the best of the time with my trainer and learn all I can in the six weeks with him.

Tim, you did really well on that company test. Don't let your expectations shoot you down. Like they told you, if you did that well on that test you're sure to pass at the DMV. Don't sweat all the little details like getting your shifting just perfect. They will recognize if you seem to have the basic understanding of how to do this thing, and they will pass you knowing that you'll have plenty of time to polish your skills once they get you on the road.

Your just on the verge of clearing one hurdle, and you will soon be stepping into the next phase of this whole training period. Thanks for keeping us informed, it is really encouraging to see you progress, and I know that other new folks appreciate seeing how this whole process unfolds.

Old School, I appreciate your advice. I hope my account of my training experience helps others as well. One of my personality traits is that I sometimes tend to be a little too tough on myself when I feel I don't measure up to a standard I set for myself. It is a double edged sword.

Day 11. The remaining students including me all took their final road test today for the Academy. Everyone passed, and now unless we hit something or do some other dumb thing, we will graduate Monday, then take the DPS test for our CDL. I did not score quite as well as I would have liked on my Road test, but I passed with a 91%, so maybe I am just being picky, lol. We were told that statistically, anyone who passes the FFE road test has better than a 98% chance to pass the DPS driving test for the CDL. My shifting was not quite as crisp, mainly due to an ornery transmission and clutch in the truck I tested in. I also failed to get into a proper lane and lost a couple of points there too. The afternoon was spent practicing on an obstacle course to simulate driving in busy truck stops, dock areas, etc. I had no problems there. We also had a class on trip planning and map reading.

Day 12. Today was alley docking all day long. I did seven alley docks total, and had no real problems except on one that had a big, deep mud puddle to negotiate. This maneuver really takes patience, and 100% awareness of what is going on around your truck. It is not so hard if you go SLOW and feather the clutch, and listen to the instructors on how to make the necessary adjustments when getting a little off line. Tomorrow is more alley docking, and we will then go off site to practice parallel parking again without any lines or cones.

Hang in there Tim, sounds like you're doing real well. The toughest part is just around the corner, when you're with the trainer. I got to tell you though, no matter how tough it is, you're gonna love it the day they hand you the keys to your very own truck. Of course then you're starting another tough time period in the beginning of your career, but it's all good, it helps us determine whether we're actually cut out for this or not. It sounds to me like you're doing just fine. Keep it up!

I am sure you are correct Old School. However, it is a time I am looking forward to, because it means I have been employed and am learning the real ropes out on the road, not just the basics of safety and to earn a CDL here at the Academy, not to diminish that either though.

Day 8 was Tuesday, the day after Labor day. We were taken out Hwy 287 freeway south of Fort Worth to learn double clutching and to drive the trucks on the roadway for the first time. We practiced driving up and down the frontage roads, making turns and learning the beginnings of road driving. Most all of us struggled, but most of us also got better as the day wore on. For me, upshifting came pretty quick, but downshifting was tougher. My biggest issue was either forgetting to flip the range switch back to low, or keeping the clutch depressed after taking the shifter out of gear to neutral, and forgetting to rev the engine back up a bit to get into the lower gear. I was a little bummed, but after receiving my eval for the day, I realized I did just fine by comparison with the other students, and in fact, just a bit better than average.

Day 9 was a little more intense. We drove to an industrial area in north Fort Worth where we practiced turning and shifting, only in a busier, tighter area. BTW, each truck only has two students per instructor at this point, so we are getting good seat time. My shifting continued to improve, and my daily eval reflected the improvement. I was given the task to drive back to the Academy on the freeway in rush hour traffic, and that was a rush itself, but I loved the challenge. It went fine.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but driving is not the only thing we do. We have an hour class in the morning before driving, and an evening class before we are released. Of course, we also have about an hour to hour and a half homework daily too. Ain't much foolin' around time here folks. I have been hitting the sack early every night exausted. I also caught a pretty nasty cold that was floating around the dorm, and was feeling sick for Labor day and the day after, but fought through it.

Day 10, today, we practiced advanced shifting and city driving. We drove 30 miles over to Dallas, where we will be taking the Texas DPS road test for our CDL. There for the morning, we practiced driving the actual route that the DPS evaluator will have us drive. To me, this was huge, as it gave what I feel to be a big advantage actually knowing what to expect and to easier prepare for it mentally. The course had some very tight turns, two RR crossings, freeway, large boulevards and small streets, etc. We will also have to perform a static air brake test, pre-trip, straight line back, parallel park, and do an alley dock for the DPS evaluator.

For the afternoon, we drove to a hilly area in SE Dallas near Duncanville. I got my first taste of driving on a fairly steep grade, both up and down, although nothing to compare to Donner Pass. This is Texas after all, lol. The great thing was that today I finally started to "get" downshifting, and my daily eval score really showed it. I knew I was doing something right, because the whole time I drove, my instructor was quiet. I nailed the afternoon with only one minor mistake that she pointed out to me. I feel confident that I will pass my final road evaluation tomorrow. It is hard to believe that I will be graduating in just a few more days. I also received a passing score on my pre-trip eval as well. More to come.

Tim I remember one of the things you liked about FFE was their thorough training, well it looks like they are holding up their end of the bargain. My left leg started hurting just reading your post! Keep up the good work, can' wait to hear some more from you.

Yes indeed. The days are long, and the training intense. I don't know if the workout on my left leg feathering made the double clutching easier, but I have not had any leg aches since, lol.

Hey Tim - sounds like things are moving along nicely for ya!

We lost three more students today for a variety of reasons. One thing they do not tolerate is attitude. We lost one today for that reason

I'm always trying to tell people that!

Isn't it amazing how many people show up with a horrible attitude when given an opportunity to learn a new trade with almost all of the costs paid up front? It's shocking to me how dumb people can be. I think a lot of that comes from the other trucking sites who let anyone spout off garbage about these companies being one big scam or taking advantage of people. That makes a lot of people show up with a very cynical and jaded attitude, very defensive.

Then again, some people just have a lousy attitude!

But stay positive and stay focused on yourself. Keep a great attitude and keep putting in the work. Those instructors are watching closely for that kind of thing and it goes a long way toward deciding who gets to stay around and who gets sent packing. They know they can teach you to drive if you're willing to listen, learn, and put in the work. So show em you're willing to learn and they'll be willing to teach.

Keep doin what you're doin!

Sorry I have not posted for the last few days. We had a severe thunderstorm the night before labor day, and a lightning strike knocked out the electricity and damaged the wifi system here at the Academy. Took a couple of days to get the wifi repaired.

Brett, yes, you are dead on about the attitude thing. These instructors are all nice people, but they intentionally come across as militaristic in their training methods, not just to ensure that people get the message they are trying to instill, which is teaching trainees the importance of being safe, professional drivers, but also to see who can hack it. Things will sometimes get very tough out on the road, and having drivers with little patience for the hard knocks that are sure to be a part of the job will not help the bottom line for the company. Don't worry about me in that regard. I am enjoying the experience, and have not had a single complaint, exept for maybe the wifi going out, lol.

It is not that tough if you approach the training with the right attitude just as you say. I also have noted that the trainees that shut up and listen gain the respect of the instructors, and they will go out of their way to help and encourage them, even when they are struggling.

Day 7. Today we were given our evaluations for PVIM, straight line backing, and parallel parking. A couple of students excelled, but most everyone graded average (me included), and nobody failed.

It was incredibly hot today, with the temp in Fort Worth hitting 106 degrees, and I am sure it was much hotter on the asphalt range. Today was the first day the heat began to bother me some, but I made it through the day and felt better after a cool shower. Most of the day is spent spotting for your team of three per truck, so you spend a lot of time in the sun awaiting your turn.

Tomorrow we have the day off for the holiday, and FFE is throwing the students a barbecue. I thought that was thoughtful of them. The day off will give my aching left leg time to heal. Feathering a heavy spring clutch for three straight days will make it ache until you get used to it.

On Tuesday, we start learning how to shift using double clutching. We will be taken out of the road for the first time. I am really looking forward to the challenge.