Comments By Kolibri

Day One Woke up bright and early this morning, and had a light breakfast of cold cereal and 2 cups of coffee. They also had toast/butter/jelly and apples and oranges. I understand it’s the same thing every day. I can’t complain since it’s free, but will probably get old rather quickly. It will certainly do, and I can surely live with it for the three or four weeks I will be here. We convened in the classroom in another building at 0645 where we were given a packet of materials to study and medical forms to enter our names and birthdates, and a medical history questionnaire. Next we were separated into groups to get our physical examinations and give urine samples for testing. First were the height, weight, vital signs, and vision tests. Then urine sample. Lastly were a cursory physical exam, forced whisper hearing test, and review of the medical history questionnaire. I received my certificate of health and was released for lunch. All this took the entire morning, and by the time I was released, that cereal was LONELY! Lunch was a hamburger and a bag of Fritos or Cheetos. The afternoon was spent first with reading practice questions to the class, Miss Judy lectured the General Knowledge section and we finished up with more practice questions. Class was dismissed at 1630. Some very small number of the questions disagreed with ones from the ‘High Road’, but while it would be nifty to ace the permit exam, I am completely confident that I shall handily pass.

Upon Arrival,

we convened in a classroom to receive our room assignments. Caterers were set up for (what I am told is every Sunday) evening meal of fried chicken, potato salad and a dinner roll. Not bad at all for the cost to me - $0.00. :D Returned to the classroom after eating for some initial paperwork (re-iteration of electronically-signed application forms, acknowledgement of rules, permissions to investigate background information and release authorization for this info). Anything considered a weapon was surrendered for shipment home or recovery on departure from this location. After that, we were released for the day. Tomorrow starts at 0645. I have met my two roomies, who seem quiet, laid-back and easy-going, and like myself, here for exactly the purpose of completing the program. I have been warned to avoid people who treat this time as a “party”, who do not take this thing seriously, and who have poor attitudes, of which these guys are neither. We will get along just fine. :)

*I have heard stories of bedbugs here, so I examined my bed, mattress and box springs. The mattress and springs had bedbug containment covers, but I found no sign of them anywhere I looked.

The Adventure Begins - continued OK, so I’ve discovered that it is next to impossible for me to get decent sleep folded up in a cramped bus seat limited in how far it reclines. I think I’ll do OK in a moving sleeper cab where I can lie properly. Today concludes my travel, with a 2-hour layover in Burlington immediately prior the final leg. I have met two of the dozen or so other prospective students and best of all had the blessing to meet Kenny, a trainer for CRST returning to the company after a hiatus as an independent O/O. He has put to rest all of my fears, told me how things work once I get on the road with a trainer and as a team co-driver. He got his CDL by attending a private school some years ago, but he was a wealth of information about the facilities, the workings of the company and the OTR part of training. I took the opportunity to pick his brains, asking questions and listening attentively. My brain is pretty much mush just now for lack of sleep, but the biggest golden nugget was when he said, “If they weren’t a good company to work for, I wouldn’t be going back to work with them again now, would I?”. From all I have gathered from every source including him, I agree that for him and me both, “The only downside is the teams” (we both prefer solo work). So, I will run teams for my first year or so, and then consider other options. I am very confident that I will do well, and that school will fly by in a blur. I am committed to my intent to be the kind of trainee that my instructor will ask to partner with instead of moving on to another trainee. Perhaps I might someday become a trainer myself, in order to similarly choose a future partner. Last time I spoke to my recruiter, he said there would be a meeting at 1630 when we arrive in Cedar Rapids. He mentioned the word ‘dinner’, and Kenny says any time they say food, it will be on the company’s dime. So Woo-HOO - possibly a free meal :) Works for me! :)

Ex-Navy, so I guess I am no longer a trucking school wog :)

I only slept a couple hours last night for being excited and anxious about today. Arrived at the bus depot a bit early, waited for it to open at 0800, checked in with my confirmation number from my recruiter and got my ticket without a hitch. The bus was about 45 minutes late, though once underway given a great ride with an excellent driver. Made me want to consider a career with Greyhound should I get tired of trucks. The itinerary has me going from North Carolina to Iowa by way of Atlanta. I imagine I will be doing similar things once I get behind the wheel, so they are getting me used to it early.  Travel by bus sucks. Seats are cramped, an older bus rides rough, and it’s not like air travel where you check your bags and never see them again unless they happen to arrive at the same destination as you. You get to hump your own gear at every bus change. Granted, I did it like this when I was in the service, but I’m just not twenty anymore!  One nice thing about bus travel, though, is the free wi-fi provided on the bus so I can post this and try for a cat nap between Chattanooga and Memphis. I’ve traveled 13 hours so far and another 18 still ahead of me. Till next time, safe miles everyone!

I wish to participate - I'll be starting my OTR with trainer in 3 weeks. Kindly sign me up :)

Tomorrow's the big day. Got my bus ticket confirmation, packed my bags, I'm all studied up from the 'High Road', and ready to hit the rough and dusty trail to the wild world of trucking.

Started trying to understand HoS today (in High Road and elsewhere) - I get the feeling that these are going to be the bane of my existence for my entire trucking career. I know that both the company and I are going to want to run as many safe miles as possible, and I will likely go over due to a miscalculation on my part, an overzealous dispatcher, or a gung-ho driver (me - pushing myself too hard) or some combination of these. Right now, the rules and cycles seem like so much random noise to me. I fully understand the point, the spirit of the laws, but trying to work with them feels to my brain like I'm trying to put a pair of gloves on the wrong hands. Taking a break from studying now. I'll pick it up later tonight or tomorrow. I am sure it will click for me by the time I need it to. :)

So go in there with the approach that you're going to prove to them you're one of the keepers. Work hard, have an awesome attitude, learn all you can every day, and listen closely to what they tell you. Take advantage of every opportunity you can to learn something new or practice something they've taught.

And just as importantly, avoid the classmates with bad attitudes. Find a few students who are taking the same approach you are and work together to help each other out. Avoid the lousy attitudes as if they have a contagious disease, because they pretty much do.

If you want it bad enough then go make it happen. Our forum is filled with stories from people who have done exactly that.

You'll see that people have a lot of ups and downs and the challenges are endless. But if you'll take the right approach things will work out great. Go in there with the wrong attitude, like many will, and you'll be on the bus home in a couple of days with a much worse attitude and of course without a shot at a new career. It's totally up to you. Seize the day.

Thanks, Brett! I shall take your advice to the letter. Safe miles!

I'll refute your claim. Just when I read you stopped at "Ripoff Report" I knew the claims you copied were written by a loser.

The only parts of your quote that are believable are the "100 degree Iowa heat" and maybe that pre-trip exercise with a stick.

Maybe you misunderstood the log book practice (this is only a guess) where you got 1/2 hour driving but you had most of the day On Duty Not Driving for class.

As you mentioned, if someone is dropped from a school, "who's REALLY at fault"? Trucking is a tough game, and it's good to find out on the third day of class rather than in a driver-at-fault accident.

Thank you for the reply, Errol - your last statement pretty much says it all. I couldn't agree more!