Comments By Richard O.

We had 10 people testing in 2 trucks. All but one passed and no one was surprised about the one that did not pass. He struggled from the beginning. He improved a lot as school went on but just wasn't ready. He will pass next time. I don't know what other examiners are like but we were told exactly what to expect. You won't have to do anything when you test that you haven't done in class. You will have to make 2 right turns where you will need to go into the lane of oncoming traffic but just sit there until there is no traffic. No matter how long it takes. When we arrived in Dalton our instructor drove us over part of the route and showed us those 2 intersections. They aren't hard if you do it the way you have been shown. The backing range is nice because it is paved and striped. The maneuvers were easier there than they were at school. Also the examiner will go over what you are to do and will ask you if you have any questions before you start. They want you to pass so if you aren't sure about something then ask. Many of the roads we were on did not have speed limit signs so I asked her. Some she knew and some she didn't. She did ask about 2 signs after we passed them, and we were told she would. I knew the first one but I was really busy when she asked about the second one and missed it. Turns out it was a school zone sign. And she had just finished telling me there was a school zone ahead so I should have at least guessed that. The first one was about bridges icing before the road.

I had my phone interview with Schneider today. I got the formal job offer, Of course it is contingent on my drug screening and background check. I went and did the drug screen and physical this afternoon. I am tentatively scheduled to start orientation and training on Nov 30. I'm really excited. Things are starting to move fast now. Have you talked to HOW yet?

How did the weekend go Danny?

Thanks for the journal. This has been a very informative look at what the trucking life is really like.

Congratulations Ralph.

I was pretty tired when I started this thread so I didn't not get into details last night. Now that I have had some sleep I want to talk about the test a little more.

My examiner was a young lady (early 20's). Initially I wasn't too excited about that but my instructor told us that previously everyone had said she is fair with no complaints. I felt confident about my pre trip as we had practiced it every day for the last two weeks. Still I stumbled over my words and thought I sounded like a fool. As long as you don't miss any components and say all of the key words (securely mounted, no missing hardware, not cracked bent or broken, not leaking etc)then you will pass pre trip.

Next was backing maneuvers. Compared to the range at school the DDS range is much larger and nicer. It's paved as compared to the gravel lot at school and it has painted lines. This makes backing much easier. I aced straight line backing and offset backing. I had been doing both of those at school with no problem since day one so I had no reservations about them. Then I drew alley docking. I'm not really sure which one of the final maneuvers I wanted as I had had periods of issues with both. The last couple of days of school I had done both without any points so I knew I could do it. I did have to use both of my pullups. When I looked in the mirror after I made my last pullup and saw that I was set up evenly between both rows of cones and all I had to do was back straight up I know a smile came over my face. I still had both of my GOAL's I just had to make sure the rear of the trailer was in the box. I backed in and stopped at what I thought would be a conservative place to stop. I fully expected to use both of my GOAL's and was pleased to see I was only about 6" short of the box. I got back in and backed up about 18". I used my next GOAL and was very happy to see I was well within the box and the truck was straight and pretty much centered in the alley.

Road driving was next. For some reason the examiner seemed pretty relaxed. I wonder if she knows she is putting her life in the hands of a stranger that may or may not know what they are doing. :) Still nervous I made 3 starts with the button up instead of down. I had not done that even once in school so I knew my nerves were in control of my driving. I also missed a gear on my very first shift and had to go back to the gear I was in. Get a grip Richard. The longer the road test went the better I felt. Traffic was pretty light. There is a 2 mile section of I-75 and as most of you know it can have heavy traffic. I came to speed quickly on the ramp and a flatbed driver opened up a gap for me and flashed his lights for me to come over. Thanks driver. There was one section of hwy with a dog running straight down the road. I had to come to almost a complete stop but he escaped with his life. Looked like he was on a mission. There are 2 right turns on the course where you have to go into the other lane to stay off the curve but there was no traffic when I arrived at the intersection so no issues there. We pulled back into DDS and she had a smile on her face so I knew I had passed. What a wave of relief after 3 weeks of hard work is finally over. Now to go to work.

Congratulations PJ. Great news. I know all about those nerves.

I took my road test today and passed. I also took the tanker endorsement test and scored 100. It was a pretty stressful day, awoke at 2 am (couldn't sleep) and didn't get home until after 8 pm. I have pretty much decided to go with Schneider and drive a tanker OTR. I am hoping to start orientation in Dallas on Dec 3. Thanks to TT for everything I have learned here.

There is a pretty informative document on DOT's website you might be interested in. I am not familiar with Warfarin but it is mentioned in this document. Good luck to you. I hope it works out for you.

Cardiovascular Disease And Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Safety

Hey Danny. It was nice to finally meet you. Isn't driving fun? Every day you drive you will see improvements and you won't even know how it happened. It just sinks in. The first day we did alley docking I did fairly well. Then on Saturday I suddenly started having trouble with it. Like you I was getting in too far on the right side. I think a lot of it is that I am not getting set up at a right angle to the alley like I am supposed to. My reference points are spot on but you have to eyeball the setup. Some others are nailing it pretty good even in the same truck. I test this Friday so I hope it clicks soon.

Are your weights usually accurately predictable? Have you ever been overloaded and had to return to have product removed?