Comments By David John

Regarding this post, now long ago ... PlanB ...

Braking

I wanted to point out that the breaking technique used by PlanB, apparently in complete conflict with his training, is exactly what the CDL manual (today) says should be done.

This is the way we are being taught in driver training.

High Road Training, page 47

Proper Braking Technique
Remember, the use of brakes on a long and/or steep downgrade is only a supplement to the braking effect of the engine. Once the vehicle is in the proper low gear, the following is the proper braking technique:

- Apply the brakes just hard enough to feel a definite slowdown.

- When your speed has been reduced to approximately 5 mph below your “safe” speed, release the brakes.
(This brake application should last about 3 seconds.)

- When your speed has increased to your “safe” speed, repeat the first two steps.

For example, if your “safe” speed is 40 mph, you would not apply the brakes until your speed reaches 40 mph. You now apply the brakes hard enough to gradually reduce your speed to 35 mph and then release the brakes. Repeat this as often as necessary until you have reached the end of the downgrade.

This Proper Braking technique is the correct approach to use for down hill. Jake braking should be used, but only when road conditions are good.

PlanB chose a safe driving speed, 15 mph. He applied brake pressure until slowing 5 mph below the safe speed, then released and repeated the process when the safe speed was again reached. This technique helps to prevent overheating.

It is also interesting that this Proper Breaking technique might now be well understood by the science community but less understood by drivers (?), or perhaps by some older drivers?
I know that the technique used for downhill breaking was taught differently in the past, and that some teachers and old videos incorrectly taught that riding the brakes all the way down the hill was best.

During my recent CDL training one OLD video stated that lightly holding the brakes ALL the way down the mountain was the BEST way to break inorder to prevent overheating. As is now understood, riding the breaks will cause overheating and possibly fire, even in freezing conditions.

I'd like to ask for any advice or tips on a situation that almost turned catastrophic on me a few weeks ago.

I am a new driver in Primes team driving (TnT) phase of training. I was traveling West bound on I-80 West of Cheyenne WY. Road conditions quickly deteriorated after I passed Cheyenne. High winds started blowing snow across the road. Temperature was below freezing and black ice warnings started flashing on highway signs. ...

- PlanB

It might also be noted that current training says that in the event the drive wheels lock up and slide, we should release the brakes and coast, steering as appropriate. Training indicates we should not tap/punch the accelerator to get the drive tires rolling.

I will admit the tap is intuitive, for me, however experience doing this in a Toyota 4Runner, Colorado high-country, once put me in the ditch. Experience in very different vehicle, I know, but enough for me.

In slowing in a coast, the breaks should release and the tires should roll without help. The tap can add forward motion and compound the skid.

An interesting story...

First I wondered, “What is it?”

Then I wondered why they could not ship the components separately and complete construction on-site.

I suspect the “transformer” they are shipping will serve a field of windmills rather than just one, but in that windy part of the country, it could be just one Very Large Windmill. 🙂

Thank you Brett!

I have a sense that the score for a given page will change over time as you repeat that page, perhaps also changing over time as questions for the page are used as review questions for other pages.

I have repeated page 103 - 3 times and found the dashboard reporting 70%, 77% and now 81%.

It appears you can improve your scores without a complete reset.

I have not yet attempted a reset, as I am concerned it would reset scores for all pages. I am hoping to complete the test once before a reset and restart.

Question?
Is it possible to reset individual pages (only) or reset individual sections (Log Book only) of the test? Or does the reset only perform a complete test reset?

Thanks!

Hi Brendan,

When answering the questions, if the question itself is a REVIEW question, obvious by the fact a yellow band is highlighted below the question, you will find information about the answer by clicking the yellow band.

When the question is from the specific page you are currently reading, the content of the page itself can be found by scrolling to the top of the web page. I sort of stumbled on this at some point. Having the material there is helpful, as you would imagine.

If you are interested in reviewing the material for a specific section or specific page within that section, for example Log Book or General Knowledge, etc. I always start at the dashboard for High Road Training. From the dashboard you can pick the section and then select a page, either one completed or another. Doing this will immediately show the material for that page of the training.

When reviewing a page of material or answering questions, you can scroll to the area below the question and move to previous page or next page material by clicking the appropriate button.

Have Fun.

Note... this training goes much better when you are reading or skimming the material and carefully answering the questions. I find that working on it when I am in a hurry is somewhat counter productive, for me...

I understand your desire for a routine. I was the same way, and that's kind of why I chose flatbed. It tends to be the most routine of all the divisions, I think. However, you can never count on anything being routine in this business.
— Turtle

I just wanna second this really quick. I've done refrigerated, dry van, and now flatbed. I have definitely found flatbed to be more prone to some semblance of "routine" regarding day-night cycles at least.
— Chris M.

Old School has mentioned his appreciation for flatbed as well.

Flatbed is definitely under consideration. I am also interested in tanker, prefrably non-hazmat, this based on comments Brett has made and also the comments and feelings of a number of my instructors (all long term drivers with time pulling a wide variety of trailers).

I will begin with dry van or refer both because Brett recommends this and because this is the path my company has me on at present. This door opened a step or two back and the path is clear, as it were. The other options will be there when I’ve had a chance to experience this first step.

The input is great!
It is fun, or funny, trying to figure out all of the pieces as early as possible while knowing it really will be, and must be, a process while on the road.

Thank you Old School & Turtle!

The reality of time being driven by production rather than ‘routine’ is becoming more clear.

Turtle, your note regarding the reset after #3 revealed my mistake. I was trying to take the 8+2 to reset at the end of #3, and that is not the way the HOS regulations work. It is a reset at the end of the 1st break of the two breaks (ie. at #2) as you made clear.

Old School’s comment about more than 12 hours in one day did result in a ‘head slap’ moment for me.
As you mention the 13.5 hours, I was realizing this and also 7 on either side of the 10 could achieve the complete 14 in a day. In some sense I see this as borrowing from the days before/after, but truly the limiting factor, if one is able to push that hard for many days in a row, seems to be the 70 hour in 8 days.

Thank you for the input!

In your scenario, and using your reference #s 1, 2, & 3.

Upon completing #2, your 14/11 would reset at the end of #1.

Upon completion of #3, your 14\11 would reset at the end of #2.

The 14/11 wouldn't reset after #3 unless you complete yet another 8 hour break in- sleeper.

Like OS said above, with a 10-hour break in your day you can legally drive up to 13.5 hrs in a 24 hr period. Ex. Start at midnight. Drive till 5 and take a half-hour break. Finish your 11 driving at 11:30. Take your 10 hour break and start driving again at 9:30pm till midnight again = 13.5 hrs driving that day.

Question - Is this right?

Is it possible, in the scenario as pictured, that a person can drive 12 hours in a 24 hour period using the split sleeper birth rule?

In the scenario pictured, do the FMCSR HOS rules for split sleeper allow a driver to reset the 14/11 clocks at the end of each of the pictured breaks?
That is, if a person takes a 2-hour break, followed by an 8-hour in sleeper break, followed by a 2-hour break, can the 14/11 reset happen at the end of each of these breaks 2, 8 & 2 ?

I am in training, with CDL-A in hand, but yet to complete orientation and drive with the trainer. I have been reading FMCSR HOS rules, working through the High Road Training and simply constructing HOS situations and trip plans for thought. This is one.

In life, I have had the sense that ‘routine’ is a good thing for the body and mind. From what I am reading, I am expecting ‘routine’ to be the exception rather than the rule in the life of a truck driver, but having a sense for an ‘ideal’ to look toward seems to have merit.
I have been thinking that it would be nice if I could sleep between 8pm-4am, drive 4hrs, off 8am-10am, drive-4hrs, off 2pm-4pm, drive 4hrs, sleep 8pm-4am
This as an ideal ‘routine’, if/when possible.

It would appear, if I am correct, that the split sleeper HOS rules allow for this, 2 off, 8 sleep, 2 off, model with 4 hours of driving between each break. (And I am sure these 4hrs also include pre-trip and fuel and ... of on-duty not driving, but I’m simplifying by considering all on-duty as driving).
And if the HOS rules allow for this, it appears that at the beginning of each break a driver would have a minimum of 4 hrs/3 hrs remaining on their clocks if additional driving time was required to make it to a destination.

Is this correct?
It is very possible I am confusing the details, or that elog devices would not allow this option, or ...

Perhaps another question would be simply - Do you as a driver look toward a ‘routine’ in your driving day/times, or do you go with the flow and drive when able and take time off when at loading/unloading locations?

Input on the question is much appreciated. Input and thoughts on the routine of driving as well.

Thank you!

Thanks G-Town!

I have just started this adventure, Driving Truck, and I want to tell you all how much I appreciate your discussions, your advice and all that is happening here.

I would like to think my nature lends itself toward following the advice I continually see being offered. And perhaps I would like to say that my plan when entering this new phase, be it patience, the plan to accept what comes, are leading the way to the peace I feel with the new things coming.

But I really feel that it is much more a result of all of the discussion and input I see on this site.

I successfully tested through the CDL permit, largely as a result of the High Road Training on this site. During Truck Driver Training my instructor occassionally joked when I recited FMCSR details where he (as an examiner) would accept less precise answers. (Play in belt less than ... , Steering Wheel turns less than ... ) The High Road Training process, questions and review mechanism have drilled the details in deep. And the additional information, Log Book, Weight & Balance, Cargo, though not necessary for the written test add to that foundation.
It is nice!

I had a discussion with my recruiter today. And found her talking about miles and miles the company hopes to provide and the rookie driver’s miles vs experienced driver miles. I mentioned to her that I expected the company had more loads and more miles than they had drivers to successfully move them and that this, for me, is really an issue of figuring out how I could safely drive as many miles as possible to help the company, and myself.
The recruiter confirmed that they do generally have more miles and loads than drivers. And she stepped back and complimented me on my attitude, my perspective.
In thinking about it, (and wishing to take all of the credit myself... [of course I’m such a wonderful person... ])

I came away realizing just how much this site is shaping me and shaping the way I am thinking. Many of the things my recruiter and I discussed today were directly related to things I have read on this site. New Drivers, Orientation, Training, Miles, Pay, and more. I find that I have few questions for the recruiter as I have heard and seen how the process works, through this website. I tend to ask general questions that confirm my understanding is correct, but because of the discussions here I have an underlying sense that I can wait and let the process play out as it will. I have come in to a belief that all is well and there are not many (if any) surprises up ahead.

All of this has made life much easier on my recruiter and truly much easier on me as well.

I have seen others, who I would generally consider rather easy going, much more uncertain and much less patient with the process. Perhaps entirely because they are not reading TruckingTruth.
And Yes, I am telling many whom I speak with that they must connect with this website.

Thank you all for the wonderful advice and discussions. It is so very timely and entlightening!