I Feel So Dumb

Probably 50% of the people that have come through here, have reported doing the old "forgot the lines" trick. Kinda like driving away from a gas station with the nozzle still in (that probably happens to less people than the glad-hands trick though).

Review your couple/uncouple routine - after awhile, it becomes "muscle memory". Make a checklist on your clipboard, leave it on your seat, and run through it before you get back into the seat.

Rick

Definitely. Actually been sleeping better, but yes I do toss and turn thinking about my next move.

That's good. Yeah I do the same thing--that's why I mentioned it haha. Sometimes I just can't stop planning.

My father would say, "A man (or women) who has never made a mistake, has never done anything."

I'm sure we can all tell stories for days about the mistakes we have made. My story is as follows. I dropped off a load in the Los Angeles area and was on my way to pick up another load with 2600 miles on it. That is when my DM called me and wanted me to repower another truck that was out of time and his load has 51 miles left on it. After a very long heated discussion with my DM I finally agreed.

I have a set routine I always do when I hook up or disconnect from a trailer. I always deal with the airlines first, landing gear second and then the release handle.

Apparently since I was so frustrated I disconnected the airlines and pulled the PIN and totally forgot about the landing gear. Thank God it was an empty trailer and it only took about 20 minutes to Jack back up to get under it.

But I have plenty of other drivers in the area come over and make comments about Rooky mistakes. But it's okay because we all make mistakes and we live and learn.

That's funny, just last week I picked up a drop and hook and forgot to crank up the landing gear. Luckily they were just off the ground so they didn't scrape or bend, but it sure was a weird feeing looking in my little blindside mirror and seeing them down. I thought, "Did I forget to crank them up, or is that mirror fooling me?"

For some reason, I did things backward from my usual routine. (Just for variety, my routine is to go back to front, so landing gear, then release handle, then air hoses.) I always look at everything again before I get in and drive off, but not that time!