Texarkana College Professional Driving Academy
Topic 15603 | Page 2
Ok, so we started week 2 if a 5 week program today. Most of the people have passed their tests and have there learner's permit. Having said that.....
There is this elderly man in our class. He just doesn't seem to have it upstairs any longer. Anyway, he went to take his written tests last week and DOT tells him his learner's permit is valid until 2020. Apparently he went to Swift school at some point and was given a learner's permit and they made it valid for years instead of months. I'm not sure this guy should be driving his personal vehicle. It's dad and scary at the same time.
Enough about him. As for myself, I'm doing great shifting through the low gears, and I have improved finessing the brake and clutch.
Bring on downshifting and backing!
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Ok, so week 3 will be wrapping up tomorrow. As I have previously mentioned this is a 5 week program, with the 1st week in the classroom. You are expected to obtain your learner's permit during week 1. Weeks 2-5 are held on the yard where you learn your pre-trip, air brakes, backing, and road skills.
All 5 of the original students are still present. 3 of us are ready for our skills test, and are just fine tuning/ practicing moving through the gears, trailer path, and just overall working on our driving skills. 2 of the students are still working on their backing skills.
As a side note, this school is located near the Arkansas/Texas border and accepts students from both states. One of our students is from Arkansas and will be taking her skills test in Arkansas. I do not envy her. The Arkansas test is more in depth than the Texas test.
I will say that while this school has been different than what I envisioned, the instructors are top notch and spend plenty of time with each of us to help us with our individual needs.
As an example, they let us develop our own rythm for double clutching and made suggestions on what rpms each of us should shoot for based on our speed with the clutch. What else can you ask for!
I will continue to provide updates as they become available, but it's really the same each day. Do a pre-trip, conduct an air brake test, and hit the road!
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Double Clutching:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
My road test has been scheduled. I will be testing on Wednesday, 8/31.
Beginning tomorrow I will basically do my test each day. Pre trip, air brake test, straight back, off set back, and drive around for an hour or 2. Since I have over a week to prepare, I will also be learning to do the 45 and 90 backing. Texas does not currently require it, but I want to be as prepared as possible for my future employer.
Well, I take my road test this week. Texas is about to change the requirements, but it appears I will be under the current rules when I take my test Wednesday. In Texas, I will have to perform an air brake test, a straight back, and an off set back from left to right. As long as I pass these items, I will proceed to my driving skills test.
Wish me luck!
Good luck. Try to relax.
Good news. I passed my road test today with only 1 point deducted.
There was a left turn at a light, 2 lane road to 2 lane road. I'm telling you I went as far into that intersection as I could before cutting and still caught about 8 inches of the yellow divider line. I guess I could have button hooked it and maybe got it around. Anyway, he could have charged me with a couple of other things I messed up on that he didn't so I'll let him slide, lol.
There is something to be said for having a small class and 2 trainers with 20+ years, all of it OTR or Regional. They put us through the wringer on our daily road work and it paid off on that road test. The test was easy by comparison. I start orientation with Tyson Foods on Tuesday. I guess this will be my last update on this thread. If anyone has any questions on International Schools Driving Academy, or the Texarkana branch, please let me know!
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
No way BZ ! You can't quit posting now. You got your CDL but as most will point out your generally "training" for 6-12 months.... I'm still a rookie for at least another year... or two. Keep us updated.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
No way BZ ! You can't quit posting now. You got your CDL but as most will point out your generally "training" for 6-12 months.... I'm still a rookie for at least another year... or two. Keep us updated.
Cwc, I am going to start a Tyson training thread. They have 4 days of orientation, then 8 weeks of driver training.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
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By the way, I meant to mention this before. I am paying for my school through a community college, but the school is actually taught by International Schools Driving Academy. They have locations all over the place, throughout the country. The school is 4K.
They also have lifetime refresher courses, which I liked. If I go work for an automatic fleet and need a refresher on manual (if I decide to switch companies) it's free!