Completed First Weekend On Driving Range

What a weekend I couldn't wait to get inside a big rig there are three of us in the truck, I was not prepared to patiently wait for long periods of time while others go through their learning curve. I guess I was expected everything to just click along but it didn't happen that way. Saturday was so frustrating for me I felt like I sat in the back of the truck for 3/4 of the day watching the others trying to learn the skills. We practiced double clutching and shifting and I knew in my mind how to do it but I was so frustrated I couldn't get my foot and hands to worked together and I admit I was a little over confident and was going from first to fourth. I came home Saturday evening wondering if I could really do this. I decided that I needed to calm down and be patient with others who are struggling. I decided today that I was going with a better attitude and just to go with flow and try to help my fellow students if I could the day went much better. I almost have the front of the truck and the engine compartment pretrip down just a few items I miss. I did the in cab and brake test with little problems and did it without study sheet. We did straight line backing did it with no problems my instructor even made get off center to see if I could do it without pulling up, did it!!! We did offset backing no problems, so today I knew I could do this I just got to be patient and not to become over confident, just relax and do my best. Got to get my pre-trip down this week so I can do it from memory next weekend. I hope we get to spend at least half a day on shifting I want to get this down and I know I can if I can just get enough practice. Everyone have great week will update next weekend.

Good update Danny! Take it a day at a time and remember that you will have tough days ahead of you.

Danny, be very careful about being overconfident. I don't care what you did in the past or what you drove - being overconfident will eventually bite you hard on the road. You need to approach everything carefully and slowly no matter if you've done it already. Its good to have confidence in yourself as a driver, but overconfidence will cause you to make a mistake.

I also agree that you need to be more calm about it. Let everyone have their turn and learn from their errors. This is a good time to build up your patience because you will need a lot of it out here.

Just go with the flow, you will make mistakes - just make sure you learn from them.

Great post Danny. It takes a big person to realize their faults and mistakes and learn from them. And an even bigger person to share those mistakes so others can learn!

Thanks for the tips.

Woody

Absolutely a great post.

Trucking is not very forgiving. It has a way of throwing reality in your face regardless of how rosy your fantasies may be. And it has a way of humbling you, even those who have done it for many years and have proven themselves time and time again.

I decided that I needed to calm down and be patient with others who are struggling. I decided today that I was going with a better attitude and just to go with flow and try to help my fellow students if I could the day went much better.

There ya go! And hey, watching others learn is a great learning experience for you also. You can learn a lot by watching so take advantage of that opportunity. I mean, if you can't drive you want to find some way of getting better and learning from others is a good way.

But expect a lot of ups and downs and be painfully careful with everything you do. The longer you drive the more unbelievable things you're going to witness out there and the more aware you become of how one tiny moment of inattention can be devastating. There are plenty of people who are no longer with us because they just happened to sneeze at the wrong time. It happens that fast out there.