Laugh At Yourself

Hey all, I've been busy in training, and have about a week left. Headed to L.A. tomorrow, 2-day trip.

I wanted to share my "rookie" mistake. It was hilarious, to say the least, but without the knowledge gained in school and during company training, it could have gone really bad.

I was bobtailing/deadheading on the I-40 from eastern Tennesse to Lebanon Tennesse. Tennessee has rolling hills and a couple of grades down that corridor. I had the Jake brake on and my trainer abruptly shut it off and said don't use a jake while bobtailing. I said ok, noted, and kept trucking.

Now I must have forgotten that it was off, and each time we would hit a rather steep hill, I would notice the speed of the truck increase and would flip the Jake "Level" into the position I thought I needed. I wasn't turning it on, just changing the amount.

I did this for about 40 miles before I mentioned it to my trainer and his response was he was wondering what the heck I was doing because the Jake was shut off.

LMAO!!!!!!! The truck, being light as a bobtail , and the cruise control did all the work, but for that 40 miles, I thought the jake was doing it. Boy did I feel dumb for a few minutes, but boy did I laugh, even days later, even now as I type it.

Here is the takeaway, if in fact the cruise or something wasn't working it could have gone really bad, but this is why we have the knowledge and training we get. I still had options if something wasn't working. I could lightly use my brakes and downshift, just as you are taught. Last resort is to actually turn on the jake.

That is my quick post, hope everyone is doing great.