Training At Crst

Been awhile since I've posted been busy testing and class so I'll update on my progress

Week 1 was all testing getting all that out of the way first shot

Week 2 this where the fun began day one i learned shifting picked it up quick considering i never drove a standard before That same i day i did so well they put me under a trailer 53 footer and on the road

Day 2 backing straight line offset and 90 the 90 gave me fits for a little while but i eventually got it in the bag

Day 3 was the a mixture of the two driving around in town and backing

Day 4 they took me on the dot route 16 miles the night before it snowed and the roads where iced Never spun a tire perfect drive no points

Day 5 i made most of the runs to fuel the trucks and all my instructors Are surprised that i never have drove a stick or a rig they swear its in my blood And i have so much fun driving i feel like a kid in the candystore

Off tomorrow and i test for my cdl Thursday if i pass I'll be hitting the road

Drive safe truckers

Hey, sorry I feel behind over the holiday so I'm just now getting to this. That's awesome news that things are going well for ya. Let us know how that testing goes today!

Well passed pti and backing but failed driving

Stalled the truck but it was a extenuating circumstance Was coming to the train tracks saw the workers they weren't moving So i slowed down but kept driving one came to stop traffic And i had to stop quickly and stalled would have still passed But i forgot to turn on my hazards while i tried to start the truck

Hey Steven, don't let it bother you. They know you can do this, but they had to fail you or else they aren't doing their job properly - besides it looks bad on them if they don't fail a few students. Chalk it up to a lesson learned and get back on your steel horse and ride, you've got this. When do they let you give it another go?

I retest Monday she other than that i would have passed with no points Just crazy glad i didn't smash the guy i know i can drive that truck Just got to do it again instructors are going to bring me in and let run the Trucks up and down the route give me something to do

I totally agree with Old School - don't sweat it for a moment. Those CDL examiners have to fail some people or they wouldn't have a job. You gave em an excuse so he went with it. Next time you'll pass with flying colors. It happens all the time. We've had tons of people here at TruckingTruth who failed their driving test the first time but everyone passes it soon after and moves on. Nothin to it.

Animal has a saying for when the bad or crazy stuff happens: FIDO: Forget It Drive On.

We all have off days. Even after 16 years there's days I couldn't straight back into the broad side of a barn with laser guidance and 40 acres in front of me to play with or shift a gear without scraping; not to save my soul. It's just one of those days. I'll share. I had one Monday before Christmas on the run to get me home. Simple little alley dock. Not real tight but not huge either. Plenty of room, though. Two spaces next to each other to work with and the trailers on either side were our own company trailers (both older and already scraped up a bit). One little hazard, some big pipes coming out of the ground but very easily avoided and didn't cut into the working space. Nobody around or waiting. It wasn't a live load. I was just staging my empty at a dock because their yard jockey took off for the day. I've done this a thousand times or more. Easy.

I couldn't get it anywhere in the big old two space hole (without I was gonna scrape a trailer) for all the tea in China!! And those poles that were nowhere near being an interference were all IN my way and I ground the gears every time I went from forward to reverse in all 50 pull ups that only made my position worse than it was. I pulled out and re-set up several times (sight side and blind side) and STILL just couldn't get it. Then an audience appeared. Nothing like other people watching you fumble to boost your confidence.

They were real slow and the shipping clerk that assigned me my door and the forklift driver had stepped out to smoke and another truck (a trainer with a student) pulled up, checked in and was waiting on me to finish showing his trainee how NOT to alley dock and the trainer was smoking a cigarette with the clerks. Watching me. They were all smiling that smile you get watching the football player running the ball the wrong way. You gotta laugh. The ULTIMATE embarrassment came when the shipping clerk came up to me and offered me another door (with six open slots on either side) on the other end of the building! "Might be easier for you. Any one of those'll be fine."

"Normally I would decline. I refuse to let things like this beat me, but I've been doing this long enough to know it's just being one of those days though; so I'll call it an early Christmas present and take it. Thank you and Merry Christmas." As I was pulling away and shaking my head I watched the trainee back right into my door without a pull up. Textbook perfect and his trainer didn't give him the first signal. Kid just floated that puppy right in.

I knew I was gonna get some teasing when I went to get my Bills. The trainee, his trainer and I were all walking up at the same time. Might as well be the one to start it. Trainee glanced at me and I said; "That was pretty. Real good job. Course ya had a perfect example of what NOT to do." We all (we were at the shipping window by then) busted up laughing. [Forklift driver] "Ain't bein' my day either. I dumped a pallet and had to re-stack it first thing this mornin'. [Clerk] "Soda too. Big mess. I had to help clean it up." [Trainer] "Yeah, I busted my a$$ gettin' out the truck at the fuel island this morning. Right in front of everybody. Looks like Dude here (thumb toward trainee) is the only one having a good day." (more chuckles). [Me] "Well the good news is we got all our screw ups for the week out of the way already so the rest of it's gonna be smooth sailing from here". "That's right" "Merry Christmas." "Merry Christmas and be safe gettin' home Drivers" "You too." Rest of the week was smooth sailing.

So, you see we ALL have those days when no matter how good we are, it just ain't happenin for us that day. Long as nobody got hurt it was a good day and you just have to smile, chuckle and FIDO. You'll nail it spot on next time.

Lol thanks animal needed that laugh almost stopped training to go home but i didnt have the money grandmother died saturday at 5 am but with that being said i drove today.

First half went smooth was coming up on the on ramp to 380 in 10th about to get over when a car swoops out and cuts me off ok no prob... took the exit made a circle and tried again guy actually blocked for me gotta love those but i passed got my cdl now waiting for a lead

Congratulations Steven, be safe out there and keep us in the loop. We've enjoyed having you in here.