Going With Wilson Logistics

What is GOAL? I always see it mentioned.

G Get

O Out

A And

L Look

My Sons belief is except all loads, long and short. Why turn down miles and money. A 850 mile load pay the same per mile as a 1200 mile load... I don’t think he will ever turn down money.

I'm more concerned about bad weather or something out of my control and I don't want to get penalized for it

My Sons belief is except all loads, long and short. Why turn down miles and money. A 850 mile load pay the same per mile as a 1200 mile load... I don’t think he will ever turn down money.

I heard that during the test they don't let you get out and look, you can only use mirrors

What is GOAL? I always see it mentioned.

G Get

O Out

A And

L Look

I will let experienced drivers and moderators explain shutting down for safety, and I do believe you can GOAL during an CDL test, as I don’t drive. Just been on here learning all I can before I get my current career finished.

I don’t necessarily think shutting down for weather and your question of forced dispatch is the same.

I heard that during the test they don't let you get out and look, you can only use mirrors

What is GOAL? I always see it mentioned.

G Get

O Out

A And

L Look

Not true. "2" is the maximum in PA. I'd Google you home state to find-out for sure; it's also called "outside vehicle observation".

Keep in mind many of the trucking companies when testing for the 1st seat upgrade will require one G.O.A.L. before executing a backing maneuver. It trips a lot of drivers up and at least with Swift is an auto-fail if omitted.

I don’t necessarily think shutting down for weather and your question of forced dispatch is the same.

Army is exactly right. Shutting down for bad weather has nothing to do with being force dispatched. When you are "force dispatched" it simply means you aren't allowed to refuse the load. Maybe they dispatch you to Salt Lake City, Utah but you don't care for the scenery there so you don't want to do that load. Too bad. If you're force dispatched you don't have the option of declining the load.

By the way... I honestly don't think being force dispatched is nearly as bad as it sounds.

Should Drivers Refuse To Work For Companies That Are Force Dispatched?

Different numbers of goals are allowed for different backing maneuvers when performing the skills test for your cdl. In Kentucky I think they allowed 1 for the straight line, 2 for the offset and 3 or 4? for the parallel. I honestly can't remember anymore.

Here is a thread I started about shutting down in bad weather

To Ease Your Mind About Winter Driving

There are going to be a few times you're going to want to throw in the towel while training and your first year

I would always see this and thought it was nonsense. You just have to work through it and be tough.

That all changed when I had to walk a mile in those shoes. There will definitely be days when you're thinking this was a bad idea or this is way too hard.

Its difficult to just cut out car habits and instincts so you'll make a lot of mistakes. Just slow down, think about what you want the trailer to do and ask questions when you see your error getting to the point of no return. I got better when I would just stop the truck, put it in gear, pop out the supply valves and ask "how do I fix this?". Everytime I just tried to fix it on my own it got a lot worse. And don't be afraid to ask more than once.