Nervous!

Hey again everyone. I finally go to school July 29. I am feeling nervous about if I will get everything down in a timely manner. I just want to absorb everything I can from the instructors and I'm praying I get the hang of driving the trucks. Never even driven a standard. On the plus side I'm feeling excited too. This is something I've been talking about doing for 6 or so months now. Any tips? Wish me luck!

Just listen and learn, be coachable. DO NOT EXPECT TO DO SOMETHING PERFECTLY. Sometimes good enough is good enough, don't add pressure to yourself. There is enough pressure in that seat without you adding more to it.

Good luck, keep your eye on the goal you have set, you will have to go through BS to get there and some of the BS you will endure might just be in school.

From what I was told, having no experience with a standard is beneficial because you're a clean slate.

When driving backwards the trailer moves opposite the wheel. You turn right the trailer goes left. Small steers go a long way so don't oversteer.

I always stop and talk to myself. Which way do I want the trailer to go? I want it to go left so I'll turn right. When I'm driving I say the gear I'm in out loud. It makes it easier to remember. I also read the signs out loud. During my road test, the exam guy never asked me about signs because I just read them off as I drove. I also wore a hat during my test that way the examiner could tell my head was checking mirrors even though he wasn't looking directly at me.

That's all I have for now. Welcome aboard and ask any questions you may have.

Cecelia, best of luck for you! What school are you going to? Any company lined up yet?

As Pete and Banks hint, this isn't as easy as most people expect. I'll tell you, you will probably become extremely frustrated in the course. I was, until I considered quitting from frustration. (Obviously I didn't) Stick to it, and consider each failure as a learning experience.

Finally, on the road part, you have to get in the frame of mind that your truck is 70 feet long, not 20 feet like a car. Start a training diary in the CDL Training Diaries section so we can watch your progress and cheer you on!

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress. If you're having problems or questions you don't feel your instructors are adequately addressing don't be afraid to ask on here. We got some very smart and experienced veterans on here.

Everyone else who will be there with you is just as nervous. Just don't let the nerves overwhelm you and use school to find out what helps you settle them, cause you will need that skill out on the road once you're solo and dealing with crowded truck stops, traffic, bad weather, tight shippers, wrong turns, etc.

For me it helped watching others and identifying (to myself) the mistakes they were making and either realizing oops i do that, or at least i don't do that. Even once out solo.

I think we all were scared, nervous, whatever word you want to put to it.

I had a little over a years OTR driving experience, and other, when I went to school a year ago. I was still waking on pins and needles though. We all have our reasons I guess. Mine was that it had been 25 years since I'd driven an 18 wheeler. We all have our reasons.

There were a variety of people in our class. Some older and so e younger people. I found it to be comical that the older ones were still scared. I mean, people who have had a life long of experiences but, an 18 wheeler still scared them to death. lol

One of the guys that was going to school had 15 years experience OTR, and he was still nervous about it.

Anyway, we all go through the same process I think. Just go into it with the willingness and desire to learn everything you possibly can. A lot will come over time. It's a process.Youll learn what you need to learn in school to pass your test. And, you'll learn what you need to learn while out with a company trainer to work for that particular company. And, you'll also learn basic road knowledge while out with a trainer.

Anyway, yeh, it's a process. Take it one step at a time and don't get ahead of yourself. Use a simple rule, speak up if you don't understand something. Don't keep your mouth shut if your not getting it. Ask questions if you need to. Be aggressive but, not annoying.

Be yourself. We had one girl that would get in the truck during backing practice and she'd be all over the place. You could watch her turning turning turning the wheel every which way. We'd be talking with her and she'd say, 'I wish I could do it like you guys'. That's one place where she was making a mistake. She needed to learn,and stop trying to back like us. The instructors would get frustrated with her and walk away because, she wouldn't listen to them and do what she was told. She'd keep on turning turning turning that wheel, trying to be something she hadn't become yet.

Yeh, I've heard that too. It's normally easier for someone to learn to drive a stick in an 18 wheeler that doesn't have any experience with a stick shift.

Good luck!

It's Troops Into Transportation. A school offered for active duty military and veterans but I'll be in Fort Hood Texas. I've been speaking with US Xpress, Prime, and Swift. At the completion of my school they have representatives from Werner, JB Hunt, Schneider and fee others coming to speak with us.

Cecelia, best of luck for you! What school are you going to? Any company lined up yet?

As Pete and Banks hint, this isn't as easy as most people expect. I'll tell you, you will probably become extremely frustrated in the course. I was, until I considered quitting from frustration. (Obviously I didn't) Stick to it, and consider each failure as a learning experience.

Finally, on the road part, you have to get in the frame of mind that your truck is 70 feet long, not 20 feet like a car. Start a training diary in the CDL Training Diaries section so we can watch your progress and cheer you on!