ABF Freight Driver Development Program
Topic 31553 | Page 2
They 'allow' you to ?!?!? I mean, all good, if so! I'm learning & following, also!
No, not jug handle turns in the truck! In New Jersey, you can not make a left hand turn most of time off of the major arteries. There is no left turn lane at most traffic lights and many have Jersey barriers or median strip dividing the road. You must pass the intersection and take the jug handle on the right to get on to the cross street. From there you can proceed through the intersection in your chosen direction or make a left to get to a location on the other side of road.
In order to make a left at this intersection off of Rt 10, you must follow the yellow line
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Glad to see OD training in manual transmissions. The idea of not having the restriction on your CDL and the fact that you might have to use a truck with the manual transmission has always been my point and I have been told to "get over it". Way to go OD
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I have to correct myself on my previous post. I stated OD and should have said ABF. I need to wake up before I post. Sorry everyone
Happy for you Dave, best of luck!
Thank you G, I am following all the advise I’ve gotten here at TT and from you directly and all is going well so far!
Day 2, 3/8/22
Reported to terminal , my temporary badge is now working so I can clock in and out like everyone else. Went up to the classroom to get the day started. Apparently there was a terminal meeting scheduled so everyone filed in. The manager spoke for a few minutes and then put on a video from the President and CEO of ABF. Video consisted of 2021 earnings and growth, new equipment and bonus’s as well as future expansion and terminal upgrades. Ended with a big thank you to all employees for making it all possible.
After most of the drivers were gone we hit the yard for pre trip inspections. I have been studying it like crazy. I did not use my issued terminology sheet at all, only missed a couple things on the in cab. Forgot to state fire extinguisher was fully charged and missed my exhaust gage. Still working on stating everything with confidence. Repetition will fix that. Nailed the outside pre trip, stated things out of order a few times but did not miss anything. Again, repetition is the key.
After lunch both trainers took a student on the road. There were no trucks at the yard so I spent the time practicing my pre trip on a trailer. I imagined a truck was there and started from the spring hangers on.
When the trucks returned, I grabbed one and spent the rest of the day doing terminal laps to work on shifting. Was able to shift from 1st to 5th smoothly 95% of the time.
Was told at end of the day I will be going out on the road tomorrow. One of the other students told me they will take me to an industrial park nearby with very little traffic other then occasional trucks. There I will get a feel for road driving and will be able to use the higher gears as well as learn to downshift. Of course, the weather is gonna be terrible tomorrow. Its supposed to snow/rain. I don't know if plans will change due to the weather but I’m up for the challenge if the trainer feels its safe
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Day 3, 3/9/22
Not too much to report today. The weather was terrible as forecasted, mix of rain and snow. Luckily, the snow was melting on contact. Since the weather was bad, the trainers decided it would be all in truck today, in cab pre trip then shifting all day for me, maneuvers for the other students.
I went with the trainer to the industrial park to continue getting comfortable/smooth with shifting and start getting into the higher gears. Ran from 1st to 8th, stop, repeat, stop repeat, etc… That took us to lunch.
After lunch, I did my endless terminal laps shifting from 1st to 6th. The constant repetitions are a blessing. They want shifting to be second nature to you by test time. Their goal is not to just give you enough to pass the test but to really train you to to drive the truck and prepare you for as many scenarios as they can.
They gave me some additional homework today, links to videos about shifting, turning, and the backing maneuvers. Its time to get into them
P.S to Anne!!! We are in Mack Pinnacles, 2015 I believe
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Day 3, 3/9/22
Not too much to report today. The weather was terrible as forecasted, mix of rain and snow. Luckily, the snow was melting on contact. Since the weather was bad, the trainers decided it would be all in truck today, in cab pre trip then shifting all day for me, maneuvers for the other students.
I went with the trainer to the industrial park to continue getting comfortable/smooth with shifting and start getting into the higher gears. Ran from 1st to 8th, stop, repeat, stop repeat, etc… That took us to lunch.
After lunch, I did my endless terminal laps shifting from 1st to 6th. The constant repetitions are a blessing. They want shifting to be second nature to you by test time. Their goal is not to just give you enough to pass the test but to really train you to to drive the truck and prepare you for as many scenarios as they can.
They gave me some additional homework today, links to videos about shifting, turning, and the backing maneuvers. Its time to get into them
P.S to Anne!!! We are in Mack Pinnacles, 2015 I believe
P.S to Anne!!! We are in Mack Pinnacles, 2015 I believe
Nice !!! Told ya ! Still following, Dave. So happy you finally got this going, into a 'reality.' How liberating, eh?!?
Best forward!
~ Anne ~
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Day 4, 3/10/22
Kind of a slow day today. Both trucks needed to be serviced so we lost one in morning, other in afternoon. In the morning one trainer took a student out on road in the manual while the other practiced backing in an auto. I joined the trainer and the other student who graduates today to go over the hooking/unhooking doubles process. There’s always something to learn.
After lunch, The trainer took me back to the industrial park to work on my shifting. I have my timing down pretty good, can find my walls and am climbing the gears smoothly. Today it was time to start down shifting. Took me a few runs to get the timing/reving synchronized but it started to click for me, still need a lot more practice. Trainer finished my lesson up with releasing the clutch and starting on an incline. He said my timing is fine, I did not roll backwards.
After we returned to the terminal , I took a shot at an alley dock with the auto. I set the truck up as if I was in a pickup with a trailer like I have for years. Set up was wrong due to the pivot point on the tractor. Trainer said I had the right idea but had tractor/trailer angles off. In hind sight, I shouldn’t have gone for the hardest maneuver 1st. Should have just did a straight back to get used to how the trailer moves. Oh well, live and learn
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
Day 5, 3/11/22
WOW!!!! Last day of 1st week, it flew by. Learned so much this week I’m having dreams about trucks. Most of the week was focused on getting me comfortable with shifting, was behind the wheel about 3 hrs every day, couple days maybe a little longer.
I dont know how other training programs are but this one is perfect for me. Being on private property at the terminal , you can’t go too fast so your always able to stop safely if necessary. The trainers teach you how to do something, make sure your getting it, then cut you loose on your own to practice. They have their eye on you at all times and will give you input on what your doing right and help you adjust what your doing wrong. Its much easier for me to concentrate on what I’m doing when learning something new in my own space. Due to this, in the past 2 days my up and downshifting have improved tremendously. If I mess up, I just take a deep breath, think about what I did wrong, and start over. Today I was moving up and down smoothly without stopping and restarting
Next week, probably Monday, I will be going with the trainer again to the industrial park to get back up in and down shift out of the higher gears. If I am proficient there, I will get my 1st taste of live road driving back to the terminal.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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Wow, D.Dave!
I'm PUMPED for ya!!!! Mack manuals (daycabs, anyway...the Pinnacles, not the Anthem..don't know...) shift pretty true. They're having you start in 1st .. wow! That's a good thing, imho. I'm thrilled you're learning on a manual; in the LTL and daycab business, 'it happens.' (As they said, haha!)
Enjoying the follow, for sure, good sir.
Just wondering; this ?!?!?
They 'allow' you to ?!?!? I mean, all good, if so! I'm learning & following, also!
~ Anne ~
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated