Florida State College At Jacksonville (FSCJ) - Commercial Vehicle Driving

Day 7 (8/30/22)

We continued our coverage on the general knowledge section of the CDL manual (anti-lock braking systems, skid control & recovery). We followed that by watching a J.J. Keller video on “Skid Management”. We then had a quiz on Skid Control and Recovery.

We had a short break and then we dove right back into the general knowledge section of CDL manual, this time the sub sections on Accident procedures and Fires. As you can probably see there is a pattern to this curriculum. Manual reading, then a J.J. Keller video. So of course, next up was a video on Accident procedures. I can’t lie I’m starting to get a little bored with all the manual reading. I understand the first few weeks is all about getting the CDL permit but, since I have mine already the repetitiveness is getting to me a little. I’m pushing through nonetheless.

Finally it was time for lunch, I really needed a pick me up. I had some Chinese takeout and Monster!

I returned to class so we could finish the last section under general knowledge, “Alcohol and Drugs” & “Hazardous Materials”. Onto chapter 3, Cargo Securement. We then watched a J.J. Keller video titled........ you guessed it, “Cargo Securement”.

We have finally covered all the sections in the CDL manual necessary for the CDL permit tests. We had our first 2 DMV practice tests for the CDL permit. This one was open-book.

We finished our day with our introduction to the FMCSA Safety Regulations manual. (The little green book, as my instructor calls it). We had a look-up exercise where we were given a regulation and then had to choose the appropriate multiple choice answer. I can honestly say some of those regulations felt like they were written to be more confusing than they actually needed to be. I guess it’s a good thing we aren’t expected to remember any of them, just need to know where to find them and to interpret it ( at least to the best of our knowledge).

That completed our day.

Day 8 (8/31/22)

Today is all about review. Tomorrow is the day everyone who doesn’t have their permit already goes to DMV.

We started with any final questions on anything we covered in the general knowledge section of the CDL manual.

Now it’s time for our favorite game so far..... KAHOOT! Time for me to defend my crown as the number 1 player in the class.

Well.....It didn’t go as well as I thought It would and I ended up back in the first loser’s position. The same student who’s been battling me all class took 1st. We had a lot of fun, our instructor even mixed in a few pop culture questions to mix it up.

We had our 2nd DMV practice test. Graded and reviewed. It seemed like most of the students are confident they will pass their written tests at DMV.

We finished the day with a J.J. Keller video on “Roadside Inspections”.

In anticipation of the DMV appointments we were released early.

Day 9 (9/1/22) No class! Today was the day to acquire the Commercial Learner’s Permit. For those of us who already have it, we got the day off.

I took my ELDT training online for the Hazmat endorsement to satisfy the new law.

Seatack, were you able to take the online training/class for the Hazmat endorsement on your own before you started school, or were you already enrolled? I'm wanting to get this done but having trouble finding the info I need.

Sandman J, I went here and was able to do it online. It was $69 total.

https://www.midwesttruckdrivingschool.com/hazmat-eldt-online-course/

It showed up on my record approximately 10 hours later by doing a check at https://tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov/Check

Good Luck!

Yes you can do it at anytime Sandman. You do not have to wait until school starts.

I took my ELDT training online for the Hazmat endorsement to satisfy the new law.

Seatack, were you able to take the online training/class for the Hazmat endorsement on your own before you started school, or were you already enrolled? I'm wanting to get this done but having trouble finding the info I need.

Sandman, everything that Mark stated is 100% correct. Even down to the website I got my training on!

Day 10 (9/2/22)

Today is the last day of CVD I, in order to move into the next section of the class you need to have a passing grade and have your CLP in hand.

We started the day with our instructor collecting and making copies of our driver’s license and CLP. There were 3 students who did not pass all the written tests at DMV to acquire their permits, one student left his wallet at home!

We had our final review for the course final and we played KAHOOT! Of course I was excited to get back at my rival classmate. And I did just that, back in 1st place.

After that we had our course final, a 75 question test on everything we covered in the 1st two weeks.

Our instructor began grading our tests and put on a video for us titled “Life on the Road”. It showed life as an OTR driver from 3 different driver perspectives. All 3 of the drivers had LoneStar edition International trucks. What a beautiful truck! All the bells and whistles and premium features!

We were given our final grades for the test and the course overall. I passed the course with a 96-A!

We were then given an option for the rest of the day. Students who still needed to acquire their CLP were released to go back to DMV and retest. The remaining students could either go home for the day or take lunch and return to get some simulator time.

Of course I couldn’t pass up getting some time on the simulator! So I went to lunch and came back. Of the 12 students who had their CLP 6 of us came back for the simulator.

There are 3 simulators, only 2 were working at the time. So we rotated seat time.

Our first activity was called “The Beat”. Preparing us for double clutching , we had to shift out of gear and into gear in a smooth, rhythmic timing. It didn’t matter what gear we shifted to just make sure we did it on time and we double clutched. It took me 2 tries but I made it thru. Most of the other students got it, but 2 greatly struggled.

Next up was actually double clutching and shifting to the right gears. Part one was only gears 1-5. We all struggled and took multiple attempts at passing this section. Only one student completed this task and it wasn’t me. The simulator has a lot of valuable tools. The issue I ran into while trying to complete this task was clutch depth. I was spot on with my clutch position when shifting out of gear ( from gear to neutral), but the simulator kept saying clutch too deep when shifting from neutral into gear.

My instructor could see my frustration and ensured me I was doing just fine. He told us we were doing just as well (or as bad for that matter), as his previous classes. He ensured us that clutch position on the real trucks would be more forgiving. He said the simulator wants everything to be perfect, and to not get down on ourselves. He even went thru the exercise himself to show us he is not perfect either. Still not sure if he did that on purpose or not.

He gave us an overview of what to expect in CVD II, and told us he would see us next week! Monday is Labor Day so our class would resume on Tuesday.

Day 11 (9/6/22)

We were given a reading assignment over the holiday weekend to prepare us for our first few days of CVD II.

-FMCSA: Part 395 Hours of Service Rules

-J.J.Keller ELDT textbook: Chapter 23: Hours of Service

We started the day outside on the training pad for our first walk thru of the pre-trip inspection. Our Instructor did an entire pre-trip inspection on the outside (engine, tractor, coupling system, and trailer). He advised us to make notes in our pre-trip packet and I also recorded the bulk of the inspection on my phone.

After the demo on the outside of the vehicle we broke into groups of 4 and each group was given a truck. We were instructed to start practicing our outside the vehicle pre trip until our instructor came back around to our group. He would be going group to group to do the in-cab inspection and brake check (safe start checklist, brake tests and exterior light check).

We continued with our pre-trip practice until it was lunchtime.

After lunch it was back to the classroom for a pop quiz on this weekend’s reading assignment. We followed that with a J.J. Keller video on “Hours of Service Regulations”.

We finished the video and then did a worksheet called “The 70 Hour Challenge”. This was our first introduction to the 70 hour / 8 day Rule ( and 60 hour / 7 day rule). We were also introduced to the 34 hour reset provision. That wrapped up our day.

Day 12 (9/7/22)

Our instructor told us today would be a half day for us. He had been selected to administer pre trip test for the students in the other class who were scheduled to begin their state testing.

We headed outside to do nothing pre-trip practice and in cab inspections and brake checks for the remainder of our class time. We were released for the day at what would have been our normal lunch break time.

Sandman J, I went here and was able to do it online. It was $69 total.

https://www.midwesttruckdrivingschool.com/hazmat-eldt-online-course/

It showed up on my record approximately 10 hours later by doing a check at https://tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov/Check

Good Luck!

Yes you can do it at anytime Sandman. You do not have to wait until school starts.

I took my ELDT training online for the Hazmat endorsement to satisfy the new law.

Seatack, were you able to take the online training/class for the Hazmat endorsement on your own before you started school, or were you already enrolled? I'm wanting to get this done but having trouble finding the info I need.

Sandman, everything that Mark stated is 100% correct. Even down to the website I got my training on!

Awesome, thank you so much for the info, Mark and Seatack. That's exactly what I'm looking for!

Day 13 (9/8/22)

We started the day with an exercise called “Stack The Coupling System”. It required us to list in order from front to back, top to bottom, how we would inspect the coupling system.

We then moved on to doing our first logbook entry. We talked about daily logging requirements, how to log multiple days off duty. All of our logs will be on paper. We then were given 2 logbook exercises to do and then we reviewed them.

We had a quick quiz on Hours Of Service, then another quiz on Hours of Service Requirements. We continued working multiple logbook exercises until lunch, with each one getting progressively harder. It seemed like everyone was catching on pretty good.

We came back from lunch for our 2nd recruiter visit. This time from Melton Truck Lines (Nick Glasson). Many more students had questions since we knew what to expect after our first recruiter. OTR/Flatbed company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A few people put their names down to get more information, and after about 90 minutes we were back to doing class work.

We continued working logbook exercises until we were dismissed. We were given a logbook exercise for homework.

Day 14 (9/9/22)

We began our morning with our Pre-Trip Inspection Test. We were allowed to use our pre-trip packet and any notes we had wrote inside of it. I got a 100% - A.

We then continued with the FMCSA Hours of Service, and how to fill out a monthly summary. We did 2 monthly summary recap exercises, with the 2nd introducing the 34 hour reset. We were then released for lunch.

We returned from lunch for another quiz. This time closed book on Hours of Service. After our instructor graded and we reviewed the quizzes we had more monthly summary/recap worksheets. We had our final review on the same subject and then took our final quiz , another 100% - A for me.

Day 15 (9/12/22)

The start of our final week in the classroom!

We began with an open book quiz on FMCSA regulations. Then we went right into our Final review for Hours of Service/Monthly Summary/Recap. We played everyone’s favorite game, KAHOOT! Back in first place for me again! (starting to become a recurring thing now 😎). We then broke early for lunch and given 30 extra minutes to study for our Final Test on everything regarding Hours of Service.

We came back from lunch and had our final test on H.O.S., I missed 2 questions but still got a 97% - A. We then reviewed them and addressed any final questions on the subject.

We were now onto our Introduction to Trip Planning! We had a J.J. Keller slideshow and an instructor lecture. We finished our day with a Map & Trip , Arrival and Departure exercise.

We were assigned chapter 28 (Trip Planning) to read in our J.J. Keller ELDT textbook for homework, and then we went home.

Day 16 (9/13/22)

Today was another half day for us, as our instructor was once again selected to do state testing for the class already driving. This time we arrived after lunch, for the afternoon session only.

We dove right into the Motor Carriers Atlas. We had a another map reading and trip planning slideshow/lecture. We then had an overview of the map key and identifiers.

We did 4 map reading exercises/worksheets and then had our 1st quiz. After quiz review we went home.