My Fears Of Driving
Topic 8833 | Page 1
Welcome Bill!
Trucking schools are designed to take people straight off the street with absolutely no experience backing combination vehicles or shifting manual transmissions. In fact, We've heard time and time again from people who do have experience backing short trailers or shifting manual transmissions in four wheelers that their bad habits were hard to break when trying to apply those skills to a tractor trailer. Many instructors will even tell you they have an easy time teaching people without those experiences.
So you don't have to worry about that. Driving a truck is a learned skill and almost anyone can learn to do it at a basic level. Getting good takes a ton of time and practice, just like anything else that's challenging.
Interestingly enough it's not the driving, backing, or shifting that causes most people to quit trucking. It's the lifestyle and demands of the job. The time away from home & family, the erratic sleep patterns, tight schedules, stress, terrible traffic & weather, and things of that nature. That's by far the hardest part of trucking for most people.
Go through our Truck Driver's Career Guide if you haven't already and it will cover a long list of topics that pertain to getting your trucking career underway, including the demands of the OTR lifestyle. If you were to take 100 people off the street at random I would say you could teach 95% of them to drive a truck well enough to get their CDL , but 80% of them would quit trucking within the first three months because the job and lifestyle are simply overwhelming.
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.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Combination Vehicle:
A vehicle with two separate parts - the power unit (tractor) and the trailer. Tractor-trailers are considered combination vehicles.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I have traveled with a carnival for many years, so having an irregular sleep pattern and being away from family Im used to. Ive been gone 6months at a time. I looked foward to reading the information your have pointed out to me. Thanks.
I agree with Brett. I never had success backing small trailers, but you'd be amazed at what you learn when taught by the right people. After that just figure you are backing a trailer at least twice a day and you get better real quick.
Good luck!
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
One of my fears about getting my CDL is the fact I cant back a trailer up to save my life. Lawn Maintenance trailers, Boat trailers etc. Never have had much luck. My 2nd fear is Ive never had the opportunity to drive a manual vehicle much less a Rig. Any advice?
Think about it this way. When you were failing to back up a trailer, did you have an instructor teaching you? I mean a real one, whose job it is to teach you how to do it.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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One of my fears about getting my CDL is the fact I cant back a trailer up to save my life. Lawn Maintenance trailers, Boat trailers etc. Never have had much luck. My 2nd fear is Ive never had the opportunity to drive a manual vehicle much less a Rig. Any advice?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: