The Long Way

Most days you can tell what’s in store for you by noon or so. Not so today. My class had to meet at the range this morning at 5am so we could be shuttled to the DMV, although they insist on calling it an mvd, to finish our CDL testing. Ok, now is where you’d insert a surprise right? Well you won’t be disappointed if you said yes. They were only going to be able to test 8 of us today and there were 20 of us in my class. Meaning someone in the carpool was to do some serious curbside waiting today. Turns out it wasn’t me as I was picked to go with the first group of eight.

There was much speculation as to how we were segregated into an 8-8-4 testing schedule but my favorite theory was that the picked the best first! We may never know. Tomorrow and Wednesday the rest of the class will get their chance.

So instead of being shuttled over to the test facility I decided to follow the bus in my car so I could pass them at the last minute, jump out of the car, run in first and be the head of the line so that the guy who rode in with me didn’t have to sit on the sidewalk all day. He did anyway. Time for the second whammy of the day! Because of an auto accident the road we were to take was closed and I got separated from the bus in traffic. I cannot believe one of my well-laid plans to cheat the system wasn’t working out. Go figure. So in losing track of the bus I got a little bit turned around and was late to one degree or another. Anyways we were herded into the testing facility where we had to give them our SEALED, by the DMV, envelopes containing our written testing scores from two weeks ago.

Whammy No. 3—the DMV didn’t put my paperwork into my envelope! So I had to run all over town trying to get that fixed so that I could test today!!!! To make a long story short I spent the rest of the morning running all over town so that I could test today.

You know that guy who has a black cloud following him around? Well that ain’t nothing partner! On some days I have clouds of all color overhead raining doom. One day it was a fog that was all over me. Hell, I have even had a hurricane follow me once! It went through three states before it caught up with me in Arkansas. True story.

Ok, I hope I have communicated the fact that things just weren’t really going all that well for the home team today. But as with any tale worth telling there is a happy ending that has nothing to do with car insurance. After waiting until 3:15pm I was allowed to test. After about one and a half-hour I was rewarded with a shiny new license and a job! Hurray for the license anyway. Only one guy failed today. I guess the sidewalk rule (see previous post if you’re lost here) somehow spills over into the double yellow lines. He will get another shot at it on Thursday so he’s not sidelined too long. I was somehow able to stay off the sidewalks and yellow lines for the duration of the test today.

The test was divided into three portions; Pre-trip(with 7 step brake test), Skills test and the road test. I was actually only worried about the road test going in and as it turns out that was the easiest portion even though I was going into rush hour traffic at that point. I did fine on my 7 step but I forget a few points on the pre-trip and I did have a few pull-ups on the serpentine portion of the skills. But that’s all over with for now. I find out tomorrow when I get to go to orientation and when I will ship out with a mentor. I’ve got so many questions and they are very stingy with the answers!

Take care, and remember to have a spare umbrella handy!

Category: General

Yesterday, as planned, we got a new instructor. Actually me and another guy I have been driving with got put into another truck with a very good teacher. I was a little skeptical because another student had had problems with this guy a few days earlier. Well, Mom always said believe half of what you read and less of what you hear. Case in point. We actually learned some things the last few days instead of doing what some guy in the right seat ‘instructs’ us to do. He even let us make our mistakes so we could see what happens instead of micro-managing(driving?) every move for us. I’m pretty sure that whoever came up with “don’t cut corners” drove a truck. They have this rule about sidewalks here whereas you are supposed to keep your rear tires off of them. Well, I guess he probably shouldn’t have let me make that mistake! But it was minor and no pets were harmed. Ok, we were all happy with our draw for instructor.

Thursday morning we hit the streets of Phoenix and it was not all that bad. We each spent about 45 minutes behind the wheel and then switched drivers. With three students in the truck it was a pretty fast moving day as you didn’t have to wait too long for your turn to come around again. Today however there were four of us in the truck so it did drag on a bit but it was a good confidence booster to watch others make the mistake you just made or have the chance to not make the blunder the guy before you did. With only five days under my belt I’m in no rush to jump into even more densely trafficked areas but me and my fellow phoenix motorist are warming up to each other.

The next two days take us back to the range so that we can once again practice our maneuvers for the CDL test early next week. Better set the alarm however ‘cause the carpool is leaving at 4am! It’s almost spooky that early in the morning NOBODY is on the surface streets and I feel as if I’m sneaking around like I just stole something or something else? Maybe that’s just some old memory resurfacing. I am just kidding of course! Well, if you happen to have a badge and know where I live then I’m definitely kidding! Point being it is very quite, dark, still, and pretty much enjoyable being up before everyone else.

Anyways, I got pretty far off track with this post but the intent remains the same. Things are going well and the training is still challenging but enjoyable. I’m still getting along with most all of my co-students and instructors some of whom are still laughing at my Jokes ‘O the Day.

Thanks to everyone who checks in on my progress! I enjoy all the feedback and I DO keep notes of helpful instructions and criticisms. I enjoy reading the other blogs here and I will keep posting to this site after my training is over. Yes I can see the light. So friends and family needn’t worry I’ll still find a way to make my way into your living room on a regular basis. Sorry about the kitchen thing last time I was there!

Goodnite, I must go and rest my mind yet again.

Category: General

I think the point of this post will be to communicate the fact that it would probably be a good idea to take your CDL test in a place where you are comfortable driving. That place is probably not Phoenix. It can be very difficult getting around in a car much less a 72 foot-long car. If I had it to do over again I would probably pick a driving school somewhere that doesn’t have a very large automobile population. Like some place in remote Montana or maybe in south east Pennsylvania where the Amish people live??

That might not be realistic so I will have to continue here where I started. This was the end of day three leaving only two days driving with an instructor before the test next week. Today took us to Tucson again, that’s three straight trips in as many days. It’s kind of nice knowing where your going and all but I think that we need a little more city driving (I can’t believe I just wrote that). The interstate portion is really pretty easy and enjoyable its just getting to I-10 in Phoenix and Tucson that’s frustrating! Why is everyone in such a hurry? Aren’t most people going to work? I could understand if I was holding you back from going on vacation or maybe speeding home to meet the lottery prize patrol….but you are going to work! Just get behind me and wait I’ll cover for you with your boss and you will be waiting if you are behind me because I can’t seem to find where I put 7th gear.

Speaking of which—shifting was much easier today, well up shifting is moving along fine but there is still some trouble with downshifting. I have got the turns down pretty well so that leaves the pre-trip inspection, 7step air-brake test and shifting as areas of concern for me this weekend. I'm not too worried about the skills portion because we spent all last week covering those maneuvers.

The guy I carpool with almost got in big trouble today during his city-driving portion as he left a gap on his right side as he was making a right turn and a car squeezed in but he caught him in the mirror before he added a rather large hood emblem to that other guy’s car!

It seems that tomorrow will bring a new instructor for our group as our current instructor is taking a few days off because of family business. Hopefully it will be someone suffering from laryngitis or maybe a former librarian. Shhhhhhh!

Category: General

Today was the first day off the range and it started with an absolute Monday-like feel to it. My carpool got to the yard early by about 15 minutes so we had a little sitting around to get accomplished. We finally meet up in the range class room to get new truck assignments along with a new driving instructor. I was paired up with a guy from Los Angles whom I’ve spoken to a few times during the last couple of weeks so that was better than being partnered with a total stranger. Total stranger was our driving instructor. But he turned out pretty cool so that will help this week—or so it seemed.

It’s funny how some of these guys are just so laid back and easy going until you get them into the truck. Dr. Jeckyl please take the passenger seat! So, you can see where I’m going with this one. Lots of yelling.

Ok, I’m all over the place with this one. Back to this morning…after the assignments were made my partner and I made our way out to find truck #455 and our instructor. I think that I’ve mentioned in the past the size of the yard and the fact that they do in fact have some trucks parked in said yard. We walked around the yard for about 30 minutes before we were able to admit defeat and ask someone for help. Turns out that our truck is in the shop and the instructor is over there picking it up. It is now about 8am so we wait and wait and wait until he finally shows up about 11am with a loaded trailer that’s due in Tucson. We were hoping for an easy first day so we could get used to the truck pulling a load in traffic. Sometimes on the first day the instructors just take students out to the shifting range to get used to the new environment. Not so in our case.

After a brief discussion it is decided that my partner will drive down and I’ll drive us back. Sound good until you realize that we made it back into Phoenix at rush hour and I’m driving with exactly 2 hours experience! It was very stressful to say the least. But once again our instructor got me through it with kind, encouraging words. Mostly; “slow down”, “watch your mirrors”, “you’re drifting”, “down-shift” and it’s cousin “up-shift” etc……

So, in conclusion; it was a day of learning, it was just like being thrown in the lake for a non-swimmer, and it was probably a good start. I would hope that I got over quite a bit of the initial nervousness. There were a million things going on at once…or so it seemed and we made it back in one piece with just a small stress headache. Next time you see a rig on the road and the driver is keeping it between the lines and is not knocking cars off the road you might want to give that driver some credit. It’s harder that it appears………..

That's all for now.

Category: General

I am trying to keep this updated by posting every other day but I have fallen a day behind. The last three days have been very hectic and they have just flown by. I think a lot of it has to do with starting so early. We are all out there and ready to go at 5 am, but I don’t really wake up until about nine so there are about 4 hours everyday when I just don’t know…..

Ok, on Thursday we spent the day practicing the ‘alley dock’. Which is a maneuver in which you back into an alley at a 45 degree angle BUT you have to start with the truck in an odd angle. That actually went pretty well for me but two of the guys just couldn’t seem to get that one.

On Friday we move to the parallel park. It is not executed like you would in a car but I guess the end result is pretty close to the same. We were to spend the day doing this but the five of us all got it so quickly that our instructor let us go back to practice the serpentine.

Today, Saturday, we had our range test. It was the test to see how well we have mastered the five maneuvers we have spent the week doing over and over and over……. Anyway, the five of us all passed but there were some scary moments for all of us. You lose one point for every violation of whatever course you are on and you can only miss 12 points and pass the range. When all was said and done I only missed two points on the whole thing! I would love to brag but truth be told my group had an excellent instructor. When I think about what I’ve learned in the last few weeks it really is incredible! I mean going from no experience to almost no experience--but I am able to do tricks. Out of my group the worst score was –5 so we are all pretty proud. I don’t know how the rest of the groups got along but I didn’t hear of anyone failing.

So now we have tomorrow to just practice and brush up on the things that were difficult for us last week. Starting Monday we are going to be hitting the road for some local deliveries. The class ahead of us was making runs to Tucson and Flagstaff for Target. Fun stuff.

Ok, so in closing it was a very fast paced week. Lots of repetition but no accidents, I don’t think I even had any close calls, and now we should be ready to share the road with YOU so watch out!! No cones were intentionally harmed during the practice and testing maneuvers!!

See Ya.

Category: General

Today was day two on the range and it was just as hot as yesterday. I sure am glad this is October instead of July! Okay, second day was a little more disappointing than I had hoped for. It seems that I have a killer instinct when it comes to those little orange cones and even one larger barrel! Actually it was not that bad but there is a lot more to the maneuvers than I would have thought. Today we spent the most of the day practicing the Serpentine; which is a maneuver in which you back through a set of obstacles with these little land-mines (orange cones) all over the place. I did kill one cone but it was asking for it just sitting out there and all and somehow the main obstacle, the barrel, jumped under the trailer as I was safely passing it!

We are watched closely and one bad day out here can put you back one week in training. If it looks like you are not catching on or just goofing off they can 'recycle' you. I think that is going to happen to one of the guys in my group tomorrow. He just had a horrible day today. We'll see.

Yesterday we started practicing the vehicle pre-trip inspection and straight line backing. It went very well and that’s why today was probably a little more difficult than it should have been for me. Every time I have an easy day out there I find out how little I know about this whole experience the next day! But the days go by very fast and it is actually a lot of fun for us newbies. It would be really amusing if they line up a bunch of Drivers with millions of miles under their belts to watch us backing around a bunch of soccer cones! They would probably demand to be supplied with things that they could throw at us and would leave in disgust one way or the other sooo….Anyway, tomorrow is the ‘alley dock’ exercise.

The car pool deal is going really well I have been driving for the past few days so tomorrow will be my last for a few. It is really nice getting on the road before everybody wakes up and hits the road. There is a motorcycle parked where we park in the mornings and it is pretty obvious that it does not belong there at 4 in the morning, it's new and really nice. It has been there since Monday morning and I’m sure someone is missing it. I guess I should call someone if it is still there in the morning. As of yesterday I still am not receiving snail-mail so I will probably get a bag full when it does catch up to me.

Well, I think that is most of what was consequential the last few days.

Milestones ahead:
1-pass range test (this Saturday)
2-spend a week hauling stuff locally (next Monday for 5 days)
3-pass the MVD skills test to get CDL

Category: General

Well, this morning went surprisingly smooth at the MVD. Since a few of us were able to drive ourselves there we beat the bus and the hordes of people. After checking all our paperwork the licensing people took us into a testing room and gave us four hours for all three tests. So I went to work and after about twenty minutes I was through with all the tests. So now I knew something had to have been missed…but no, they called my name a few minutes later and took my picture. They give you your test results in a sealed envelope so I don't know what my scores were just that I had passed all three tests. I guess only the driving school gets to open that envelope!

Yesterday was a pretty easy classroom day. We started with defensive driving, then map reading and trip planning and we finished with HazMat. Most people cringe when you mention hazmat but you would be surprised some of the things that are delivered as hazmat! Like; paint, batteries, household bleach…etc. Of course there are real hazardous material loads but you have to have years of experience before they let you anywhere near the fun stuff.

I will start on the range tomorrow morning at 5am. That means no more classroom stuff, finally we get to drive the trucks! I have meet a guy in my class that actually drives further than I do so we are going to start car-pooling. I am supposed to meet him @ 4:15 Tuesday morning just off the 60. We are going to switch-off driving a few days at a time so that should be a designated nap time as it should take us about 40 minutes to make it from East Mesa to the range which is in South Phoenix.

OK, Since I got finished so quickly at the DMV I need to go enjoy some quality daytime TV. For my money nothing says high value sunlight sleeping like Judge Judy!!

Category: General

So to be a driver you have to have a CDL...sure everybody knows that. But, who knew there was so much material on these tests.

We will take three tests on Monday; General, Combination and Air Brakes. All we did today was take practice exams for all three and I did really well so I am going to take a night off from studying.

Next week we will be heading to the range where we will start driving! There is a day shift from 5am to 3pm or nights from 3pm to 1am and I have put in for days because getting off at 3 and having the rest of the day off is more appealing. After a week on the range I will have a chance to start driving with another driver making runs locally(well, in the state anyway).

Well, so far I am very happy with Swift and the way we have been treated. I am very much looking forward to being turned loose...

Thanks all, hope to see you soon.

Category: General

Hello All, I'm in my first week of training as a OTR driver for Swift in Phoenix, AZ. I started in a class of 30 potential drivers and less than a week later we are at 21 souls. We lost a few guys the first day because of health&fitness reasons and now it seems that the back ground checks are weeding the rest out. So far we have been confined to the classroom studying for our CDL permits which we will test for on Monday the 31st, Halloween I think.

I made to decision to go with Swift even though I have heard/read most of the jokes on the internet about Swift drivers. Everybody has to start somewhere!

Well, I hope some familiar eyes have made it to this page! So check back as I will continue to update my training progress as well as my travels as I hit the road!

Hopps


****This blog is primarily for my family and friends but anyone who stumbles in is welcome to read and post.****

Category: General