Profile For DJ B.

Been hard to find time to get on here and update. Class has been great so far, very helpful and knowledgeable instructors. We spend 4 hours a day in the classroom and 4 hours in the truck. Day one was mostly going over how to run a log book then taking the truck out for some shifting practice. Day 2 was much the same as day one. Day 3 went over pre-trip and touched on hours of service a little then out to drive. Day 4 was more pre-trip and H.O.S. then out driving in some light city traffic and a couple of alley docks. Day 5 was a test over H.O.S. (100% yay me lol) more pre-trip then out to drive. We had an interesting time that day as the snow and ice moved in. Today we started going over maps and gps and all the goodies in the trucker's atlas then out for a drive did some straights, a 45 degree and a couple 90 degree backs then out so i could work on my downshifts. All in all its going great took me awhile to quit pushing the brakes too hard and had some trouble with gearing down especially for stop signs. Today I was very happy not as much grind and scratches much smoother shifts.

So I start Freedom Road Driving academy in the am tomorrow. Have been in talks with them for about 3 weeks and they have been very helpful with getting started. The school cost is $2850 plus your DOT physical and drug test. They are a fairly new school here in Wichita Ks and all former OTR drivers and one is a former instructor at another local school who did not like the way it was ran. They say we will be in the truck on the first day of class which to me is a plus, another plus in my mind is that I will be the only one in my class last I knew. Nervously excited to get this going, will keep the updates coming.

Is it my eyes or is that held down with only one strap?

I only see one strap as well, surprised that dump bed isn't flopping around.

Wondering if anyone on this site has heard of this company?

I use the yellow safety glasses myself. They work good for me when driving or out cruising on the bike at night cuts the glare down really nice without making it seem darker. Don't have any big truck experience yet so not sure how much help I can be but a pair usually costs about 5 to 15 dollars depending on the brand and where you buy. I myself just use the 5 dollar pairs from wally world.

Does anyone know of a type of glasses that will cut glare, but not affect colors (at least not a lot)? I really dislike sunglasses, but figure I should use something to eliminate eye fatigue.

I don't know if there's such a thing, but I can tell you for over 10 years I've used Polarized sunglasses for driving (previous life was local delivery driver) and lots of outdoor stuff (I live in Florida). My favorites are wrap around Spyders which you can sometimes find in the fishing section of Walmart for about $15. There are other brands just as good. I got these after blowing $36 on "fishing" sunglasses that had the same features.

Also, many fishing guys swear by a brand that sounds suspiciously like Costs a Lot More. Those...well, never mind. I hope this helps.

Not had any truck experience yet but I wear the Spiderwire or Berkley brands of polarized fishing glasses from Wal-Mart for just about anything from day driving or motorcycle riding to boating and fishing. As you can imagine the pavement produces a really bad glare when on a bike and well we all know how bad water is. The good thing is I don't notice any real changes in color. When I ride at night I wear yellow safety glasses much like you wear for shooting and they work great when the headlights hit you at almost directly eye level, they also help when driving as well and aren't so dark you cant see. Hope this helps some.

Been away for awhile I very much appreciated the advice. I am currently waiting on the background check to be completed with Swift. So fingers crossed I will get the go ahead and be a step closer to a goal I have put off for far to long.