Profile For Kolibri

Day Twenty-Six

Thank you very much for the kind words, Captain. I am sorry I didn't notice your post until just after I made mine, else I would have responded to you first, before posting my daily. Keep at it, brother! And I wish you every success!

Day Twenty-Four

Had three practice drives before lunch, with noticeable improvement on each one. First drive, I was doing very well with my up-shifts, but couldn’t buy a gear going down.

Second drive, I was better, more relaxed and made more good down-shifts than bad, and when I did make mistakes, I recovered quickly and without becoming ‘flustered’.

Third drive, the instructor said he didn’t know why I was failing. Test was sometime after lunch.

Test failed for ignorance. I was under the impression that we had to take all turns in 5th gear or lower. I was going quite slow enough in sixth to take the turn safely, but when I tried to get into (what I thought was required) 5th for the turn, I wound up having to stop and reset to third with traffic behind me; Auto-fail for “impeding traffic”. I continued the course as if I was still being tested, and when we got back the examiner told me: 1. There is no DOT requirement to be in any gear for a turn, only that turns must be smooth and safe, and 2. Had I simply left it in 6th, I would have accrued a single point over the entire course - I had a left turn followed by a lane change, for which I failed to cancel my turn signal in between (“improper use of signal”). I am looking very much forward to tomorrow’s attempt.

Day Twenty-Three

The joke is no longer funny. I have never had to work so hard for something in my life. I am supposed to be the one who picks it up instantly and is soon helping the slower students along. I got a lot of smooth shifts in, as well as a few sloppy ones, but one event of “coasting”, a failure to signal a left turn and a couple other errors I am too frustrated to remember mean I get to come back tomorrow for attempt number four.

Day Twenty-Two

On the fourth right-hand turn of the trip, and hardly 2 or three miles from the start, I couldn’t get into 5th gear, so rather than fail automatically for “coasting out of gear” I stopped and re-started in third. Had there not been a car behind me, I would have been fine, however the presence of the vehicle behind me made my stop constitute “impeding traffic”, an automatic fail. Examiner said I was doing well with previous up and down-shifts, but this instance, I failed to give a big enough “rev” during my shift to 5th, and had I done so, there would have been no need to reset. So, I went to the practice truck and did about half an hour of clutch-rev-clutch drills. Try again tomorrow, with perhaps a practice drive in the morning. I'll get it. It's just unusual for me to be in the group that takes a few extra attempts to "get it". This is a mechanical skill, and the more I do it, the better I get.

Day Twenty-One - Road Test

The citizens of Iowa and the other 47 contiguous states have been spared one more day of the terror that is me with eighteen wheels on the public roadways.

I think my nerves just got the better of me today. I couldn’t seem to be able to find a gear to save my life. My up-shifting was handily passable, but coming back down was pretty bad. I did none of the “automatic fails”, accruing 31 points (30 or fewer and I would have passed). This tells me two things:

1. On a “bad day” (I was very nervous) I am one point away from passing, so a little bit of “chillaxation” is all I need to pass.

2. This place is absolutely NOT a “CDL/diploma mill”. You don’t get a CDL until YOU EARN IT BY DEMONSTRATING THE EXPECTED LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY AT THE REQUIRED SKILLS.

Tomorrow, I am very likely to pass, as I won’t be nearly so nervous. I am still expending a larger chunk of mental energy than I would like on the transmission, but that chunk is steadily shrinking and will become second nature soon.

Thank you, Airborne! I am confident that I will pass soon, and also that they won't pass me until I achieve the required competency. :)

Day Twenty - Home Stretch, Baby!

I reported at 0800 today. My backing practice session was scheduled for 0845, and my backing test was scheduled for 1300. I picked up a trainer and a fellow student for a road drive after my backing session. We returned from our drive with a few minutes to spare before lunch (hot dogs and chips) was served. I was a bit sloppy today, picking up 9 points of a maximum 12 to still pass. It was good enough for the DOT; so it’s good enough for me.

Road test tomorrow, class meets at 0615.

While I know that certain things during the road test will incur points (another lowest-score-wins test) such as “coasting” - moving more than a very few seconds with the clutch disengaged or “excessive grinding of transmission gears; and some things are automatic failures (violation of any law, striking a curb, usually on a right turn), I can’t really peg down how well or poorly I anticipate performing. I will just drive, following my examiner’s instructions, and take what I’m given for a score. If needed, I’ll just practice more, rectify my mistakes, and try again until I pass.

Day Nineteen - PTI Re-re-test

I was insomniac last night for worrying about today’s test, but managed about an hour and a half of sleep. I am not twenty anymore! I started the day with backing exercises followed by 2 road trips, and tested at 1100. I took my time. I took a deep breath after each subsection. I passed with a score of 42 of about 47 possible (higher is better in this part of the exam).

I moved on to the backing exam after lunch of mammoth submarine sandwich. I got myself into an awkward position outside the lane, approaching an entrance corner cone. Instead of striking the cone and taking a 3-point hit, I pulled forward to cause a ‘reset’ (return to starting position) for one point. Having noted landmarks while in my starting position, my reset was perfect. I proceeded to perform a beautiful 90° alley dock maneuver. The truck was straight, reasonably centered (maybe 8 or ten inches left), parallel to the sides, and the DOT bumper neatly centered in the box. Nailed it! Next was the straight backing. I was supposed to back straight through two parallel rows of cones until the front bumper was beyond the rearmost cones. I stopped when the bumper cleared the foremost cones. I will do it correctly tomorrow.

Then will be the road test. I improve or learn something every time I get behind the wheel. So, from here on out, it’s practice a bit, test, practice, test, etc., until the DOT examiner says I am good enough to be turned loose on the general public. I am up-shifting now in a manner that no longer involves other occupants of my vehicle picking their teeth from the windshield, and making strings of smooth down-shifts. I am no longer losing track of what gear I am in, and recovering from errors without getting flustered. I am now, and will continue gaining skill and improving my timing and coordination. I still expend a lot of mental effort on managing the transmission, but it is getting easier all the time. I can’t make an accurate prediction when I will receive the DOT’s blessing, but am certain it won’t be too far off.

Day Eighteen - PTI Re-test

Hit all points until step 6. When fanning the brakes to expend air pressure until the safety valves pop, and if only one of them pops, or I am unsure whether it popped, just KEEP PUMPING THE BRAKE PEDAL - OVERCOME THE NATURAL DESIRE TO TOUCH THE VALVE IN ANY WAY. Lesson learned: it is ok for the truck to fail the test; it is not ok for the driver to fail the test. I feel like Ernie Els at the Masters’ Tournament. I believe I’ve made all the stupid mistakes possible on this part of the test. I KNOW THIS STUFF!! I need only to stop shooting myself in the foot! Success shall be mine tomorrow.