Profile For wayward

Was the clutch in?

My recollection is the clutch was disengaged and it was in 4th gear..

I guess if I was braking, I should have had the clutch engaged..

I just finished my first week of cdl school yesterday. They let us drive a truck around for the first time yesterday. I was completely terrified and I felt ill and sad all day. Not sure why it's making me so emotional, but I know it's partially because I don't feel in control of this large, dangerous machine that I am directing.

I'm trying to figure out the most fundamental things I don't know this weekend. There's one thing I can't figure out about turning. Yesterday I did a right turn and I turned too late and ran over a curb with the front wheels of my tractor. Before I ran over the curb, I braked to stop from hitting it. When I braked, the engine shut off. It is my understanding that the engine shut off because I was breaking while turning sharply. But isn't breaking while turning something I will need to do normally if I have to make a sharp right turn onto a two-way road with other vehicles in my path?

I hope someone can explain this to me.

I have read the sentiment somewhere on this site that drivers in their first year should begin OTR to improve their prospects for better positions later on. As I was searching for companies to pursue, I decided that I'd rather do regional than OTR and that they're so similar, it shouldn't really matter to an employer whether I only have experience in one or the other.

I currently have no trucking experience and I have an interview tomorrow with a medium-sized company that only offers regional positions. I'd like to hear from someone that knows better whether my assumptions about paying your dues are safe or if I'm setting myself up for a hard time job searching in the future.

PS - Big thanks to everyone involved in the creation and design of this site. Brett's book, the truck driver's career guide, the trucking company reviews and the cdl training material are everything I wanted to know before I changed my career.