Day 1 Trailiner Springfield, MO

Really, really, really good day!! Spent the first 2 hours learning the pre-trip inspection process and phrasing. Our lead instructor will also be our examiner when the time comes (yeah, he's a legit examiner; this isn't shady) so he was telling us exactly the phrasing that he wants to hear. I thought that was pretty helpful. Then from 10 am to 5:30 we learned and practiced straight-backing and offset backing. There's only two of us in this class so we were able to take a lot of turns each. Spent the last half hour learning the log book. If all goes well tomorrow, we may even get a chance to get on the road. So far, I'm very impressed with Trailiner. When I got home, my HazMat approval letter was waiting for me in the mailbox. So far, I'm happy with my new career.

Sounds great Max! You guys only have two people in your class?

Yeah just two of us. The previous class had 4. This company has about 150 drivers. We all live within 100 miles of Springfield,MO. Thats companypolicy so when come thru the terminal we got time to see home for a few hours at least.

Oh ok. Very cool!

Parallel parking and pre-trip inspection practice. So far so good.

Day 3-more offset backing and parallel parking practice. Today we combined the two skills by driving from one skill course to the other. We are supposed to hit the road tomorrow for our first taste of street driving. Can't wait. Met one of the seasoned drivers who could be my trainer for the first 6 weeks on the road. Seemed like a decent guy, I'd be okay with training with him. Things are looking really good. The other guy is not paying attention to the instructors and keeps making the same mistakes. They are getting tired of repeating themselves and it shows. They don't seem to be trying to hide their frustration either. More tomorrow.

Hey things sound like they're going great! Street driving tomorrow - very exciting!!!! And a little scary!

Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

Didn't get a chance to get online last night and I've missed a day. Yesterday we went to a nearby industrial park and practiced street driving. Apparently that's where everyone goes because I saw three other driving school trucks rolling through the same circuit of left turns, right turns and cul de sacs. I made it all the way up to 8th gear!! Wooohooo. Almost felt like I was driving. Downshifting was a bit of a struggle but I got the hang eventually. We also learned the alley dock maneuver. We did that in the morning. We weren't supposed to learn it until later in the day but just as we were about to go driving, one of the new drivers dropped his trailer just outside the company gate. Apparently, he neglected to do a tug test. That blocked any means of leaving the lot and our trainer used it as a golden teaching opportunity. From about 100 yards away, we watched the driver crank the landing gear up while the VP of Operations read him the riot act. We couldn't hear exactly what he was yelling but we got the drift. It made the impression our trainer was hoping for, I'll say that.

Today was just a day for practicing the moves we've learned. Still struggling with the alley dock but making progress. I'll have it wrestled to the ground by Tuesday. Got the log book and pre-trip down pretty good. I look forward to next week and all the practice. Also looking forward to learning coupling and uncoupling. That is all. Have a great weekend.

Keep it up man, sounds like things are going well!

The Good: Hit the streets today. Real streets, not just the industrial park. Had a little trouble finding the gear on the downshift and may have coasted through a intersection or two while grinding a few pounds but all in all had a great time. Afternoon was spent alley docking and parallel parking practice. Even went to a real truck stop just outside of town. I was in a hurry because I had to get rid of my coffee and headed towards the showers instead of the restrooms. I guess you have to pay to get those doors to close because I almost dislocated my shoulder and embarrassed myself learning that lesson.

The Bad: I coupled the trailer for the first time this morning. And almost ended my career before it started. The trailer was parked between two other trailers, when I pulled it out from between them, I started my turn too soon. I nearly demolished two trucks at once.

The Ugly. My trainer is a great big guy who has obviously been eating all his meals behind the wheel for the last 5 years. The poor guy was trying to run and yell at me at the same time. We almost had to call 911 while he recovered from the heart failure and exertion from the unplanned cardio.

All's well that ends well I suppose. I didn't do any real damage and my trainer has a great story to tell his future classes.

Another great day. Still real happy with Trailiner. They are still looking for more drivers. I you know of anyone living within 100 miles of Springfield, MO I know where they can find a job.

See ya on road.