CRST Company-Sponsored Training - The Adventure Begins

Day Eleven

Morning Session was HoS , Log Sheets, student course evaluation, Smith System, and pre-trip quiz games.

Lunch was mammoth sub sandwiches & choice of chips.

They put me on the road again today with a fellow student who is returning to trucking after a hiatus of several years. He makes it look so easy!! I continue to improve my shifting every time I get behind the wheel. I can now up-shift pretty reliably (90% of the time) and am learning which gears are appropriate for what speed. Down-shifting is still the biggest challenge for me. I have not yet learned to plan my stop to be in third gear when I arrive at the place I want to stop or to be in 5th for a turn. It is often difficult to match the revolutions and engage the desired gear, but sometimes I can string 3 or 4 sweet shifts in a row. As well, if I leave it in the same gear (except tenth) for some time, I will forget what gear I’m in, and be lost until reminded, and it takes me a long time to get it right in my head as to what to do. I must also work on overcoming my tendency to ride the white line on the right-hand shoulder. I guess it’s a better bad habit to have than being too close to the centerline! My instructor said I was actually ahead of the curve for someone with no previous experience. I was quite surprised to hear that. I judge my own performance as “very poor, but improving steadily and continuously”. To hear that someone as uncoordinated as me is ahead of the average in this coordination-dependent skill is hard to get my head around, but uplifting to know. I remember learning to make a C chord on my guitar; I had to use my right hand to place the fingers of my left hand in the correct positions on the strings, but I worked at it until it became second nature and will do likewise with this. I SHALL TAME THIS BEAST THAT IS THE EATON-FULLER TEN-SPEED TRANSMISSION! I still give myself about an 80% chance at a white hat, and 0% chance of leaving this place without a CDL.

Riding the white line isn't a bad thing at all. You'll understand this when you get passed by someone with a cellphone and an important phone call or while being passed by a set of doubles or triplesin Wyoming on nice windy day... I still ride the white line and it's not to give me more room to mess up but others... Cause they do.

Thanks, Cwc, I agree, but my instructor repeatedly mentioned it, so I must take the instruction and comply. I presume myself to be in error, and learning how things look from my new perspective much higher off the pavement than I am accustomed to.

Day Twelve

We are down to about 27, losing two punks today disrupting class with their cell phones during a video about not using your cell phone while driving. I hate to see anyone lose their job, but these two clearly did not want to be there, and didn’t have the courtesy to turn off their phones or just leave of their own volition. They got what they wanted and deserved. Of the other six missing since last I counted, one left for a death in his family, the rest I have no idea why they left.

Today was a milestone: Smith System test. I was among 8 that aced it with full marks, and right proud of the achievement. Most others passed it. The few that failed will re-test tomorrow at 0500.

Lunch was hamburgers and chips. This time they served two meat patties apiece, and that made for a more satisfying meal than last time we had burgers. This afternoon was backing practice; I took two turns at the wheel. First turn, I did the blind-side offset and the 90° alley dock. Second turn I did just the 90. I am well pleased - I completed all maneuvers with very limited coaching. When not driving, we practiced pre-trip inspections, focusing mostly on the in-cab portions and air brake test. The air brake test is critical. On other portions, one may miss up to a certain number of items and still pass, but a single missed item on the air brake test constitutes failure.

We are divided into two groups for tomorrow. My group convenes at 0615, so I shall take an early bedtime tonight.

Day Thirteen

The two that were ejected from class yesterday returned today. I guess they have been given a good scare, and likely will not be disrupting class again.

The class was divided into two groups, one for the morning session, and one for the afternoon. I was with the morning group. We started at 0615, rotated between road, range, and practice pre-trips until lunch, and were set free for the afternoon. Lunch was a hotdog and choice of chips, and we were free for the afternoon.

I am writing over and over my spiel for the pre-trip inspections, as well as rehearsing them aloud. I am sure I will have them down pat by test day.

I had an ‘off’ day on the road this morning. I didn’t sleep well last night, and just couldn’t seem to get my head on straight. I did get some good feedback from my instructor, though, and learned that to prevent “dumping the clutch” I should up-shift between 1200-1400 rpm, and that I should downshift around 1000 rpm. For some reason, I had lots of problems getting into 7th gear. I would either get ninth instead or shove it against the divider between 7 and 9. I’ll get better, I am sure.

Recovery when I lose track of what gear I am in: Determine what gear I SHOULD be in, and put it there.

50+mph - 10th

40-50mph - 9th

30-40mph - 8th

20-30mph - 7th

10-20mph - 6th

5-10mph/cornering - 5th

2-5mph - 4th

Start/stop - 3rd

Backing up, I did well. I am not nearly perfect, but certainly passing.

Day Thirteen

This is our last day of classroom/didactic training. Today we learned about the FMCSA BASICs, reviewed PTI with a fill-in-the-blank of the complete test, and reviewed backing.

Lunch was chicken, potato salad, and a dinner roll.

We were released after lunch.

I have tomorrow and Tuesday to master my shifting, and will begin my test on Wednesday. I will get as much time on the road as I can, and attend one-on-one if available. Each student has his own challenges, but I believe that all of us will pass with proper application of effort. This week we will begin at 0615 every day. One tests each station in turn, and must pass each before moving on to the next. First is pre-trip inspection , then backing, then the road test.

Roomie passed his road test today! WOOT!! I am proud of him. He worked hard for it. Bravo zulu.

What is the Smith System?

@ Chris K.

From their website: https://www.drivedifferent.com/our-history/

In 1952, Harold Smith established the Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, the nation’s first professional driver training company. He understood that most collisions are preventable if the right driving habits are learned, practiced and applied consistently. Since then, millions of drivers throughout the world have benefited from the program he developed.

Today Smith System® is the leading provider of collision avoidance driver training. Our instructors continue to study and master techniques that are essential to understanding driver behavior. With a focus on collision prevention through hands-on training, the proven Smith System concepts help fleet drivers to See, Think and React to driving challenges — no matter where they drive or what type of vehicle they operate.

Smith System delivers behind the wheel instruction to tens of thousands of fleet drivers each year. We have presented our programs in 98 countries and in 17 languages around the world. In the past decade, we have provided services to more than half of the current Fortune 500® fleets.

In addition to on-road training and an extensive video and DVD library, Smith System offers E-Learning and fleet monitoring. With 6 decades of proven results, we are proud to be the only company in the industry that guarantees the quality of our training.

Day Fifteen - Crunch Time

Crunch time means road time for me, with a bit of backing just for fun, and pre-trip to occupy the waiting between. … or so I thought when I wrote that last night!

For today’s first road driving time, I was a nervous wreck. My confidence shot for road driving, but still high for backing, I asked the range instructor about surrendering my range time for another time on the road. He recommended I just go through their rotation as programmed, which I did, and am glad for it. I got served a nice fat slice of humble pie on the range. I made mistakes, and learned from them. Had I went on the road instead, I would have lost this valuable learning opportunity.

My second time on the road I feel I am back where I was on day before yesterday. Where I judged myself previously “very poor, but improving steadily and continuously”; I now upgrade myself to “poor, but improving”. They assigned remedial lessons for the worst performers on the range, having no instructors available for remedial road training. I was not among those assigned remedial range training. There’s also the possibility that I am indeed my own worst critic, and actually doing better than I think. I talked to an ‘upper echelon’ trainer to as his email address to inform him of this diary to append to my student survey, and he asked me what my weak spots were. I told him, and he taught me a couple of exercises (clutch-rev-clutch to get the feel for 400rpm for downshifting, and dry-shifting to improve my speed and coordination for the task) to perform in the tractor we use for PTI practice. I did these until my leg hurt, and then did an in-cab and air brake test, then more exercises, another in-cab, and then a third round of exercises. I predict significant improvement for tomorrow, and looking forward to finding out just how much better I will do.

Since only 36 hours until I test, I now give myself about even odds at a white hat, and near certainty of completion by Friday.

While waiting my turn on the range, I was given a mock PTI form “C”. I missed several points, but reviewed them and I am very confident that I will have PTI down by test day.

Day Sixteen - Testing Starts Tomorrow

Had a great time on my first road trip today; I still lack polish, but I feel I am ready to test and will do well, especially if I go in 'fresh'.

Backing practice went well enough. I need simply to think, but not over-think, and just do it. I shall pass this, too.

Second road trip today I wanted to “show off” my improvement to an instructor I had previously driven with. LOL! I got sloppy and was uncoordinated. I believe I was simply tired from standing on the tarmac and the earlier practice, because I had it all straight in my head. I am confident that going in tomorrow, I will be fresh and ready to do well.

I will re-write my PTIs from start to finish once more, just for fun, hopefully get some sleep tonight, get up tomorrow and do my best, hope for the best, and cope with the rest. I am ready.