First Time Out Was Challenging.

I cracked up at the part about your wife too. Women sure know how to keep ya calm and confident in a crisis don't they???

Yup, like when my wife and I first got our in helmet communication devices for the motorcycle. We are going down the road when all of a sudden at the top of her lungs she yells DEEEEEEEER!

Startled me so bad I'm surprised I didn't lay the bike over

Woody

Well off to WV I go. Again I got caught in the snow on my way down but I felt a lot more confident. By the time I got into WV it was sleet. Got a load in Virginia heading back to Orlando and to be honest the rest of the trip went pretty smooth. Made back to my terminal on Thanksgiving Day. A day late but my DM did try his hardest to get me back the day before Thanksgiving.

I know it's a lot of reading but I hope this little story can also help the new guy out in understanding the small things that can go wrong and how to deal with them. Constant communication with your DM is key. I also guess I'm lucky to have a really good DM.

Things I learned on my first time out.

1) Patience. It comes in real handy when dealing with the shop or anyone else for that matter.

2) Driving in snow is not as bad as I thought. It does make things a little interesting but as long as you take nice and easy you will be ok. Also know when it's just too much and it's time to pull over. It never got that bad though.

3) Read all the road signs. Very important. Read them all lol.

4) Do not depend 100% on GPS. I compared the route on the GPS to my Atlas. Twice I had to deviate slightly from what the GPS showed to avoid a restricted route.

5) Even though I have talked too other drivers and met new people it still gets lonely out there. I missed my wife and daughter tremendously. Things that helped were phone calls and most of all my video chatting app on my phone called Tango. For those brief moments it was like they were there with me. I know I'm new myself but just hang in there.

6) I learned how to float gears on my own. Again not as hard as I thought.

Finally I know there will be new challenges. I'm getting ready now to go out again. I have everything packed in my car and ready to make my 4hr trip later today from Miami to Lakeland. I will keep you guys informed. So overall I must say this is the first job I have ever had that I truly love. I have a passion for driving and I can just keep going out of pure enjoyment if I could. I also love seeing the country. It's a lot more beautiful than what I thought. For now take care everyone and be safe.

Thanks for the stories, it's great to hear from other new drivers about how things are going. And well played on the repair shop. You showed a ton of discipline and handled that better than a lot of drivers would have.

About every driver I have talked to has said they locked their keys in the truck, most did it early on like you did. Since you admitted to it I will share my story with you, and I'm not even in a truck yet lol.

I was in cdl school the last few weeks. My morning routine was to stop at the gas station beside my motel for coffee then off to school. First I need to say that I am anal about my keys. Normally can't lock my truck until my hand is on the keys in my pocket and i usually have an extra key in my pocket for all my vehicles. But my personal truck has a keypad, so I often lock it and let it run to warm up while I get my morning beverage. Well you guessed it, I go out to get in my truck and the key pad won't work!

Luckily a police officer pulls up about 10 minutes later. He doesn't have time to help me (off duty going to appointment) but gives me the number to the local office and they send someone out within 5 minutes. He opened my truck and I was on my way. About 20 minutes late to class, and frustrated, but at least I wouldn't have to make up a day.

It wasn't till the following day that I realized I had turned a couple numbers around. It was early, I was tired and stressed and had been trying to enter the wrong code

I never fessed up to that part of it in school.

Woody

Yeah I figured losing my temper would get me no where so I just bit my tongue and let my DM know. As far as the keys go my Expedition has that keyless entry and I always lock the doors with the truck running. I actually forgot the code to get in once. Funny thing is my daughter knows every code and pin number that my wife and I have so I called her and she told me the code to get in lol. I just don't know how she retains all that info.

I'll pretend I didn't read that.......

I cracked up at the part about your wife too. Women sure know how to keep ya calm and confident in a crisis don't they???

No comment! LOL!! This story is great. I'm in that gray area between rookie and experienced, set up for orientation with Knight, and trying to get info. on them. (Real info., not stuff from a "can't do" guy but a "git-er-done" kinda person. This HONEST post is great reading, informative, and very, very appreciated. Wish I had found all you positive people sooner.

Yup, like when my wife and I first got our in helmet communication devices for the motorcycle. We are going down the road when all of a sudden at the top of her lungs she yells DEEEEEEEER!

Startled me so bad I'm surprised I didn't lay the bike over

Woody

OMG! I thought that I was the only one that had that happen!