My Failure And Learning Experience

Alright, this will be my first post on here, but it's long overdue. I've been reading blogs, articles,and forum posts in here for months. Deciding if I want to be a truck driver, if I can be a truck driver,and if I should attempt to do this. I applied through the application on the site here and was contacted within three hours by five companies. Within 24 hours i was contacted by 10 companies. I spoke to a few, and did my due diligence in reading reviews online, forum posts, and the company review section here. I ended up choosing one.. TMC.

This post by no means will be saying anything negative about anyone but myself. I went through the application processes, got my DOT medical card and passed my permit tests (failed all three on the first try, passed all three on the second). TMC worked diligently with me through this process and was always very respectful and helpful. Even got a call from one of their managers just to talk to me about my choice. Now that manager call may have been a mini interview over the phone, but it seemed like the guy wanted to just chat about trucking with me. Either way the company, in my experience, was incredible.

Fast forward to day before orientation day. This is where my failure begins. I have the rental car (no buses.. What a godsend), and I'm making my way to Iowa, about a 14 hour drive for me. About two hours in I start experiencing heavy anxiety. I have generalized anxiety (not medicated). I end up turning around and going back home.. 10 hours of torture. I was to pick up one other guy, but told him I couldn't make it.. That's the part I feel the worst about. Potentially messing up this guy's start date, or causing him to be late.

I called recruiting, told them exactly why I couldn't make it,and drove home. I paid for the rental, which was my responsibility at that point. No argument there. And get a call from TMC the following day. They called to say that they understood why I didn't come to orientation. They thanked me for being honest, and not getting behind the wheel with unchecked anxiety. They even invited me back to a future orientation once I got the anxiety in check. Wow. Just.. Blown away. Incredible company, bar none. I don't know if this is because I'm in my late 20s with zero moving violations ever, a completely clean mvr , or what. But I'm floored. If you're reading this and considering a company to start with, I have to recommend TMC.

Last bit. Does anyone else here suffer from anxiety? I seemed to have particular trouble on the road. But I want to overcome this. I'm dedicated to getting a job in trucking, and just curious if anyone has a similar experience? Thanks for putting up with my novella of failure here. Love the website guys..

P.S. If anyone working at TMC sees this, sorry again.. I didn't mean to waste anyone's time or resources. Thank you all for treating me so well, at least over the phone. You're what any company should hope to be.

If you can learn to control your anxiety without mess you will have a much easier time. Do you know the root cause of your anxiety? What do you fear? There are many thi gs out here to mess up your plans. Truck or trailer needs repair, unexpected traffic, crazy drivers, emergency calls from home and so much more. Sometimes your best plans blow up in your face due to something completely out of your control. Good luck.

Honestly, I believe it's just lack of interstate time. I don't travel much, and I dont have a wide history of traveling via the interstates for even short amounts of time.

Maybe it's as simple as desensitization to it, but could be as bad as needing medication. If need be, I'll take medication for it. I don't like the idea of meds, but if that's what it takes, I'll do it. I ironically handle emergency situations very well. I remember hitting a deer in my SUV a few years ago, it didn't really phase me that bad at all. I simply pulled over calmly and assessed the situation. Thanks for the reply though.

I was afraid this post would come off as a pity party, and that's not at all the what I intended. Just a bit of a confessional, and advice seeking.

If you can avoid meds that would be better as far as truck driving is concerned. It may be time to take a trip of 100 miles out and back. That should put you on the interstate a bit. Interstates are easiest to drive until you get around big cities. Good luck.

Keep in mind the level of anxiety driving to orientation in a rental car is nothing compared to what you're going to feel your first month or so solo and you happen to miss a turn in a major city trying to find a shipper/receiver. This situation happened to me in Baltimore, staying calm and trying to find a place to turn around took some real effort.