Memphis Bound!!!

Thank you guys for the advice! I need to just focus and do the best I can. Turtle, It's good to know that they only fail you for THAT day and don't just go "Whelp you failed so see ya!". I am probably working myself up honestly. Just have to focus on one obstacle at a time.

When I went through Schneider orientation, a 3 week program we showed up and was paired with another student driver and an instructor. The first thing we did after paperwork and everything else was taken care of was hit the road. When we got back we went straight to pre-trip. The driver I was paired with had minimal knowledge of the pre-trip. It was nowhere near where it should of been. It baffled the instructors. He immediately owned up to it and pleaded that he would do whatever it took to get up to speed and be able to continue on. In his mind, and mine to be honest there was no doubt he was going home. By this time it was lunch and they told him and the rest of us to go eat for now. He stayed in the yard and studied out of the book given to us. When our instructor returned they told him he was fine but need to get up to speed. And by the end of the week he was. Now flip the script, had he had a bad, combative attitude about he probably would of been sent home. So go in there with a good, positive, can do attitude and they are going to work with you. They are not expecting you to be an expert. Good luck and try to have some fun.

I taught "trucking" at the Swift Memphis Academy until late last year. Right after I left, the company made a big change in how the program worked.

So in a way, this is old information. There was a pass/ no pass test for all new students on the second day. You must back your truck in a straight line, between lane lines, for about 100 feet.

I'll assume this "hurdle" is still there, but some of this advice is good for regular backing.

First, the pass or not requirement makes some people crazy. Some can't handle the stress of driving that 53' long trailer backwards. Just remember most people do pass, very few go home. (Swift will buy your bus ticket.)

Here's what I told people: first, when a juggler juggles tennis balls, she never looks at her hands - they already "know" what to do, the juggler is watching and timing his hands by what she sees as the balls fly overhead. The key here is observe. You have a trailer to watch. You can only be successful if you do two things: move your head back and forth between both left and right mirrors as quickly as a windshield wiper moves. Left-right-left-right almost non stop. Make sure you look at the distance between the trailer tires and the lane lines. They must be equal. If the tires start to drift to one side, say, left, you then the steering wheel 1/2 turn to the left.

Your instructors may say "Turn to the trouble."

That is so true.

Now part two of this: just as a juggler keeps the balls moving in a regular pattern so she knows where they are, when you turn the wheel left towards the "trouble", I guarantee the "trouble" will quickly swing to the right. But you know that, you'll see it coming and be ready to twist the wheel back to the right when it gets there.

If you expect that "trouble", it's no longer trouble, it is a tool you can use to pass the test.

Best of luck. Keep us posted in the training diary section of the forum.