Truck Driving School, Day 5 (Powerpoint is awesome!)

I feel that before I delve into Day 5, I need to apologize to my school & instructor for my depiction of Day 4; I spend the better part of a paragraph downplaying the early-morning instruction, and less than one sentence backpedaling and stressing its importance. Being knowledgeable about the history of this industry is important, for several reasons. It instills respect, for the pioneers of this industry and for those still on the road who have been driving for 25-40 years; it lends a greater appreciation to the advancements made in trucking technology and to the infrastructure that allows us to get from Point A to Point B, and provides us with historical lessons and experiences that we can learn from and use to better ourselves, ultimately earning greater profits for ourselves, our families, and companies, of course. I think that those who make time to learn and appreciate the history and traditions of an industry, this industry, will respect it more and find themselves in the upper echelons of this business and their companies. With that said, on to...

Day 5

Entire day spent in the classroom. We covered HAZMAT, Transportation Technology, Compliance-Safety-Accountability (CSA), Driver Health, Safety, & Security, and lastly, Whistleblower Protections for Professional Drivers. All are chapters in the textbook, Delmar's Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Training. Each chapter began with a powerpoint presentation, which are awesome. We then spent time reading through the chapter in the textbook, and concluded each section with a quiz. I began to ignore the powerpoint presentations and just began reading immediately through the chapters, because even though I love powerpoint, I find it mildly irritating to look at the display on the screen while someone simply reads it back to us. And besides, there are plenty of useful tips and interesting facts in the margins of the text that I probably wouldn't have had time to read if I hadn't gotten a head start. I also became more familiar with the material that way, which led to near-perfect quiz scores. And by the way, it's a private school, we all paid big money to be here, so pretty much everyone is going to pass the quizzes anyway. 

With regard to the chapter on Transportation Technology, technology in the trucking industry must be Sponsored by Volvo and Qualcomm, because it seems like those two companies are responsible for 99% of the advances made in the past 10 years. The chapter on Compliance, Safety, & Accountability was a hodgepodge of acronyms...CSA, FMCSA, SMS, CR, CRWG, BASIC, DSMS, PSP, MCMIS, FOIA, COMPASS... were all introduced in this chapter; I needed a cheat-sheet to refer to just to keep up while reading the dang chapter. 

The last exercise of the day was quite fun: we were given a 57-question worksheet where we had to familiarize ourselves with by consulting the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations handbook/pocketbook. This green book is the Bible of the trucking industry's safety regulations. Each question was prefaced with the FMCSR code where we could find the correct answer, but sometimes we had to read through the entire code, including all of its letters and roman numerals or subparts, to determine the correct answer. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to compile that handbook. I have new appreciation for Rick S., who always seems to be able to cite codes from this book almost as quickly as someone can post their question on the General Forum. 

Looks like all of next week is going to be spent in the classroom, so the diary may lean towards the dry side, but I'll do my best to keep it interesting. I know that Monday we're going to cover Hours of Service; I'm going to have to find a way to entertain myself as I've already spent easily a week studying/reviewing/quizzing on the HOS on my own by engaging in... what else... the best online trucking resource available today... don't make me say it twice... The High Road Training Program's Hours of Service Regulations beginning on p. 92.

More Feedback From Readers of My Training Diary

Well, the title of this post is pretty self-explanatory, not much else to add, so here they are:


"Congrats on the testing."  -ChosenOne

"I am testing for my permit next week, the soonest I could make an appointment. I hate waiting at DMV , the lines are relentless and since I am testing, no electronics allowed, so it would be boring."  -ChosenOne

"Congrats on acing all of those tests! That's amazing. Awesome job!"  -Brett Aquila (he's the creator and genius of the Trucking Truth website!)

"Hey man, thanks for sharing your experiences with SAGE. I'm starting there myself on Monday in Missoula. Too bad you didn't choose there instead of Billings, we could've been in the same class. Oh well, maybe I'll see you on the road sometime."  -Lunchbox Jr.

My reply:  "Lunchbox Jr., thanks for reading! I wonder how closely your curriculum will follow mine? Yeah, it is too bad you didn't choose Billings for your own SAGE experience, now it's going to be really really difficult for me to buy you a beer. I was thinking I might make it to Missoula on a training run, but I don't think our instructors will allow us to drive 5 1/2 hrs. from our training center. Not entirely sure our tractor trailers could make it that far anyway! Do you plan on staying in the area after you get your CDL , or will you be going OTR? Looks like I'm the only one in my class who is going OTR , everyone else seems to be set with local jobs. One guy is getting into the oilfields. I do hope your class isn't as large as mine (8); normal size appears to be 3-4. At any rate, good luck, and I hope you're taking advantage of the online CDL materials available on this site. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a big fan! A certifiable 'homer.' Not embarrassed about it, either. We'll stay in touch!"

And his reply to my reply:  "Hey, Pete. I was thinking about going into OTR most likely. I want to live out of my truck and rake in the miles for a few years and hopefully pay for a house with cash. No need to worry about home time if your home is the truck! 

I don't think the class sizes in Missoula are very big because when I visited the class at sign-up, there was only one guy and the teacher in the class room! So that'll be cool having a smaller class size. I think it might be because the competitively priced college class takes most of the students around the area. The main reason I went with Sage instead of the college is I didn't know the college had a program until I signed up! Oh well, I decided to stay with Sage because the college's class is fairly new, and Sage has been doing this for awhile and is a recognizable name in the industry. I'm kind of hoping that helps out somewhat."

"Pete really informative diary thus far. I read your point about the brake test; it's a common failure point for students because it must be done in an exact order, with exact wording, a progression of steps. Forget one seemingly minor step, or execute it out of order, and it's a fail.


Keep up the good work!"  -G-Town

My reply:  "G-Town, thanks for the reply. I'm taking it to heart; I won't allow myself to get over-confident with the brakes test."

Truck Driving School, Day 4 (history is good; so is coffee)

Day 4

Today was spent mostly in the classroom. I admit, I felt a bit of dejection when the instructor played a video right away… it was a copy of a Modern Marvels episode from The History Channel featuring trucks. Yes, it was very interesting, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, “How is this going to help me obtain my CDL, or benefit me a year from now, when I’m solo in a truck?” I feel like my time is limited, and I want every minute that I’m in school to somehow serve one of those two purposes. We then covered several chapters in our textbook, “Delmar’s Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Training,” taking several quizzes afterwards. Again, I found myself thinking, “how is knowing that CDLs becoming a requirement due to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 or that workhorses that pulled multi-passenger carts were the forerunners of buses, or that the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 established the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as a separate agency from the DOT is FALSE… going to benefit my truck driving career?” I made my peace with it by deciding that it’s a good thing to know the history of what you’re getting into. And history does intrigue me. With every company I’ve vetted, I’ve been sure to read about the history of the company. And history is powerful knowledge. So in the end, I was happy to have seen the video. Although I would have rather been in a truck, backing into fences and things. 

The afternoon was action-packed: we very thoroughly covered the pre-trip inspection process. We were led through a power-point presentation, which was lovely, followed along in our textbooks, received good insight into what the DOT inspectors would be looking for, went outside and observed the full pre-trip inspection process being performed on a tractor trailer, and then went back inside and watched it again in a video. In short, we were given all of the tools necessary to successfully complete the pre-trip for a graded score required for our CDL. No one fails the pre-trip, according to our instructor, but students have been failed on the brakes test (yes, which is part of the pre-trip). That, I don’t get. The brakes test seems to me far less complicated and involved than everything you need to know about pre-tripping the engine, in-cab, and front, sides, and back of the tractor and trailer.

There were several highlights for me in seeing a pre-trip performed on the tractor trailer: 1) seeing the push-rod and slack adjuster for the first time, NOT IN PICTURES, but in real life; 2) observing the lack of space between the 5th wheel and platform; I know, I know, everything I’ve read has said that there should be NO SPACE between them, but seriously, you couldn’t fit a hair between the two. The Incans couldn’t have done a better job with their walls; and 3) watching the trailer air supply valve and then the tractor protection valve or parking brake valve pop out when the air pressure was fanned below 40 psi. It’s one thing to read about it, it’s quite another to see it done in practicum. 

We also received training in an endorsement that will NEVER EVER appear on any of our licenses… the Coffee Pot Endorsement. When the pot runs out or is dangerously low, there was a diagram on the board showing how to empty and replace the filter with coffee, and fill the water reservoir, with a reminder even that an EMPTY pot should be placed under the spout, thusly keeping the instructors happy with a constant supply of the black liquid gold.

Day 4 is in the books.

Truck Driving School, Day 3 (testing at DMV)

Day 3

Took my five written tests this morning at the DMV: General Knowledge, Combos, Air Brakes, Doubles/Triples, and Tankers... perfect scores on all of them! Didn't answer a single question wrong... the lady looked up from her computer when she pulled up my scores and said, "Wow! Nobody hardly ever does that here!" She made me feel pretty good. I asked her if I was going to get a free donut for that, but sadly, she said no. I owe the outstanding preparation to... wait for it... The High Road Training Program as well as the CDL Practice Tests. The previous two days had been spent mostly reviewing everything I'd already studied and learned, with additional online and hard-copy practice tests provided by my SAGE trucking school filling in the gaps, adding state-specific material. I had to keep my emotions in check however, as the fellow student who drove us to the DMV failed two of his tests. I had spoken so highly of Trucking Truth's great prep material that he asked me for the links to the sites, so of course I was happy to provide them. 

I spent the remainder of the morning applying for my HAZMAT endorsement, and TWIC card. Don't know if I'll need the TWIC card, but figure while I'm here, I may as well knock it out. I'd hate to have to refuse a load because I'm not authorized to gain access to a port facility. That only took about an hour, and since the school didn't have anything else planned for the rest of the day, I got off pretty early. That gives me plenty of time to follow up on applications, update the diary, look at the pre-trip (again), go for a short run, then take a short swim followed by a dip in the hot tub before I retire for the evening. May as well enjoy this life while I can, because soon enough I'll be living out of a steel box!

Truck Driving School, Day 2 (putting fast food to rest)

Day 2

Spent today reviewing pretty much the same information as yesterday, but answering practice test questions on paper instead of on the computer; I think I prefer the paper practice tests, because after completing them, I used them as review or study guides, making plenty of notes in the margins next to questions. The day started earlier, but the class was released earlier; I stayed over an hour after everyone else left answering more review questions on the computer. I take my written tests in the morning for my CDL permit and the tanker and doubles/triples endorsements. The HAZMAT endorsement will be taken later in the course, after fingerprinting and background checks have been performed. 

This isn't related to the course, but I decided after eating lunch at Taco John's today that that might be the last time I'm going to eat out while I'm here, and at least the last fast-food meal I'm going to buy. I never eat fast food, but wasn't prepared to eat anything else today. So, after class I walked to the nearest Wally World two miles away, bought a bag of baby spinach & kelp, small whole carrots, broccoli, apples, lunchmeat, cheese, and yogurt. I had already stocked up on bread and bananas on a previous visit. I may as well start eating now the way I want to eat when I'm in my truck. It's definitely much healthier, and cheaper. The class is only a 10 min. walk from my hotel, so at lunch I'll just walk back to my room to eat lunch. When I do get into my truck, I'm sure I'll be hitting Old School up for his smoked pheasant and 19-bean southwestern soup crock-pot recipes.

Truck Driving School, Day 1 (orientation... what else?)

Day 1

Orientation occupied the first hour; names, welcome, hello, packet including FMCSR (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations) pocketbook/handbook, a rather thick textbook: Delmar's Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Training, 4th edition, and some forms to fill out. Next, straight to the computers where the rest of the day was spent taking practice tests for the CDL permits, including every endorsement except 'passenger' and 'school bus.' I left for two hours to get my drug screen and DOT physical. When I returned, it was back to the computer to finish the practice tests. 

I think everybody but me had received 'homework' prior to today's first class, to prep them for the CDL written tests. I didn't get it because I was out of the country until 10 days ago. Anyway, a minimum score of 80% is needed to pass the DMV written tests... my lowest score was an 83, and that was because there were only 10 questions on that test, and two of them were on something I'd never heard of, that the converter dollies are equipped with ABS brakes... so I whiffed on those. HOWEVER, because I spent so much time on the High Road Training Program, I passed all of the tests with ease, scoring many 90s, 95s, and 100s. Some of the questions were worded EXACTLY like the questions on the CDL practice testsfound  here. For anyone considering trucking as a career, I cannot stress enough how important it is to study the High Road and work through the CDL practice tests. You'll be way ahead of the game, and to quote the site founder, Brett Aquila, "Hard work early on in your career preparing for the testing and then your time on the road really pays off in a big way. It's nice to have the written stuff totally under control so you can focus on the next set of challenges."  Amen.

me w/Rachel, who began working with me in December, getting me into the SAGE truck driving school

Feedback From Experienced Drivers

Earlier I mentioned that I'm culling these posts from an online diary I kept on the Trucking Truth website, found here... Trucking Truth forum: Diaries; one of the many great benefits of this website is that through its forums it encourages experienced (and inexperienced) truckers to offer feedback, advice, and opinions in response to questions and scenarios posed by wannabe truckers and newbie truckers alike.  This site was my go-to resource for information about the trucking lifestyle, preparing me mentally as well as giving me the necessary tools for obtaining my Commercial Learners' Permit. You are not allowed to drive a truck an inch without a CLP, which is obtained by taking (and passing) a written test at the DMV.

I mention all this because I did receive feedback to my diary posts, which I feel is important to include.  I didn't necessarily listen to all of the advice, but that's my mother's fault, because apparently I got my stubbornness from her, but as you might suspect at this point, all turned out well.  The first response to my diary came from a gentleman who is a well-respected contributor to the Trucking Truth forums, a veteran of the trucking lifestyle...

"Pete a couple of things to consider: 

It is possible that Schneider may have similar pre-qualifications as Jim Palmer and WilTrans. Before signing any school contract I suggest you get a couple of pre-hire letters in place, as follows: 

• Article: Understanding Pre-Hire Letters: The What, Why, And How Of This Important Step
• Trucker's Wiki: "Pre-Hire Letters"
• Forum Topics Tagged "CDL Pre-Hire Letters"

I also want to caution you on tankers. Not trying to dampen your spirits, but tankers, especially food-grade smooth bore tankers offer an additional level of complexity and risk that we recommend rookie drivers seriously consider before making their decision. 

Click this link for additional information: Tanker Surge

Good luck!"

My response to his post follows:

"G-Town, thanks very much for your advice! I have already received four pre-hire letters (Schneider, KLLM, Werner, & Watkins Shepard)... (Schneider owns Watkins Shepard, so maybe that only counts as three pre-hires)... my only concern with Schneider right now is that I'll have to get myself down to one of their hiring centers for tankers to be considered for a job. Their local recruiter has pledged his help with that. Hopefully he's a solid guy and not blowing smoke where the sun don't shine. They hire locally, but for dry vans. Your remarks about pulling tankers are well-received. I am aware of the opportunities they present, but am so dedicated to this line of work feel that as long as they're hiring and training CDL grads, I'm going to take advantage of that, and actually look forward to practicing what I've been reading and learning about pulling tankers. And besides, this forum needs a driver with that type of experience; there's plenty of reefers, dry vans, and flat-bedders here, I haven't heard too much from the tankers! So you might say, I'm doing it also for Trucking Truth!"



So already I'm not following the advice of experienced truckers... big surprise. 

Next:  Day 1 in CDL school