Fifth Day of Training
Fifth Day of Training went well. We spent half a day driving solo with our driving instructor and the other half of the day driving on the simulators and learning pre trip inspection procedures.
I drove 105 miles today around town and out in the country. Out on the four lane highway you cannot even tell you are in a semi, but in town you know real quick you are in one. It takes special knowledge to move one of those big trucks around in town, making turns while missing curbs, telephone poles, and other things that are not a problem for cars. The granny gears are something to get used to. You need them in order to move the heavy loads of freight but getting used to shifting at 3, 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, 45, and 55 and at what rpm is a bit to tuck under your hat. Yes, that is 10 gears. Before you start to make a turn when coming out of a light, you have to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear, you are not allowed to change gear during the turn.
Another thing that a lot of people do that you cannot do in a truck is run a yellow light. If the light turns yellow you have to stop since the truck is so long.
The simulators made me a bit dizzy and nauseous, but it was an experience. We had to drive through a simulated warehouse, following the signs without hitting anything. A parking lot was also simulated that we had to drive through without hitting any cars, trucks, and other objects that were there, including pedestrians.
Tomorrow is another half day of driving and a half day of simulators. I have been driving in the mornings and doing the simulators in the afternoon.
I drove 105 miles today around town and out in the country. Out on the four lane highway you cannot even tell you are in a semi, but in town you know real quick you are in one. It takes special knowledge to move one of those big trucks around in town, making turns while missing curbs, telephone poles, and other things that are not a problem for cars. The granny gears are something to get used to. You need them in order to move the heavy loads of freight but getting used to shifting at 3, 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, 45, and 55 and at what rpm is a bit to tuck under your hat. Yes, that is 10 gears. Before you start to make a turn when coming out of a light, you have to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear, you are not allowed to change gear during the turn.
Another thing that a lot of people do that you cannot do in a truck is run a yellow light. If the light turns yellow you have to stop since the truck is so long.
The simulators made me a bit dizzy and nauseous, but it was an experience. We had to drive through a simulated warehouse, following the signs without hitting anything. A parking lot was also simulated that we had to drive through without hitting any cars, trucks, and other objects that were there, including pedestrians.
Tomorrow is another half day of driving and a half day of simulators. I have been driving in the mornings and doing the simulators in the afternoon.
posted by RickSmith | 6:50 PM
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