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Post by truckertom on Jan 12, 2004 22:19:08 GMT -5
Today after my students were finished taking their driving tests (94,96 and 98 scores) we decided to watch the students from the other school (the name will remain unsaid). The parallel parking is done in front of the DPS (DMV) in a fairly small area, but yet it is large enough if you know what you are doing.
The other student somehow climbed the curb WITH THE TRACTOR wheels on the left side duels, so he corrected by truning hard right, and then ran his TRAILOR DUELS OVER THE SAME CURB farther down the lane! How do you do something lake that? The funny part of this specticle is his instructor was standing watching like nothing was wrong!
If I ever had a student that bad, I would hide in the rest room of the DPS (DMV) 'til it was over. I would hang my head in shame. But that is not all.
When they went to leave, he pulled out using the wrong turn signal, and ran clean over the curb and a guy wire attached to a telephone pole! The next student failed as well from the same school, and all their instructor had to say was "I guess we will try again tomorow".
God help us all.
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Post by fozzie on Jan 20, 2004 13:30:25 GMT -5
That's a scary story, Tom! I don't have a funny story... yet. But I'm sure I'll have something to share by the time I finish the course in mid May. We have a policy at the school I'm attending that if you run any wheels over a curb, even on campus, you have to bring donuts (or some other treat) for the class. It's a friendly way of keeping everyone on their toes. (seems to work too)
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Post by truckertom on Jan 23, 2004 19:32:22 GMT -5
Fozzy
I used to make students stop the truck and apoligize to the curb they just ran over......It seemed to make an impact but I am too old to do that so we have a trophy we hand out for the week to whoever wins the "Widow Maker" competition. This is a right hand turn that HAS to be done perfect or you hit a curb. So who ever goes around it with the least curbings holds the trophy until graduation.
And they also get to bump the tires for the term with my "Hebrew Hammer". It's fun.
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Post by Scott on Feb 16, 2004 12:11:22 GMT -5
If a student runs over a cone in the yard I make him/her stop the truck, set the brakes, put on the 4-ways, and give the cone CPR. Students learn REAL QUICK to avoid that cone. I do this on all maneuvers, not just the right hand turn.
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Post by flyboy2610 on Feb 17, 2004 0:36:29 GMT -5
When I was in school, we had three students and the instructor in the truck. We had stopped at the Sapp Bros. in Omaha to fuel, and one of the other students was driving. (This was week three of a four week course.) We were pulling out when the intructor hollered "Oh, sh#t!!" and pulled the air brake knobs. The student looked at him and asked "Why'd you do that?" The instuctor said "So i wouldn't die in the fire caused by the diesel pump you are 6 inches from wiping out!!!" The student looked in his mirror and asked "So what do I do now?" The instructor put his head in his hands and slowly shook it.
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Post by truckertom on Feb 17, 2004 23:10:36 GMT -5
Oh I have had days like that. What I love about it is when the student tries to place the blame somewher else. Like the tree that has been standing in the same place fo 60 years suddenly jumped out in front of the studnet.....that's right. Blame the tree!
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Post by Charles on Feb 17, 2004 23:34:40 GMT -5
If I ever make it to driving school, I am really worried about making tight turns in city traffic (even more so than backing), especially turns to the right where it's hard to see that obstacle leaping into the side of the trailer...parked cars, telephone poles, etc. Last week I was talking to a guy who drove OTR for ten years or so. He claimed to have been in NYC where a Subaru was illegally parked at a busy intersection and he got "stuck" trying to make the right turn. Supposedly the cops told him to just go ahead anyway since there was too much stalled traffic to redirect and back up, and he put his tandems right across the hood and flattened it, and the flattened Subaru was then ticketed. Sounds like one of those truckin' tall tales... who knows. I'd have thought the trailer would overturn if one side were suddenly raised two feet!Or could this really have happened?
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Post by Scott on Feb 18, 2004 7:12:54 GMT -5
No, Charles, that sounds about right. A few years ago I was down in the South Bronx, (windows up, doors locked tight!), when a truck in front of me was making a right turn. There was a Beemer parked on the corner right in the middle of a no parking zone. This guys wagon went over the hood and made perfect tire tracks over this Beemers hood. The cops came and told the truck driver to keep going. The BMW owner was cited and had to pay to get his now muck flatter car out of there.
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Post by flyboy2610 on Feb 18, 2004 17:23:58 GMT -5
;D ;D ;D
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Post by truckertom on Feb 22, 2004 12:37:42 GMT -5
"The BMW owner was cited and had to pay to get his now muck flatter car out of there."
They need to have signs posted "double park at your own risk"! They do doublepark in NYC alot.
I had a friend fail a company driving test because he had to take it in a Cabover, and he had never driven one before....that is a bad time to learn how to drive a cabover on a driving test. He was nearly sideswiping the parked cars going down the street.
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Post by truckertom on Feb 26, 2004 21:40:28 GMT -5
Had a day off today, so one of the other instructors took a problem student to test. After about a mile the examiner told the problem student to pull to the side of the road so he did and ran over a 2003 Toyota. No one in the car but the damage is done.
There are always going to be a few that will never be truckers, these need washed out. Owners never ever see it this way. They see the time spent and the money invested in a student as the bottom line. Now tommorow, he is going to try it again.....what if he hits a pedestrian this time?
But the money men run truck driving schools, not the instructors.
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