Post by truckertom on Apr 15, 2004 21:10:22 GMT -5
Yesterday, I had to do something I hate to do. I had to toss a student out of my truck!
She was changing lanes in traffic, right to left (lane was ending) and she looked in her drivers side mirror once, truned her left signal on and started her lane change.
Here is the problem:
When you are pulling a 53' trailor behind a standup condo double sleeper, tandem rear end tractor going about 10 mph slower than the speed limit, and the cars are going about 5 mph over the speed limit, you have to pay one hell of alot more attention than you do when you are driving an 18' car. So you don't just look once, or twice, or three times...you look as many times as it takes to know exactly what is going on around your truck.
So after me calling her on this and telling her she did not look enough, she informs me that she looked! And she saw the car. Now, she may have seen the car when it was 50 feet behind her, but the car was about 8 feet off her trailer bumper when she lunged into the left lane...and yes the car sped up as soon and she turned her blinker on.
So here I am, a 27 year veteran of trucking, a 13 year veteran as an instructor, and a student (that has been in an 18 wheeler for 8 days) starts telling me that I don't know what I am talking about! But I let it slide....
Next, I tell her to stay in the middle lane, because if she stays in the right lane she will have to take a right at the split. So what does she do? She gets in the left lane, and nearly hits another car! So I get on her butt again and she again starts with the "white boy, you don't know nuthin'" crap. Did I let it slide? Yes I did....I used my reasoning to just be quite and not say anything hoping she would get her head back into driving.
So we went accross a bridge, turned left and entered the interstate where she enters the right lane in 6th gear going about 35 mph. When the engine hits the governor at about 1700 rpm (this is a 96 freightliner ex-KLM truck) it stops pulling so she pushes farther down on the throttle and then askes why the truck has stopped pulling. So when I explain that she got the engine up against the gov. and there would be no more speed until she shifted into 7th gear.....she starts getting mad and yelling because she expects me to tell he every little thing as we go......All this after she passed a CDL road test the day before!
That is when I lost it! We pulled the truck over and I started telling this idiot that she is too dammed hard headed to listen to me when I do try and give her some advice. So she started yelling "bla bla bla bla" to me like she saying "I'm not listening". (I really don't get paid enough to put up with people that arrive at truck driving school that can't be taught anything).
So I drove the truck back to the yard and told my boss to get her out of my truck, right now, right in front of her, and he did. I GOT HER TOSSED !!. She finished her time with another instructor that doesn't really do much but stop and visit with all her friends, all day long. But this student is out in the big world of trucking after today.
Now, how long do you think someone with an attitude like this is going to last as a driver? The first time she tells her trainer to kiss off this woman is going to be sitting in a truckstop somewhere in Iowa waiting for a ride. The first time she back talks a dispatcher, she will be hauling 200 mile loads that need hand unloaded....that is if she doesn't kill someone first.
She has no idea what awaits her. And BTW, a driving exam awaits her next week, a company driving exam. I hope they wash her out, she deserves it!
She was changing lanes in traffic, right to left (lane was ending) and she looked in her drivers side mirror once, truned her left signal on and started her lane change.
Here is the problem:
When you are pulling a 53' trailor behind a standup condo double sleeper, tandem rear end tractor going about 10 mph slower than the speed limit, and the cars are going about 5 mph over the speed limit, you have to pay one hell of alot more attention than you do when you are driving an 18' car. So you don't just look once, or twice, or three times...you look as many times as it takes to know exactly what is going on around your truck.
So after me calling her on this and telling her she did not look enough, she informs me that she looked! And she saw the car. Now, she may have seen the car when it was 50 feet behind her, but the car was about 8 feet off her trailer bumper when she lunged into the left lane...and yes the car sped up as soon and she turned her blinker on.
So here I am, a 27 year veteran of trucking, a 13 year veteran as an instructor, and a student (that has been in an 18 wheeler for 8 days) starts telling me that I don't know what I am talking about! But I let it slide....
Next, I tell her to stay in the middle lane, because if she stays in the right lane she will have to take a right at the split. So what does she do? She gets in the left lane, and nearly hits another car! So I get on her butt again and she again starts with the "white boy, you don't know nuthin'" crap. Did I let it slide? Yes I did....I used my reasoning to just be quite and not say anything hoping she would get her head back into driving.
So we went accross a bridge, turned left and entered the interstate where she enters the right lane in 6th gear going about 35 mph. When the engine hits the governor at about 1700 rpm (this is a 96 freightliner ex-KLM truck) it stops pulling so she pushes farther down on the throttle and then askes why the truck has stopped pulling. So when I explain that she got the engine up against the gov. and there would be no more speed until she shifted into 7th gear.....she starts getting mad and yelling because she expects me to tell he every little thing as we go......All this after she passed a CDL road test the day before!
That is when I lost it! We pulled the truck over and I started telling this idiot that she is too dammed hard headed to listen to me when I do try and give her some advice. So she started yelling "bla bla bla bla" to me like she saying "I'm not listening". (I really don't get paid enough to put up with people that arrive at truck driving school that can't be taught anything).
So I drove the truck back to the yard and told my boss to get her out of my truck, right now, right in front of her, and he did. I GOT HER TOSSED !!. She finished her time with another instructor that doesn't really do much but stop and visit with all her friends, all day long. But this student is out in the big world of trucking after today.
Now, how long do you think someone with an attitude like this is going to last as a driver? The first time she tells her trainer to kiss off this woman is going to be sitting in a truckstop somewhere in Iowa waiting for a ride. The first time she back talks a dispatcher, she will be hauling 200 mile loads that need hand unloaded....that is if she doesn't kill someone first.
She has no idea what awaits her. And BTW, a driving exam awaits her next week, a company driving exam. I hope they wash her out, she deserves it!