[Wile E. Mile]

You squandered an opportunity to learn, instead focusing on your trainers defects...

Sure...he got my backing and turning up to par; we didn't stall or clip the curb at all. "Anon" did teach me a great deal about the truck.

He also did some pretty dangerous things--and it doesn't take a veteran to see why. People kept radioing us about the Jake, for example: my trainer insisted that it always be kept on, even when it was raining. We went through areas with an engine brake restriction clearly posted; still, my trainer did a full Jake all the way through.

Did you get to the part where we almost did a barrel roll on a sharp left turn?

Well, guess what pal?....You have them too..

See earlier post.

We got along well for the first three hours. It wasn't a match for several reasons. We both wanted to run hard, but he wanted to cheat with his logs a little, and I wanted to keep my records above board. Regarding the cell phone: he was on it all the time. 12 PM? 9PM? 3:27 AM? You name it. Driving, communication with the company, and even sleep took second seat to the phone. I had defects, too...my backing wasn't the best, and I had trouble with directions. But this is training, right?

I'd put a boot in your ass, after a couple of days....You seem like a whiner to me..

Have a look at the spreadsheet. We were functioning as a normal team by the third day. Our loads were always early.

We were also cheating on our logs: does a live unload belong on line 1?

[geeshock]

if you have that same piece of paper i did, reliving you of being on line 4 for breaks, meals, etc, you are actualy covered.

[greg3564]

Move on with your life. There's no sense in whining about how dangerous you may THINK your ex-trainer was. You are not even a seasoned driver. You have NO right to criticize your trainer. You are not going to find much sympathy here.

[part time trucker]

Some of the things you listed as 'Negative' are just part of being on the road. Most people on here have seen alot worse. The roads will just be worse when it snows. Putting chains on will not be like it was in class if they had you do that.

[fireman932003]

Whats wrong with using the jake? I use mine quite a bit also!

[Yaaintdeadyet]

Thanks for your insight and experience Wile. Here's a postured question often presented to clients from a service business of my past. Would you feel comfortable with the individual you've highlighted DRIVING (particular to the profession) while your wife and family were in their presence? From what you've detailed about this trainer/driver he comes off as true to his word. He's a trainer/mentor for one reason. To make more money. You said he didn't hide that fact. Especially with the amount of time spent driving while using a cell phone. If you're a successfull business man good sense and economics speak to the technology available. Here's a thought, send the guy a brochure on the safety of a Blue Tooth device for his phone. Better yet, call him and leave him a message as to their importance and function. I can tell you this, when I drove a school bus ( screaming freight) if a saw a tractor trailer driver using a phone under power I'd clue in the PD as soon as my route was over. NO ONE is adept enough as a driver to minimize their professional experience while using a phone without endangering the lives of others.

[drzebra]

Hey, Wile E. Mile! How the heck are ya? I was wondering how you've been doing since you left our Schneider class. Pete and I did pretty well for ourselves running as a team, then we got roped into running on the Ford dedicated account in Denver which sucked in every way imaginable. Essentially, it was all the BS of running OTR with none of the benefits. We got out of that and ran 48-state again until the end of April, when I left Schneider to go to Prime, Inc.

Pete left Schneider soon afterward and is now driving for Knight, western regional.

Anyway, allow me to impart a little bit of advice to you:

1. What's behind you should stay behind you. I'm not talking about traffic. I'm talking about the past. When you make an error in judgment (anyone who says that they never do is either a liar or a moron), you've just got to learn and move on. No amount of apprehension, worry, or dwelling on it will change what happened, so there is nothing positive to be gained from reliving mistakes and mishaps.

2. Rules are rules for a reason, yes, but you have to make allowances for reality. I'm not saying to log illegally, but you should consider being really stingy with line 4. I learned that lesson the hard way my first week out with Schneider when I ran out of hours after a few days.

As far as the jake brakes go, I really don't see why some people have to have them on all the time. The noise makes it rude to use it in crowded areas, and it makes the rpms drop that much faster when trying to shift. I just don't see any gain to be made in making my job harder and being an inconsiderate jerk. Oh yeah, and it wastes fuel. Nowadays, that's money directly out of my pocket. Personally, I don't flip 'em on when not going downhill.

Maintaining space between you and the vehicle ahead of you will save brakes more than the jakes will.

[SilverWulf]

Originally Posted by drzebra

it makes the rpms drop that much faster when trying to shift.

Learn how to keep the right amount of pressure on the pedal to keep the jakes off, you'll shift smooth as glass.

Originally Posted by drzebra

Oh yeah, and it wastes fuel.

Huh?

[Wile E. Mile]

Hey, Wile E. Mile! How the heck are ya? I was wondering how you've been doing since you left our Schneider class. Pete and I did pretty well for ourselves running as a team, then we got roped into running on the Ford dedicated account in Denver which sucked in every way imaginable. Essentially, it was all the BS of running OTR with none of the benefits. We got out of that and ran 48-state again until the end of April, when I left Schneider to go to Prime, Inc.

Zebra, were did you come from? Good to hear about your adventures with SNI and transition to Prime. Yeah, Swift seems to do certain (safety-related) things in stark contrast to Schneider in the interest of expedience.
How was the time with your TE, by the way? (I heard rumors that one of the simulators in the sim center caught on fire shortly after your class graduated...is this true?)

1. What's behind you should stay behind you. I'm not talking about traffic. I'm talking about the past. When you make an error in judgment (anyone who says that they never do is either a liar or a moron), you've just got to learn and move on. No amount of apprehension, worry, or dwelling on it will change what happened, so there is nothing positive to be gained from reliving mistakes and mishaps.

I deceided to write the journal before even stepping in the truck. It could have been called "Swift Spectacular" or "Swift, I Love You," depending on the experience. But (as you've probably read) I thought my trainer did a lot of dangerous things: phone in one hand, qualcomm in the other hand, map in the third hand; almost flipping on a left turn, etc. It doesn't seem like a TE from SNI would be caught doing any of these things, based on how the academy was run.

[The Jake] makes the rpms drop that much faster when trying to shift

Like a rock in our case. We were almost always doing a full Jake.

Maintaining space between you and the vehicle ahead of you will save brakes more than the jakes will.

I try to avoid riding bumpers...less shifting+less Jake=more fuel.

Stay safe out there!

[part time trucker]

Wile, drzebra, I would like you hear your reason's as to why using a jake brake would waste fuel.