Thanks for the responses!!! The first four times I tested at the same site. I think I was rushing too much and panicking when I couldn't see the cones when I thought I SHOULD see them. This last time, I went to the CDL test site in town, and they hadn't cleared the site of snow. Well, it melted a little bit and it was just warm enough to cause the snow to get to the icy/slushy stage. The examiner was all like "didn't you practice on ice and snow?" And I'm thinking, of course not, the temps have been averaging around 50 degrees for the past few months!!!
So tomorrow I am going back to my original test site. I know I will have plenty of room there, at least, to set up.
I didn't think of asking for a list of my mistakes, but that is a good suggestion.
Basically the examiner, and all of my instructors at my second trucking school are confident I can do it, it's just a matter of me calming down to do the skills. I can rattle off pre trip with no problem, and I should be fine on the road; it's just those blasted skills. If nothing else, I should be able to do them better with five additional weeks of school and some tips on how to set up for them.
I think maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself, because I feel like this is my only career option left, plus I've sunk so much time and money into this venture. The last time I tested, I was more confident, but the snow and ice unnerved me, and even though the examiner said he wouldn't penalize me for pulling up (it was the only way to eventually get traction) I think that aspect made me nervous. At least with the test site tomorrow, I've been there four times, the examiner is pretty decent and I have plenty of room to set up, as opposed with the recent site I went to. Please wish me luck and pray for me if you are inclined to do that sort of thing. I am so excited about getting into trucking as I need a break. I've had a rough past couple of years!!! Thank you!
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