I've been in truck driving school for the past 6 weeks. Today was DMV test day.
Normally I wouldn't post this, but it was such a memorable even I thought I'd share it.
I'm one of "those" people who must learn whatever they are doing to the point of overachievement, or forget it. This has been no exception. I learned the pre-trip inspection so well that I don't have to actually see a truck in order to tell you everything on the DMV list. In-cab and airbrake tests are the same situation. You can currently lose a maximum of 15 points on this section. I typically lose 3-5, usually because my instructors don't listen very well.
The skills test (the current test consists of an alley dock, straight line backing for 100 feet, measured right turn, measured stop and parallel park. You can lose up to 10 points for the entire skills series. I usually only lose 2.
The drive test is pretty much what you'd expect. You can lose up to 45 points and still pass. They have you drive for about an hour and give you lots of chances to screw up.
Pre-trip: I know this stuff like the back of my hand, but I'm getting nervous for some reason. The examiner interrupted me several times to have me skip sections he didn't consider to be relevant, or decided were redundant. This threw off my timing quite a bit. -3 points total for pre-trip, in-cab and airbrake tests.
Skills: Having to pull forward to straighten the truck costs a point, missing a mark or running over a cone costs a point, hitting a curb with
any part of the vehicle is an automatic fail.
I normally take 1 pull-up on the alley dock and the parallel park requires 1, so this shouldn't be a problem.
Today, I took 4 pull-ups (though the examiner only counted 3) and I hit 2 cones. Total points off for the series: -9
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />
Next is the drive test. I'm usually pretty smooth. I've consistently been the best driver in the group, so I didn't expect any issues. But, by the time we got to the drive, I was so nervous from the skewed timing on the tre-trip and my gross incompetence on the skills that I was struggling to hide shaking like a meth addict chihuahua in the arctic.
At one point I completely forgot what gear I was in and had to find something quick. Fortunately, it wasnt' my truck, so I just jammed it into the first gear I could force it in to. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />
Then the examiner keeps asking me for bridge clearances on bridges without clearance signs. To top it off, he figured out that I knew the test route, so he took me on a little "adventure" down a road clearly marked with signs stating that the bridge wasn't strong enough for a truck. He knew the area and there was another way, but I was completely out of my element and he knew it.
Eventually, he'd had enough of torturing me and directed me back to the DMV. It had been a pretty rough trip for me. I felt that is was my worst drive since my first day of school.
After I shut the truck down, he asked how I thought I did. I told him; "that was the most craptastic drive I've done since my first day". (credit to DougB for the word "craptastic)
Then he asked; "If I told you you passed, would you think my standards were too low?"
I said; "If I passed after that drive, your standards are WAY too low."
His answer; "I think you're right. My standards are too low. You passed."
My score for the drive: -9
I guess his standards weren't as low as I thought, since he failed the guy after me (one of my classmates, who is a bad driver anyway).
So, that's it. I now have a commercial driver license and endorsements to pull doubles/triples, tankers and HAZMAT. Oh, and I can ride motorcycles, but I've had that for a long time.
Now I need to find a job. It's been 10 months. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
