Nervous about road test, not CDL test.

Wow... 6 months in a cdl school and only drove 4 days? I drove more In a 3 week class lol.
Anyways... Try and stay calm during test. We all got nervous. If you uncomfortable shifting while turning then don't. Better slow than hitting something.

 

I wasn’t feeling confident or ready when taking my test this Tuesday. I demolished a cone, lost a gear and nearly killed the truck - but passed my first try.

I was a nervous wreck but tried to act way calm, confident and cool. I think that worked in my favor as the truck was sputtering - I calmly told the inspector what happened, why and how I’d recover the gear. Others have failed for the same thing (missing a gear - however I don’t know if they recovered it or how long it took), I read the advice to explain what you’re doing and it worked for me in this case.

In my 3 week school I didn’t drive much more than you. The instructors were confident I’d pass, I took them at their word - being that they’re in the business of getting students their CDLs and have their passing rates and state accreditation to keep. Not to mention they get a bonus when students pass on the first try. Lol. I know the real schooling will come with my first training job. At this point I’m not prepared for weather, traffic and the variables you mention, school doesn’t do that.

Personally I felt the driving portion was the fun part, with the pre-trip, brakes tests and backing tests to be more involved. Our school spent more time on those than actual driving as well, as a result it was pretty nerve wracking. Driving was a brief section on the highway to a nearby industrial park. That was also the course for the test.

In Illinois shifting in an intersection is an automatic fail. I wouldn’t do it just to stay on the safe side. I *think* curbs are points here, in some states that’s also an automatic fail.

I was so nervous - but the state inspector couldn’t tell and remarked on my calm facade to the head instructor who laughed and asked if it was the same crazy lady he’d been driving with for weeks. I went home and threw up immediately after. Lol.

It’s a shame you went to school for so long and they didn’t offer more drive time. I’d be irate. I am okay with what I got in 3 weeks - 6 months is another story.

Best of luck! It’s not so bad, really! You’re almost done!

 

6 months in trucking school?
Cr England..you'll be a trainer in 17 days!

 

That's not acceptable. We rolled pretty much every day once we settled into backing etc. All of us pretty much stuffed two trucks and went to beth steel which has all kinds of junctions to play on without worry for traffic for purpose of learning. I learned what ramp speeds to use without tipping the thing on it.

I don't know how to help you without putting you in a tractor trailer and saying get this show going, we are covering 200 miles round trip today and 5 hours to do it. Get moving.

You are going to have to find a happy place and enjoy the drive some way. This is your future. Potentially 3 millions of miles worth over the rest of your life. Follow me? If you cannot enjoy a drive in a semi... then this might not go well once you get into places that require a little finesse.

 

Don't try to shift going around acorner. Get it down to 3 Rd before you start turning. Then idle to the corner and both hands are free for turning.

Try that on your next practice run.

Chew gum if t the nerves are giving you dry mouth...

Hang in there. You'll get it.

 

Being nervous will kill a great driver. As far as downshifting, do it once or twice if necessary to impress the instructor. Most real managers will not want to see you downshift every single time you decelerate thru the gear pattern. Ask them, "for this road test, do you need me to downshift all the time or can I just coast to a stop." Never do this for DMV by the way, always downshift for DMV... but safety managers might get annoyed to watch you burn their full up downshifting through every single gear.'

About shifting while turning, this is what I can tell you as a driver with five years experience. Before you enter the turn, select a gear that will let you make your turn without shifting, and a high enough gear which will allow you to accelerate a good 10MPH out of that turn. If you're loaded and making a turn in traffic, in the inner-city, you will probably not pass up 15 MPH. I would say 5th gear is good for this, and 6th is great if you're empty taking that turn. 'I never want to be in a situation where I'm upshifting while making a turn, because the turn is often a sudden change in velocity... Shifting requires a brief moment in neutral. When you're in neutral , you are not in total control of the vehicle. You want total control while executing a turn, because not only are you ensuring you are hitting nothing in front of you, but at the same time you are watching a mirror to ensure your trailer is hitting nothing as well. Since your attention is focused on these two tasks exclusively, you do not want to throw shifting into the mix. I also think you have a greater chance of missing a gear if you're focused on completing a turn, while focused completely hitting nothing in front of you, and also focused completely on watching your mirror to make sure your trailer is not hitting anything... see what I mean. As a failsafe to eliminate unnecessary risks, choose your gear before you enter the turn. To be extra safe, never hit the brakes while in your turn. Always decelerate to a safe speed before you enter the turn, and you'll live to drive another day.

Let me know if you want any other unsolicited advice about driving. i had all the same questions when I first started out.

 

The school is only for getting the license. Your 1st company will have you with a trainer all day/night for days/weeks/months. That's where you actually learn this job.

 

@femalecdla - congrats, what great news! Don’t be hard on yourself - you did it! I can be the same way - I’m used to excelling at whatever I apply myself to. I passed with no points to spare. It made me sick. Literally.

This is so way different from a standard school and there’s a long learning curve with trucking, we’re just babies and we’ve just begun. Our first jobs will be finishing school.

6 months or 160 hours - there’s only so much a CDL school can teach or is able to teach. The rest will be through mentorship, experience and practical knowledge.

You’ve got this! You’re almost there!

As my instructor said when I was beating myself up about my road test - ‘What do they call a doctor who passed last in class? A doctor.’ Now it’s time for the real training so we don’t commit malpractice.

Best wishes on the rest of your test, (really the entirety of our careers will be a series of tests - and we will do way better than our first tests). I can’t wait to hear about the fabulous future adventures you’ll share!