First full week is in the can

Today is Friday, February 3, 2012, and the end of the first full week of my training for a Commercial Drivers License, the CDL. This has been a very hectic week, filled with stress from learning new skills of which I had no idea one week ago, and of feeling pretty good about the progress I have made. There are two more weeks to go and I am going to need both of them to get my skill performance up to a minimum level to pass the Michigan test, but I do think I am on the right path. I did choose the right school; of that, I am sure.

So let me recap what I've done this week:

• I have learned to start and move a commercial motor vehicle pulling a 53' trailer;
• I have learned to shift all 10 forward gears - though there is considerable room for improvement! - and one reverse gear;
• I have learned to drive straight forward out of a "dock" and reverse the course, backing in a straight line into and back out of the dock;
• I have learned to perform (though not consistently well) a 90 degree alley dock, which is still the most difficult maneuver so far;
• I have learned to drive on public roads of all kinds, including industrial park, small neighborhood streets, main city multilane thoroughfares and divided roads, and part of the Michigan Interstate System with speed limits (for cars) of 70 mph;
• I have learned to shift up and down, though this is another area in need of more practice;
• And I have learned to perform a pre-trip inspection of my tractor and trailer.

The days this week have begun with a one-hour session in class learning about defensive driving, which as you might expect, is much more complex for a commercial motor vehicle than for a 4-wheeler car or motorcycle. A CMV is, after all, a regulated vehicle of great mass. Next week, we get into the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and logging of our drive and duty times, both of which will be challenging and rewarding. Out on the range, we will be exposed to blind-side parallel parking, by far the most difficult maneuver. In case the name doesn't give you a good idea, it's parallel parking a 65' combination vehicle against the curb on the right side using only mirrors.

Uh huh. Fun!

We will also begin actually backing the combination vehicle into one of the maintenance bays in the school building. Up to this point, our practice has been based on yellow lines on the ground in a very large parking lot and orange cones to show obstacles. Next week we experience real obstacles...like the walls of a building!

So, dear reader, thank you again for keeping up with my progress. I hope what I am giving you amuses you in some way and I hope you continue following my journey to becoming a "truck driver."