Mattymatt
Imperfectly Perfect
So I am now back on the road again! Apparently, I have learned a lot from my previous failures and I am doing well with Schneider National. Since it has been some years since being behind the wheel of a tractor trailer, I had to go out with a training engineer. My training engineer is a good, decent, and relaxed older guy in his 60s and he helped me to become much better at time management and ironed out a few of my bugs. Additionally, he taught me how to use a motor carrier atlas and to drive without using a GPS. The entire time I spent with him, we never used it. Well, he gave me a pleasant surprise yesterday and cut me loose early from training. He said to me, "You're ready to go out on your own. Wish I had more students like you that simply listen and take in advice." In turn, I said to him, "I wish I had you as a trainer when I first got started three years ago. If I had known you then, I would've had success."
He told me that I should call him anytime that I have a question or if I think I might be about to get into a sticky situation. He wants me to call him after I get assigned a truck and my first load solo. My TE (training engineer) dropped me off at the training center in Corapolis, PA and this week I take the final skills tests and get assigned a truck. I walked into the office feeling a level of confidence that I never had before. I still get a little bit of the jitters when getting into the driver's seat and my TE said that's healthy. He said, "I've been driving for 35 years. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I am about to start-up for the day. It's due to this that I have 4 million miles accident free."
Well, when I walked into the office, the training manager asked me who's truck I got off of and asked to see my training log book. When he saw who my TE was, he said, "You probably got the best training engineer out there. You learned to drive without a GPS, didn't you?" I could only smile and nod. "The students he's trained are generally top drivers for Schneider. Many of them still drive for us. You learned from the best." Manager said to get some rest today (Sunday) and the final week of classroom will start-up on Monday.
I've got to pinch myself. I still cannot believe that I drove a tanker through the steep mountains of West Virginia. What a ride ... LOL! And I actually did not use a GPS. He turned me into a truck driver! The next week or so will be kind of boring so I'll give y'all an update when I get going solo.
He told me that I should call him anytime that I have a question or if I think I might be about to get into a sticky situation. He wants me to call him after I get assigned a truck and my first load solo. My TE (training engineer) dropped me off at the training center in Corapolis, PA and this week I take the final skills tests and get assigned a truck. I walked into the office feeling a level of confidence that I never had before. I still get a little bit of the jitters when getting into the driver's seat and my TE said that's healthy. He said, "I've been driving for 35 years. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I am about to start-up for the day. It's due to this that I have 4 million miles accident free."
Well, when I walked into the office, the training manager asked me who's truck I got off of and asked to see my training log book. When he saw who my TE was, he said, "You probably got the best training engineer out there. You learned to drive without a GPS, didn't you?" I could only smile and nod. "The students he's trained are generally top drivers for Schneider. Many of them still drive for us. You learned from the best." Manager said to get some rest today (Sunday) and the final week of classroom will start-up on Monday.
I've got to pinch myself. I still cannot believe that I drove a tanker through the steep mountains of West Virginia. What a ride ... LOL! And I actually did not use a GPS. He turned me into a truck driver! The next week or so will be kind of boring so I'll give y'all an update when I get going solo.
