When starting a truck driving career, being out by yourself the first time is really a daunting experience. Your trainer is no longer inside the cab with you and you are actually solely in charge of your truck along with your load. As a beginning truck driver, there are many tricks of the trade you do not know yet, things that could really help you be a safe driver and make your truck driving career a long and rewarding experience.
To get a better understanding of what life on the road is really like, experienced truck drivers were required to provide some suggestions for all those just starting out. The drivers, some with well over two decades experience, provided a summary of what the most important points to watch out for are. The list was then broken down in to the top three.
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The initial tip for truck drivers concerns one of the scariest aspects of driving a big rig: driving around the ice. When driving in the wintertime conditions, the most important thing to keep in mind is usually do not step on the brakes while driving on black ice. Should you do, you will find that instead of slowing, your rig will spin, potentially into oncoming traffic.
As opposed to slamming on the breaks once you begin to feel yourself slide, take your foot off the throttle and let gravity slow you down. Make sure to watch the highway ahead and steer in the direction your trailer is drifting, following using a counter steer. This will help keep control until you pass the ice and can pull over.
The second tip through the experienced drivers would be to say focused. When starting your day, tell yourself things are going to happen. People will cut you off, slam on their breaks and follow too closely. However, it is very important to remind yourself that you can't control their driving, but you can control yours. Don't let yourself become upset on the actions of others. This will only make you become an element of the problem rather than a solution.
The third tip is for recent graduates, or those about to graduate: remember and learn how you can slide your fifth wheel and tandems to balance your load. This is very important as it is one of the top explanations why truckers get tickets. Remember to always inspect your truck before any trip. New truckers often make the mistake of thinking that the pre-trip inspection is simply something unnecessary taught in school, but this is not so. There are many states doing random inspections, and if your rig is not up to the standard, you will pay for it.
Using these top three tips from experienced truck drivers, you are now prepared to hit the highway after school being a CDL carrying truck driver.