Question:
Well, this is week 2 of training. Last week was a bad one due to some unavoidable circumstances, so I haven't been in the truck for a week now. For some stupid reason, now that it's time to head out again, I am getting very very nervous. What if I forgot every thing I learned from the week before? I guess I need some reassurement that this job is going to get easier and less stressful. I realize that driving is not easy and I was prepared for what I was getting into prior to joining school, but now that it is finally here I am just unsure of myself that I can do this.
I respect truck driving more than ever now after my first week behind the wheel. I never thought I would be so scared driving through a city, truckstop, rest area, or weighstation with a truck! This is definetely not a car, and not having shifting down yet makes it even more stressful.
I try not to let the drivers behind me intimidate me but, I feel bad for going slower than the posted speed limit in construction zones, slowing down way before my exit when on a two lane highway, etc. But, I just don't feel safe driving any faster in those situations. I have left my CB off because I know that that would only escalate my problems so I don't even bother listening to it.
Winter weather is on it's way and I am not looking forward to driving on snow at all. It's bad enough in a car, I can't imagine what it will be like in a truck! When I signed up for school I had all this stuff running through my brain such as what it would be like to drive through different kinds of weather, construction zones, exit ramps, truck stops, etc., etc., etc. But, for some reason it didn't hit home until last week when I actually drove. I didn't think about how the truck was going to handle with a load on it. I didn't think about the fact that steering wasn't going to be like it is in a car. The bottomline here is, I didn't think of the important things because I didn't think I was going to make it out of school. Well, I did graduate (not with the best training I must add)and now I feel so unprepared. I keep telling myself that "I am in control of this truck" but for some reason that doesn't help calm my nerves.
I am being told that I want to learn this job NOW but it's not that simple. I understand that this is going to take time, but I hate this feeling of helplessness. I look at all of you professionals out there and ask myself "how did they get so damn good at this job?" The way you handle those trucks out there is just amazing. People laugh at me when I say that 60 mph is a little fast for me right now. They tell me that if they had to drive that slow they would fall asleep! At this point I am so focused on everything around me that I can't imagine falling asleep even at 60 mph.
All I know is that I want to do this job. I want to be the best that I can be. Unfortunately, this is very very new to me. I have been in the secretarial field for all of my working life and becoming a truck driver wasn't something I decided to do yesterday. I thought about this for 5 years prior to going to school. I am the wife of a truck driver and I did ride with him for 6 months. I did this so I could decide if this would be the life for me. I am glad I did to, because I learned a lot and realized that this job is much much more than just sitting behind the wheel for 10 hours a day.
But, now that I have experienced driving with a fully loaded trailer on curvy roads at night time, I am starting to second guess my choice here. It felt like that damn trailer was going to tip over and I wasn't even going over 55 mph and the curves were normal highway curves!! I haven't even experienced driving through a rain storm, extreme windy conditions, and snow yet and these are things that I really didn't think about until now. When is this fear going to subside? Is it normal to feel this way?
Maybe I am of the abnormal here, but I needed to get this off my chest. I leave out tomorrow afternoon for destinations unknown right now and I am just sick to my stomach. I read all of the other threads through here about newbies and their first experiences, but they seem to have really had a good time. Right now, this is more torchure than it is fun. I know I have only driven 1 week and I shouldn't judge decisions based on one bad week, but I don't know what else to do. Driving team is something that both my husband and I have wanted to do for years. I don't want to ruin this dream because I am nervous and scared. Can anyone relate to what I am saying here??? I really need someone to talk to. You can email me direct if you like at gatewayrose30@yahoo.com.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all don't think of me as wierd.

Answer:
That's completely understandable.
RELAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take a deep breath and exhale.........slowly.
You won't "forget" everything you learned last week. Once you're in the seat, it'll all come back to ya.
Remember...........
Take your time!
Double check everything you do!
Maintain you following distance!
Watch your mirrors!
Take it easy! After a couple days, you'll feel like you've done this for......a couple days.
Seriously though.........RELAX!!!!!!!!!!
*******************************
"Got the bird dog on...
Dodgin' the scales...
80 miles an hour and a step outta jail..." From "Rollin' Home, Pirates of the Mississippi)
*******************************
"I've always been different with one foot over the line.
Winding up somewhere, one step ahead or behind.
It ain't been so easy, but I guess I shouldn't complain.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane." (from Waylon Jennings)


Answer:
though somedays I dont know about less stressfull. The stress though concentrates around other things and not your driving.
Don't worry. You are not the only person out there going through all this right now. You are not the first person, nor will you be the last. The first week or two or training is the worst and then it starts to click and you will probably see big improvements on a daily basis. (Remember school )
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
Well I can't tell if your in Truck Driving school with an OTR trainer or on your own.
We all were nervous when we first started out. For me the first time I jumped in the cab of a truck and started driving that trailer was very long. It looked way back there. As time went on it seemed to get shorter and shorter. Also driving a truck was very scarry for me. Just driving straight down the road seemed like a big challenge. Then things like turning corners right or left, backing in at a truck stop with all them other trucks watching made me very nervous. As time went on it became just part of the job. Right now you have tons of thingsto remember and concentrate on. You have gauges to watch, shifting is thought consuming and trying to watch the road just adds to the confusion. Soon you'll see that the gauges and shifting is simple and your view of the road has widened. It's just a matter of time.
Now my biggest concern when driving isnt me any longer. It's all the other vehicles around me. I pay more attention to them now days. It will come to you as long as you keep trying. Truck driving actually is an easy job. The driving is the easiest part. As things become easier you'll see for yourself.
Good Luck
"There is just something about fresh winter snow and a river. The day is bright even if it is cloudy, the water is friendly even if it is cold and the fish are there even if they are not biting."

Answer:
Don't worry about it; being alert and not killing anybody, including yourself, is the main thing. Over confidence is far more dangerous than anything else; the worst drivers are smooth shifting hot shot idiot cowboys who know it all. They cause the worst accidents, statistically, than newbies bumping little stuff. If you ever reach the point where you feel like a real hot shot, then you really need to worry; just stick your hand in the door and slam it til you get over it.
Worry more about what 'everybody else' is doing around you, rather than focusing on yourself; school will never replace just doing it over and over and over under a big variety of situations. I've never been a big fan of the notion that you have to have a zillion days of school to be a good driver; the only way to be a good driver is to follow all the safety rules and practices you've learned early and make them a habit you can do without having to think about it; the rest is just experience and practice, trial and error, and tooling around the school yard or running around the block and up and down the interstate with a trainer to tell you where, when, and what don't amount to much, though we get people in here who think because they scored some brownie points and did great in school they are going to be 'good drivers', that is a bunch of BS.
___________________________
Humans are amazing creatures. "With all the things you can train them to do, I've been considering getting one."-Stoney
[This message was edited by Dominoes on October 12, 2003 at 11:59.]Jay Gould
__________________________
This post coming to you live, from Jesus Land !!!

Answer:
Wow!!! You wrote what I have been feeling and living!!! I'm very new to semi driving and I echo everything which you have written.
For 30-years I've driven large fire apparatus in all kinds of situations and weather conditions without any 2nd thoughts. I drove a 10-wheel drive ladder turck which weighted 70,000 pounds, chained up all around, in 3-feet of snow on ice, up and down Sierra Nevada roads and never felt uncomfortable.
Now, I can't get behind the wheel of a semi without popping an antacid or two..!!!
There have been a couple of times I thought I'd have to pull over and throw-up!! Talk about tense!!!
But I just keep looking at all the other rigs on the road and know that those drivers went THROUGH the same learning curve until they finally were at ease. Well,... I can do it too!!
And so can you buddy!!! Hang in there!!
One of these days we'll look back on this time and have a good laugh!!
Till then, Be Safe and keep learning!!!

Answer:
Sounds like me when I started... I got over it and you will too.
But now, I don't drive anymore.

Answer:
You will do fine, I was nervous too in the beginning.