I'm assigned truck number 8515. A white Freightliner Columbia.

I decided to drive the Southeast region for Millis. They had openings and offered one to me. Because of my location it is perfect for me and Millis. The reasons for going regional are I will be home most weekends but can drive most any weekend I want. Also, if I want to go long from time to time, I can let them know and they will send me out.

I have only driven this truck about 80 miles. I tested in Cartersville and then was shown my new (300,000+ mile) truck. It has some minor exterior bumps and bruises but is clean and seems to have been cared for. It sure drives different from the KW T600 that I've been in. The Mercedes engine is very different. The ride is much smoother and quieter. Visibility is much better with a bigger windshield and shorter hood.

My first backing with it makes me think it has a better radius for steering. The cab is roomier than the T600.There are only two negatives so far. The big one is that it only has one fuel tank. Also, the sleeper is small. I never liked the sleeper in the T600 so it is no worse to me.

It seemed like a long road to get here but now that it's done, looking back, it hasn't been that long. I know I'm a green rookie still so the plan going forward is to take it slow and use more caution than is probably required. I will get my first load early Monday.

You can call me driver, driver.

I took the cdl yesterday, Saturday, at 3:00 PM in Albany GA. On Friday, at 1:00 PM we were in Albany and got dispatched to pick up a load of beer and run it to Winder GA. In Winder we were told to take an empty to Columbia SC and get a load of fiber to Cartersville GA for the carpet mills. Then to get back to Albany we had to get a glass load in East Point GA. Now I like to think that Millis wants me to complete my training but I question why they would push us to the limits of fatigue in a 24 hour period only to get me to my testing site 5 minutes late and exhausted.

When I began the pre-trip it was 114 degrees on the pad. I completed the pre trip inspection after about 25 minutes. I passed it but in my mind I wasn’t sure if I had or not. I wasn’t even sure of what I was saying after about 5 minutes. If you are reading this to learn from my experience then learn this; rehearse this a hundred times so even if you can’t think, it will still come out right.

The skills test didn’t take long and even though I had the windows down I was able to blast cold air into my face. All I was required to do was a straight back, a blind side offset and a driver side parallel park. I used one extra pull up on the parallel park and got out once but just to be sure.

The road test was also easy. We drove for about 25 minutes around the airport area of Albany. I was asked to safely change lanes a few times and to recall a sign that we had passed. As we approached a rail road crossing I was told to perform a hazmat crossing. This put me off a little. I stopped, put the flashers on and lowered the windows to look both ways. The problem was, there was a street parallel to the tracks on the other side and if I had stopped there but my trailer would'nt clear of the tracks. I didn't stop on the tracks but wen on across and made my turn. I was told that to fail I had to be unsafe, break a law or pull over a curb. I passed so all is good.

I have one more test to go. I hope to be able to schedule a driving test with a Millis training director by next Monday and if I pass receive my own truck. Now I need to concentrate on logs, bills, qualcom and the business side of driving for Millis.

Two weeks to go if all goes well. I’m sure that I will never stop learning but I think I am becoming a fairly good driver. I will take the CDL on Wednesday the 8th in Albany GA. Training with a regional driver is giving me the opportunity to do lots of backing, moving tandems, setting up bulkheads, securing loads, scaling and dealing with customers. I think that it may be more valuable to have more of these experiences with an experienced driver trainer on board than doing long drives.

I really need to have my own truck. I know that my trainer is an excellent driver but he really makes it a lot harder on himself than it needs to be. His truck is a mess. I wash the windshield and mirrors but he thinks I’m wasting my time because they are just going to get dirty again. He doesn’t even put water in his cooler. He seems to only eat at McDonalds or a fried chicken place. Rather than eating inside the restaurant he usually sits in the truck with the windows open. I guess it comes down to the fact that he is usually home every weekend and gets to stop by home during the week sometimes. I’m going to be over the road so I need some of the comforts of home. I also need control of the radio, windows and air conditioner. This all serves as incentive for me to perform well enough to get my own truck at the end of five weeks rather than having to spend more time in this truck.

Millis requires a minimum of five weeks with the driver trainer. If he deems you ready, you take a driving test with a Millis training director and they decide at that time if you are ready. My driver trainer says I will be ready unless something goes wrong like failing the CDL and not being able to reschedule quickly or if I do something stupid like having an accident or getting a ticket.

The next time I post I should have my Class A license and an appointment to test for and hopefully get my own truck. Wish me luck!