| "Lookout!" yelled Darwin Rhodes from the passenger | | | | hundred forty pages of fine print. But when one is in |
| seat. Our rig raced down the road. He lunged at the | | | | charge of a seventy-five foot long vehicle, it only |
| steering wheel, like an outfielder catching a fly ball | | | | makes sense that there are some rules of operation, |
| over the fence. An abrupt jolt of the wheel yanked | | | | no matter how arduous. |
| the Kenworth truck back to the middle lane. We | | | | Sensing discouragement amongst the students with a |
| missed a collision with a twenty-something woman in | | | | difficult driving exercise, instructor Frank Marino of |
| a compact car. | | | | Philadelphia quips: "There are no idiots, just new |
| "That was close!" I exclaimed to Rhodes, a boyish | | | | drivers. Nobody was born behind the wheel of a |
| George Jones look-alike and multi-million mile driver. | | | | truck. Maybe conceived there, but not born there." |
| Rhodes owns Rhodes Trucking in picturesque Penn | | | | The class chuckles and the mood lightens. |
| Laird, Virginia. | | | | A fellow student saw me contemplating the course |
| A second earlier, a flip of the turn signal and check of | | | | work. "Just do the class work. It's easy after that!" |
| the mirrors revealed no cars in the left lane. Surely | | | | he cheered enthusiastically, as he floated by on a |
| nobody would zip around us as we merged left. But | | | | cushion of air. Buoyed by preparation and |
| there she was. Equally confusing is the forward view | | | | encouragement from instructors, he's off with |
| from the driver's seat. There's a dizzying horizon of | | | | General Manager and instructor Bill Applegate, 47, for |
| buttons, switches and lights - enough to even send | | | | a road test at the Department of Motor Vehicles. |
| an airline pilot spinning to oblivion. | | | | "Seventy five percent of Smith and Solomon |
| Most aspiring truckers would thankfully descend from | | | | students pass their driving test on the first try," says |
| the cab, like ice cream dripping down a cone on a hot | | | | Bennett. |
| summer day - and slink back to the chaos, conflict | | | | IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT |
| and confusion of commuting in cars and congestion. | | | | Gripping the steering wheel, my stomach churns in |
| Only to say the next morning "why am I the only | | | | anticipation. Instructor Jim Larson, 59, tells me to |
| person who knows how to drive?" | | | | drive forward between cones in the training lot, then |
| WHY DRIVE TRUCKS? | | | | back the tractor-trailer up. Through expert coaching |
| But cowardice in the face of challenge goes against | | | | and encouragement, Jim's ten years of over-the-road |
| my core. And I am a child of the seventies. Songs | | | | experience pay off. Next we try the more challenging |
| like BTO's "Roll on Down the Highway," CW McCall's | | | | parallel and forty-five degree parking. Students hit |
| "Convoy" and Jerry Reed's "East Bound and Down" | | | | cones like crazy. By breaking each step down, then |
| ruled the airwaves. It is easy to romanticize life on | | | | stopping and setting up for the next step, we start |
| the road and frontiers to be discovered. | | | | to resemble the pros soaring gracefully around |
| Driving big rigs offers: the lure of adventure; seeing | | | | shopping center loading docks every day. |
| new places and faces; the crackle of characters on | | | | There's more to driving a tractor-trailer than rolling in |
| the citizen's band radio; having an office with a view | | | | a rig down the highway:"When the gear doesn't |
| (even if the view is of a smelly chemical plant in New | | | | engage, let the clutch out a little until it starts to |
| Jersey); the prestige of possessing the highest driver | | | | engage, then push the clutch back in," Larson offers. |
| qualification attainable; the trucker's jargon and | | | | Gear shifting technique is an entire course section. |
| camaraderie amongst fellow "Kings of the Road." | | | | "When backing up, steer toward the trailer (as seen |
| Also, I love trucks. The diesel beats out a soothing, | | | | in the mirror) if it gets out of line." |
| rhythmic pulse. She helps me meditate about what is | | | | When we practiced turning, backing up or driving, |
| and what should be, as an endless stream of | | | | Marino barks in his thick Philly accent over the growl |
| highway signs, exit ramps and panoramic views blur | | | | of the turbo-charged diesel: "The trailer is your |
| by. | | | | money maker. The truck is just something to hold |
| TRAINING FOR TRUCKING | | | | onto when you drive. Watch your trailer!" Marino |
| With the anticipation of early explorers bobbing in the | | | | goes onto advise the students how to prevent theft |
| ocean awaiting the new world, I found myself at | | | | from or of the trailer with tales about contents being |
| Smith and Solomon, a Professional Truck Driver | | | | stolen from truck stops or while in New York City |
| Institute member academy in New Castle, Delaware. | | | | traffic. Students are impressed with the responsibility |
| According to Jim Bennett, Regional Director of | | | | of their duty transporting freight. |
| Operations, Smith and Solomon trains 2,500 students | | | | Automobile brakes are inspected on the |
| annually at their twelve locations in mid and north | | | | state-mandated annual inspection, or maybe just |
| Atlantic states. Major carriers woo and serenade | | | | when the vehicle is titled. Conversely, a truck's |
| graduates of PTDI approved schools. | | | | brakes are inspected before every trip. Brake lines, |
| "PTDI schools provide great base training and | | | | the compressor, slack adjusters, the low pressure |
| excellent general knowledge" says Rick Etinger, mid | | | | warning system and the air governor cut-out are all |
| northeast regional manager for Werner Enterprises, | | | | tested by the driver. Being able to test (and |
| employing twelve thousand drivers in North America. | | | | demonstrate for state police weight-station and road |
| Etinger's hour long recruiting presentation to Smith | | | | side inspections) are just a small part of a driver's |
| and Solomon students aims to solve driver shortages | | | | routine duties. |
| with promises of more pay through the best | | | | There are strict federal regulations governing how |
| technology. Werner's oldest truck is two and a half | | | | many hours of service and driving a driver may |
| years old, says Etinger. "With our satellite | | | | perform before mandatory breaks. The driver gets |
| communication, we keep the wheels rolling so you | | | | paid for the miles he drives, not his breaks. |
| make more money." Werner team drivers can log as | | | | Learning about the operation of a big rig enabled me |
| many as 24,000 miles (that's four round trips to | | | | to better appreciate the skill, sacrifice and dedication |
| California from the east coast) each month. | | | | of tractor-trailer drivers. Without interstate truckers, |
| Before we even sat in a big rig, classroom studies | | | | our country would grind to a halt. To understand, |
| filled our first week. We studied: pre-trip inspections; | | | | inspect and safely operate an 80,000 pound |
| driving technique; regulations; accident prevention and | | | | combination vehicle greatly bolstered my confidence |
| vehicle weight and balance. Unbelievably, it take | | | | as a motor vehicle operator. |
| twenty-nine chapters to cover all of the subjects. | | | | Should a siren's song from some scenic highway |
| Then there are Federal Regulations that affect | | | | strike, call a PTDI member school to learn more. See |
| truckers. Regulations read like an insurance policy: six | | | | you on the road, good buddy! |