Trucker Warren, From The Begining

I enjoy reading the comments and answering questions that my readers ask. Mark Stetson posted the following comment which I will reply to:
Hi Warren, I'll bet there are plenty of "pucker factor" moments involved during your first year. I've read that accidents increase after the first year due to getting "comfortable". How well are you adjusting to being away from home? Do you think that your stamina for driving long periods is increasing? Is your trainer letting you do more and more of the trip planning, backing, etc with him becoming more of an observer? Please keep up the blog and TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! Mark

I have heard that too. Hopefully that won't happen to me. I raced desert for many years and was usually in the top 5 of my class (last nine years were expert). Since I started riding and racing desert at the age of 4, I have a total of 30 years under my belt and have been retired for the last 6 years. I am happy to report that I was never hospitalized as the result or racing or riding and have never even broken a bone. Don't get me wrong, I have had many wrecks, but the results were minimized as I used extreme caution. I believe that if I bring the same mentality to truck driving as I did to racing, (being overly cautious) I should be alright.
Being away from home has its challenges. I do get homesick from time to time, but I have a very loving and supporting wife at home. I have a very deep trust in my wife. I have been in relationships in the past that I couldn't have done this due to lack of trust. I know that I am blessed to have the wife that I do and she is behind this 100%. I send her post cards from the different states that I've been to and she follows along on the map.
I do feel my stamina has increased since I have been out here. At first it seemed like I had to stop to pee all the time. I've learned to control those urges and adjusted my fluid intake as well as the types of fluid I consume.
There has been so much to learn. At first I had these training modules to complete. I was supposed to get them done in 4 weeks. They are books you have to read and then take a quiz on the qual-comm afterwards. Then you call into head quarters and they ask you some additional questions. You get paid $75.00 for each module you complete. I finished them in one week and now I have more time to learn about the trip planning. My trainer has given me the opportunity to handle more and more of the planning, trip pacs, qual-com, Ect.
Thanks for the comment and questions Mark. Keep them coming.
Warren

Category: General