Detour...Part 2

The complete pre-trip inspection includes a check of around 215 components in, under, and around the tractor and trailer, and takes between 20-30 minutes (assuming you are familiar with the process).  Entering training, I could probably name about 15 or 20 of these components.  6 students (instead of the normal 3) were squished around 1 engine compartment while the instructors quickly pointed out 20 or 30 components and then moved on to the next section.  I could barely see what they were pointed at, and had no idea of the purpose of most of what they showed me.  I asked about a few common components, and they thought I was joking.  I was not.

I tried to explain that if I've never seen the component, don't know what it's called, don't know what it does, or how to tell if it's damaged, it's going to be really difficult to remember it.  Their take on it was that if they pointed at it and told me what to say (there is specific verbiage to be use during the pre-inspection exam), then I didn't really need to know all the rest of that.  Now, admittedly, I'm a tree > forest kind of person, but, I use the trees to help me figure out which forest I'm in!!!  If I see an anaconda, chances are I'm not in China.  If I encounter a two-step Mamba, chances are I'm not in Bolivia.  

For me, the biggest source of frustration is when I ask for the explanation that I need, and I'm immediately told that I'm overcomplicating things, and that I don't need the explanation.  This has been happening since I was a child.  Sure, these instructors have been teaching for years.  However, not one of them has ever lived a single day as Amanda McLaurin.  I'd be willing to suppose that despite the fact that I don't have any of their experience, I know more about what I need to comprehend a new concept than they do.  

They told me not to look at any YouTube videos, or pull up any diagrams to study - that my practice would be in reviewing the steps every day.  For me, this is tantamount to singing a song to someone once, then telling them to practice every day, because they are going to perform it in 2 weeks.  Sheet music???  Recording???  Heck, how about every day when I come in, you and I sing it together until I can sing it alone???  Nope!  Practice on your own.  Oh, and by the way, if you miss a note or two, someone could be crushed by a 10,000-lb trailer and die.  No big...

That evening, I chatted with (ranted to) my mentor, Bob.  He broke down the parts to me, and helped me make the connections.  I realized that a lot of the components in an engine that you can determine their form by their function and location, and vice versa.  In the end, it's a lot like anatomy.  Everything is in place to transmit forces in different directions, connected securely at joints, and lubricated properly by the appropriate fluid.  It makes a lot of sense.  However, he and I took the information bit by bit, and there simply wasn't going to be enough time to do that within the training structure.

Wednesday morning, we learned how to couple the tractor to the trailer, and perform an in-cab inspection (another flurry of info).  Late morning, we were in the simulator learning how to do right and left turns.  Wednesday afternoon, we were going to be making right and left turns in a nearby industrial park.  So, I was supposed to go from recognizing 20 components on Tuesday afternoon, to driving on Wednesday afternoon.  We didn't even learn how to drive forward in a straight line before learning how to judge angles and make turns.  I think they assumed we could make that adjustment on our own, but (as I was continually reminded), driving a commercial motor vehicle is NOTHING like driving a personal, passenger vehicle.