I took road test in terrible PC & flunked!

[rod]

A fair test would have started out by letting him drive around the yard a couple of times in order to figure out the transmission and clutch before going out on the road.

I took my test 27 years ago, in a 1959 P-400 with wooden shelves, manual steering and drum brakes that locked up every time you hit the pedal. The tester offered to let me run it around the yard first, but since I learned to drive in a 1967 friend-100 with the same drivetrain as a package car, I didnt have a problem.

I never had a test. Apparently they just assumed everyone knew how to drive a manual back then

 

[Romeofud]

That's what the other guy did. I guess he just figured it out since the pc was so beat-up & the 1st gear is the same shifting mode as reverse with the only difference with the shifting going a little bit harder than the other. ITS NOT EASY! Especially if u don't have that kind of experience with junky ass pc that I was given. I felt lousy afterwards but I didn't make any excuses except telling him I wish I could've figured out those 2 gears better. They threw me off but thanks anyway. I was very nice about it & I understood that they have to do this to qualify SERIOUS DRIVERS. The guy was cool other than that & said I can try again in 6 months, even sooner at another hub.

Wow, how lucky was I lol? I only had to drive around the hub with a few obstacles in the way and I had to just be careful and not hit anything or side-swipe the truck against the wall as I turned into corners. Then I just had to park on a hill and restart from there. I messed up the first time, lost a few points, but then got it right after that and passed! I'm still awaiting my phone call.

I feel bad for you Sid with that junky delivery truck they let you drive in. Maybe it was for the best to expose you to that so there be no surprises later on. I might have a few to endure lol.

 

[oldngray]

I never had a test. Apparently they just assumed everyone knew how to drive a manual back then

And you had to hand crank to start your truck?

 

[rod]

And you had to hand crank to start your truck?

There were a few times during my career a hand crank would have came in handy. One in particular was the day the starter fell completely off and was dangling by the wire.

 

[HomeDelivery]

you should have been tested at the B-O-G

they don't have a single manual-trans package car

 

[cachsux]

And you had to hand crank to start your truck?

No. Just jiggle the carrot dangling out front and say Giddy Up.

 

[cosmo1]

There were a few times during my career a hand crank would have came in handy. One in particular was the day the starter fell completely off and was dangling by the wire.

My favorite moment was when the wingnut on the air cleaner on my old GMC 500 vibrated off at the same time the bolt it went onto decided to break and fall into the carb. Instant full throttle in the middle of a turn.

 

[joeboodog]

I once had to hold open the butterfly on the carb open with a pen to get an old 800 to start. The truck fired and sucked the pen into the engine. Ran fine so none the wiser.

 

[BakerMayfield2018]

At peak we got 3 brand new package cars. 2 of them went to " seasonal help" because they diddnt know how to drive stick. O yea ,almost forgot, the ft sup would have to pull it out of lineup for them because they couldn't for some reason. True story.

 

[joeboodog]

At peak we got 3 brand new package cars. 2 of them went to " seasonal help" because they diddnt know how to drive stick. O yea ,almost forgot, the ft sup would have to pull it out of lineup for them because they couldn't for some reason. True story.

Wusses.

 

[soc151]

Bet the truck was still in better shape than most FedEx Ground trucks.

 

[UPSGUY72]

I agree with u fully on that. I just started driving shift a few months ago & I'm pretty good at it but I used a standard Honda from a friend. The shifting pattern is easy. I had some trouble getting the pc going & the shifting pattern was not as simple & I couldn't handle it. I accept that. But I will try again because I'm a fighter & I wont make excuses for my shortcomings. I just work to improve.

Just to let you know you didn't fail because you missed some gears. You failed because the person given you the road test didn't believe you could safely control the vehicle in other words you where an accident waiting to happen...

Everyone that has taken a road test and never driven truck or a package car most likely missed a gear or grinded one a couple times during there road test. The road test isn't to see if your a pro at shifting gears it's to see if you can safely control the vehicle. However if your grinding it to find it every time you shift that a different story....

Some people that take the road test never make it out of the parking lot before they are failed...

 

[iruhnman630]

Proof once again that the job is not for everybody.

Don't feel bad about the 1st and reverse mixup. I drive several cars with the same issue. I usually start in 2nd gear anyway so it's not much of a problem. But it does make for a thrilling suprise when the car lurches backwards unexpectedly when you do start in reverse thinking it is in first.

 

[Catatonic]

I think you should contact the union and HR and be nice about it (you seem reasonable) and ask for another road test with another evaluator.
Get out there and drive that PC around the yard to get use to it.

 

[32F driver]

1st is a granny gear in my 1988 P700 & I avoid it like the plague. I have never used it in 14 years driving tired, old UPS junk. Keep the new cars, I'll take the old beater any day, it's quiet. I agree with soberups that you should drive around the yard, except at my center, the speed limit is a blistering 5 mph, & it's heavily enforced.

 

[UPSGUY72]

I think you should contact the union and HR and be nice about it (you seem reasonable) and ask for another road test with another evaluator.
Get out there and drive that PC around the yard to get use to it.

You must support the new social promotion standard these days where everyone gets promote to the next level eve if they don't meet the standards as we don't want to hurt there feeling.

I call BS chalk this up a life learning experience and maybe next time the OP will pass or than again maybe not.

1st is a granny gear in my 1988 P700 & I avoid it like the plague. I have never used it in 14 years driving tired, old UPS junk. Keep the new cars, I'll take the old beater any day, it's quiet. I agree with soberups that you should drive around the yard, except at my center, the speed limit is a blistering 5 mph, & it's heavily enforced.

It's 5 or 10 MPH in every UPS yard. However it could help the OP get use to the different transmission the package cars have and possibly more comfortable driving a larger vehicle which would make his ability to pass the road test better.

However as other have said this job isn't for everyone. Some people can't get comfortable enough to safely driver a package car that is quite a bit bigger than most cars...

 

[iruhnman630]

Be thankful the tester was the only one to witness your failure. Six of us took ours together in a training car. Only five returned to the classroom after lunch.

 

[Drumstickz82]

I took the road test recently in a P1000...I drove tractor trailer for 4 yrs and 2 1/2 ton in the Army, so keeping the PC safe on the road wasn't a big issue. I would have to say the only thing that felt awkward to me was how far up the seat position was, and the short gear shifter and position as well. I used gears 1-5 initially leaving the center, but about halfway through the test, I just used gears 2-5. The gears had a lot of play, but you get used to it the more you drive...made it back to the center with 0 points on my sheet....just have be confident in what you are doing and be aware of your surroundings.....just waiting on my background and uniforms to come in now...good luck to all

 

[MethodsMan]

Wait til you cover a rural route out in the sticks with a POS manual. On steep hills no matter how tightly you tighten that E-brake the truck slowly wants to creep down that hill. Those are the only times I start in 1st gear.

 

[Rainman]

I had to drive an old P800 around the building the other day and had the same problems you had. And I've been driving PCs for years.
I do like the advice of starting in 2nd, though. That's what I did when I drove those manual transmissions years ago.
Keep trying, at least you'll know better what to expect next time. Try not to freak out if something goes wrong. Being able to adapt on the go is a big positive here. If you can adapt and roll with the punches that will go a long way in the sups eyes.


Kmart sux. So does Walmart. And Orion.