package car drivers

vashon76

New Member
i been with ups for six years and for the past two years i been thinking about becoming a driver but the only thing is that u have to know have to drive a manual transmisson and i dont know how does anybody know a place in chicago i can go without spending alot of money to teach me how to drive a manual transmisson.
:confused:1
 

trickpony1

Well-Known Member
Perhaps you could have a friend rent a standard transmission truck from one of several rental companys and then find an empty parking lot to practice.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
get in touch with a local car club. Someone will have some kind of old beater they will let you drive. "Car people" are great people.
 

EAM_Master

Part-Time'er for Life!
If you want to be a driver they will teach you when you go to service provider training. There are a number of guys in my center who had never driven a manual trans before they started driving, and they learned no problem.
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
If you want to be a driver they will teach you when you go to service provider training. There are a number of guys in my center who had never driven a manual trans before they started driving, and they learned no problem.
True maybe, but having a little experience would lessen the stress.
Go to rent a wreck and spend 50 bucks for a weekend. Make sure you have someone who does know how rent it tho, as you need to get outta the lot.
 

browniehound

Well-Known Member
i been with ups for six years and for the past two years i been thinking about becoming a driver but the only thing is that u have to know have to drive a manual transmisson and i dont know how does anybody know a place in chicago i can go without spending alot of money to teach me how to drive a manual transmisson.
:confused:1

No offense, but are you a 16-year girl? I know most cars "now-a-days" are equipped with automatic transmissions, but if you're not man enough to "handle a stick", then you'll fail miserably at the other job requirements. Sorry to be so harsh, but thats my opinion.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
If you want to be a driver they will teach you when you go to service provider training. There are a number of guys in my center who had never driven a manual trans before they started driving, and they learned no problem.

haha, now thats funny. One of the pre-reqs is knowing how to drive. They take you out for a "road-test" before they send you to school. School consists of roughly 30 minutes behind the wheel..(although you spend plenty of time watching others drive) Some Schools use passenger vans... some use a converted package car with multiple seats in the back(with windows too)
The rest of school is in the class room.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
That's how it was when I started. You had to already know how to drive standard. The first thing you had to do was start a package car facing up a steep hill without rolling back. NOT ONE INCH!
 
W

westsideworma

Guest
No offense, but are you a 16-year girl? I know most cars "now-a-days" are equipped with automatic transmissions, but if you're not man enough to "handle a stick", then you'll fail miserably at the other job requirements. Sorry to be so harsh, but thats my opinion.

hey I was once a girly man :ohmy:, I didn't know how to drive stick, I had it down in a week (had the basics in a day). Its hard to find a stick in a car these days in order to learn unless you go out and order one with a stick (used to be the other way around, you had to order an auto) and even then some don't offer them at all...period. Not to mention the trannies in package cars aren't exactly "snick-snick" like my buddy's honda :wink:

I learned because I wanted to know, now theres nothing keeping me from being a driver...well except my seniority and the horror stories I hear...lol
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
Trick and Tooner are right. Rent something with a stick and go to a large empty parking lot. The clutch is what throws most new drivers. Practice your clutch work by putting it into first gear and slowly let out the clutch without giving it any gas. It will buck and stall many times until you get the feel of it. After you can make the truck/car roll smoothly from a dead stop without the gas you are home free.
And take someone with you who knows how to drive a stick.
Good Luck
 

rapidrandall

slow but sure
We just had a part timer bid into driving who didn't know how to drive a stick and the center manager let him practice in our lot with one of the package cars before going out on the road. He passed his 30 days and has fulltime driver senority now. Only problem is he is really hard on clutches, burned out threee in three months.
 

Channahon

Well-Known Member
We just had a part timer bid into driving who didn't know how to drive a stick and the center manager let him practice in our lot with one of the package cars before going out on the road. He passed his 30 days and has fulltime driver senority now. Only problem is he is really hard on clutches, burned out threee in three months.
Some drivers think clutches are footrests. And don't realize that they are wearing out the clutch with little pressure applied. I would hope somebody from Automotive, Safety or the center would chat with the driver. Potential safety issue.
 

canon

Well-Known Member
most cars "now-a-days" are equipped with automatic transmissions
That statement alone probably accounts for people's lack of "stick familiarity".

You're right browniehound, manual transmissions are fairly rare. It's considered both bone stock in a cheap car, and a performance option in sportscars. I had a '02 TransAm WS6 with an auto... the manual transmission was another grand or so and I was already WAY over what my wife wanted me to spend on a car. I didn't think I'd mind that much, but after that no more. Can't stand auto... not even in package cars.

vashon76, don't worry about it. You'll learn it fast, and some people even end up preferring it. My wife never drove a manual transmission until she was in her late 20's. Wasn't long after that we bought her a Miata and she started driving SCCA racing (I didn't care much for it... the miata or the scca).

Go into it with a sense of anticipation. If you stress too much over this it will make it much worse when you first try. It's no biggie, relax. Stalling it a bunch of time is normal... excessive clutch feathering is normal in the beginning too. Don't worry about burning it out; that's why God created mechanics.
 

hondo

promoted to mediocrity
Why not try air or saturday air driving first? From what I've seen, the P3s (I think that's what they're called) are automatics. While smaller than regular package cars, they should be a good intro to the driving/delivering life.
Introduce youself to some drivers you see regularly in the bldg or your stewards. And ask HR, too, especially since they'll have the list of other min. requirements. BTW, our local general membership meeting is this 10AM sunday, 705 auditorium. See you there?:thumbup1:
 

tieguy

Banned
I've trained a lot of people over the years. Do you have any friends in management or maybe a driver that will spend some time working with you in the yard?
 
:w00t: Wrong. The Service Provider Traing Schools are for those who have already qualified with a road test, (manual transmission). If you do not know how to operate the equipment ... you do not get the opportunity to sit in the class
 
A

Another Driver

Guest
And one thing management will never tell you when you first learn to drive is to start the truck in second gear. First gear is too short of a shifting ratio. It really slows you down when crossing an intersection.
 
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