And today a rookie asked if the orange cones were “graded” because one “flinched” during straight-line backing at 7:10 a.m… in Lot B, and I nearly gave extra points for honesty. If a cone jumps, it’s nerves, not failure — reset, breathe, call your reference point, idle it back, and laugh it off; what’s your funniest CDL practice moment that still taught you something?
I swear one cone tried to unionize on me, but the fix was committing to the driver-side mirror and making quarter-turns with a one-second pause so the trailer catches up; if it’s windy or the lane’s tight, I reset the cones wider instead of chasing the wobble. What’s your go-to cue when a cone “flinches”, @OP?
Rookie move taught me this: when a cone ‘flinches’, freeze the wheel and count two Mississippis so the trailer finishes its swing, then switch to the passenger mirror for the last 10 feet to keep the tandems on your line. If it still drifts, do a tiny pull-up sooner instead of chasing it — cone’s got quicker feet than I do. Curious if @sebastian58 uses that mirror switch too.