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A new class of truck driving students line up in front of one of TCAT’s Kenworths. In the lineup are
(from left) Cody Grace, Dylan Williams, Jared Shreve, Tesfa Zewde and instructor Jeff Carroll.

Driven to succeed

veterAn driver shAres his exPerience with student truckers H
story by terence corriGAn
he big trucks on the road – tractor-trailers – can be up to carroll teaches truck driving at the tennessee college of
70 feet long and 13 foot tall. the trailers can be carrying Applied technology. In 222 hours, over the course of seven and
t up to 45,000 pounds. A tractor and trailer without a load half weeks, carroll prepares students for the state’s commercial
can weigh around 40,000 pounds. that all adds to a vehicle license exams and goes with them to the test. classes start every
rolling down the highway that may weigh up to 85,000 pounds. morning at 7:45 and are over at 2:15 p.m. the course includes
(for comparison, a greyhound bus fully loaded with passengers more than driving skills. the students are trained in work ethics,
and luggage weighs somewhere around 48,000 pounds.) there’s map reading, trip planning and safety. “we hammer on safety
a lot of weight hurtling down the highway in big rigs. daily,” he said.
jeff carroll teaches truck driving. carroll has just convened his third class since he began
he takes a personal interest in ensuring that the students that teaching at tcAt in August 2017. the class size is limited to five.
graduate from his truck driving class are well-trained. “I don’t he sat down for interview at the end of february in his office/
want to just train guys to pass the test,” he said. “I want good classroom in a portable building behind the college.
truck drivers out there. my family’s out there on that road with As carroll listed off the skills he teaches some of the terms he
them.” uses are a little fuzzy to the non-truck driver.
In his 17 years driving trucks, carroll has driven two million to get their cDl (commercial Drivers license), the new
miles without an accident. drivers must pass a “backing skills test, properly perform a pre-

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