Sorry for the off-topic post, but I forgot that I had a fire department drill tonight. It was a good thing that I went. Unbeknownst to me, the Assistant Chief had decided to make this the night of my check-ride on the tanker.
To give some background, our new tanker is a 410HP turbo charged, ten wheel drive, 44,000lb beast. Needless to say I had some apprehension about taking a check-ride in this particular vehicle. Then again, I never back down from a challenge.
Let me tell you, this thing handles like a dream. In fact that is the biggest danger of driving this truck. It handles so well that it could lull the driver into complacency. One must always keep in mind just how much weight they have behind them when driving this truck. Modern technology is a good tool, but no substitute for an alert driver.
I made two runs with the tanker, emptying it into a swimming pool and refilling it at a lake. I even managed to back it into the station on the first try. In the end, I passed my check ride, though I still need more practice driving, and am allowed to respond to calls.
Pretty cool. Yep I feel good.
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