Profile For Marcus R.

I see a lot of post about what company to drive for, but not a lot about trainers. I would like to know is there a ton of bad trainers or have I had bad luck?

Instance #1: I go out with a trainer for 2 of my 4 weeks. I was sexually harassed for not having teeth and being told I was going to be sucking his (member) and all people from my area have no teeth cause they are always (censored) their brothers and sisters. Was told not to Get out and look if I had issues with backing. Was told not to touch 'his mirrors or seat adjustments', having my drink thrown at me for it being in the wrong cup holder when I was driving, having to try and sleep while truck is moving, during day, in harness on top bunk. Asked questions that were answered with "I dont care" as all he would do was play on his laptop or on his iphone all the time.

I asked for a new trainer after 2 weeks and got in this situation.

Instance #2: I go out for 2 more weeks, was told to speed the whole time, at 70+ MPH (cause he had manipulated the govern) Guy spent day and night on phone with g/f fighting and having temper tantrums where he would stop the truck and get out for 4hrs at a time. Constantly threatening to drive truck through the main terminal and kill his dispatcher if she didn't give him the routes he wanted (At 1 point he sat at a rest stop for 4 days refusing loads) Was constantly being reminded how many people he has killed in the past, he has been in prison, that he has a gun in the truck and will shoot me if I make too much noise at night. We witnessed a woman get decapitated in FL. as she was texting and driving over speed limit in a residential area and went under the truck in front of us. He had a panic attack and was bonkers for the next 3 days. (This was not good for a new driver to see or how a veteran driver handles situations) Was told to (censored) run over dumb(censored) if they get in my safe area in front of the truck, that we dont have time to mess around. Or else I would get shot. The last 3 days were spent running non stop with no sleep, scared to try and sleep and in the hostile environment was nearly impossible to try. I asked to get off, was taken into managers office and asked what happened. I reported all things and they found to be true, was then asked to think of it as comradery and look the other way. I left the company after that.

My question stands, is this the normal atmosphere and behaviors, is this why the industry has such a high turnover ratio?

I want to drive, I love to drive...Graduated easy with my CDL A. but with 3 months it is very hard to find a company.

Ha, I have to wait another week, missed combination by 1. I will bet at Indianapolis in the beginning :) Optimistic as I have passed these tests twice already, just had to take a new one for WV.

How long do you have to wait to retake the test?

7 days sadly.

Ha, I have to wait another week, missed combination by 1. I will bet at Indianapolis in the beginning :) Optimistic as I have passed these tests twice already, just had to take a new one for WV.

Hopefully heading to Knight this weekend!

I just came home from Prime. I was 1 of the 2 out of 130 people that passed our CDL permit the 1st day. There were no trainers all week long, the instructors told us there were only 10 coming in that week and the 'Priority Students' go with them. So was a big waiting game, after being on the pad all day long from 5am to 7pm Saturday, learning pre-trip, basic shifting, double clutching. I got a shuttle back to my room around 7pm and got my call. I jumped with excitement to interview with a trainer and headed right back over. From 8 to 1am I was driving, backing up, etc. My instructor told me to be ready at 8am, that we would grab a load at 9am and head out.

So you're up ALL day learning, excited, driving, get back to your room around 1:30am. You cant sleep obviously, you have to pack & with that much excitement riding up on you 4am came really early when your roomie had to get up to head out with his instructor. So I headed over to the Millennium bld to have breakfast and wait, wait we did...We went to the driver line to get our dispatch route and they set us out on a 1,200 mile run that had to be there by 10am the next morning...We got our truck # headed out to set route etc on Qualcom well, this was the 1st step in seeing my trainer annoyed. Dispatch had him doing a 6 drop route all over PA, he promplty went back in and told them that he cannot run that, he is a O/O lease driver and that run has to be done in teams to even get there and that he has a PSD student! Basically they told my trainer 'You have to take this' and we will 'repower' the load when you get to drop #2.

So its 9am and we have our trailer # and a mad trainer, we go out to get our load and guess what....It's not there, we head back and we hear its in the shop...We didnt get our load out till after 3:30pm and had to drive 1,200 miles that must be delivered by 10am....So he drove till all his hours were up them put me behind the wheel after 2 days of no sleep and 1st time really driving a big rig and it happens to be at 4am through Colombus OH. then on up into PA. Weather was bad, and both of us 1/2 asleep and bending / modifying DOT rules to the grey as I was told. We get to destination 1 at around 10:30am - 2hr wait for them to pull pallets, then leave stop 1 around 2am drive through Pittsburg to make another delivery 4hrs away, anyhow we finally got to sit at a Walmart lot around 10:30pm Monday night...

The rest of the runs I had to hear complaints about how weekend dispatch screws him and he should have waited for his personal dispatch to get a load, well all that was hindsight. So the next 3 days since it was never 'repowered'. He did all the driving in the 4inches + snow and ice, I did not get any drive time due to time restraints, distances, and that was his truck and he needed the money, there was no time for a student to be on a truck when that trainer was annoyed at dispatch, taking long runs over his DOT hrs, plus he was going to be going to the hospital soon....So I didnt see any way I was going to get training and I was not going to go sit in Springfield MO for 2 more weeks to possibly get someone in this poor weather that would let me drive a few hrs a day to a 10,000 mile goal.

Here I sit at home wishing I would have went with another company, 4-5 weeks out (10,000 miles) as a PSD, come back and test for a week, then you 'must' go back out TnT for 30,000 miles....It's ridiculous, to get a Class A this way.

Best of luck, I leave tonight for Prime training starting Monday. So very excited myself!

I am leaving 02/06 for Prime and start training on the 9th. I am very excited to start a new career and life.

I was talking with some gentlemen the other day about trucking. One stated that he can never drive again because he was off-duty, putting in a new radio, keys in the ignition to test the radio here and there, but he had a beer sitting outside his truck. He was immediately terminated from the company and black flagged. I suggest just focus on your job and the price of your future and cargo. If you had $500,000 worth of merchandise or more and a vehicle $250,000 would you want someone driving it or delivering it to clients with alcohol in their system or found in vehicle if you get stopped for a random inspection?

At Prime, I did my PSD phase in 3 weeks which included a week off for Thanksgiving. Then I did my TNT phase in 8 weeks which included a week off for Christmas. It flew by too.

How is your experience with the drop and hook rate approx 50%. I mean do you spend most your days loading and unloading freight opposed to what you are getting paid to do...Drive?

Hi, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Marcus, I am 43 years old and I so desire a career in this field, I have been approved and verified by 3 companies to start training (All background information is cleared and I am good to go).

The problems I am facing are... A) Prime - Is just too darn long. I cannot imagine myself being with an instructor for 4-6 weeks to earn 10,000 miles, then have to turn back around and team with another or same instructor for another 4 months earning 30,000 miles, just to obtain my Class A and run solo at 50% Drop and Hook.

B)USA - Teamed with Driver Solutions to find a training center. Closest I can go to requires me to drive 160 miles a day for training or stay in a motel. I was told I had to get my In State Permit before they would accept me and that I would need a minimum of $950 to cover my food, lodging, and testing.

C)PAM - Need bus ticket out to facilities, must pay for own transport to facilities from bus terminal via cab or bus, pay testing fees, then pay meals during training. Around $750 needed.

What should I do, where should I start? Any information to help me get started the right way would be wonderful!

Thank you Marcus