LOOOOOONG Overdue Update

How much am I learning if I'm always driving the night shift

This is another issue I had with her. Good trainers put students in EVERY situation. Day night high volume traffic city driving. She had me drive all nights with no traffic and far away from cities.

One thing I did learn from her psycho friend was city driving. My first experience with this was Chicago. The first time behind the wheel of his Pete he made me drive right onto a city street without even going around the parking lot to get used to the different truck. After that I realized if I could drive Chicago with someone screaming at me then I could drive anywhere lol.

I would like to note that I do honestly believe Prime has an excellent training program. With a company this size it's hard to micromanage every single employee to know exactly what is going on when. So if you're new and reading this, please don't let any of this scare you off. These are common problems throughout the industry regardless of company, and if you take anything away from this converstion, know that the people in management at Prime are 100% committed to your success. Like I said, once the situation was brought to light it was rectified immediately. As in, within half an hour of the first phone call I was already assigned to a new trainer. If you feel your FM is not helping you, get in touch with the training managers. When they give you their cards/phone numbers at orientation, program it into your phone and don't be afraid to call them. I didn't take advantage of that, choosing instead to be intimidated into silence. Don't make my mistake. I could have learned so much more and had a better overall training experience if I had spokeno up sooner.

Rainy, that's why I think ALL training miles should be run as solo, with the trainer in the seat next to you, awake, and able to help if necessary. Teaming should only be if you've already had significant experience and are just switching companies.

I would like to note that I do honestly believe Prime has an excellent training program. With a company this size it's hard to micromanage every single employee to know exactly what is going on when. So if you're new and reading this, please don't let any of this scare you off. These are common problems throughout the industry regardless of company, and if you take anything away from this converstion, know that the people in management at Prime are 100% committed to your success. Like I said, once the situation was brought to light it was rectified immediately. As in, within half an hour of the first phone call I was already assigned to a new trainer. If you feel your FM is not helping you, get in touch with the training managers. When they give you their cards/phone numbers at orientation, program it into your phone and don't be afraid to call them. I didn't take advantage of that, choosing instead to be intimidated into silence. Don't make my mistake. I could have learned so much more and had a better overall training experience if I had spokeno up sooner.

This is why I think Brett mentoring idea is awesome. Because they fixed my problem, I knew who to call to get Miss Myioshi problem resolved.

I knew as soon as she posted the trainers name on the board that issues would arise and as soon as she posted about the accident I was sure things would get worse. When she and I spoke on the phone I knew exactly what she was going through. After i called prime, Miss Myioshi called me back within an hour "30 minutes! You made a phone call and in 30 minutes I was taken off the truck. I've been so stressed for two weeks and it's over now".

Made me feel so good to help... not only her.... but prime. Bad trainers give my awesome company a bad reputation.

Rainy, that's why I think ALL training miles should be run as solo, with the trainer in the seat next to you, awake, and able to help if necessary. Teaming should only be if you've already had significant experience and are just switching companies.

The problem with that is the companies won't make money and some lease ops rely on that teaming to survive. The compnay would have to pay two salaries with solo miles which means training pay would go way down. With the automatics coming in, trainers are already fearful training time and pay will diminish.

Ok you guys also brought up another big issue and that's whether or not a company trainer should be a lease driver or a company driver.

For starters, you can make more money training a student than you can driving solo regardless of whether you're a lease driver or a company driver. So for that reason you're going to get people who are training simply to make more money. They really don't want to train anyone and they don't have the personality for it but the want the cash. That is a big problem and there's no easy solution to it. There simply isn't enough good hearted people that would volunteer to train students so you have to either force people to do it or pay them to do it. Forcing them would be an even worse nightmare than paying them so right now the best solution they know of is to pay people as an incentive.

However, a lease driver does have more to lose than a company driver if things don't go well. A company driver may not make as much money if you don't turn as many safe miles but they're never going to actually lose money and go into debt. A lease driver is running a business and will actually lose money and could go into debt if things go badly. That puts more pressure on the lease drivers for sure and that's a problem.

Not only that, but a company driver doesn't own the truck or have to pay for maintenance or repairs. They also don't have to pay insurance on the truck. A lease driver does all of that. So a lease driver is going to stress out more if you hit a curb, blow out a tire, scratch a fender, or do some sort of damage.

A company driver doesn't pay for fuel either. A lease driver does. So the way you drive the truck is going to matter more to the lease driver.

So we've certainly established that there is more risk and therefore more stress on a lease driver than there is on a company driver. So you might say, "Well it's settled, then. Don't let lease drivers train students."

Not so fast. This is where the realities of running a corporation come into play.

Trucking companies like to have lease drivers because it limits their risk and liability. The company is basically acting as a freight broker and service provider to the lease driver. They will book freight, take their cut, and pass what's left over to the lease driver. They will also play a role in handling the financing, fuel surcharges, insurance, maintenance, and other costs of running the trucking business and can make a profit off of the services they're providing to the lease driver. So the lease driver takes on most of the risk of running a trucking business and the trucking company becomes more of a service provider. This is a very appealing position to be in if you're a trucking company.

Unfortunately the reality is that most lease drivers aren't very good at running their businesses, especially in the beginning. They lease a truck most often for ego-driven purposes, delusions of grandeur, and the fallacy of having more control. They want the bragging rights, they want to be the Big Bossman, they want to have more control over the freight they haul, and they want to take time off where and when they want to.

So when they get out there and start running their business in a sloppy manner they quickly get behind the eight ball and start losing money. Now there's a huge problem for everyone because both the company and the lease driver want this business to succeed. On top of that, the company has a long list of students waiting for trainers.

When you do the math the solution is obvious - give the lease driver a student to train at a lower wage. The company makes more money and gets training for their students, the lease driver has more success with their business, and the student gets trained. Everyone wins.

Well, everyone wins if the lease driver handles the training well. Unfortunately in this scenario the lease driver is often miserable. First of all this driver wanted to be a Big Bossman but is failing instead. They also had no intentions of sharing their truck or taking on the risk of training rookies. So that student becomes a constant reminder of how poorly that lease driver has handled their business, or at least how wrong they were about making big piles of cash and the glory that comes with owning a truck.

So the reality is that lease drivers will continue to train students. So a system has to be put in place to make sure they're doing it the right way.

I got extremely lucky. When i was in training the truck was run as a solo with me doing most of the work while the trainer actually trained. At WST not all trainers do that but this guy was a tough but fantastic trainer who loves to teach. He stopped training when he was weary after dealing with some trainees who weren't made for trucking. The company didn't immediately take his or another trainer's word but would move the student to another trainer for a second opinion before cutting them loose.

During training the student coordinator checked on me several times a week when she knew i wasn't driving and my trainer wasn't present so I felt i could speak freely. I also had numbers of other experienced drivers who were NOT trainers and had been with the company for many many years.

Made me feel so good to help... not only her.... but prime. Bad trainers give my awesome company a bad reputation.

That's why I think drivers that have recently completed training would make great mentors for the drivers currently in training. You just went through it so you know what it feels like to be in their position. All of it is still very fresh in your mind and very real. You also have a much clearer understanding of the big picture now that you've completed that phase of your career so you can give the student a better perspective on everything that's happening.

In fact I think a tiered system would work well. You could have solo drivers that have recently completed their training help mentor current students through a conversational format like we have here in this forum. That way all of the conversations are documented for future reference. Most of the time all you're going to have to do is help clear up misunderstandings and give a little bit of encouragement. But when more serious situations arise you can pass the word up to more experienced drivers and company management so that they can review all of the conversations to this point, get a good understanding of what's been going on, and deal with the situation immediately and effectively.

Rainy, that's why I think ALL training miles should be run as solo, with the trainer in the seat next to you, awake, and able to help if necessary. Teaming should only be if you've already had significant experience and are just switching companies.

I know at Prime, Wil-Trans , Jim Palmer, and others they send the student out with a trainer and dispatch the truck as a solo operation during the first phase of training. The theory is that you'll learn enough with the one on one instruction during this phase that you'll be ready to run as a team during the second phase of training.

The reality is that in this system the real training is being done in the first phase. The second phase is basically a team operation with the added benefit of having an experienced driver there to run the show. I think that students get the impression that the second phase should involve a lot more hand holding and polishing of their skills than it really should. By the time you start the second phase you already have your CDL and you've already been on the road for several weeks doing all of the driving while an instructor guides you every moment you're behind the wheel. At that point the handholding ends and you're expected to drive like a real trucker. It's time to step up to the challenge and learn how to run a truck efficiently enough to turn a profit and manage the stresses and difficulties that you'll face when you go solo.

I went to truck driving school in '93 and got my CDL. At my first company I went on the road with a trainer for two weeks. For the first few days I did most of the driving. For the next 10 days or so we ran as a team. That was it. Then I went solo. I already learned the basics of driving during my time at school so the two weeks with a trainer really wasn't training as much as it was teaming. He watched me for a few days to make sure I could handle it and then it was time to man up and become a real driver.

That's the theory with Prime's training. They'll hold your hand for a few weeks to really let you feel it out and learn at a more comfortable pace. Then it's time to see if you have what it takes to be a real trucker but with the safety net of an experienced driver with you.

Of course this all hinges on the trainer in the second phase treating you guys fairly and not abusing you or expecting more than is reasonable. You guys did not get that fair treatment and you weren't running like a normal team would. If you had run like a normal team I think you would have enjoyed it just fine. In spite of that you two performed fantastically and made it through.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

EPU:

Electric Auxiliary Power Units

Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices

You're right. And that op is putting more pressure on already stressed out students which can lead to accidents This trainers truck was old and had over 800k miles on it. Sometimes I couldn't get it in gear. She'd yell... then tell me each time I shifted wrong I costed her a penny in fuel. One time she said "why are u grinding my gears" and my nasty attitude shot back "why are u a trainer if you don't expect students to grind gears".

Turned out that her gears were old and stripped. I was mad at myself for not getting things right , but all my shifting problems went away when I got in her friends pete... then my own truck.

Both her truck and her friends truck had mechanical problems they never fixed. His were blatant DOT violations. She had a turbo problem she said was going to cost over $5000 and that was way back in the winter. Then she insinuated Miss Myioshi broke the turbo during a MINOR accident. Bullcrap.

So guess what .. some of these lease/owner op trainers are putting themselves, the truck and the students at risk by not maintaining their equipment. I really think the company should look over the trucks before the student goes with a trainer.

I also think the company should mandate things like "student must do one WY run, must drive through inner city at least twice" etc. Mandate the student drives through certain areas. I have a great trainer friend who not only helps me, but has taken my feedback. One thing that threw me is when she said "oh no... not in my truck is a trainee driving through WY they can learn that on their own." It's this risk brett is talking about that actually prevents some good trainers from providing the best training....and the training students expect. I came to prime to train in winter but only got to drive winter conditions twice.

I also feel bad for both trainer and students when students switch trainers. If you have the same trainer from start to finish then the trainer knows what you learned and the student knows what to do. My first trainer had airbags that dropped when unhooking a trailer and had me pull out in 3rd gear. This trainer didn't have air bags (or DEF) and never told me to pull out in 1st gear. So the first time I pulled out from under a trailer she flipped out that I ruined her $3000 drive shaft. When I went to her friend he was frustrated that she didn't tell me certain things and thought I should know. I was frustrated cause he was yelling at me for not doing things I should have known.

There is no SOP for training. Ask 3 trainers and you get 3 different answers. One will say "it's prime policy not to use cruise control in rain" the other two will deny it. Its not in writing anywhere. When to use the jakes was another question I got various answers on.

Then it goes to demand. There is more of a demand for PSD trainers during the permit phase than for the teaming training. Lease ops make more money during teaming than PSD. So you have a long list of lease ops waiting to team train but refuse to psd permit train...but students with permits. .. especially non smoking women... are being trained locally cause there aren't enough psd trainers.

With the automatics coming in . You have students with permits going on the road with automatics then given a few hours or days in a stick to test out. They now go with a lease op with a stick and both student and trainer are frustrated cause the student can't shift and the teaming trainer expects you to be better.

Made me feel so good to help... not only her.... but prime. Bad trainers give my awesome company a bad reputation.

You guys did not get that fair treatment and you weren't running like a normal team would. If you had run like a normal team I think you would have enjoyed it just fine. In spite of that you two performed fantastically and made it through.

Thanks... I do think we did great and I did learn a lot. But Miss Myioshi and I are a little "more mature" (nice way of saying older) and have big mouths. I'm worried about students who don't have the guts to stand up for themselves, or are afraid of not being believed., or are younger and get stuck in these situations. As much of a witch as i am... there were a couple days I wanted to give up. I'm a strong strong woman.... and if i was pushed to that point, I know there are people out there who gave up but might have done great if they had a different trainer. I flat out told prime that if that jerk of a trainer had been my first I would have quit the first day and bashed prime to everyone I know. But over the months, I got to know prime... I KNOW the bad ones are not what prime is about and they WANT to know who is making them look bad. Which means that prime may have lost people who could have been great drivers.