Prime Peeps
Topic 22267 | Page 2
I flew in a day early to get acclimated faster without the rush of everyone showing up on Sunday. We had over 140 people in our PSD. I don’t think you’ll have such a large number at Pittston.
Don’t feel pressured into thinking it’ll be overwhelming, you’ve already accomplished the harder part in getting your CDL. Everything will fall into place with all of the information that has been shared on the many threads on here, the schooling you’ve already gone through & now comes the practical knowledge that life has a way of dishing out to us in doses.
Take your time, grind your gears, GOAL as much as necessary, watch your mirrors, watch your wagon, etc. It may seem daunting but the main thing is to build a cautious confidence. Let muscle memory find it’s way through the gear patterns. Watch the other drivers at the truck stops. Ask crazy questions...
The first time I got into a big rig was at the backing pad in Sprimo. I had butterflies, moths, sparrows... you name it. So I was so darn nervous that I ran out of the truck in the middle of one of the maneuvers to go to the portopotty. Needless to say, the Chinese buffet lunch I had just eaten came flying out. On testing, I failed both the backing & road test twice before passing both on my last tries.
Now? I have nearly 5K miles in about 8 days. My shifting is improving everyday, my backing is good, I haven’t hit anything, on and on. As has been stressed throughout these forums, take your own time.. Request the necessary routes that’ll give you the most challenges in order to build the experience & confidence. My trainer ask for a route through some hilly & curvy roads to help me with my downshifting. Even stalled on a hill & again on a highway. I remained cool with the help of my trainer & found the way out of those challenges.
Again, good luck & be safe out there.
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.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
Reyn, Thank you for your post. It made me feel a bit better. I was the same in school. I had never even seen the inside of a big rig. DOT testing was fine for me, maybe not always pretty. The school side also have there whole series of testing and their standards where quite a bit higher than DOT. There were times I wanted to run out of the truck but I didn’t but I kept all my “cookies” down. 😂😂
It’s just seems forever ago since I drove. Maybe a month and a half that I am afraid I may have forgotten how to shift. Hopefully, it will come back. I have drove an automatic a couple times since but that obviously had nothing to do with me shifting.
I am excited. Thank you to all the members here at TT.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Reyn, Thank you for your post. It made me feel a bit better. I was the same in school. I had never even seen the inside of a big rig. DOT testing was fine for me, maybe not always pretty. The school side also have there whole series of testing and their standards where quite a bit higher than DOT. There were times I wanted to run out of the truck but I didn’t but I kept all my “cookies” down. 😂😂
It’s just seems forever ago since I drove. Maybe a month and a half that I am afraid I may have forgotten how to shift. Hopefully, it will come back. I have drove an automatic a couple times since but that obviously had nothing to do with me shifting.
I am excited. Thank you to all the members here at TT.
Its a misconception that trainers will expect you to know it all just because you passed the test. we know you dont or you wouldnt need further training. tell the TnT trainer you have been off the truck a month and you will get some nice practice before teaming.
just remember, a good trainer might drive you crazy by letting you make your own mistakes or giving you tips to prevent making the ones they did as a rookie. evaulating you to.point out your strengths and weaknesses is their job and not personal. they want to help not belittle.
driving an 80,000 pound 72 foot killing machine while speeding down mountains and populated areas is a huge responsibilty. so please take it seriously and good luck!
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
I may be going to Prime too. What can I expect from the agility test?
Nothing to sweat over. Lift a weight to chest height. Do a duck walk. Walk up and down a ladder a cpl times. Practically anyone can do it.
Flatbed is a little more involved with more weight and lifting tarps but still not a big deal.
I've been trying to duckwalk in my kitchen. How far do you have to do it? I might be okay, depending on how strict they are on form. Don't tell me twenty friggin feet! Lol!
Ha nah nothing like that. Just a couple feet and I think they even let you put one hand down. No worries.
I've been trying to duckwalk in my kitchen. How far do you have to do it? I might be okay, depending on how strict they are on form. Don't tell me twenty friggin feet! Lol!
Robert B.. like Tuetle said. It’s nothing to sweat over. I’m 56 years old with sciatica & I passed. Good luck!!
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I am not going to commit to one right now. This happened so fast I am still trying to wrap my mind around it. But once I get there I will evaluate the pace. If I am able I will. I know it will be helpful to others.
I am thinking of renting a car and driving rather than taking the bus. I think I would be better rested if I can pull it off.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.