Prime Inc
Topic 7294 | Page 1
I don't know if they do a background check through the FBI but they do do a thorough background check as does every trucking company does.. Now with prime I think you don't really need any endorsements but you should at least get your hazmat that way you are more marketable and can haul hazmat and if you get your hazmat then the feds do a background check...... For more info on prime check there website or you can find a ton of info here Company-Sponsored Training along with a lot other companies...
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
I would recommend using the search bar on top, theres a ton of posts about people going to prime
Okay well now bring my second question cause i would like to get everything to have a smooth transition i live in Massachusetts how dining go about getting hazmat and twic card. ? Idk if brett will know or if anyone will know this part is new to me if someone can help in steps and sights to go to rmv in mass are absolutely no help
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
Okay well now bring my second question cause i would like to get everything to have a smooth transition i live in Massachusetts how dining go about getting hazmat and twic card. ? Idk if brett will know or if anyone will know this part is new to me if someone can help in steps and sights to go to rmv in mass are absolutely no help
Spencer,
I don't know if they still doing the same way, but about a year ago when I applied for my permit in Mass I asked them (rmv) if I could do the hazmat written test before applying for the background test. They said I could, however my permit would not come with the hazmat endorsement. After I passed all the written tests which by the way is cheaper to apply for all endorsements all at once than later after you get your CDL $10 per endorsement instead of $30 they issued me a passing certificate for the hazmat portion and also issued me a permit separate. I was told to bring both after cleared from background check and passed the driving portion so they could issued me my CDL .
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
And what about the twic how do i get that?
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.
Okay well now bring my second question cause i would like to get everything to have a smooth transition i live in Massachusetts how dining go about getting hazmat and twic card. ? Idk if brett will know or if anyone will know this part is new to me if someone can help in steps and sights to go to rmv in mass are absolutely no help
When you get to Prime, they will set you up to get your TWIC at the terminal (not sure about that for the PA terminal). If they don't in PA, you can get routed through the Springfield MO terminal and apply there.
As a company driver, they will require you to get your TWIC, HAZMAT, and passport. So expect that to be some of the things you will need to do once you start your training. They will explain to you the process to getting these things during your orientation. If not, just ask and they will be happy to explain/asisst as needed.
Since you will have your CDL before going to Prime (if I understood right), you will be doing 40,000 miles minimum with a trainer before you will be allowed to upgrade to solo driver status.
Anything else, let us know, will do our best to help to guide you in the proper direction.
Ernie
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
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.
If you're coming to Prime with a CDL already the only endorsement you are required to have is tanker. They tell you to get a HAZMAT but I started there last July and haven't got mine and don't intend to unless I absolutely have to. You also must have a passport but it's not required before you start orientation. I got my passport after I finished TNT training (40k miles) on my first home time after I went solo. As far as the TWIC card, prime will give you that during orientation before you go out for your TNT training. They will have the card within a few weeks so you can pick it up when you finish your TNT and go thru upgrade orientation, unless you manage to get thru the terminal before then. If I remember right it cost $120 for the TWIC.
As far as HAZMAT goes, you'll hear stories that if you have that endorsement that you'll get loads over drivers that don't have it if there isn't freight after you have emptied your last trip. I went solo in September and have never waited more than a day for my next load. 95% of the time I have my next load within hours of being empty and most often within an hour. A few times I've been pre planned before I ever emptied. So I guess the HAZMAT may get you a load over a non HAZMAT driver once or twice a year? I personally don't want anything to do with the headaches of pulling a HAZMAT load but if you don't mind, more power to you.
Now unless I misunderstood and you're coming to Prime without a CDL then that's an area others here on the forum know more precisely than I do. I came with my CDL already. It sounds to me like most obtain their permit in their home states before arriving at prime and that should include your endorsements as well. The tricky one is the HAZMAT. Before you can take the test for the HAZMAT you must pay to have a background check and fingerprinting done. And I'm pretty sure that you must have a CDL permit BEFORE you can apply for the background check. Check this link for details: http://www.tsa.gov/stakeholders/hazmat-endorsement-threat-assessment-program (sorry but I tried to post the link but got an error message saying the URL wasn't a valid link, even though I copied and pasted it directly from the website.)
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
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.
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 14ยข 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.
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So im sure u guys remember a little wile back i asked about prime or schieder well I've desided to go with prime to get some otr exp i know it helps alot know im looking for all the info i can get on prime . Links ext i over hear prime does a fbi backgrand check is this true ? And do i need to bring anything tonne prepaid. Also are their any endorsement i need . Im basically looking for all the info u can give me on what i need ao i can go through the transision smoothly. Btw i am in school in Massachusetts to get my cdl then to pa for prime. Hope this makes sence ty for your time
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.