Accelerated PSD Students

Isn't it funny how they are calling it the accelerated program?? When actually the guys getting their cdl in the accelerated program are far behind the guys getting to go out with a trainer. For example they train for 14 days in a light weight freightliner with a 48ft spread axle flatbed , they never leave town and then they test in the same LW , then a TNT instructor picks them up thinking he is ready to do team training, WRONG, Prime is slowly becoming jus another ordinary cdl mill

 

Wait till they start doing their in house PSD program with automatics and a lot of you TNT trainers still have manuals. Man I'd hate to be a TNT trainer then I don't know when you'd sleep.

 

They won't be able to , at least not yet. missouri has the automatic restriction .
I actually think that is one of the reasons they are trying to move the psd program completely in house.

 

I remember when I came though PSD there were no computer based CBT's it was all actual classes taught by people. They've since lowered the amount of miles required in TNT by 20, 000 and now a non OTR PSD program. Seems prime is slowly taking the man power out of the training process.

 

At the point that they pull the PSD program completely in house, or I am in a truck that prevents me from having a PSD Then I will quit training. I'm not going to bring somebody on my truck and attempt to sleep behind them when I have no idea how well they drive. If I don't teach them how to drive, I don't teach them how to be a driver.

 

From an outside perspective, and from someone who has done PSD training (me) I can understand why they are doing it. There are so many complaints about the quality of the PSD trainers that it is not funny, so that is part of the problem. Heck I was even accused of being a racist by one student LOL. Another said I could not teach even though up until that time all my Students trufectied. A lot of the students try to transfer their issue's on to the trainer.
Now that said, I don't agree with training on a 48' flatbed, But I like the city driving aspect, and I would think that they do some freeway. But it does not condition them for long driving periods.
TNT trainers are going to have to quit looking at this portion of the training as team driving and concentrate more on the finer points of training the trainee and polishing them. Your right, your not going to be able to sleep while your trainee is driving, instead your going to have to train them up. So that means your going to lose money as your not running team. Those trainers that are in it just for the money are going to be dropping out of the program, especially those L/O trainers who are in it to help them to make their truck payments.
Just my 2 cents.

 

You do raise good and valid points that I wouldn't disagree with. I do want to clarify that when I talk about sleeping behind the student, I'm not talking about their whole shift. By the time we finish with the PSD portion they should be conditioned to driving a full, or near full stretch and competent enough to hand 4-5 hours heading down the road without constant supervision (road/weather permitting). Other than the times where they have 250-300 miles of uninterrupted driving ahead, I'm involved to a varying degree depending on their level of competency. I don't know any of my trainer friends who get much sleep at all past the PSD phase but that 4-5 hour baseline is, for me at least, a minimum needed to safely function, let alone effectively teach anything.

 

Agree'd, but I know/knew of many TNT trainers who looked at the trainee as nothing more than a team driver and used them to increase their income that way. These are the guys that are going to get a rude awakening.

 

When I came through the rat trap in 08 that's what it was, I hope it's changed