ask your questions about prime inc here

I've only been with Prime for a little over a year now, but I agree with what Ironpony said. Alcohol is a HUGE deal at Prime. We've had a couple drivers do some really dumb things over the last 18 months or so concerning alcohol and our safety director has made it known that Prime has zero tolerance for alcohol violations and they will most certainly put anything alcohol related on your DAC. They stress not drinking at all on the road, but say if we do choose to drink, only to do so "24hrs from bottle to throttle" and to get a hotel / motel room. They don't even want us being near the truck after drinking.

Falsifying logs is a thing of the past. When I was on paper logs, my dispatcher always stressed "safe and legal" all the time. If I said I couldn't make a load, the response was always "10/4, taking you off of this one and looking for other options." Usually I'd get another load within the hour, if not right away. Now I'm on paperless logs. Can't really force me to run illegal while on paperless. When I was with my trainer, there was never a need to run illegal. A team operation should be able to run legally with zero problems.

Fatigued driving falls in our "captain of the ship" motto. The driver makes the shots. If you can't safely and legally make a customer location on time, send in a QC message. If you're too tired, you're too tired. Making a habit out of being late due to fatigue might raise some problems, but if you're running legal like you should be, fatigued driving won't be much of a problem.

I believe our trainers are expected to keep a certain safety "rating" or at least keep a certain standard. Maybe U2 knows this for sure. But I thought in order to be a trainer your safety record had to meet certain requirements. It's hard for me to believe they'd let somebody with multiple accidents continue to train.

Prime also encourages its drivers to get as close to their destination as possible as quickly as they safely and legally can. A driver who can't keep their left door closed or their zipper up and make runs on time will eventually get weeded out. At the very least, that person will suffer financially by not utilizing their hours to their advantage. Those are usually the ones crying that they can't make any money or get any miles at Prime.

I don't doubt your story Micks. Sounds like you had a real bad run of trainers there. What I do wonder about is how you approached the issue with "the safety guy" because most of the issues you mentioned really aren't tolerated...at least these days. When I was in training, my dispatcher wanted me to check in every week or so to let him know how things were going. As of today, any alcohol issue would be taken extremely seriously. And falsifying logs isn't even a concern anymore. Not one bit. Sounds like you were probably an exception to the rule, and it also sounds like Prime has changed their ways regarding some of the issues you bring up.

 

Although my buddy is happy at Prime, his training period was miserable. The trainer's whole focus was on learning to float gears and get loads near casinos. Who needs experience backing... using the QC... or trip planning anyway??? And showers? Truckers don't need no stinkin' showers! Just hafta float those gears!

 

Yep, some trainers are idiots, and some trainers are awesome. Not that I want to brag about myself or anything.

 

Yeah, but you didn't specify either...

 

Awesome idiot!

 

When you get a poor trainer, you just have to look beyond your training period... and know that there's no disgrace in asking questions of your dispatcher and/or other drivers. Most are willing to help... and you can pick up a lot of practical knowledge that way!

 

Anyone know if Prime hires out of Oregon. If so would it be difficult to get home time? Is Prime still adding APU`s to their fleet. Prime sounds great to me. But APU`s are important to me...I`ve lived in AZ and Socal... Would not want to be without air at night. Have not driven for years. Have CDL. Got a nice little Medical job, been there 6 yrs, but I am starting to feel the pull of the road..

 

As I recall we already discussed this one's problems on U2's training thread last year. Again, if I recall correctly, he never contacted his FM about this, and only talked with whoever answered the safety line once.

 

Yes...

No...

Yup...

That's awhile. You'd probably need to go through the training program, but the definitive answer is best left to the recruiters. Don't let that put you off. Give them a call, and if you're serious, don't be leaving voicemails - camp on hold 'till you get a person.

 

Hey thx ironpony...Not quite ready to pull the trigger yet. But I have spent some time researching and Prime is the one I keep coming back to...Drive safe everyone...