My Prime INC Experience. (A Running Log)

your on here recruiting drivers with no experience all day long and calling swift out for being a cdl mill.
i heard jb hunts boss mechanic on sattelite radio telling an old owner operator he should change the gears in his diffs and tranny so he can get the same fuel mileage going real slow. its gettin deep all over

 

Training company hiring on one hand, company who has had thousands of students lose their CDL due to their issuing school being a mill. Hmm.

http://cdllife.com/2013/top-trucking-news/many-cdl-students-unsatisfied-with-swift-settlement/

http://www.overdriveonline.com/class-action-cdl-suit-against-swift-continues/

http://m.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/feb/25/fbi-targets-swift-driving-school-millington/


http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...p/65412-swift-academy-licenses-suspended.html

http://m.topix.com/forum/business/trucking/TJB4POCVEC3L6G9HF

 

First I have to admit that I did not check all 3 links here. I did check the first one (cdllife.com) and what really stood out to me was this:
Eight of the former students received $12,500. each
The attorneys received $1.9 million.
I should have gone to Law School!

 

I looked at them all. WOW.

 

All I am getting at is that Swift was a mill. Prime is not. We fail or reject people outright who are not suitable.

 

Swift is a PTDI approved course, prime is not.

Swift trainee success rate is higher than Prime.

Swifts CSA safety scores are better than Prime.

All this info is available to the public.

You should get your facts straight...........

 

My understanding is that Prime isn't trying to be a trucking school, but Swift is.

Got an awful lot of seats to fill at Swift... so you need to rubber stamp those CDLs fast. They got caught in Tennessee. Swift's "success" is finding enough meat for the seat.

...not so much numbers.

Yes lets...

For the most recent data available in SMS...

Crash rate per million miles - the only way to really judge...

Swift... 0.91 per million miles.
Prime... 0.88 per million miles.

Unsafe Driving...

Swift 57.3%
Prime 56.5%

HOS...

Swift 20.8%
Prime 26.7%

Driver Fitness (aka can you find your med card quick?)...

Swift 49.2%
Prime 63.2%

Controlled Substances...

Swift 37%
Prime 48.1%

Vehicle Maintenance...

Swift 56.5%
Prime 39%

In the important categories, Unsafe Driving, Controlled Substances and Vehicle Maintenance, Swift comes out worse more often than Prime. I didn't check the individual numbers on Controlled Substances, but on that one a few hits runs the score up drastically. Probably ought to rein-in the Christmas Party, eh?

That vehicle maintenance number is rather disturbing...

The SMS numbers are posted monthly, so in fairness to all carriers, a bad month behind the scalehouse can drastically effect CSA numbers. The only long-term statistic is the crash rate calculated as: Number of Total Crashes divided by Miles Driven times 1,000,000 miles. OTOH, Swift is pulled into the scalehouse on a regular basis (by my observation) while Prime is routinely given a green PrePass light. Evidently the DOT doesn't agree with numbers assessment.

...and for goblue- yep your CSA numbers are a lot better than Prime or Swift. I'm not too awfully sure how much CSA matches up with safer carriers- and you shouldn't either. Your carrier is much smaller than Swift (not to mention Prime) and you run a lot less miles in a different industry segment. I certainly don't care to be based out of anywhere north of I80.

 

our company went from requiring 2 years experience to one year and the drivers hate it.

 

Working with my student at Prime East, getting in some backing practice before his test this week.

I feel good about his chances.

 

Drivers arrested for murder in the last week:

Swift 0
Prime 1

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/20...body-20131229_1_truck-s-r-84-keyla-concepcion