Prime: Orientation and Training?

CRE.

I went thru 2 phase 1 and 3 phase 2 trainers. The first P1 ran 2 trainees and expected us to run illegally, including running on his logs. Got off his truck. The first 2 P2 trainers were about the same and I got off their trucks.

When I reported this to CRE, they had no problems putting me on other trucks, but did nothing to their supposed trainers except to give them more students.

 

I feel bad for all that have horror stories about orientation and training.

My Son was in the Oct 12th orientation class and said it was easy....you just had to do what was asked! He had studied his CDL Book well before going to orientation and had no problems passing the tests. Had a CDL instructor pick him up at the end of the week and they drove hard for a month.

He came in on November 15th practiced his backing and parking all day then passed his Driving test on Monday. His instructor kept him as a trainee since winter was approaching and they have driven almost 37 thousand together since he started. The trainer is a L/O so they have been running between 5 and 6 thousand miles per week through all kinds of weather and whatever the road throws at them. Had to chain up on 81 in Virginia during the blizzard to get a fedex load through.

He has been pleased with the training he has been through already but said there is a lot to learn above and beyond just driving. Maybe he is just the lucky one who got an instructor/trainer who is patient enough to walk him through things until he understands his responsibilities and who teaches things in a logical order.

He has not had many breaks but they have made a few trips through Springfield so he has had a few nights at home since he started.

Time will tell

Lee

 

Having a good instructor/trainer makes all the difference in the world!!

 

I'm starting with Prime hopefully January 11th. I have 2 years of driving experience from various trucking companies. I've been off the road for almost a year and looking forward to being back and hopefully getting miles to make money. From what the recruiter was telling me, as long as I pass the driving test during orientation, I should be able to get my truck after orientation. Can anybody tell me how many miles they are averaging? The recruiter told me that across the board, average is around 2500 miles a week. I just want to hear it from real Prime truckers on what the are getting. Thanks.

 

just wanted to give kudos to ironpony and notarps for all the great input.THANKS

 

I went company solo in July, and up until this point, that is true...2500 is about average. Some weeks better than others, but I'd say 2500 is just about right.

Running team with my trainer we were getting 5,000 miles per week and sometimes higher (that was from Mid-March to early-July 2009).

Getting into the slow season here, so we'll see how things go. But I can't complain much in the miles department. This week is a bad one (only about 1800) but I just got off of hometime on Tuesday and unloaded on December 31st, then had to sit until the 2nd to get my next load.

 

I just went through Prime Orientation, and I have to say that the organization was kind of a cluster. It was a short week (New Year's), so I would say that was a big part of it- but I would say that Notarps' comments about oreintation are probably spot-on.

But... on the positive side... I would say that all of the instructors for the classes were very professional and knowlegable... I learned alot and made it through fine.

After orientation, I got very lucky when they paired me with my instructor. He is great. He is very knowledgeable and attention-to-detail... a super nice guy that is both very personable and very professional, and good at what he does. He is 100% focused on teaching me every little detail- not only about learning how to drive, but about learning the business.

I am doing very well, and he is already talking about keeping me on as my trainer after I test out. We are having alot of fun and getting the job done. We are on our way to Riverside, CA as I write.

More to come.

 

Good to hear that DirtySide.

I also forgot to touch up on orientation. I went through it in March, and I agree, it was a bit of a cluster. The classes themselves were pretty good and the instructors were good people, but the scheduling was a complete mess. Nobody knew where they were going and we often drifted from the written schedule times. I did manage to make it to each class on time, but it did add to an already anxious event as they make it seem like if you're late, you're gone. You don't hear me complain much about Prime, but I do think orientation needs to be much more organized.

 

i start prime jan 6 and am a rec. cdl school grad. dose any one know if they use a simulater at the springfeild loc.?

 

Yes, they do have a simulator at the Springfield terminal.