My CDL Training Diary With Prime Inc
Topic 19116 | Page 3
How is everything going?
Now twice the site fouled up and lost my typing (once was my fault the second was the sites).
I'm tired and don't feel like typing again For the second time, do I'm going to make severely smaller posts so I don't loose it again.
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.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Orientation was hectic but fun, and I met Trevor who I think will be a friend for a long time.
Another glitch was handled and I'm in PSD with my trainer who is genuinely a nice guy but a bit rough around the edges for my taste. Loudly belching frequently, incessant tuneless whistling, and fidgeting with the splitter all the time. Last night he was clicking his gum. I can handle it. He seems to know what he's doing, and is patient saying "you might want to...." instead of yelling at me. He did get ****ed last night, but didn't yell too bad about my not hearing him and asking him to repeat himself (for the thousandth time) I'd rather he got ****ed at me for the đź’© I do wrong vs. physical deficiency. I can hear but when there is backround noise (always when rolling, right?) I find it difficult to decipher speech. Especially with his drawl, that these yankee ears are not accustomed to.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
I wish I was driving more. I did not drive for 3 days at all, in part I feel due to my poor shifting (I'll get better) and a tight schedule on our first two loads. I would have liked some more information about exactly what we should be accomplishing during PSD. I want to learn so much more than exclusively interstate driving. I haven't backed on the road once, and only once straight backing on the pad. I asked him when I learn that he said when we get back. He has not done even one pre trip other than testing the trailer brakes and verifying the kingpin is locked in, and checking that no one hung pee jugs to the back of our trailer. He. Clearly knows what he's doing, and hope he shares more with me.
Whoever said car and truck shifting was like apples and oranges, could not have been more right. My trainer makes it look effortless, and although I'm getting better I need to greatly improve, and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
I passed the permit test easily (thanks in large part to high road), and fear the trifecta will not be as easy.
I've some ideas for when I'm solo, how to eat more healthily and less expensively. Time will show if I'm right.
Time for sleep
Interstate:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
No driving for 3 days? That's a little much even with tight loads. Dispatch should know he has a student. You should be doing the bulk of the driving and he should be driving after you get tired and need a break. But defienitkh not 3 days in a row. PSD is for YOU to learn how to drive the truck. You won't learn any of the other things like all the Qualcomm stuffily the macros and stuff but it's so you get comfortable behind the wheel. Essentially it's to give you enough information and confidence to pass you drivers test when you get back. TNT will be for all that other stuff. As for the backing... I didn't get to do Much backing on PSD either, backing in the real world is much different that backing for the test. I practiced all my backing for the test once we got back to test out. You will learn all the reference points and where to watch the cones then. Pretrip... should definitely be working with you on that. Especially the air break test. Maybe when you're at a shipper or receiver ask him "hey can we run the the whole pretrip since we are waiting anyways?" Good luck my man! I know it's tiring out there so don't stress too much about updating us. We know you will once you get a chance and feel like it.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Qualcomm:
Omnitracs (a.k.a. Qualcomm) is a satellite-based messaging system with built-in GPS capabilities built by Qualcomm. It has a small computer screen and keyboard and is tied into the truck’s computer. It allows trucking companies to track where the driver is at, monitor the truck, and send and receive messages with the driver – similar to email.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
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 14¢ 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.
Dido on what Kori said. I was the same way wanting to learn everything. PSD is just set up to see if you can drive, then pass the test. I lucked out and had a PSD instructor who loved driving from 2-3 am to sunrise. I hate those hours. So I got more sleep in the passenger seat. I did get to back a few times, but that's cause I asked. I also watched the gueling process even though he said I didn't have to, as well as the Qualcomm messages he sent.
Chin up, and just remember some of these trainers like go getters those who won't just sit by and wait for the info to come to them.
Qualcomm:
Omnitracs (a.k.a. Qualcomm) is a satellite-based messaging system with built-in GPS capabilities built by Qualcomm. It has a small computer screen and keyboard and is tied into the truck’s computer. It allows trucking companies to track where the driver is at, monitor the truck, and send and receive messages with the driver – similar to email.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
How are things going now? Are you getting more drive time?
I've gotten to drive a bit more and am happy to say that the advice from my DM was very helpful in getting me to shift better. She told me to make like I was shifting in the passenger seat while my instructor is driving . It helps to get the cognitive information into muscle memory. I still have to think my shifts through but upshifting is much easier and downshifting is somewhat easier. I have to get my RPM's higher on the downshift. I'll work on it. The sounds are becoming more familiar and I'm missing far fewer of my upshiftt points (not "reving the hell out of it" I know I will only get better with practice and repetition to I'm continuing to "practice" in the passenger seat.
I'm happy to say that during my last drive I got far more proficient at lane management. I don't have to consciously think about it any more (I had a tendency to slightly oversteer, then slightly over correct back), now on the highwa,. I can look 1/4 mile ahead and my arms keep me centered virtually on their own. Speed control has gotten easier as well, anticipating hills etc, it was a light load but. It has now become fun to drive, and not worrying about absolutely everything. Confidence and comfort are increasing. I'm finally feeling that I'll get the trifecta. I feel comfortable with the pre-trip, and will learn the backing.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Now I need to get my laundry done.
A couple of surprises for me. I'm truly amazed at how tired I get just Driving. I can drive a car for 8 hours and be fine, I drive 7.5 in the truck and I'm whiped out struggling to stay awake in the passenger seat.
I thought there would be slightly more "normalcy" of sleep. Not so. Some days we go to bed at 11 pm. Some days 3am, some days 9 am, sometimes noon. We had a pickup at 3am once. Thankfully I'm usually so tired I don't have a problem sleeping. The biggest problem, is that my instructor sleeps with the tv on. So does my wife but he keeps it pretty loud and its right by my Head. D'Oh!!
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Oh wonderful!! How was the ride?