Comments By Annee

I talked with my instructor, who is super cool. The suggestion that was made was this: After I complete their program, he recommends not being scheduled for the CDL test at the DMV and contacting Prime and starting my training with them from the bottom of the totem pole (PSD), because really that's what I'll need in order to pass the CDL test.

Even though you've been attending this school for about a month, the actual hours you have in the truck seems minimal. I'm wondering if you can get a portion of the $6,000 refunded. Do you have a contract with this school?

Miss Red, I'm a experienced Instructor/Trainer here at Prime. Honestly, truckers don't see women very often so expect a lot of attention. Some of the best drivers I know are women so don't be intimidated or go through anxiety. I'm sure you'll be fine, what you're feeling is completely normal. Take it one day at a time, no one is going to throw you to the wolves on day 1.

Oh neat! Hi :D

I'll be able to ignore most of the comments and am not the type to dress to ask for any extra attention. Is it true that we just get assigned by a list of numbers? Is there any interview process? I mean between student and trainer.

You will be chosen by the trainer who will then contact you. The trainer has a list of all trainees along with the information you gave on one of their forms (state of residence, smoking & gender preference). You do not have to accept this trainer. Also, you might notice people hanging around watching trainees during classes, these people are most likely trainers looking for trainees - just a heads up.

I tried to utilize the search engine and couldn't find a thread to calm my nerves. I've been accepted at Prime and after telling my friends and family I've been told I need to "watch out during training." At this point I'm pretty nervous about being touched, yelled at, or treated inappropriately. I'm 30, quiet, and a non-smoker. Is it going to be difficult to find a trainer that will be kind and unobtrusive? Being stuck in a confined area with someone for weeks due to the 30k training is causing me some anxiety.

Glad to have found the forum :] Thanks.

Hi Miss Red- I can help with personal experience of a woman going through Prime. I went through their training period but did not make it to stage 3 where you ride as a team after you get your cdl. My stage 2 trainer was definitely a screamer but he could also be kind, I thought he might be bipolar (kidding----sort of). I lasted about a week and half on the road with him as trainer. Everything was going ok, I was driving quite a bit for that week and 1/2 until one night I was stopped at a light on a hill with a heavy trailer and cars behind me. I started rolling backwards, couldn't find the 'clutch sweet spot'. Trainer was screaming at me, I got flustered and with him screaming in one ear, my brain screaming from the inside I gave up looking for that 'spot' and jammed on the service brakes. I didn't hit anything and no one was hurt except my confidence. In retrospect can see that neither one of us handled it well. I could have gone back to prime (and probably should have) for a different trainer but I was so stressed with the realization I could have killed those people behind me, that I just went home. I'm presently going through a different cdl class at my local college.

My opinion is that Prime is an excellent company, from my research it seems they pay the best and have excellent benefits. You'll receive the details in your first week.

They do have female trainers but they're few and far between. So you will probably end up waiting longer for a female trainer if you absolutely insist on this. But the word from other female trainees and my first hand knowledge is the relationship on the truck is strictly professional and the trainers know this. You will meet with your trainer before accepting him as a trainer and can decline if you feel uncomfortable. If I could go back and do it again I would probably stress during the trainer/trainee interview the importance of being calm and relaxed to my learning experience. I think you should expect a little screaming, if you think about it, you have no idea what you are doing behind the wheel of that 53' death machine and the trainer sitting in the passenger seat knows this. I try to remember my experience teaching my 15 year old how to drive a car. She didn't know you had to slow down when turning and that 1 inch is not far enough away from cars parked in the street. You want to talk about screaming........

I am in college now and want to pursue a career in trucking when I get a degree( My dream is driving across America). I am 38 with no kids and want to drive O.T.R across the country. I am doing research with company sponsored trucking schools. My question is I have quit drinking for about 6 months now and take an anti depressant--Zoloft which does not impair my driving. I don't want to get discriminated or not accepted in a school when I am trying to change my life by staying off the booze because of my diagnosis. I never have had and major psychological issues like suicidal thoughts or schizophrenia. I just got the Zoloft to help me out while being newly sober. I know DOT physical will ask about my mental health. I have seen some drivers online say don't tell them and don't tell the trucking school since my medical mental history is protected by Hippa. Can a trucker out there give me the low down on what you think i should do. Thnx.....Nick

Hello Nick- I have been taking zoloft since 1984 when my husband's death through me into depression. Zoloft is one of the meds that are prescribed for different ailments so taking it doesn't automatically say 'mental issues'. You will be required to list all medications for the DOT exam. I was told it would be a good idea to get a note from my doctor, which I did, but no one ever asked to see it - I keep the note just in case. You should be fine but to save time, I would get the note. Also, I don't believe HIPPA applies to DOT but I could be mistaken about this.

Hypothetical Tax Question: If my state of record is AZ, but I work for Prime, would I have to file dual - state income taxes? My wife asked the question and I don't know the answer. If I drive for Prime, but live in AZ, would Prime withhold AZ state taxes??

This is decided by the state you reside in. If AZ has a reciprocal agreement with the state you work in, you will only pay in AZ. If AZ doesn't have this agreement, you will probably ending up paying in both states if both states collect state taxes.

But if you are OTR and don't physically work in just one location, your taxes should revert back to the state you reside in. See list of states with reciprocity agreements: http://taxes.about.com/od/statetaxes/a/reciprocal-agreements.htm

I am trying to join the trucking world but I am new to it so I would need to go to a company sponsored trucking school that will pay for the cost up front (under contract agreement of course) and teach me what I need to know. I used to live in Colorado and the options to do trucking were abundant. Now, people are saying I have to get the CDL myself or pay for school up front (4,000) and they will reimburse me which doesn't help. Should I move to another state or is there a way around this?

I'm from IL and going to school at Prime in MO. You are away from home for a bit but Prime pays for your lodging and first week's food and you sign a contract for the cost of school. But you should know IL does not accept CDLs transferred from other states so in this scenario you would need to pass the CDL testing in the state you train in and go back to IL and do it again.

Thanks for that information because I have not heard that. So I guess I could take the test twice, or I should just try to find a company-sponsored trucking school that has a base in Illinois. But what if I just don't drive in Illinois? Or do I have to have a CDL license in my home state no matter what?

If I remember correctly, in IL you will have to prove residency with mortgage statement, utility bill,, etc. in order to get your permit. So the state you reside in when getting CDL does matter. I believe all states are like this.

At first I wasn't crazy about taking the CDL test twice but have since realized if you can drive and pass in one state, you can do it twice.

I have seen post like this before. I too am an Illinois resident that is going to Roehl for company sponsored training. I asked Stephanie from Roehl the same thing. She has told me they have everything ironed out and if I was to have problems at local DMV to give her a call, they have a contact within Jesse Whites office.

That's the first I've heard this but if she can pull strings for you, wonderful. There is a federal mandate that requires states to accept CDL transfers but IL (and a few other states I believe) have refused to comply. This state sucks :)-

I am trying to join the trucking world but I am new to it so I would need to go to a company sponsored trucking school that will pay for the cost up front (under contract agreement of course) and teach me what I need to know. I used to live in Colorado and the options to do trucking were abundant. Now, people are saying I have to get the CDL myself or pay for school up front (4,000) and they will reimburse me which doesn't help. Should I move to another state or is there a way around this?

I'm from IL and going to school at Prime in MO. You are away from home for a bit but Prime pays for your lodging and first week's food and you sign a contract for the cost of school. But you should know IL does not accept CDLs transferred from other states so in this scenario you would need to pass the CDL testing in the state you train in and go back to IL and do it again.

I'm headed to primes school now and want a to thank all of you for advice and great site. I was a little nervous being s woman who wants to drive. ..but you all helped me greatly. ...even though I never posted I read everything here. ...feel confident with the help of the practice test here. Thanks everyone

You will be pleasantly surprised at how many women truckers are at Prime. There are lots of women of all sorts who drive trucks. Sure, not as many as men, but there hasn't been a truck stop that I have been to that I have not seen female truckers. You will do fine. Good luck.

I can attest to that, there are more of us here than you probably expect. I'm in my 2nd week at Prime, maybe we'll run into each other. Good luck. Annee

FYI the electronic Log CBT part 2 video.. guys gets interrupted half way through from another prime person and has a conversation and then continues the training video lol

I took that today too, that was too funny. At first, I'm looking around thinking someone around me is on the phone until realizing it's the guy in the training video. Did you notice how his voice changed from normal phone voice to training voice?