Comments By Britton R.

I say suck it up. I'm training now. We aren't running as a team but my trainer sits shotgun and plays with his phone paying no attention to me. The first week or so was insane. I just have a permit and they threw me in the truck with zero driving experience. It was somewhat terrifying. But I learn more and more. A lot is me just figuring it out. A crappy way to learn, but I'm learning.

Stick it out and it will come. Best of luck to you.

In my opinion, you'll have a tough time finishing the schooling if you wre unsure about the program from the beginnng. Once you get going you'll get a lot more stress which will will build upon already shaking confidence. This will be a lot to handle while trying to get used to everything else in the schooling. I'd go somewhere you have confidence in from the start.

I just started at Prime a few weeks ago and its been tough. Theres a lot thrown at you that you have to digest and it takes its toll. I've heard England is a very fast paced program and push the lease hard. If you aren't comfortable, don't do it. Find a program you're comfortable with so you don't have as much stress from the start.

I detailed my full first week in a post on the cdl diaries section of the forum if you want to see whar Prime is like. You cwn also private message me with questions as well about getting started here.

Its a big decision, don't rush into it. You may feel the need to rush due to money or other concerns but think about the long term before jumping in.

I haven't talked to the other guys. My trainer isn't that great. Hes not a good teacher. He gave training a shot, and I'm his first student. He said I'll be his last because he's not cut out to train. If he was just teaching me the way of the road it would be ok. But he's supposed to be preparing me for the cdl test. He pretty much throws me in the drivers seat and watches/talks on the phone all day. He'll give me advice here or there but really its me learning on my own. It kind of sucks, but I'm getting better. Hopefully we'll get to do some backing soon.

Quallcom is simple enough. The hardest thing will be remembering the macros but thathwill come in time. I'm hoping my tnt trainer will be better. I need to be taught what to do not just sit and watch and try to figure it out. All in all the driving is getting better by the day. I'm getting more comfortable each day. Now I just need backing and pretrip practice. My trainer sucks with pretrip. Cant answer my questions, and doesn't help at all. Youtube is my teacher. The flashcards on here have helped too.

I watch their videos too. They always make corn bread that looks amazing. I'm going to get a slow cooker when I go solo and make some good stuff.

I'd apply to any and all that fulfil what you're looking for. If driver solutions is what you want, go for it but it doesn't hurt to contact more. Sometimes its hard to get ahold of recruiters so you may be able to get into another quicker if time is essential. My best advice is to narrow down all of the ones that suit your needs and apply to all of them. Once you talk to them you can pick from there. Just make sure that the company is what you want. Don't just jump at one for the heck of it. This will be a big choice, make sure its right for you.

I listen to all music. Right now my trainer and I usually listen to the 90s alternative/grunge or blue collar comedy on xm radio. Yesterday I listened to the 90s on 9 channel all day. Once I get my own truck I'm going to listen to everything. Techno at night and then a different genre each day. I also have my ipod to hook into the stereo when I want something specific

HOLY HELL!! Where have YOU been??? Nice of you to just jump in here and let us know you made it through and are on the road as a PSD.. Seriously, though..good to hear from you..how is it going??

Its goin. I'm getting better every day. Its been a quick 2 weeks out here on the road. Seen some beautiful country. Driven in situations that were terrifying. I'm hating training, but love it out here on the road. I can't wait to be solo. I know that I won't think that way when I'm alone and need help, but I'm just independent. I want to do things my way like not have the qualcom on silent, and not have trash around the cab. And I'm tired of the top bunk! Lol. Overall I can't complain. For the first time in my life I really enjoy what I'm doing. I can tolerate a few months of training. When it gets rough I think about what I will do with my own truck.

I listen to all music. Right now my trainer and I usually listen to the 90s alternative/grunge or blue collar comedy on xm radio. Yesterday I listened to the 90s on 9 channel all day. Once I get my own truck I'm going to listen to everything. Techno at night and then a different genre each day. I also have my ipod to hook into the stereo when I want something specific

I remember reading this forum and a lot of of people comment that training goes by quick. It sure does. Days blend together and fly by. I did my week of classroom and have now heen on the road training for almost two weeks. I think that the program at Prime throws you onto the road without enough training overall.

Day one I was driving. Only 30 miles but the only experience I had was the simulator so it was pretty rushed getting on the road. Day two was 400+ miles and it was off from there. I really feel you ae lacking a lot of info out here. They pushed us out the door and ran us hard. At the end of the first week I questioned all of it because I didn't think I was getting the info needed to get my license. After talking with my fleet manager I feel a lot more confident because they had a plan. A plan would have been good to know from the beginning.

So far I've been in 18 states and each time zone. We started in Springfield Mo.from there it was Bakersfield, Boise, Provo Wi, Atlanta and now we're just outside of Lexington Ky. I've ran over lawn furniture, stalled on a mountain, almost had a head on collision a few feet in front of me (dumb 4 wheelers passing on a two lane without enough room) , saw a driver life flighted away from a mangled cab, and today a downgrade in pouring rain. Its been insane. In the next few days we're heading back to Illinois to do a dedicated wal mart route. This will get me a lot of backng practice. 2 weeks and I should get back to Springfield and test for my CDL. Its crazy that I've done all of his with only a permit. My trainer says I need to be getting paid. I agree, but it is what it is.

Training sucks, but its a necessary evil. You have to learn. Even if your trainer isn't someone you want to be with. I want my freedom and space. All of it will come in time. I'm loving every second of driving. I can't wait to finally get out on my own. Its been fun and terrifying all at the same time. I can't wait to see what's next.

Thanks for the words guys. I'm trying to learn and learn. Yesterday was a nightmare, but I survived. My issue is not knowing what to do and when. Yesterday we ended up going around LA rather than through it. The traffic wasnt horrible, but was a bit stressful. I see two trucks ahead of me part andI'm stuck in the lane surrounded coming up on some patio furniture in the road. Yeah, I nailed it. No big deal but more stress. Then rain and everyone on the highway keep slowing up. So it was a lot of start and stop. Good shifting practice. Eventually we get to the mountains. I don't know much about mountain driving at all. I ended up stalling it on the mountain. I was brain dead at that point and didn't know where to begin or whwt I could have done. I wasn't prepared to do it. I understand being thrown to the wolves, and I also like to train hands on but I'm not comfortable jumping into something that I'm clueless on. If ther was a truck behind me I quite possibly would have hit it when I rolled back.

We weren't given any time on the load so I had to drive through stuff that I wasn't comfortable with at all with zero practice on anything other than a simulator. I like the idea of otr training but you have know how to dribble before you take the court. Its frustrating not feeling equipped to do some of this. I'm learning though. I've done close to 900 miles the last two days and enjoyed most of them. The rest would be ok if I knew what I was doing. Trucking is for me, I just need to get there

Britton - getting started on the road is overwhelming for everyone. The way you feel is the way everyone feels when they first head out with a trainer - it's information overload. The companies and trainers know this. It just takes time and experience to get a feel for the truck and get used to absorbing the constant flow of information coming at you. But you'll get it just fine. It may feel like you're in over your head but soon enough you'll get more comfortable with it.

Remember, the only thing that matters is don't hit anything. Everything else is just a temporary situation - a trivial detail. If you hold up traffic - doesn't matter. If you have to pull up 10 times to get backed in - doesn't matter. If you make a wrong turn, miss your turn, or start grinding gears like you're making hamburger - doesn't matter. Just don't hit anything. Take all of the time you need to perform any maneuver. Ask all of the questions you can think of.

Just take it slow, try to relax, and don't hit anything. That's it. That's your only concern right now. You'll learn quickly and things won't feel so overwhelming very soon.

That's how I've been looking at it. Driving is all about practicing and getting better every day. Yesterday I did 433 miles. It was easy. Sure it was down 20 all the way through texas but I feel more comfortable in the truck. Today I'll be driving through LA. Traffic will be some stress but I'll make it. It just seems insane to not have any drive experience before going on the road. But I'm making it. Pretrip will be tough but I'll get there