Profile For Errol V.

New rule you learned in the School of Hard Knocks: don't go "in" anywhere unless you absolutely know you can either get out or turn around without damaging anything. Especially at night. Once I had to drive ten miles at night past a missed turn to find a place to get back again.

My first property damage accident at Swift was to back into a warehouse wall. It was sheet metal and I ripped a hole in it. I "knew" I was going to get fired all the way back to the terminal. Ended up I had to talk to someone in the safety office. Any trucking company knows the rookies will mess up a bit. That being said, don't think you'll get a pass on the next boo-boo.

Safety office rules of survival:

1. Do not ever say the words "I assumed" or "I thought".
2. Do describe what you learned from the incident.
3. "I promise ..." Is so weak. But do state your resolve to improve your driving.

Heavy C counsels:

Be honest about the accident on every application and at any interview you may get. Tell them not only why it happened but why you'll never let it happen again.

The key to recovering your career in this situation is the underlined "why". Yes, anyone can say this'll never happen again. But if you can explain why it'll never happen again, you can go to the head of the class. If you understand your role in the accident, you bet you'll be able to manage your sleep time. This is what an interview will be pleased to hear. No guarantees of a job, but I'll bet you'll move your marker closer to that goal.

Those endorsements are nice to have, but not all that necessary. You will be on the road making money that much sooner if you get on with Bison now.

The doubles/triples & tanker endorsements do allow you to pull more different kinds of trailers, but that's a minimal difference for a main property carrier like Bison.

You start out whining about "terrible trainers". Few trainers at any company are "terrible". Regarding your post, overall I'll stand with Davy to suggest the common thing you have with trainers is you. Prime and any company that trains newbies gives you a separate contact to deal with trainers. Dispatch is not in the training business, they are too busy moving freight.

You sound like you want the correct terminology for the brake buttons. 95% of the time you work both buttons at the same time. Push to go, Pull to stop. I'm not clear if you say your trainer says "set the brakes" for both stopping/parking and release. True, he should be understandable, but the hard part is that you need to keep in mind the context - going or stopping.

If Mr Trainer has racist or homophobic ideas and wants to express them, ignore that and do not contribute either way to the conversation. Religion and politics in these kinds of conversations is playing with dynamite. You can throw racism and homophobia into that rule. Even if you agree with the speaker, just don't go there in your training days. I'm with you on these things. Let the speaker stir his own pot and you just work to get your job done.

Phones and truck driving are a tough mix. First, any FaceTime with anyone while you hold the steering wheel is strictly verboten. Any phone calls you have while driving had better be done with a phone headset. Go ahead and get a good one, around $120 for the cheaper ones at truck stops.

Lastly, Primeguy, notice that all these replies work to correct your newbie attitudes, not to go after you personally. Each and every contributor here does want you to get into your own truck and be a real Primeate. So adjust your thinking and make the moves necessary to get through training.

NaeNae sez

zthe point is having different tone sets for each ear, so the effect is greater using a headset.

Yes that's true. I'm one who tried binaural in a good headset, but tossing & turning turned them into "rocks" on my pillow. A small bedside speaker is second best.

Those sleep sounds are worth a try. Spotify & YouTube have them. Headphones or bedside speaker.

One important thing is you consciously choose your bedtime, and let others in your house know you will be "Do Not Disturb" then. If you need to hit the sack at 5pm, so be it.

BTW the wake up-work-do stuff-sleep cycle is the usual way we all live. Wake up-Do stuff-work-sleep is not so easy to maintain.

Try Big M Transportation in Blue Mountain, MS.

My brother-in-law drove for Bug M for years. A good and not big company.

Most all big fleets are using auto-shift trucks. Not to worry.

Efrain, technically the automatic thing is a restriction, not an endorsement. But it's not really going to "restrict" your career. Like Stevo says, automatics are easier to drive. I learned on a manual, but when I was assigned an auto-shift, t said I'm not going back. It's too easy to drive!

Any truck fleet owner will choose the automatics because the tranny is more fuel efficient, easier to work on and less prone to getting "ground up" by drivers.

A "secret": the automatic shift transmission is actually the old style gearbox with a computer controlled clutch and shifter.

Sandman looks up W &A:

62 trucks and 63 drivers

Team or slip seating could explain the truck/driver radio. At any rate, your home location isn't that important. Many drivers do not live near a company terminal and do fine, get home when they need to.