My Prime PSD Experience

I positively live for your updates, since I'm planning on going to Prime in April. Your experiences are a great insight, as a woman and as a new driver. I think we have similar attitudes about trainers. I'm there to learn. If you teach me what I need to know, then that's all I require. I'm pretty easy to get along with and anticipate no problems of being congenial and having a trainer that will be friendly as well as professional.

Good luck with backing! In my mind it seems the hardest thing I'll have to learn. But you can do it! You've done awesome so far, it sounds like. Thanks for the updates and keep them coming!

:) thanks. Long story short.... I will re-take the test on Wed. I totally feel confident about it now. I have noticed that some trainers get offended if the student asks for help or an explanation from someone else--- but sometimes you just have to hear something said in a different way in order to "get it". My biggest problem was not understanding how to correct something once i screwed up. Now i know what to do if i am too close to a line or too far away. There is a great set of instructors at "Prime East" which is a backing training pad area. They can help explain things better if you have questions.

Again, almost everyone I have met here is helpful and welcoming. People have bad days here and there, but it is rare to find a truly miserable person--at least the is my experience. But perhaps it is because i have known "truly miserable people" lol.

Amen, sister! Between working as a paralegal and working with rock stars, I've met some really miserable people. Glad the team there seems to be a bit more normal than the general population. Hahahaha!

Update: my original trainer quit prime and wanted me to test before I was ready. . I did and failed the backing then basically demanded more pad time. I was given a great backing trainer who helped me pass it with NO points. Then on the road test. ... I stalled the truck and failed for impeding traffIc. The clutch and gears feel different in his truck. so the next day I started in a lowèr gear.... got 85% thru the test and stall... auto fail for impeding traffic.

I know I should be able to drive any truck.... and the examiner said I'm a great driver and only got 8 points the whole route. :(

Today is my last chance. ...it's pass or fail time

Anyone who can perform under pressure will tell you that one of the keys is to clear your mind of any thoughts, relax, and remind yourself that you already know how to do what you're about to do. Don't overthink it. Don't try too hard. Don't do anything differently than you would do it if you were just practicing by yourself. Just take deep, slow breaths and try to relax. Remember the person with you is nothing more than another driver or whatever. No big deal. You're not trying to demonstrate to them that you're perfect. You're trying to demonstrate that you're safe. If you do make mistakes they want to see you recover with poise and confidence.

Just relax and do your thing. Believe me, they want you to pass so you have that working for you also. Just go for a drive and show them you know the basics and that you're relaxed and comfortable behind the wheel. You'll feel a little nervous of course but don't show it. Just relax and go for a short drive. No biggie.

Oh, and one other very important thing. This isn't "do or die" for you. This isn't your career on the line here. This is just one simple test for one company out of a million nationwide. You're gonna drive a truck for a living one way or another. If you pass this test then great - on to the next step. If not then fine - you come up with a new plan and keep moving forward.

So don't put any undue pressure on yourself. This isn't your one and only chance. It's just today's chance. If it doesn't work out, tomorrow will hold a new opportunity of some sort.

Thanks betting was trying to come up with plan b. If I fail I owe prime... I was told I could go home and test then come back with cdl and do tnt.

However to do that I would need to shell out some money to rent a truck /driver for road test practice then testing. Nj is different and you have to wait a couple weeks to retest if you fail.

I know a couple students leaving prime if they fail and going to swift. They already have the recruiters set up as a backup lol.

Will update later Thanks

You got this! Like Brett said just clear your mind and concentrate and relax. You can do it!

Is there an opportunity to get behind the wheel in the yard for 30 minutes or so before testing, just to warm up to the truck? Maybe that might help too.

I PASSED!!!! Thanks for all your help and encouragement; )

I PASSED!!!! Thanks for all your help and encouragement; )

YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!

Hi guys. I got some private messages asking about my TNT phase so I figured I would continue here. If you have questions ask here or email me at rainydal74@gmail.com

After I passed my test I was made to take the sleep study test.. I don't have apnea... yay.. then got my new DOT physical. I met my TNT trainer when I finalized my hiring paperwork. We got on the road a few days later due to her hometime.

By Nov 15th we were in orlando and stopped off at Disney world.. yep.. my trainer took me to Disney for the Christmas spectacular. It was awesome. She also got us tickets for the NASCAR homestead race.. but I flew home for personal reasons.

She picked me up after Thanksgiving and we hauled butt. We did a few FedEx and ups runs each between 1800 to 2200 miles. Those are tough cause they are time sensitive. We also did some high value loads which have specific rules.

I've learned that each truck is very different and it takes time to get to know the truck. Each trainer has their own set of priorities as well.

This week will be two months since I got on the truck but I'm only halfway through. it has to do with my trainer needing more home time than originally planned. I got paid to sit at prime one week doing nothing because she had personal issues. But so be it.

Now that things are back to normal I should be done in 3 weeks or so and then get upgraded to my own truck.

Someone asked me the differences between PSD and TNT. There are several:

1. Learning everything but driving. This is where I'm learning the paperwork and qualcomm messages....things about the refeer..sliding the tandems for proper weight placement..plus I'm getting a second trainers point of view on backing and driving

2. I'm doing all the customer handling. Each shipper receiver has different rules and ways to handle the paperwork. Deal with the backing and drop and hook. Found out that different trucks drop and hook differently. Some have airbag releases and some dont. Some are more violent when they l9ck on the king pin

3. I'm telling the trainer the different routes we can take. She's an o/o so she pays for her fuel. She let's me map out a couple routes then decides which is better for her money wise.

4. Lack of sleep In PSD I slept fine. In TNT I rarely sleep. In PSD we did not move unless I was driving So it was easy for me to sleep. In TNT I have to sleep while the truck is moving.. the radio is blaring.. the horns blowing..the On Guard system beeps when you are less than 100 ft from the car in front of you. In heavy traffic it doesn't stop. The roads are bumpy. . Construction is everywhere. Even after I drive 10 hours (550 miles ) When we arrive at the customer and she is driving i have to get up and do the paperwork.. so no true 10 hour break.

5. Teaming is hard. In TNT you are at the mercy of the trainer. You eat sleep shower bathroom and park when the trainer decides. When I'm driving I can take my 30 min break when. And where I want..but it still seems like rush rush rush all the time. If we deliver a load and she wants to wait there until we know where the next load is going then we wait...sometimes with. O bathroom around.

6. Personal space lacking In PSD I slept in my own space in the bunk. Because TNT teams I now sleep most if my time in my trainers bunk While the truck is moving. My stuff is still on thetop bunk.. but it sort of feels like I'm invading her bed while not having a space of my own.

7. Money still not great Don't get me wrong.. $700 gross a week for a newbie is great. But the first couple weeks I only took home $400. This is because they are deducting my TWIC card fee ($125) the sleep study ($600) $800 food advance. I'm still going to be paying that for awhile. I left a job making $1000 per week and am paying $1200 per month for an apartment back home until the lease is up. So $400 is nothing.

8. Backing still sucks I finally did an alley dock completely on my own and was so excited.. til I realized I was in the wrong door

9. Trainer sleeps while I'm driving. I actually like this part. I drive nights so there is no pressure. When she is sitting up front I often feel more nervous than if she is asleep. I know I can wake her for any reason and she has no problem with it.

10. I'm more relaxed I'm relaxed about the driving. I know how to turn check my mirrors and feel fine pulling into tolls and truck stops fueling stations. I feel fine driving through construction zones without the omg I'm going to hit the railing feeling. Drove through snow and ice ok... just took it slowly. Rain and fog in mountains are no problem now. High winds I just slowed down. My trainer called me an old lady driver.. although the cruise control is set at 65mph. I let others pass cause I would rather see them than not see them. And I refuse to let a FedEx or swift truck stay to my left for more than seconds

11. I have my CDL Having the cdl is a bigger responsibility. An accident now goes on my record for 7 years. I don't think that was true with the permit. Some other trainees that have had accidents not only have it on their record but had to pay Prime the damages for at fault incidents.

12. Because I'm more relaxed driving I'm more aware of my surroundings. I notice the smell of the brakes on the truck next to us. I notice the owl that is about to hit the trailer... I'm seeing further ahead

What are my weaknesses? Still the backing.. I have 14000 more miles to work on it.