DRIVEN TO TEACH

After 23 years as a driver and instructor at Prime, Ricardo Torres is retiring. And after training more than 250 drivers, he is leaving a big legacy behind him.

BY MEGAN PRICE

When talking with Ricardo Torres, two things are immediately clear. He’s passionate about truck driving, and he loved his time at Prime. Ricardo has always wanted to be a truck driver ever since he was a little boy. “I started driving my dad’s truck when I was 10 years old,” he says. “It was such a thrill! It was a manual transmission, and I had to use a pillow to reach the steering wheel and the pedals. I’ve always loved to drive. If I didn’t have to sleep, I could drive all day and all night.”

Despite his lifelong love of driving, Ricardo didn’t actually get behind the wheel until he was 43. Before that, his main job was being a dad. Once his kids became teenagers he finall felt li e he could pursue trucking. After shopping around, he applied at Prime. “I didn’t choose Prime. They chose me,” Ricardo says, believing everything happens for a reason. Prime was the place he was welcomed and the place he would call home for the next 22 years.

Driving has always been something he’s enjoyed doing, but in 2003, the idea of teaching began to pique Ricardo’s interest. After encouragement from a co-worker, he decided to give it a try. He took the CDL Instructor’s test at Prime an was rea for his first set of student drivers. “Every student taught me how to teach the next one,” he says. “I love teaching people, and I wanted all of my students to do a better job than I’ve done.”

Safety and compliance were the primary driving philosophies behind Ricardo’s teaching style. Inspired by the poor trainers he had in the past, Ricardo