hi, i will be going to orientation april 7 and the first thing is the road test.how hard is it? i got my cdl about 1 yr ago and have not drove sinceso i am a little concerned about the pretrip will they send me home if i do not pass the pre trip or will they let me get more training on the road with my mentor

From what I have heard and read about Swift as long as you can stick the key in the right place and hit the start switch you should be good to go

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Stupidity is choosing not to renew your CDL because you THINK you will never again want to drive.

Maybe this will help you . [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

Good Luck !

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Desperado ~ one well seasoned driver

no matter what you do you will go with a mentor,if its 2 weeks or 6 weeks thats up to your orientation paperwork on your previous experience. im 4 weeks into my 6 weeks with a mentor. right now im mentor-less because i chose to get off my mentors truck friday.one thing about me is i do not lie. so i will find out tommorow morning if im going to get another mentor or if my last mentor sold me down the river to cover his own ###. if he does sell me out tommorow, i will have the ultimate mentor story to tell everyone on this forum. we shall see in 24 hours or less.

Hi,

My advice is to contact the driving school you went and ask them for a quick refresher. It is in a school's best interest to see you pass an entrance road test for a carrier because it improves the schools reputation with that carrier.

I don't know what the current policy is for orientation. It used to be about 2 1/2 days long. The road test for me was on the second day. Small things, like having a prescription, can cause a delay of a day or two while it gets sorted out.

Probably what will happen for the road test is that they will find a mentor to evaluate you. That mentor will probably not be the mentor you get. The mentor is not looking for a perfect driver, the mentor is looking for someone who is trainable. A good attitude will cover a lot of minor mistakes, as well as being honest about things you don't know.

What the mentor is looking for on the pretrip is how much knowlege you have about the mechanical parts. Let the mentor know what kind of truck you trained in. (I got trained on a KW, and the pretrip was on an FLD, and it had the washer fluid under the bunk, who knew?).

*ask for a pressure gauge to check tire pressure with*
*know how to do a full brake test*

If it has been a while since you have driven, let the mentor know. They may make a truck available for you to drive around the yard a bit to get your shifting back up to speed. Double clutch your shifts (the mentor may tell you once is enough, but some are anal about always double clutching.)

Blowing a shift isn't that big a deal as long as you end up in a gear and still moving. When coming to a stop, downshift all the way, avoid coasting with the clutch in.

Your drive will probably be part city and part highway, then back to the yard for backing.

Take your time while backing, get out and look. (GOAL)

I hope this helps.

Frenzy

No big deal. Did my road test in Memphis. Made all right turns then let the next person drive. Just watch your turns and make sure you get back into the right lane. Don't know what kinda of truck you will drive but I wouldn't sweat it. Just make sure you check your mirrors and stuff and act like you know what your doing and you will be okay.

Marty

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mArTmAn
Greenville, MS USA

thank you for all your help marty are you a swift driver if so how do you like it so far