I worked for Swift from 95 to 98,Didn't have a bad time there until they started the shuttlenfrom Portland to L.A. The the miles dropped and I left. I admit I had a exceptional dm, that made life pretty easy for me and I can see myself going back at some point in time. But not now. I work for a small company in central Oregon (4 thrucks) and can't see myself leaving anytime soon. I have a ungoverned truck,48 state haul,and good people to work for. Why leave? But your right in several points, Swift won't work for everyone, The lack of communtion has always been a problem,but the dm's and the planners are going to do whats best for the company first,that's their job. Live with it.

Well the problem is when they allow a owner op to train. They should not do this. You can not learn if you do not drive and if the owner does not want his truck used as a training aid then he should not be doing it.

You know Tip, I continue to hear nothing but CRYING from you. I have been a supervisor and trainer in the past. Now, considering you don't know me personally, don't start making assumptions that I wouldn't train a new student how to safely operate a 65 Ft Long/80,000 Lb vehicle. How much longer will it be before you finally wipe those tears off your cheek. Why don't you find another outfit to complain about.

__________________
Ismael "Mario" Martinez

AH-MEN! While reading threads on this forum, I have wondered how "TIP" seems to know everything about nothing. Perhaps, sitting behind a computer all day (2100 posts) rather than actually driving for a living has made him the self made expert he falsely believes.

Thanks to the rest of you who post your honest opinions based on your actual experiences. For those of us who are using this forum to make educated decisions on the business....IT REALLY HELPS...THANKS AGAIN.

__________________
John " E "



“the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”

Jim McKay 1921-2008

Marti, you're the one who said you'd do all the driving if you were training as an O/O. I'm calling you on it. It'd wouldn't be a way to train, which is something you've already been told here. A true trainer would be sitting in the shotgun seat observing and offering (helpful) comments most of the time. Based on your posts, you'd probably be a guy who'd be driving nearly all the time and offering up generous portions of criticism. Again, you said it. I didn't.

Falsely believes? You keep on dreaming. I had (past tense) a CDL for eight years. I drove three years. Figuring out the trucking industry ain't rocket science gentlemen. It's more like psychology, really.

Give the typical, whiny personal attacks a rest, already. Formulate something adults like to read, if you are capable. If not, go back to the playground. Before you get your hopes up, you know nobody's gonna be running this ol' boy off, right?

Nobody is holding a gun to your temples and forcing you to read anything here, boys. Please put people on your ignore list who tell truths you can't handle.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

Considering it's longer than 65 ft. You may have a few problems during a students training period. Don't believe it. Break out the tape measure. Or better yet, drop off onto one of California's finest 70 ft length restricted roads, and an officer will measure it for you.

230 inch wheel base = 19 ft 2 inches

Wheel Base...not tractor length. They are differant.


I offer my number of post...it's in the upper right corner.

I put in 3450 miles last week and hit 8 docks. But, I obviously don't "really" drive enough to be considered "experienced" enough to offer a new driver ANY advise. Based on your comments to TIP.

If neither of you like Tip's comments. This board has an Ignore function on it. Show us your ability to follow instructions (aka read) by using it.

__________________
.
I'm gonna kill the next SOB who tells me I look stressed out.

--Unknown

A-men to that. And if one drives a bulldog Mack, they WILL measure from the rear mudflap to the tip of the dog's nose when figuring total length. Of course, if the dog is crying, they'll measure the teardrop width, too. And if there's mud on the mudflap, they'd probably measure from the mud to the outer edge of the teardrop.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

Alright, so I made a mistake on the total length of the rig and trailer together...my mistake, again! See, at least I have the nerves to admit I made a mistake. Now, danc694u, I don't recall ever saying you couldn't offer advice to new drivers/students. I just think it is funny that Tip can sit there on his/her end of the computer and only list the negative aspects of Swift Transportation Co, Inc. I don't think it is right. If you are going to complain, you should also be brave enough to list the positive experiences you have had. Just my opinion.

__________________
Ismael "Mario" Martinez

What if you had no positive experiences? I've had jobs like that.

I have nothing for Swift. And, I know drivers who are happy there. I know more drivers that lost everything they had, within their first year there.

You'll never see me post a positive comment on Swift either.

My experience with Swift comes from people I trained, that left Swift before completion of their training. They were losing their ###. You can't support a family on $250 (or less) a week. Trainers goes home for a day, lose 1/7th of the weeks pay if he lives within a certain number of miles from your home.

And that is a HUGE negative for any company to have.

Where Tip's experience comes from, is irrelavent to me. Mainly because what he says (that I've read) is true. Like it or not. Right or wrong, he is entitled to his opinion.

You don't have to drive for a company, to know they are nothing more than bloodsucking parasites. You DO need to be good at judging the charactor of the person you are talking to. Whether they have good or bad things to say about a company.

__________________
.
I'm gonna kill the next SOB who tells me I look stressed out.

--Unknown

Good enough. And I'll tell you to not take what anyone posts here personally, at least not so much you'll actually post that you do. This is a web site, a place where you'll see plenty of opinions that don't match yours. It's fine to get all riled up (sorry to sound like a preacher) for a minute or two, but don't let it bug you for any longer than that.

No one comes here to make 'buddies'. This ain't the electronic version of the Cheers Bar. I don't give a damn if everybody here knows nor doesn't know my name. I don't give a damn if they're always glad I came. I could not possibly care less. I come to cut through the fog of misperceptions, lack of knowledge, and downright lies and let people know the real deal. I worked long enough in trucking to know what's up, after all.

I also have to say that when someone gets worked up over someone else's truthful posts (and they are truthful...just check the testimonies for outfits like Swifty in the bad outfit section), I start to become suspicious the person has some sort of stake in the status quo. This is because of personal past experience, mind you. When one knows what the real deal is, any polyanna will appear to be more or less a biased salesman who has a stake in suckering people. That's my stand.


Too-da-Loo.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.