you know how swift reacts to a lawsuit like this ... they get someone like me to sit there for 3 days in the orientation and then tell me on day 3 that since i have not been in a truck for 2 years, i would have to go with a trainer, but that is the easy part, here is the damn hard part, the damn trainer only had his CDL for 60 days and they wanted me , who has 8 yrs experience to be trained from this 20 something wet behind the ears kid with only 60 days total driving experience.

this is the company that wants to put kids behind the wheel and the experience ones in a passenger seat to be trained by these kids, no wonder there are lawsuits, there will be alot more of them... i hope these big companies keep losing and losing until someone wakes the hell up and decides that kids should not be training anyone.. they want trainers, have the more than 10 yrs experienced veterans train new people.

i am glad i told them to shove that job, i was not putting my life on the line with some kid driving in snow and ice who never drove it or on it and have me cross my fingers and pray he dont kill me .. no way in hell was that happening. ..

but all is cool, i got a call on saturday from a awesome company who checked me out 100%. ran everything they could and offerd me a position to do long haul's and make more than i would anywhere else. its not a super company which was great, it is a small company and that works for me. I get a 06 frieght, great miles and home often which i didn't take them up on. I will be disaptched on thursday morning and i wont be comming home until sometime in june.

i will keep you al updated as to see if anything messes this opportunity up. but everything has been ran, its all clear, there were no recruiters, i went to the man himself, the owner. but exp always tells you, until you have the keys in your hands, the truck is running and you just pulled out the yard, it is NEVER EVER a done deal......

Hey BubbaT, Good luck with the new job-hope all works out for the best.

$36,000,000.00 WOW

Good luck with that new job Bubba Trucker. I hope they drive you far and pay you well, but most of all treat you well.

Actually Swift only lost about a million, the few years ago that happened. That was the deductible on the insurance back then. The insurance company took it to court to fight it and lost. Good news is Swift over the last few years has become super aggressive about logs. If a driver has over 3 missing logs, they will be placed on safety hold.

Wes

vic I thought they were self insured? Still counts as a loss to the company. It figures that happens with the junk trucks they have. And I have the experiance from them on that. Only one good terminal to get your truck fixed and that is Martinsburg. Sad with all those terminals.

Self insured to a point, after that year they raised the deductible.

well ok, lets see .... in my first 2 weeks with this new company, i was layed over 3 times due to the dispatcher, one was for 5 hours, 2nd for 7 hours and the 3rd was for 14 and that was all in the first week ...

they had me in a #### truck as first i guess to see if i would stick it out with them....

dispatcher said to come in on friday he wanted to talk to me, i figured i was about to be fired.

anyway, i walked in and he asked if i can work this weekend to help him out he was short on a few drivers, when i said yes, he said he was going to make my day and for me to look out his window.. there sat a new frieghtliner and said put your stuff in there, it is your new assigned truck ...

got a call from dispatcher and terminal manager yesterday asking if i would test drive a few new applicants ...

dont get me wrong, they didnt ask me to do this after just 2 weeks, i just have almost 8 yrs experience and the next guy there with as much exp has been driving for 3 yrs..

so to make a long one short ...

they are really keeping up with their end of things on what was told to me about how the operate and etc ...

i will always say though .. a smaller company will beat out a bigger company in my eyes ...

they have only hired 1 other guy before me, and that was the guy with 3 yrs exp .. the rest have at least 2 and have been there since they opened the terminal a few months ago ...

nobody has quit since they opened and the terminal is also shared by another company who actually has drivers applying to the one i work for, so that has to say something good about the one i am with i guess...

ok i am off to bed ...i have a few road tests to take, and YES, i do have to say, i will NOT sign off on any road test for a new applicant unless they pass the road test my way ...

good luck Bubba and be careful test driving. glad to hear you like your job.

Swift is messing me over as well. I passed their training and got my CDL then the next week went to their orientation. I was suppose to be on the road with a mentor but have been waiting over 2 weeks now. They don't return phone calls and leave me with one excuse after another. Then they have the gull to tell me that with the holidays everyone is going to be out of the office on a well to deserve break and that I wont hear anything for a few more days about when I can be out on the road. It's nice to know that they can't have someone in there doing some work. I guess they have forgotten that while they get to go home and have a roof over their head, food in their bellies, and the heater on to stay warm others are going without. I hear you totally on how this company has lied. They keep asking for a doctors release for DOT and my doctor has sent it off at least three times. Swift says I am able to go out there but they want to make sure everything is done properly incase they get audited later on down the road so I wont have to go through the paper work. I don't care if I have to go through the paper work later I need to be out there working. F.... Swift

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If you're a student, you'd be better off going elsewhere, especially if they have you lined up to go out with a "mentor". Man, you don't know enough when you graduate from an over-priced trucking school to go with anyone other than an experienced driver. I'm talking at least three years here. Who knows how much experience your mentor will have. I'd guess less than a year. Some training that will be. You may know more than your trainer.

I'd be making phone calls and lining up work with some other company. Make sure they care enough about you to train you properly. Anyone who uses inexperienced people as trainers doesn't care enough about you to deserve your services or loyalty. You are getting into trucking in hopes of making it a career. At SwiftQuit, you'll be viewed as a disposible resource. If you have an accident on the highway after your "training", they will throw you in the garbage, brother.

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--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.