Comments/suggestions welcome. swift

Discussion in 'Report A BAD Trucking Company Here' started by teden20, Feb 12, 2008.

  1. teden20

    teden20 Bobtail Member

    6
    0
    Feb 6, 2008
    detroit mi
    0
    I started w/ Swift on May 3, 2007. I had not driven since 1998, because I took a retail management job. I did the 42 days of training w/o any break. After a week, I got a 2001 Columbia. Last Monday Swift terminated me for "poor job performance". In August 2007, I damaged an owner operators tractor with my trailer in a very crowded truck stop. Definitely a bone headed move and I'm not making excuses. I had just awaken and was roasting, and probably wasn't awake. Swift paid the O/O to fix his truck. Nothing more was said.

    I maimed a plant with my landing gear while backing in October. No money paid, just reported by receiver. My dedicated route had me delivering to tire shops in parking lots, and no loading docks.

    I received a warning, not a citation in September for PA DOT at a random pull-over at a combo scale/rest stop. Maybe you've seen them in PA. The warning was for brakes out of adjustment, and my log not being perfect. I hadn't brought my line back up to the driving line after taking a 15 minute walk around about 3 hours previously.

    Swift had me go to a logging class for the warning. I had to have the brakes adjusted in OH, but I was not placed out of service. The warning required a repair within 10 days, I believe.

    In December Swift called me in for another one-on-one logging class beause my departures out of a terminal did not match my log. The fact was that I had to log inaccurately to pick up that day as I had huge problems with HOS and it was the choice of picking up the load, being created with the log or telling the DM I couldn't get the load. This would have been bad, as it was a dedicated delivery with deliveries the next two days.

    Last month, in late January, the MI DOT wrote me a ticket for not having tail lights. The lights worked earlier in the day. My brake lights and turn signals worked. Upon further inspection, the tail lights would come on if you pushed and twisted on the electrical cable where it connected with the trailer.

    The unit required to have the electrical connector replaced as ice/snow and severe weather had created some bad contacts in the cable and/or the trailer jack. I was placed OOS at the scale; TA came out and replaced the cable. I showed the trooper that the unit worked when manually forced in; but, as you might know, he did not give me a brake and he wrote the ticket.
    Otherwise, the rest of the trailer lights were fine.

    This last ticket, the only citation, along with a few logging mistakes, and the two accidents generated a requirement from the safety department to terminate me. I was a little surprised, as had little contact w/ DM or anyone else regarding these issues. If you don't know it, Swift has minimal contact w/ drivers w/ the exception of preplans, assignments, etc.

    My concern, and where I'd like some comment and input is the question, "What should I do now?" I still want to drive of course. I'm not particularly angry with Swift. I thought it was a bit heavy-handed, but the fleet manager stated that people in safety do nothing but sit all day looking for these kinds of things. Swift did give me opportunity. Although I must say, the assignments given were somewhere between 'difficult to accomplish' and 'almost impossible' when taking into account HOS, weather, and traffic delays.

    On the plus side, I was very dedicated to OT everything. I accepted nearly every assignment, and very successfully delivered OT. This is where occasional 'creative' logging was necessary. The impressed on us the importance of accepting assignments and delivering OT. With that, I was very successful. That fact added to absolutely nothing in my favor.

    So, I'm looking for comments and advice as to any positive ideas that other, more experienced driver might have. I drove interstate bus for 8 years. I delivered methanol to oil wells in Montana. I've driven flat bed, scrap metal, and oil field supplies in Michigan and Montana. My driving skills are actually quite good; with the exception of bruising a guys front end when I was half asleep one day.

    I don't claim to be the greatest driver ever, as that, as you know is claimed daily by our fellow drivers on the CB. But all told, I can get that trailer placed about anywhere you want it, especially if you don't mind if I kill a sagebrush plant with my landing gear.

    I was blindsided by the termination, and it still hurts a little. How about some ideas. Thanks.
     
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  3. Cabhappygal

    Cabhappygal Bobtail Member

    38
    1
    Dec 4, 2007
    USA-CANADA ANYWHERE
    0
    I'm not really qualified to comment, because I've had so much less experience than you. But I bet YOU ARE disappointed, to say the least. There is so little that's logical about the treatment at these large companies. It's LUCK-LUCK-LUCK if you have any kind of longevity with them, it seems. Mechanical problems with the truck's taillights are hardly the driver's fault. It's too bad that inspection personnel write tickets without knowing or caring how a few of those can be deadly to a person's whole career. Logs and HOS issues are a nightmare. I guess after being away from the trucking industry for so long, you didn't realize that the companies are totally schizophrenic. Don't refuse a load and OT delivery is fine, but if an infraction is caught, the driver is penalized. The Safety Departments are a joke. All they care about is making their paperwork LOOK GOOD for the government, and if that means showing the door to a good driver just on technicalities, they have no compunctions. I hope you line up another job soon. With 6 months recent experience, IT IS POSSIBLE. Since you were doing dedicated, local companies may be what you want. QUESTION: WHY WERE YOU IN TRAINING 42 DAYS? WHAT WAS YOUR SWIFT TRAINER LIKE, AND WERE YOU WITH THE SAME INDIVIDUAL FOR 5 WEEKS?
     
  4. kd7ctv

    kd7ctv Light Load Member

    56
    2
    Sep 11, 2007
    Grandview, Wa
    0
    Well I can add to that. Swift is apparently coming down on citations and inspections. From what my fleet managar has told us that drivers are being terminated if they get 3 bad inspections. I personally have a friend who was an O/O and a mentor get fired after a road side inspection and Swift went back 5 years looking for stuff, they tagged him for all the tickets he recieved. I also know of O/Os being terminated for having multiple accidents. I believe Swift is starting to weed people out for what ever reason. As for the minimal contact with your DM, well thats on you. I talk to mine all the time, and see everyone in my terminal almost daily. I know everyone in there and they know me so I guess that all depends on the terminal. For the most part I have always talked to my DM. Everytime I went through the you'll hear from me when I need something phase things didn't go to well. How else are they going to know whats going on with you if you don't talk to them.

    I have been with them for a year and a half now. And this is my third time back with them.....
     
  5. jerryl

    jerryl Light Load Member

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    Jun 27, 2007
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    I drove for Swift and found them to be very open to communication. Again, as was previously stated, the driver needs to initiate the communication, but that is for a good reason. A DM is handling a number of drivers at a time and can't just take time to call to see how things are going. Yes, Swift pushes accepting loads and delivering the load on time but you are the captain of your ship. I turned down several loads but only after doing all the math. I would turn the load down if my projected trip plan showed I could not deliver that load on time in a safe and LEGAL manner. I would explain that in my reply to the pre-plan. I was never given any problem for that and Swift has said they will hire me back now that I am looking to go back to OTR. My problem is the no dog policy.

    It does appear that you may have had a string of unfortunate situations but any time you chose to log "creatively" you open the door to DOT nailing you for anything they can find. It is possible he may have let the light issue slide since you could get it fixed and then depart but the log violation opens you to deeper scrutiny and an unwilligness to give a break.

    I know there are so many who will say the only way you can make it in this industry is to log creatively but that is just not true. That is where trip planning comes in. Swift does give you the preplan and asks if you can do the load. I hope you are able to find somewhere else to go and can succeed. But learn from this, log legal and things will be less of a problem for you.
     
    pawpaw Thanks this.
  6. teden20

    teden20 Bobtail Member

    6
    0
    Feb 6, 2008
    detroit mi
    0
    thank you for your input, and your shared thoughts. I was required to be with a trainer/mentor for 42 days. he was an owner operator and since I was fairly quick on the learning curve, he wanted me on board as long as he could. my trainer was a decent guy; although, no one is perfect. he was chasing the money, and since I could drive, he really had me doing a lot of driving. most swift drivers don't do the 42 days consecutively; and/or, they have problems with their trainers and request a different one. my experience was 42 days straight, and it was not easy. thx
     
  7. teden20

    teden20 Bobtail Member

    6
    0
    Feb 6, 2008
    detroit mi
    0
    thanks for responding giving your balanced insight. i agree with you about DM's. they are open to communication. I telephoned mine when necessary and was more than helpful, when really needed. its just that from my end, there was never many instances where I needed immediate help. i used the qualcomm for almost everything, otherwise, i didn't need to speak with my DM. thanks again
     
  8. teden20

    teden20 Bobtail Member

    6
    0
    Feb 6, 2008
    detroit mi
    0
    thank you for the input; its nice to see that you have come to some of the same conclusions i've come to, but only in retrospect. my preplans were all dedicated, so it was always familiar. the fly in the ointment occurred when weather, mechanical issues, and at time traffic (chicago) became a factor. i never had any issues w/ DOT 'catching' me. the problem was the internal audits at Swift...THEY had a problem with it. all they had to do was examine the route and it was plain that it was a tall order every week. nonetheless, you are correct, it would have saved me some grief if I had declined a trip at appropriate times. I chose duty over totally accurate logs. it wasn't the money. i was concerned over my DM having to fill runs; and the customer receiving late as any driver unfamiliar with the route would have some delays. lesson learned, if and when I drive again, I'll try to keep the logs without even minor flaws. the fact that DOT didn't snag me still left Swift open to an audit and perhaps a penalty by DOT, if they scrutinized my logs. that would be a longshot, i would think, but its a possibility. I used to drive bus interstate, and a driver laying off due to HOS problems created real problems for the Hound. Greyhound would look the other way, as long as it looked OK for the DOT. Maybe that has changed. Thanks very much again for taking your time to comment. keep the rubber side down.
     
  9. kd7ctv

    kd7ctv Light Load Member

    56
    2
    Sep 11, 2007
    Grandview, Wa
    0
    Again thats what I was saying, you need to talk to them even if you don't need them. I do Dedicated and if there is something that comes that I can't do or its someplace I don't want to go. I make the call. In what you have written, you sunk your own ship... I mean you used the Qualcomm for most everything. Guess what swift looks at.. You guessed it the Qualcomm so they had everything you ever sent them regarding the loads. See I have refused plenty of them... But its easy, I call my DM, thats what they are there for. Ohh and no record of me refusing or declining a load on the computer for Swift to find. As I said I talk to mine all the time even if its just to say Hi how are things, and any other issues I might have even if I think they are nothing major.
     
  10. jerryl

    jerryl Light Load Member

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    Jun 27, 2007
    0
    Obviously, you misread my post. I would go back to Swift in a heartbeat because they are a great company to work for. Yes I had a few problems with them regarding miles while trying to run regional (comfort zone) but, all in all, I was home most every other weekend and got home when I had to be there. It was all about communicating with my DM and keeping him informed of my needs and wants. The only reason I won't is because my little road dog cannot go with me and he would be heartbroke.

    In regards to logs you did say that DOT in PA hit you for brakes and a log violation. All those things add up on a companies safety rating so, yes, companies are going to look at the logs and log violations. And for those who knock Swift about having such poor drivers, they have a better safety rating then many other supposedly good companies out there.

    In reality, when any of us sign on the dotted line to work in this industry, we are agreeing to abide by all the regulations and one of the biggest ones is logging legal. Yes, I had times where night dispatch would say, "Off the record, you can do this." And every time I would tell them, "If it is off the record then obviously it is not legal and I will not do it." You see, it is the driver who will be in jail if something happens and a log review reveals the driver was not where he/she was supposed to be. Attorneys and groups like Public Citizen love this. The attorneys see dollar signs when the logs are checked. No driver EVER HAS to log illegal. They choose to.

    All you had to do if something came up on the run that was going to delay you was to send a Macro 22 giving the reasons why. It is then Customer Services responsibility to contact the customer and tell them when the freight will be there and why it is being delayed and there is NO service failure. Like a T-shirt in the driving school said, "What is the hurry, they will still need it when I get there." I listen to Sirius Road Dog trucking and have heard Don Lacy, Safety Director at Prime, say many times, "No load is so hot that the customer would risk having it end up in the ditch to have it delivered at the original appointment time."

    Please understand that what I am about to say is not directed at you personally but is one of my "soap boxes" and your post has allowed me to voice it to anyone who reads this thread. It is drivers driven by the dollar who will log illegal and, just as is true with most everything else in our society, they will blame it on the customer. "Well, I had to do it to get it there on time." If they shut the road down and you can't get through, is it going to deliver on time? If you run illegal and due to fatigue, put your truck and that load in the ditch, are they going to get it on time? If you are hurrying to get it there on time and crest a hill to find a stopped school bus and can't stop on time and kids are hurt or killed, are they going to get the load on time? The answer to all these is, "NO!"

    It is time drivers quit blaming illegal logging to get a load delivered on time on the customer and say the real reason is, the sooner this load is off the truck the sooner I can get another one and that means more miles which means more money. All that changes when someone is seriously injured or killed because of illegal driving. And that sticks with you for the rest of your life. Even if the driver is fortunate enough to escape the fault for the accident, you will always have the knowledge that you took someone's life or changed their life forever. No load or delivery time is worth that! I would even risk a service failure if the cmpany wanted to go that route to be a safe driver on the road.
     
  11. Cabhappygal

    Cabhappygal Bobtail Member

    38
    1
    Dec 4, 2007
    USA-CANADA ANYWHERE
    0
    I have never driven for Swift. But I can tell you honestly that it is wonderful for me to hear you insist that cooking the log is NEVER NECESSARY. Among other things I have had to put up with from trainers at TWO other big companies is being told by each one that I will have to cheat on my logbooks to survive as a trucker. Just dare to reply with another opinion, and you'll find yourself being dumped at the next terminal. You see, people who want to falsify their paperwork FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES if they can convince themselves and everyone else that 'they have no choice.' The comment above is so right -- it's all about their wanting a little extra money, any way they can get it. But isn't that what's wrong with the whole country now?
     
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