DMV cannot fail you for gear grinds--they just give you a point or two off for it--they understand that you are new. HINT: double clutch for DMV or it is an automatic failure. Also the Air break bleed down test has to be recited almost ver batem or they will automatically fail you for that also. Also do not talk to the instructor unless he talks to you and always, always, always buckle your seatbelt BEFORE you start the truck, not after--most testers will fail you if you buckle after you start the truck. And NEVER, NO MATTER how you drive EVER drive more than 5 miles under the posted speed limits and NEVER, EVER drive over the posted limits, no matter what or they WILL fail you!

I think it is time to bring this back to the forefront to help new as well as experienced drivers find the right company, how to do it and whom to avoid.

This is such a good post!

that is a good post!!!!! I think it would be a good idea for all new drivers to READ THE POSTS!!!!! too much time bashing swift,ect. then they go to work for them and then back 3-6 weeks later telling everyone what a rotton company they were. Well hate to burst your bubble, but most everyone on here that can read already knows that and if you could read YOU would have known that before you left. so you go to company X knowing their history, you still need to stick it out till you get at least a year. No one is going to hire you if you can't make it with swift, except another company JUST LIKE SWIFT!!!!!! think about it. It too me 30yrs to get my current job, it's not perfect and a lot of drivers might not do well here but it suites me. I'll stay for at LEAST 4 yrs before making up me mind about changing. been here since march 08 and just getting the fine points of the way the company wants things done. They work with me on any problems and I work with them on theirs. THATS the way it works.

Amazing that recently (in the last two weeks) I have spoken with a couple of drivers with a lot of years on the road who have returned to Swift from some of those "greener pasture" companies that so many on here talk about because Swift treated them better and gave them more freight to haul. And when the economic dust settles, a lot of those greener pasture companies will be out of business and drivers out of jobs except for the big companies. Why? Because shippers will be wary in these times of signing contracts with smaller carriers to replace their previous smaller carrier who went bankrupt.

Facts are that Swift is having problems big time as far as capital and cash flow go. Im not sure who you have been talking to that has returned to Swift because "they treated them better and had more freight". Im not sure how you could have talked to all these drivers having only been in the industry for according to you "1 year".
I have dealt with Swift and their drivers(having worked on several accounts where the company I worked at the time shared business with Swift) and I have never met any who are really satisfied with Swift and none who have ever quit and went back(although Im sure there is some, but not as many as you think). 1800 miles a week at approx $.34 per mile is not being "treated better and had more freight". Which is your approximate pay unless you have been at Swift more than 4 years and you are driving loads that are under 300 miles especially with their sliding pay scale based on miles driven. Swift carries a 208% turnover rate in this industry for a reason and it is not that they "treat their drivers better and give them more freight". Quite the opposite, in Fact. I agree that Swift offers a pretty good benefits package, but the reason that they do is they have to find ways to get their drivers to stay more than 6 months, which still doesnt work the way that it should hence the 208% turnover(that is according to the safety dept at Swift).Even the great benefits package is not enough to keep the drivers--because this industry is about wages, but not solely about wages but it is about how you are treated by the company you work for. If you check out the complaints in this industry, you will find that Swift ranks right near the top and it is not because of how big they are either, it is because of the way they treat their drivers and the types of runs that they offer their drivers, which according to you is the real reason that everybody is flocking back there.

After working for smaller companies and larger ones, I would much rather work for one who knows me by my name not as a payroll number that I have to type in the phone everytime I call them, so they know who to relay my phone call to and then that person can put me on hold and hope I hang up. Sound like Swift? Where do you think I got it from?

I am not going to argue with you Timtruck because I recall you are one who "knows everything there is to know about trucking." But I have talked to several Swift drivers at the Petro in Milan, NM over the past month and most claim they are running in excess of 2,500 miles and that is where I talked to the drivers who have returned. Since you have no recent first hand knowledge of what is going on at Swift (incluing their cash flow numbers) I will just leave the discussion at that. I mean, for a company having cash flow problems as you claim it is interesting that everyday I see at least 3 loads of new Swift trucks (one rig pulling 3 others) on their way west.

I never said that I "knew everything there is to know about trucking" You said that, and you prove it with the number of times that you write on here(some 453 since April).
So you have talked to a couple of drivers- I dont disagree with you, but that is only a couple. If you call Swift(which I have done) and ask them about their pay scales and such you will find out that the average miles across their board is 1800(unless they are a trainer) and their average is $.42 per mile or less, mostly around $.37. Also if you pay attention to the financial forums you will know that Swift is trying to get their customers onboard with a 19% rate hike in order to make it until this economic downturn wears off. They dont have the option of going to shareholders to raise capital because they dont have any--it is a privately held company. BTW, they(Swift) will tell you about their turnover rate, it is no secret. Like I have said before, if you want to drive for them--then do so. But dont come back over here in a month or so and tell us how crummy they are and that they cheated you and lied(like the rest that didnt listen have done)because we here already know all that.

Again, you are putting out false information. I spoke with Swift this morning and their average turnover rate is 120% but is currently at 80-90%. In fact they are freezing hiring in some areas because they have so many drivers who have hired on and they have no more room for drivers. If your false facts were true of such high turnover, they would have to be hiring drivers every week at every terminal to keep their work force even.

Hmmm.... isn't that a danger sign? if Swift is starting to freeze hiring, does that bode ill for the rest of the industry?

Freight is dropping off nationwide. I spoke with my former DM the other day and he said his drivers had been averaging 1800 to 2400 miles per week over the previous 3 weeks but when I spoke to him this Wednesday he said the Albuquerque terminal had 50 drivers needing loads and only 25 to go around. Transport Topics reports that tonnage was off last month and the projections for the post-holiday slump are not good.

Swift's hiring freeze in certain locations is based on driver needs for those terminals. My orientation date was supposed to be Dec. 1 but now they have cancelled that date and plan one Dec. 8. My former DM suggested I wait and that is why I have put my return to OTR on hold until after the first of the year to see how it all shakes out. As for now, I am back to belly dump hauling.