Does Swift Require A refresher?

I already had my cdl when I went to Swift academy in Jan 2010. I had my cdl since 2008. I was required to go through the same training as those who did not have a cdl since I had not used my cdl in those two years. Anyone without recent experience is also required to go with a trainer for 6 weeks after orientation.

Swift might accept a refresher in your case, however, you would have to take it somewhere else since they do not offer a refresher. It is not unusual for a company to require a refresher for someone who has been out of school anywhere from a few weeks to a year. After a year, some companies require the entire school again. In my case, having a cdl and no experience, I had to repeat school. Companies are continually changing their requirements as their need for drivers either increase or decrease, so keep that in mind. Driving experience also makes a huge difference in whether you need school, a refresher, otr training, or nothing.

 

Hey, Landstar.. I'm pretty sure you'll get mixed reports on that, and my own report is mixed. For me, Knight was both good and bad. What I'd suggest to anyone considering Knight is to take a very close look at their slogan ("Your hometown national carrier"). As a former driver there the translation seems to be, "We want your short ####, but have the capacity to go long if you throw us a bone." Be aware that the trucks have no APU and only three batteries (Knight takes the 4th out). Preplans are the exception; not the norm. You cannot request home time over Qualcomm (as you can with Swift), and getting home on-time with Knight (even with two weeks notice) is extremely difficult.

What I'm liking about Swift are the preplans, my dispatcher (got a good one), the truck (really lucked out there), the longer runs, and the fact that at least so far I have not had to fight for things like layover pay, breakdown pay, etc.. At Knight that kind of thing was a constant battle, although others may report a different experience....

Cheers!

 

If you have no otr experience, then yes, more than likely that is what will happen. Unless, Swift has changed their requirements since I went throught in January.

 

Landstar, cost of SWIFT Driving Academy is $3,900 interest free and they take it out for 13 months. After that school is paid for. After 13 months they start putting the money back in your pay for 13 more months. After 26 months of total time worked for them the school ends up being free.

 

Careful of your trainer. Even if you do great, he might not want to release you early. Face it, if you're good, he gets free team miles after a week or two of knocking the rust off. He can either release the good driver and get a fresh newb, or keep using the good driver and get some cash and rest.....

By week 3, mine had me as team driver who needed a little polish. He had 3 weeks of relaxing 6 hr days(9-10 hrs me, 5-6 him). This how they make up for the frustration/low miles of all the dipstick drivers that they might normally get. If you go in expecting this, it's not so bad. I'm only telling this so you don't plan too much on an early release (finacially).

BTW: I hated his Volvo.

 

What state was ur cdl for? Did you have to turn it in and get another?