I'm going with Swift!!!

It really does seem like a long time ago. It seems like it's been a year when it's only been a little over 3 months!

I'm getting more confident with my backing skills. I think if I was left to my own, I would really have a hard time with the very tough backs. For all others I think I'd be able to manage. Time will tell.

 

MadDog,

I wish you the best in your pursuit of a career that won't be a bunch of dead ends for you. I hope this career is the right one for you and allows you some opportunities you didn't have in the past.

There *are* opportunities out there, but they will take time and commitment. I really can't speak so much to what's needed at this time because I like to *experience* the process of accomplishing what's required before I go ahead and advise others. That is a long way off.

 

The name of the company that gives you your own truck after an intense 10 day orientation is Watkins & Shepherd. This is a company that a friend chrlab has gone with after he completed his school so I know a bit about it. If you have questions about this company, feel free to ask him. I only know what he's told me.

Chrlab was the best student in the class we attended, and quick to learn the fundamentals of driving a truck. He had experience backing a truck before because he went on the road with a friend for a month before he even attending the school. So for him Watkins & Shepherd turned out to be a fantastic fit.

For me, I do not believe that company would have been the right way to go. I would *like* to have my own truck immediately, but I would *hate* going to a shipper and being unable to back the truck into the dock. I would have been in big trouble if I went on the road prior to the experience I have gained with my mentor. There's no if ands or buts about it. If you are like me and have no sat in a truck before, it is very likely that after completeing school you'll *need* the 4 to 8 weeks of time with a mentor in order to be successful in this industry.

I know that 2 weeks of class and 6 weeks of "driving a truck" sounds like a lot, but it isn't. Let me explain. I had class for 2 weeks and then 4 weeks in a class. In those four weeks I averaged about 2 hours in a truck per day. That came out to around 500 miles of driving when all was said and done. I drove almost the same amount of miles on my first day in a truck with Swift then I did with the school I was at.

School is not going to teach you how to become a truck driver. You will only get that with experience. Be prepared because you'll most likely *need* to spend time in the truck with another individual to gain the neccessary experience to become a *successful* truck driver. This really and truly is *not* an easy job to get into. It really is very challenging.

 

So there should be no surprises here, but I hate team driving. I hate having to sleep in the truck, do a 34 hour reset in the truck, and basically be continually in a truck. That has been my experience since I went back on the road. I just had a shower after not having one for 4 days. I didn't have the opportunity to pick up a shampoo I always use until the day before. I didn't do laundry until yesterday either. I tell you these things so you'll understand what life can be like on the road as a team driver.

The past couple of days, after having driven so many miles, I told my mentor I was tired. We got into an argument, and he found that while I am normally a laid back person, I can more then stand up for myself, and quite frankly gave him a bit more then he bargained for. Now I don't want to paint my mentor the wrong way here, he's being supplied with loads from the planners at Swift who are trying to keep the truck rolling.

However, a plan was put on us while we were both awake to drive to Tennessee and frankly I'm a bit disappointed in myself. I decided to take the load instead of pushing back and saying that I couldn't possibly drive until after midnight since I was up and awake hours earlier. Still, I agreed to the load.

So last night I started driving from 6 PM until 12:30 AM and it was *extremely* stressful. It was very windy out because there is a cold front coming in. The road I was driving on (I95) is *many* tight curves, extreme upgrades and downgrades. Now I've actually experienced this type of driving on only my third day of driving in school. Yet suddenly I felt very mortal, and I didn't have the fortitude for it.

I was tired, night visability is always less then during the day, and I was extremely stressed. The whole time all I could think of was getting home to my wife and kid. I was afraid I would roll the truck over. And by being so afraid and overly cautious, believe me, the last thing I was going to do was roll the truck over. I can only attribute this behavior to being outright fatigued, and I felt like I didn't take the proper steps to push back with my mentor and say I won't drive those miles.

Today we really had it out, when he pointed out that I didn't need a 34 hour reset by law since I had reached my 70 hour limit on my 7th day. He's actually correct, by the way. So his point is he can't make a student drive if they say they are tired, and in other words, it's my fault that he had to refuse a load.

I let him know that that was his problem, and sarcastically apologized for the poor miles I drove these past 2 weeks. He had been bragging about the miles to everybody who would listen at Swift terminals.

I know there may be some who would want to dislike him, so I hope I have painted a *postive* light on him as well in other posts. He's actually a very good person who has a lot of stress on him. I wouldn't want to be a mentor, even with the extra money involved. I'm glad he managed to get almost 6,000 for the week, but I've made it clear to him that I want to go home alive to my wife and family. I also pointed out that I'm much more productive alive, my dead, decaying body being unable to drive nearly as many miles.

So there's the good, the bad, and the ugly for you. When you are in the truck with a mentor, stand up for yourself, especially if your performance warrants that.