Terminated by Swift..Quit Stevens..help!

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by JJCP77, Oct 24, 2014.

  1. TankerP

    TankerP Road Train Member

    1,193
    2,751
    Oct 1, 2010
    Holding the steering wheel
    0
    If I owned a small trucking company there's no way in heck I would let you drive any of my trucks.
     
    SlowPoke44magnum and X-Country Thank this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Guitar Man

    Guitar Man Medium Load Member

    553
    467
    Sep 29, 2006
    State Of Confusion
    0
    6 incidents and none seem to be your fault. Either you're not telling the whole story,or you should seriously consider changing your name to Schleprock? 😳
     
  4. halfburn

    halfburn Medium Load Member

    547
    187
    Feb 22, 2009
    Jasper AL
    0
    If it's not on your DMV report or there was not an insurance claim filed it doesn't mean anything.
    Contrary to popular belief sometimes even from one big box company to another.
    Once you have been in for a while you see part of the expense of hiring a driver is stuff they are going to damage while they are learning the job. On the other hand there is normal stuff and then there are people who don't need to be driving a truck and sometimes you get caught in a snap decision by someone wanting to not take a chance on you being a liability.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2014
  5. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

    14,963
    29,154
    Oct 3, 2011
    Longview, TX
    0
    It means something to swift who discharged him. And let's be honest, when Swift sees a trend and discharges a driver for safety and costs concerns, that says something.
     
  6. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

    22,367
    116,015
    Dec 18, 2011
    Michigan
    0
    I want to know where you got this idea that the DOT would even help?

    They don't help anyone, they are not there for legal or arbitration group but as a regulatory agency.

    The way employment works in this country even in union shops to a point is that you are working as an at will employee, which means they can fire you without giving you a reason - period.

    You screwed up, OK it is something some people do, THIS work isn't for everyone, it is a dangerous and unforgiving work and you should see that for what it is.

    But honestly it is one of two things that could happen for you, one is you get a job with one of these crap companies which shouldn't even be in business or you get a job with another company and end up getting fired.

    I am not sounding harsh, I could but I'm not. Many of us see some of this stuff as a threat to our profession, our property but more than any of that, it is a threat to the safety of people around us and ourselves when we are on the road. I don't believe that everyone is cut out for this, if you can't drive a truck - that is making it go, steering it and backing it up - then you can't drive it, but even if you can, being unsafe to others means you don't need to be on the road at all,

    I wish you luck in finding work.
     
  7. RubberDuck198

    RubberDuck198 Light Load Member

    216
    150
    Mar 16, 2014
    Lemme check my atlas
    0
    I can't swim, so I stay out of the pool. Just saying.

    Not everyone is cut out to be a driver. Don't take offence, as there's nothing to be offended/ashamed about. You gave it your all, and that's all you can do.
     
    X-Country Thanks this.
  8. halfburn

    halfburn Medium Load Member

    547
    187
    Feb 22, 2009
    Jasper AL
    0
    It means they put at least three drivers a year into each truck and and one person doesn't mean much to them. I have been around some drivers that I would not ride down the road with loaded but they seem to plug along with no bigger problem that not being able to avoid a 4 wheeler hitting them. We are just running on generalizations here but the only thing a DAC is good for is if you stay with your first company for a while that will get you off to a good start the first few years. Knowing what we do about the big companies I would tend to believe him rather than them right off the bat.
     
  9. RubberDuck198

    RubberDuck198 Light Load Member

    216
    150
    Mar 16, 2014
    Lemme check my atlas
    0
    I started at a big company (CR England), and drove for them 3 years. They didn't put anything on my DAC that wasn't supposed to be there. I had two 'incidents' that were on the DAC, but I didn't try to argue them because I manned up to my mistakes. Swift was justified in firing him. I would have fired him too.

    FYI:

    On my first incident, I bottomed out the trailer making a right turn onto a 2 lane road at 3 in the morning, damaging the support beam to the side skirt. I repaired the support beam myself, so England put the cost of that incident at $0.00.

    My second 'incident' occurred when I was sick with a ear infection and a abscessed tooth. I went to the drop yard in Ohio to pick up a trailer headed to New Jersey. There were two trailers in the yard going to the same customer, and I grabbed the wrong one. By the time I realized it, I was 100 miles from the customer.

    No one is perfect. I just showed you that I wasn't. I learned from my mistakes and moved on. 6 accidents in 2 years shows that the OP is not learning from his mistakes.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2014
    magoo68 Thanks this.
  10. striker

    striker Road Train Member

    6,023
    6,436
    Aug 8, 2009
    Denver, Co
    0
    To an extent I'm actually going to defend the OP

    Step 1, stay away from the Mega's, they find it's cheaper to fire you and hire some other bozo that can fog a mirror and work for pennies


    If I had a penny for every Mega's truck I've seen stuck in the snow, I'd just about be able to retire. Hell, my truck slid 140 ft on ice, without me in it and my employer didn't count it as a preventable, well, let me rephrase that, they did at first, until they learned from the cops, highway dept., and tow company that this happens all the time. People don't realize that your tires are hot, you park on snow on a slight downhill, your tires melt through to the ice below, and away you go. Once they realized what happened, they chocked it up to a learning exp. for everyone.

    Swing Wide it's a Full Trailer
    G.O.A.L.

    Bet you learned your lesson

    So far only two valid issues

    Considering the way some NE troopers drive, you probably masked some damage he caused himself

    Swing Wide it's a Full Trailer


    Hmm, 11 miles So. of Gillette, Wyo.? For those attacking him, even money says he was on Hwy 59, which is a super heavily travelled two lane, in mining country So. of Gillette, Wyo. where accidents are a daily occurrence, and seeing a semi parked on the side of the road making a phone call (as the OP stated he was doing) or taking a nature call is a normal thing, and getting rearended by some drunk cowboy or drowsy miner is a daily occurrence. You were more than far enough off the side of the road that for SWIFT to count this one against you is stupid. But, since they don't actually drive the roads they send you down, I can see it.

    Ever see Godfather, if it was me, I'd go out and hit the deer, and plop it's head on the Safety guy's desk and tell him I brought you a present.

    As others said, avoid the Mega's, start looking at smaller fleets or other segments of the trucking industry.
     
    The Challenger and X-Country Thank this.
  11. pattyj

    pattyj Road Train Member

    22,474
    20,137
    Jul 19, 2008
    Sioux City,ia
    0
    6 preventables,figured you would wake up after the first one.Drivers with 25 yrs exp don't even have 1 preventable.Drivers these days don't value their job, their cdl and the equipment.They hit something oh well and treat it as not a big deal.I would suggest getting retrained,with respect op you are so not ready to go solo.
     
    X-Country Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.