Did you go to Swift's Millington Academy?

Be sure and do some research reading here in the Werner forum before you pull that trigger. Good luck to you whichever route you take!

 

Run from Werner. Just my opinion.

 

I attended Swift's Millington Academy recently and was highly pleased with the level of professionalism the instructors displayed throughout the training program. I had a CDL previously from another stae, but I moved back to Illinois after deciding I never wanted to drive a truck again and Illinois wouldn't transfer my out-of-state CDL over due to former governor George Ryan's decision to sell CDL's at a cheap price 10 years ago(and now all future truck drivers must suffer due to a politician's greed!). Due to the bad economy, I decided to go back into trucking, but was a little unsure of SWIFT'S reputation with its school's. Well my friends, I was very impressed with with their professional attitude towards creating an excellent driver. They have plenty of equipment and instructors who actually "care" about the drivers they are training. Please dont get me wrong though. You will not have personal attention from the instructor every single minute you are there. But they really do force good driving techniques on you and want you to work on those skills every minute you are there. FYI...Not every person is a "truck driver", so please dont get discouraged if your aptitude isnt sufficient enough to pass their tests. Thanks all.

 

October 8 2011





Hello Pokerbass and the Group:


I would like to Thank You for Your Post. I would Love to be a part of a School like this one. I am signed on for SWIFT now and I am waiting for my 1st day of class up at McAlesters deli in Millington as we speak. I have'nt driven a rig in 4 Months now, and I think that I will need to have a little bit of "polishing up" with the gear shifting, and the Alley Docking 45's and 90's. I have'nt been able to practice very many 45 deg backing jobs at my old School due to their space constraints and my State Pennsylvania does not require 90 degree backing to pass their examination. I have done a few hours of 45 degree backing for practice after my School was over and at Werner and FFE and I learned so much about It that I wrote a few comments about It on Wikianswers.

I went to a School the SWIFT Driving Academy on the weekends, Smith and Solomon, and It changed for me to allow me to spend more than their usual 4 weeks to 3 Months, with a personal trainer, Thank God, for an additional 7-8 Months of weekends. I think that It's clear to say that I origionally had no aptitude for Truck Driving and my learning curve was rather slow but I learned everything just fine by the end of my Weekend courses. I think that's why they say Smith and Solomon will go an extra mile with You on their training.

I picked out SWIFT because everyone who I have met and talked to at the Lancaster County Technical School, their examination point, the Swift Orientation and here in Millington has had an extremely favorable testimony about the Teachers there as well as the program on a whole. I am naturally only going to go into It as a retread, or an Entry level truck driver with 3 to 5 Months of OTR experience and having completed the necessary PROTREADS and the CBT's or computer based training modules, 4 Months ago so I am Hopefull about It. It just seems like the kind of program that I am looking for right now to "finish" my skills before I ever have to get a Trainer to certify me after a 175 hour road training course.

I finished my Class A skills course back in October last Year and then I had to go on to finish my Class P certification, which lasted me another Month, where I was away from the Class A motor vehicles. I had to get into FFE in January this Year and after a gap period of about 3 Months I got a little bit flaky in my double clutching, although I managed to get in easily and finally remembered how to do It properly eventually. I am still working on It to become more smooth at It at times. The backing is where I am in the dark totally, although I usually manage to do whatever I need to do regardless.

The backing and the shifting are going to be my achilles heel if there is one in the SWIFT Driving Academy in Millington. I Hope they are as Good a School as what most people say they are. I know that they can't give me another 6 Months at It, I guess, If You don't keep paying them for It in spurts, but It sounds like a very positive and illuminating enviornment from what I hear of It. I am ready to give It a roll.