Well FFE is out. They don't accept anyone who takes anti-depressants either. Central does not take anyone that takes blood thinners. I talked to the doctor and he said I could take aspirin, ginsing and garlic to substitue the warfarin but there is no way to gauge proper doses. Central said I would have to be off warfarin for 30 days. So far Swift and CRE are the only two companies who will accept both medications. CRE training course is at 18% intrest! I am thinking why would I want to pay 18% intrest when these other schools are 0%?. First available class for Swift is December 15, 2010 for San Antonio. Question! When planning home time can it be planned for weekends? I know there are a lot a variable but can you request certain days or is it just when they get you home?
My Time With Swift
Discussion in 'Swift' started by dodgeram440rt, Apr 13, 2010.
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I have another question. When you are someplace and have down time can you take the truck places? If you had down time in Atlanta could you go to the casino's or other places you might want to see while you are in a particular area?
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If you can do it within the confines of HOS, I would say...maybe. The thing is, you are not permitted to disconnect from your trailer for any reason except for loading or unloading (drop and hook), especially if it is loaded. So if you did go anywhere, you would have to do it connected to your trailer, which might make some access a bit difficult and you have to have drive hours available on your clock.
One possible exception might be if you were at a terminal where you would be allowed to safely drop your trailer for a time. (The issue is security of the load. If you drop it at a truck stop, the load is not secure. If you drop it at a terminal or Swift drop yard, it is considered secured.) Some terminals, such as Memphis, require you to disconnect from your trailer whenever you are parked there.
The problem with this is that, as a company driver, Swift does not allow you to bobtail the truck for personal usage, such as running to the store, unless you can get prior approval from your DM. I understand that DOT regulations do allow for personal conveance purposes such as that, but that is also left up to the discretion of the company. Now if you were an o/o-l/o, that is a different story. Then you would be allowed to leave the terminal whenever you wanted. But you still can't leave your trailer unattended elsewhere.
Does that make sense? -
Well, it only took a week, but I finally got a new DM. WOOHOO! Persistance pays off. I said before that I would be respectfully insistant in my request and I believe I was. I never got mean or nasty, ugly or demanding. I simply called my fleet manager, reminded him that I had previously requested a new DM and told him I would like to renew that request. I explained to him a few of the issues I had with her and he said ok and he would see what he can do. Then I gave him a couple days and called him back. I just told him who I was and that I was calling to see if there was any progress on getting me a new DM. I understood that he was busy and I would possibly take a little time, but I called him back every couple days. That just let him know that I meant it this time. He let me know that he had an idea of who to put me with and just needed to be able to talk to him before he made the switch. This person was on vacation last week so I think that may have been what held things up.
Just got the new DM on wednesday and he is already off to a great start. Got a preplan picking up in NJ with a second pick up in PA going to GA with a delivery on monday (remember, this is wednesday. It's not going to take 5 days to get from NJ/PA to GA.), but it t-called in Greer, SC. It was still 641 loaded miles, so I took it. As I was sitting getting loaded at the first location in NJ, my new DM calls me up and asks if I wanted the miles from this load. Um...sure...if it delivers before monday! He asks if I can have it there before noon on friday. Sure, not a problem! So he took the t-call off the load and my 641 miles just went up to 810! Sweet! The old DM sure wouldn't have done something like that.
The only problem I've had with this load was at the second pick up. Turns out that at least that part of this load was actually a day late. It was actually scheduled for the day before, but the driver never showed up. The manager called Swift to find out what happened and Swift said they had a driver in NJ who could pick it up (no, it wasn't me) no problem. The manager had waited there until midnight and no driver ever showed up and no call from Swift. So when I get there, I'm told that it's a missed appointment and that I'm at the bottom of the list and will get loaded when it gets loaded. Great. I get screwed for someone else screwing up. I tried to explain to the guy that I'm not the one who missed the appointment and that I had only just received the load that morning, but he didn't care. I got there with about 6 hrs left on my clock, I left with 2. But it worked out ok. I'm sitting in Greer right now with 3 hrs left to go and about 8 hrs to do it in. Hope I get some more loads with this kind of miles though. This is what I like.
Anyone hit any snow yet? Keep it safe! -
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Glad you got a new DM. Maybe things will work out a little better for you now. Did I read somewhere on here that when you "rescue" a load that you take the hickey for it being a late load? That doesn't seem right....After several months of research and following this thread I have decided to get my start with SWIFT. I report to San Antonio on December 29th, 2010. Seriously thought about CRST but dont think I would be comfortable team driving. Any, Dodge, keep up your posts, I have enjoyed reading them and they had a good part in my decision and I am sure it will helps others too! Keep it safe!
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swift is going to IPO soon on the stock market, they say they have 12,900 company trucks and 3,900 owner-operators, well how many of those are fleece trucks verse's owner-operator that went to the dealer to buy there truck then lease on to swift, do's anyone have an idea on the owner- op side of the company and is it good, thanks
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I may be going to Swift Orientation on Dec 6th (7th? not sure). I failed the road test at Roehl and my so-called 'pre-hire' letter from USXpress was meaningless. Apparently, the one accident on my license, which they knew months ago was my fault, is causing them to re-consider me. MY CDL school recruiter has set me up with Swift as a back-up. The school said I would know something by Friday at 4pm, but I never heard back from them. My concern is I need much more practice on manual shifting and the pay scale has me a little worried. What good is home time if you're worrying about how to feed your kids?
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Biker Dave, I understand what IPO means but what effect do you think that will have on current and future employees?
On the fence, I have researched, researched and done more research. It seems that most of these Companies that sponsor CDL training are about the same. I too am worried about the pay scale the first year but I am determined to make it through the contract period and hopefully move on to higher pay. I considered PAM because they team drive and make 17.5 per mile and dont split miles. It would probably be the better paycheck but I am skeptical being with someone 24/7 that I dont really know. I am choosing SWIFT mostly because they are intrest free school, have decent training pay and they except all the medications I take. Good luck! -
ironrider, it will have no effect on ya,
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