All American Xpress

yeah, you're right, but if you read thru my posts since I joined, the company had a horrible history of those things but it seemed as if the owner finally started to step up last summer (as a result of DOT sanctions/audits no doubt). Safety is improved, elogs are now in place resulting in far fewer instances of driver violations, and the partners (one of whom I think was mentioned by name in one of the "ripoff" report posts) are no longer attached to the company. No doubt when you talk to drivers who have been with the company for many years that there was (and still is a trace of) disrespect to drivers by the support staff. Unfortunately that is all coupled with financial mismanagement and the effects of that (fuel network interuptions and vehicle maintenance) are what are the biggest concerns for the future of the company (well, the company apparently has no future, AAX will close down and a new outfit, Runway, will take its place). You may wonder why there are so many drivers who have remained despite the troubles, and its pretty much the high miles we get from running coast to coast. I was one who was swearing I would quit within 2 weeks of taking this job last December, but here I am 5 months later unable to walk away from the highest steady miles I have ever had in 15 years of driving with the big dogs (Shaffer/Crete/Schneider). And those miles are true long haul, not 450-600 mile hops around the eastern seaboard and the midwest.

Bulletproof, no one is "suckering" drivers into this company - I'm unaware of any recruiting that is being actively done, but they certainly aren't going to turn away applicants from submitting their info. You can stick to your opinion, but much of what you write is simply wrong and uninformed. My thread here is about the company warts and all, not a defense of it. What I defend is the truth to be out there, not rumors and innuendo from people who have no connection to the company. I heard one driver tell me that they burned through about 300 older applications last fall (about the time I was hired when they came on my 2 year old application) to replace drivers that had been released from the company over the summer as they cleaned house of drivers with safety problems. This is a small outfit, only 120 or so drivers, a fourth of those are teams.
Don't know why you think they would pay drivers because if you read my stuff this week, there are only 5 of us out of the 120 who are without trucks, everyone else is running miles as they always have (my average take home pay is about $900, running with Schneider or Crete I would be lucky to see a $900 paycheck every third week).
Us four ARE being paid. One of the others is on hometime (Tampa), and the other two are awaiting trucks to be put on the road most likely by monday (the shop was repairing 3 trucks that had been placed out of service for clutch problems so those will likely go to those 3 drivers - I came back to Tennessee voluntarily because I don't care to receive $60 layover paycheck and a room at the Motel 6 while waiting for a truck to be made available.
Also, I don't trust that I will have a truck ready for me - they would not promise me a time frame so I told them I was not going to sit in Lakeland waiting day to day.
I've spent 3 years looking for good paying solo long haul and you are wrong, 32cpm is not the low end of the payscale. It is pretty much what you will find even in some of the bigger national fleets offering higher length of haul trips. And I'll take lower pay for more miles when it means one warehouse stop a week over Schneider's sit and wait every day of the week just to get 2200 miles any time. And health insurance is health insurance, if you dont like the deductibles of the plans offered, get your own, at least AAX offers it which many of the owner operators who are looking for solos to run their rigs coast to coast (for 32cpm) don't (I have interviewed with about 5 O/Os from MCT in the past 2 months).
Can't compare AAX to the big dogs, they are a small outfit and don't get the group rates you'll find offered at the national companies.
The next big question when the new outfit is up and running in May will be if the company plans to keep its current payrate or drop a few cents a mile which I have heard rumored. THEN, I would agree that they are bottomfeeders trying to take advantage of the economy and drivers in need. But at this point, I stick to my opinion that they are offering steady work, steady miles and an average pay package and are not recruiting unsuspecting drivers.
I have met no young or new drivers in my days at the terminal and I would estimate I have met about 30 or so of the OTR drivers as they have come and gone during the 3 days I was here this week and the 3 days I was there last month during truck repairs (and yes, I was paid layover and motel for those days as well). Most of what I have overheard on the phone regarding new applicants (and I have probably heard Kathy speaking to 6 different people in the last couple of months) is that people calling are referrals from current drivers, not "recruits" (AAX doesn't have a recruiting bonus for current drivers to bring others on board).
Some of the applicants have been people reading this thread who have backchanneled me and I openly tell them that it's not a company I would recommend UNLESS you live in Lakeland and can deal with one restart per roundtrip - it means you are out almost 12 days but get one day off when you return (they count the layover/restart on the west coast as a "day off"). One of the drivers who lost his rig is from the Portland area. I also point out that AAX pays 23cpm wage and 9cpm (forced) per diem, another item that in my opinion makes them NOT an employer of choice but many of the drivers I have had a chance to talk with at length are older (I'm 50) and are not concerned with the tax and credit issues of the pay plan.

Of course at this stage, I wouldn't recommend anyone try to get on board, but I would tell them to request an app on the chance that Jamal Lewis successfully makes the turnaround. The potential for this company to be a great place to work is high, but the question is "with the departure of the former partners, will Mr Lewis do a better job of taking care of his drivers?". That remains to be seen.