SWIFT, 3 months, new driver OTR, the facts

Sounds like you have a great attitude. That goes a long way and people pick up on that, it's also contagious.
Combine that with the work ethic you have and I'd say you are well on your way to a great career.

Good luck, but I don't think you will need it!

 

But the thing is it could happen anywhere you go.
It kept me from Platinum status for a while, that's all.

There is BS where ever you go.
I find the BS at Swift to be at an acceptable level - so far.

If you stay accident free and on time you can pretty much write your own ticket.
By that I mean that you have a certain latitude in the loads that you want to accept.
You can run the hours that you like best without a hassle, if you know the system well enough.

And Swift's system is set up that way. It actually gives you some (a lot of) control, which many other companies don't.
In nearly 5 years I can think of maybe 3 times when I've felt 'forced' to do a load.

Yesterday I delivered a load in the early morning, and then with 2 hours left on my 70.
I was sent a plan to pick up at 2100 that night, but I knew I would not have the sleep time that I would need.
I turned it down with that reason, then called the DM to reset my PTA for the next morning at 0600. Not a question was asked, it was just done.
A few hours later I got another plan that I could do with ease.

I work my own hours, and swift seems to let me do so.
And I've heard and read and talked to other drivers at other companies that don't seem so accommodating.

I'm a lazy driver. I don't try to 'maximize' every hour of every day to get the most miles.
I just want a decent week of 2k-2700 per week, and I'm not going to kill myself in the process.
I want to never have to do a 34, so I average my hours to keep running.
And the thing is, I do that every week. I turn down what I don't want, usually, and take what comes next.

The real point is, it is the devil I know (and can control to some degree) vs. the devil I don't (and maybe can't).

 

Not exactly what I was looking for, but a good show of faith.

Thanks.

 

The thing about Swift you have to remember is they really do give almost anyone a shot, like it or not.
So when you hear about someone making good money at Swift it's not a strike of luck or something crazy it's just someone who isn't lazy and wants to run. That's how I feel about it anyway.

Most of the guys my mentor and I have talked to with some screwed up loads, even a guy with a 2 day wait time between loads wouldn't take my mentors advice and call his DM to get a load that picked up sooner yet he was #####ing about the down time. Seems like the guy didn't even want to try to fix his own problems.