hi. my names justin , im bout to go to a swift paid school for 19 days then 6 weeks with a mentor . i was just wondering what the good and bads of swift there are i kinda looked it up but found my self at this awsome website....this is good for ppl who dont much and want to learn. iv been around trucks most my life but just now am tryin to get a cdl... so if any can help me out with quistions that be great....
It will be what you make of it, keep a good attitude during training, every company will have people that love or hate them. Over the years I've dealt with grads from most of the major truck companies it is is as good as you make it. When you get with your mentor remember he's there to earn a living as well as teach you how to handle situations not to hold your hand but to teach you. So listen do what your told and when you go to your own truck then you can do as you will.
Once out on the highway a trainer should not need to sit there and hold you hand, independence is what trucking is all about. If you can not operate on your own for the most part you have chosen the wrong profession. I have trained driver for the last 15 years, I expect a truck to roll at least 20 out of 24 hour, part of the 4 hour period that the truck is not moving is used for handling problems drivers have run into while I was sleeping. As a trainer I do not get paid for hours when the truck is not moving. If I only get paid for the miles of one driver why would I want this invasion of my privacy in my cab. . Driver I have trained have gone to be safe hard working drivers, and all have my personal cell number. I have stayed in contact with most. None have been involved in major accidents.
How do you train anybody......While you are in the sleeper ..... You are just a miles #####....Using the new driver to pad your pocket...
with swift, mentor is suppose to be in passenger seat for the first 50 hrs of student driving. the schooling will be fast paces. all they do is train you to pass the cdl test, your real training will begin with mentor. if you feel you're not getting trained,then request another but try to get along. its a small place to spend time with another stranger. have a good attitude and bring alot of patience with you, youmre going to need it in this industry. good luck and keep us posted on your new adventure
Sometime during the trainees time with the mentor the student needs to try to drive and plan the truck without the mentor sitting next to him and holding his hand. The student needs to make decisions of his or her own. As was said above, the mentor is required to sit in the passenger seat during the student's first 50 hours of drive time. After that it is up to the mentor to determine when the trainee SHOULD be able to handle the truck operations on their own. That is why Swift has 2 different training types, full team, which is exactly what the term implies, and the Super Solo, which the student does most of the driving and truck operations while the mentor drives a few hours daily to keep the truck going above and beyond solo status but not up to team status. Most of the mentors I know prefer super solo unless the student is exceptional. How else are they supposed to be ready to upgrade to their own truck?
my mentor ran super solo unless we got a run where we just had to haul butt, normally he drove 3-6 hours a day while I drove close to my 11. I got along great with my mentor and still keeping in touch, just talked to him a few hours ago to see how things were going, he has a new student now which he said is doing well from the Academy. Only thing he gripes about is that the academy isnt teaching angle backing in which they should.
