Is SWIFT so bad?

The 75lbs test is only if you want to drive flatbeds. As long as you can do the 50lbs or 60lbs (i cant remember) you can run vans. It was tuff for me thanks to my high blood pressure but I passed!!! Even if you dont want to drive flatbeds they still make you attempt it.

 

IF YOUR JUST STARTING OUT GO IN WITH AN ATTITUDE YOU NEED TO LEARN THE ROAD.ITS NOT HARD, MOST ARE FEW COMON THINGS TO LEARN AND A TRAINER THAT WILL STEER YA RIGHT AND DO HIS JOB AS THEY SHOULD DO. IF YA CAN'T COMUNICATE WITH YOUR TRAINER,JUST SAY SORRY BE ITS NOT WORKING AND ASK FOR ANOTHER THAT DOES CARE OR HAS THE ABILITY TO COMUNTICATE. I HAVE TRAINED 11+ YEARS AND STILL HAVE SEVERAL STUDENTS THAT I STAY IN TOUCH WITH. THIS CAN ONLY BE A NIGHTMARE IF YOU ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE FOR A FUTURE AND THERE ARE MANY AVENUES TO EXPLORE AND MANY WAYS TO DO THINGS RIGHT.THINK OF THE OTHER PERSON AND GIVE PLENTY OF PASSES TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T CARE. ITS NOT A TIME OR PLACE TO GET EVEN OR TRY TO BE THE BIG HONCHO ON THE BLOCK. DRIVE RELAXED AND BE SAFE AND LOOK OUT FOR OTHERS BECAUSE SOME HAVN'T HAD A GOOD TRAINER AND HAVN'T PASSED ON EVERYDAY COMON SENCE THINKING. YOU ARE IN CONTROL AND YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE OUT HERE.
GO OUT AND GETR DONE

 

If Swift is as bad as everyone says, maybe I should go with them first so that way nothing can ever be as bad.

I used to work for an organiztion called the US Army. After what they put us through, nothing will ever be that bad again. This kind of thinking has gotten me through some very tough times.

Just my 2 cents before taxes.

nosedirt

 

Swift has the reputation of hiring some bad drivers. I am not saying that they are all bad but the percentage is high. I remember a couple of weeks ago in IL where one missed an exit and decided to make a uturn on the interstate...got stuck in the middle and a tow truck to pull it out.

 

YES YES YES, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YES THEY ARE REALY THAT BAD.
My friend worked for them( I tried very hard to talk him out of this, i went as far as enploring is wife to not let him.). He wanted to go with sharkey, but chose swift because they had a terminal in new boston,michigan( yes,i told him it realy did not mater where the terminal was located.).
So here the short story, He worked for them for three months and made a grand total of $1,300 had five trucks 1 freghtliner colbo(setbelt base was torn off the floor,no controls for air ride seat, seat was all the way up
he is like 5'6 in boots. he called me to ask if he should take the truck? he told me his dm said it not a dot vilation so it was fine to drive(no realy she did. sadly, This would not be the last time he called me).
The four other trucks were all volvo( now, to be honest i have never driven and not sure what they were all about, but i do now alot about trucks and it is my personal opion THAT THEESE THING SUCK MAJOR ###)
Volvo #1. He had it one day, when the idiot light came 14 miles from new boston saying check engin light, He also said the break pedal had about an inc and a half more play then it should( the shop looser's told him it was like that on all volvo's).. he never found out what was wrong with because they just put him in another truck.

Volvo#2 He had this one for about two weeks, when the clutch went out, so they gave him a new one. Well not a new, new one...

Volvo #3 In his pre-trip he saw that the engin was wet, yep you guesed it a bad seal..

Volvo 3 & a half, they reasind him the one with the bad clutch because that one whold be up and running sooner then the one with the bad seal.

Volvo # 4 while his truck was in there shop, the sent him on a recory to volvo of grand rappids, to recover a truck that the said in was involved in a minor fender( firt of all, he sent me picks that i will put up as soon as i find out if it legal to do so. 2nd if it was involved in a minor fender bender WHY WAS AT THE VOLVO DEALERSHIP?) In hopes of making this his new truck. The second he saw the truck he called me, He sent me the picks on my phone, " oh my god if they make you drive this thing call the dot'' i said, Here is what i saw THE ENTIRE DRIVER SIDE FARING WAS RIPPED OFF( HELD UP BY THE AIR LINES, AND DUCT TAPE ON THE CAT WALK) there was a 10 inch welds on the front and back of the fuel tank, and he had to get in from the passenger's side door. I told him to call in and refuse to drive it. so he called his after hours suport( I say that laughing) and they told him the dealer said it was ok and safe to drive (whow, is all i can say.) and also added that if he refused to drive it back he would be stuck there and they would not pay for cab fare, bus ticket or a hotel room. And the kicker was they wanted him to pick up an emty at the spartan disstbution. funny, right! He called me back to ask what would i do? I told him first of all make sure that fuel tank was shot off, seconed make sure everything you need to work to drive the thing worked. So about an hour later i get a call
from him, saying, i am losing air what do i do?, i ask how much and are you hooked
he said about 20 psi and not yet.. i told keep it flored and if it gets below 65 stop. oh and forget about picking up the emty, just take it back to new boston. About 4 hours later he called me to let me know he maid it and the breaks locked up on about 30 feet from the shop door. He never found out what the problem was, but it preaty safe to assume it was the air govener. He did however find out what had happen to the truck, when he got in the truck he nonticed that the guy had left cb and some other things in the truck, so my friend baged them up and gave them to his dm
in an atempt to get them back to the guy( i told them not to bother that if the guy had caused that much damage to a truck he was most likely gone, I FORGOT THAT IT WAS SWIFT FOR A SECONED. So a couple of days later he was at the terminal waiting for his truck(which became a daily ritual,hence the $1,300 before mentioned) when he saw a guy caring the bag with the cb, He started talking to the guy and aparently he missed his exit got off at the next one which was a no tuck route and cliped somthing( i forget). Yep thats right the guy was still there to make excuses of why it was not his falt, and not only that swift rewarded his stupidity with a brand spankin new volvo 770(biger sleaper).

Volvo # 5 so after all that is truck was still in the shop with a couple of days left, and it was friday, the terminal mag. had found about all the bad luck(this #$$ hole words) had been having and decided to get personly involved. and gave him a different truck that the fleet mgr. had driven and told him it was the best that they had( that saying alot.lol) So my friend by this time had enough, he went to move into yet another truck( anybody who has done this knows how much it sucks.), and found the truck to be disgusting, so he refused,it haveing already used 2 btls of his own cleaning his truck that was in the shop... and it being friday he went home.
WHY EVERY EXUTIVE AT SWIFT HAS THERE OWN ROOM RESERVED IN HELL........................................................................................

The next monay he went to the terminal, and his truck was finaly ready.
He got in it he noticed that all his stuff was tossed all over his his cab, and there was a bag of food that was not his, and styrafoam plates(honestly, what trucker out there use's styrafoam plates?).. Not realy happy about it , he just let it go. He went in to talk to dm to tell him his truck was good to go...
I get a call from him in the moarning, his voice sounds like he saw some body get killed in front of him. I asked whats wrong? He said you know me right? i said oh, yeah! How offten do you see me drink? never once( realy i never have, he does'ent, and i don't thats why we have been friends for so long) I said, Why? The terminal mgr. showed me pictures of my cab with beer in it.. How do you know it's your truck i asked, well when i got in this moarning, he said my stuff was thrown all over and there was food rapers of food that, i do not eat and i noticed them in the picture.
Ok, I know alot of you are most likely saying to yourself, yeah right it was his.. I have know this guy since diapers, he does not drink and i beleave 100%, and you will to when you find out what happend.

So, the first thing i thought of was to call my dad(small fleet owner, 53 year driving 2million+ safetty, yada yada.
I don't ever recall my dad being this mad in my life(my sister wrecked his 59 vette, he was prety upset about that) at first he was mad at me,"why did'ent you stop him from working for those $$$$$%%^&%&^%^*^%&*^&*^ ,"I tried" i said, finaly after a few sec. of language that would make (Well) a trucker blush, he calmed down and told me what to tell him.
1st. call the dot, so that is reported( DOT, really has nothing to do with this kind of situation, but they were real helpful( i called them), they told me that legaly if for any reason they suspect you of being under the influnce, THEY HAVE TO GET YOU,TESTED. IF YOU FAIL THEY HAVE TO FIRE YOU, IF YOU PASS IT IS UNLAWFUL TO FIRE YOU.

2nd. thing my dad said, to demand copies of those pictures( thet refused) and after i told him what the DOT guy had to say, He had me tell him to demand a drug test, he did, they again refused saying they only give drug test on a random basis, but meracusley the next day he got called in for a random, (suprise, surprise) WHICH HE PASSED, and the lady that gave him the test told him she wonderd why they asked for just an alcohol test, when everybody else was geting just urine test. He told her that he had asked for it. It blew her mind, that some body would ask for it.
3rd. Here is were me and my dads opion's difered he did not want him to quit, in fear that they would retelate and but it on his DAC, i did'ent think they could because he passed the test. nether on of us were 100% sure so i called the michigan truckers asso.(verry helpful) the people at DAC(not so, helpful) and my dad talked to his lawyers( they are paid to be helpful), They all agred that they could not legaly put it on his DAC report.
So after my friend explained this, to the terminal mgr. he changed his story claiming the beer was found in someone elses truck(then explain the mess in is truck, and the food rapers that were in the picture, Which some how were "acdently deleted. Thats ok you can explain to the lidagation judge. Thats right, my friend is in the proses of suing swift and the terminal mgr.( with the help of my dad's lawyer's). and he is know driving for my dad, and is very happy. No legal papers have been filed as of yet, because it is aparently a long proses. but don't worry jerry the will.
The kicker to all this is that he spent more time at home (wating for a truck) then he did at work, and because him being at home the terminal mgr. had the nerve to question is work etchic. This guy spent four years military fighting for jerks like swifts new boston's terminal mgr. freedom.
And the thanks he gets is for you to try and ruin his and his family's life(he has 2 kids) shame on you swift, and jerry, don't forget to send in your rsvp to satan.
Oh yeah, i forgot that entire time h was at home because hi trucks were in shop he never got paid, because swift does not pay breakdown pay if your at your home terminal.....
Any body wanting to work for swift, this could be a case of one rouge enployee going off the deep end, and then again i might not.
My friend is lucky because he had my dad and I's knowlege, I am lucky to have my dad's knowlege. but most are not afforded same luxury.
most people that get into this busines like my friend are naive, thats why it is important to listen to the addvise of other's that have been through it. Yes, it might be just one example,but if you are thinking of working for a company that has a bad name in the industry IT GOT THAT, FOR A REASON. Don't take a chance the stuff swift pulled on my friend could have destroyed his driving carear. Thats the truth, My dad told me when i first started driving that most of these companies are the same, and he's right they will lie to you they will cheat you, you will have to fight for every thing you are owed. They never pay you what they say they will, there benifitts are never as good as they say they are. It is up to you to stand up for yourself and your fellow drivers, done of us are out there alone.....................

 

Sure Wish I had a Faster Truck...

 

other way around, two F@*$ in white station wagon.