My experience so far...

I am a new driver- just licensed in Oct 2016, and after a LOT of research I chose Knight. To say I have been less than overwhelmed at how wonderful things are would be an understatement.

As a new driver, I had to start in their Squire program. That's 3-4 weeks out on the road with a trainer who is supposed to have at least a year with Knight before they can even be considered. After spending 3 weeks just talking to my recruiter, I finally get to orientation- later called DQP- Driver Qualification Process. That means you aren't even hired yet when you show up for orientation- they don't even start the process until you arrive. Makes sense I guess considering 25% of the expected people didn't show up.

After 3 days of orientation, and finally getting hired on the 4th day, I learn that they won't have a trainer available until the next week. Great, considering I quit my other job to do this one, right? Finally, they get me a trainer the next day who is based out of another terminal but happened to be driving through Phoenix. I get in touch with him, and he's in California, but will be in Phoenix the next morning. So I ask when I should meet him. He doesn't care he says. He picks me up and I get in the truck. A nice newer International with automatic transmission. He tells me to drive. So I get in and we go. 400 miles first day- through rain, high winds and all. Handled it like a champ. Over the next three weeks we run like a team, 16k miles in three weeks. Come to find out later I was supposed to do 90% of the driving, and the trainer was supposed to ride shotgun and observe. Yeah he did that sometimes. Mostly he slept, unless we were at a pickup or delivery. Made him some fat cash, but that sounds like par for the industry.

So after three weeks, he's ready for home time, and I get dumped at the Dallas terminal to get tested, and then wait for some toad to give me a ride back to Phoenix. Guy didn't say 10 words to me most of the freaking trip- and he didn't want me to drive so it took two days instead of the one we could have done it in. When I get home, I report back to the terminal. Guess what? No truck!! I ended up waiting 4 days to get a POS truck with windows so covered in tar/nicotine from the previous driver that I got sick just being in the dang truck. That truck broke down twice in the first week, but I got lucky and scored a newer truck.

About trucks- I ended up in 5 trucks in 4 weeks, finally ending back up in the newer truck that was my 2nd truck. That truck had a severe malfunction with the fifth wheel resulting in a trailer being lost coming out of a roundabout. Thank goodness no one got hurt but some idiot in another truck hit my truck while coming around it- resulting in another 2 day trip in someone else's truck back to Phoenix- with no pay, and then hopping around in other trucks till mine was done- and then another two days back to get the truck, only to have to turn back around and return to Phoenix so the B service could be done.

There are good DM's at Knight- just none of them assigned to me. My DM is a nice person- but totally incompetent. Forgets everything- and does precious little to fight for you. Seems like their goal is to get you off the phone ASAP. I spend 1/2 of every home time down at the terminal taking care of crap that doesn't get done on the road since you can't stand in front of the person while you are driving your truck.

With all the downtime this quarter I won't get my mileage bonus but at least I hit the safety and fuel bonus. But I gotta say, when I hit my 6 months, I will most likely be gone. Searching for better miles, better equipment, and appreciation for what I do. Knight just doesn't seem to be the place for it.

 

I live in Phoenix