My Journy with Swift

Thanks for the response Baack. I was sure that I had read that somewhere on here. I am just glad that I am not crazy. Well, at least not because of that.

 

Thanks for the response wildbill. He actually is fairly young and from what he was saying has never driven, at least not much. he was also implying more than just light pressure, it sounded like he felt you should be using your brakes non stop to keep the truck under control. That is what concerned me.

 

Checked out of the motel Thursday morning before heading to orientation. The morning was spent going over the qualcom and doing some trip planning. This was actually pretty good since one of their drivers did the training on it. He gave some good information on how to determine if you can accept a load offer and how to work within the HOS rules to deliver loads on time. After lunch the shop manager talked to us about their trucks and how request service on them. Everyone was very helpful and focused on how things work when you are on the road rather than reading what the book says to us.

The last person that spoke with us was the training manager who will be working with us until we go solo. He gave us our driver numbers and went over some information on how to address any issues that we might encounter with our mentors. Three of us got rushed out the door before he finished so we could catch the shuttle to the bus station since we didn't have mentors yet. We should have a mentor assigned to us sometime in the next week.

Sorry for the late entry on this one. Ended up sitting at the bus station for 4 hours and then another 4 hours on the bus. Did I mention I hate riding the Greyhound. Anyway, it made for a long night. Although I was hoping to get out with a mentor right away this does give me chance to finish some things around the house and I shouldn't have to wait too long. I will update more once i get some more information and get moving.

 

Got a call from my training manager this morning and told me he had a mentor available. This mentor is based out of a different terminal so I was told that I probably wouldn't be home until after my six weeks. This was given to me as an offer and I agreed to it since I am itching to get out on the road. My mentor called a couple of hours later and I will be meeting him Wednesday morning at my home terminal.

This has been a long and trying process for me. I was beating down doors and sending out applications to every trucking company I came across. After six long months Swift has finally come through and I am thankful for that. I am certainly a little nervous since this will definitely be a dramatic change in my lifestyle and career. However, after all the waiting I am thrilled that I am finally getting my chance.

I will keep updating as often as possible but I really don't know how much access I will have to the internet. I have honey-do list that I need to get on. Until next time, stay safe.

 

Met my trainer this morning and he seems to be a pretty decent guy. He is an owner operator that has been with the company for 15 years. He has a Kenworth W900L. This is an older truck with over one and a half million miles. It seems well maintained and runs good.

This will be my first time driving a hood but I am excited about it. We have a load going to jersey but it is only about 600 miles and doesn't deliver until Friday morning so we won't be leaving until 6am. He took me around the lot to practice shifting and then parked it. He said that normally he spends about an hour doing shifting with new trainees but I did well enough that he didn't see the point in doing more.

I think I am going to enjoy my training time. My mentor has made it clear that he expects things done right and legally. He has had me using the qualcomm, doing a pre trip, and planning our route. Looking forward to hitting the road tomorrow.

 

Xiaoen, I went to a driving school before coming to Swift.
Nana, thanks so much for the support and well wishes. I have followed much of your story on here as well and have the utmost respect for you.
Stay Safe