New CDL holders - Avalanche of hiring

MilkyJay · Dec 22, 2015

gwillh said: ↑

Rather have someone get out and try to figure it out any way possible, and ask for help from anyone around. I'll stop whatever I'm doing to help keep someone from hitting something. Wake me up if you gotta.

My truck bears the scars, and a new drivers mirror, from someone who didn't look or think, and dragged their trailer down it while I was sleeping.

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Had someone do just that but to my car while I was gone on the road. Hard to care about other drivers when others clearly can't do the right thing when no ones looking. Good thing was it was minimal damage. Bad thing was it was minimal damage.

PlanetEarth · Dec 26, 2015

gwillh said: ↑

I never, as you can tell, post much. But, I'm going to chime in here.

There's been comments about mega carriers made, and some about smaller companies. Also, some other very valid, specific, useful advice given on the situation you'll find yourself in. I'm adding to this thread because someone asked about good and bad carriers etc, but the answer is going to be a tad longer than that, trying to debunk some of the myth.

I started as a Swift company driver after having gotten my cdl (on my own money, locally, not through their training program) again after many years (more than some have been alive that are driving now here). The pay was horrible, the time out was horrible, the lack of human contact except for truck drivers was horrible, the food was horrible, the relaxation when not rolling was horrible. Wasn't Swift's fault, welcome to trucking.

But.

The starting pay was industry standard, everyone pays rock bottom starting out, and has been boosted to more than some companies are offering as experienced per mile pay, and you can get it within six months or less of your starting date. That quarter a mile is now above .32, I believe, and rises quickly. almost to .40 in weeks, and over .50 cpm if you run hard, and keep your record clean. I see companies requiring all certs and doodads, and two years experience with three to four weeks out on the road, for just a couple pennies more per mile. Swift isn't the worst paying.

Almost every single company you drive for as a company driver has a lease payment on the truck they give you. To pay that lease, insurance, tires, fluids, repairs, ezpass, qualcomm, etc, they need you to be running, not sitting. The break even on the truck is two days running a week, or more before its paid, your income comes out of the other days in the week. Ever wonder why they aren't worried if you get three days, then sit for four? They paid the truck, made a bit of money, You got enough to buy food. That's the impression you might get, but, in reality they WANT you running 2500 miles a week, otherwise they are paying to borrow a truck and have someone sit in it doing nothing. I don't meet many drivers who AREN'T getting 2100-2500 avg miles with Swift, if they wish to run.

As far as how bad the actual drivers are, and why they keep hitting stuff ($900 mirror, $3000 body work for the guy who pulled his trailer out next to me to sharply, then asked if I was reporting it), flipping trucks, sliding off the road, tearing your hood off at a truck stop (spread axle man, you can't take that back lot turn in the J that sharp, why did you do that), backing into you (had a bobtail hit me backing up, while I was asleep one night, trying to hook to a trailer next to me), there are two sides to that:

1)
- CDL 'Truck School' grads (The non truck school, schools), who got licenses after a very limited number of hours behind the wheel in traffic.
- Who only put a truck in reverse to pass the DOT tests after doing half a dozen practices in four weeks of school. So have no practice actually getting a truck into a real parking slot next to another truck on each side that is worth a lot of money.
- Who are told to memorize pretrips without actually knowing WHY and WHAT they are looking at, leading to accidents, breakdowns, etc.
- Never being put in real world situations and told how to handle it.
- Never even being shown how to FUEL AT A $$^%^ truck stop. (Yep, seen that, helped them out on their first runs)

--- Is this the fault of the driver for not knowing what he should be learning? I don't think so.

2)
- The driver who drove something else, but has no experience, or very old out of date experience. Passes the orientation, gets put on a mentor truck, shows he can go down a road, gets told he's in the short program and will be helping some guy earn double his usual pay while LEARNING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT THE JOB.

The reason a lot of new drivers are 'crashing' is lack of actual training, or practice, practice, and practice, before being tossed out there on the road. You could say every carrier has this issue, it's not specific to any one. I bet we all wish every driver got trained by Dad on the farm before coming out on the road. You learn better with the old man smacking you for hitting the fence.

---------------
If you go through Swift's training you get a better trucking education than if you go to the smaller truck schools (I have no experience with the larger ones, but I have been around Swift's, and the small ones). They don't want you ill prepared to take their truck out, they don't make money off wrecked trucks.

Also, with Swift, every single day someone is reminding you over the qualcomm to slow down, get out and look, stop if you're tired no questions asked if its a choice between unsafe and rescheduling, did you really check the truck over, or fake it and send in the report, did you check to make sure your trailer is still hooked and some loon didn't yank your fifth, is some part of you going to fly off and hit the car next to you killing someone? Oh, and slow down! (Guess what the number one issue for most of these new drivers is, lord I hate being passed by someone speeding in work zones).

So no, Swift isn't creating the crashes, the drivers are creating the crashes. If your to thick headed to listen, that's your problem, not the company's. Swift currently has a decent below threshold CSA score, the drivers are starting to listen, drivers are staying with Swift, the pay is better, the hours are the same as every other carrier, hometime is as good or bad as anywhere else (4 days off every three or four weeks is standard everywhere for company I hear).

The honest good and bad about Swift, and any other carrier likely, for new drivers:

No, you won't make a fortune as a company driver, here or anywhere, as I am told by anyone I ask. But
you also won't be making $600-800 (pre tax) wk at mcdonalds, and there's every possiblity you will as a company driver, if you run.your.butt.off..... Read the forums, any driver wanting to make decent money HAS to DRIVE. You can't drive sitting at home.

If you want to be home more, make sure you hire on in a area where there's a terminal, and lots of freight. Check online for the terminal map before you apply, and you'll get an idea of if you can be home weekends, or every second weekend, instead of four days a month. Check with the terminal and see if they have a dedicated account close to you, after some OTR you can get on a run and be home more. You can also slip seat if you're near a terminal. Take your two weeks out and take four days off, or whatever schedule you work out with Swift, or whichever.

Your relationship with your manager is everything. Any company you sign on with is full of personalities, try and find the one that works with you. If you can't work with your manager, ask to change, if they refuse, then you know you're with the wrong one if they don't even ask you to come and talk about it with them.

Mostly, don't expect the perfect job. This job can suck really badly. If you just got a license, have never been OTR, you are in for a serious shock. Even staying clean can be a nightmare without any experience out here. Over time you either get taught, you learn on your own, or you quit. I'm a big fan of to much information for new drivers, at least some of it will stick.

Give it six months to get over the shock, the next six months you'll actually be learning the job when the basics are in place. The next six you'll be figuring out every angle in the book to make money and manipulate the load system. That fourth half year you actually, if you haven't hit anything major, gotten hurt, or over spent your income into the red, might become a truck driver. Personally, after almost three decades away, I'm staying in that last six month category. The day I feel like a 'real' truck driver, I'll probably do what a guy did at --censored-NotSwift-- and had his parked truck roll back into the Pilot pumps and jacknife, closing the truck stop

I've heard good things about Swift this last year, Schneider is working out for lots of folks across the board, Prime (altho I think their governor is horrid) is on the grapevine, and lots of others. Mostly the reason to go with the 'mega' carrier is they have the newest equipment, they have the most freight, and they are used to dealing with green drivers. There are a lot of companies, they have all upped their pay, they have all invested heavily in equipment, both large and small carriers, but most want to see you AFTER you have figured out how not to ruin their pretty truck.

I can't give you any advice on the human contact thing. Truckers off duty are either tired and cranky, or starved for someone to talk to. Take your chances.

P.S.

There are those that are making money leasing, and a lot of failures. Don't get into that temptation for at least a YEAR, preferably MUCH longer, anyone can hold out for that first year. I know they offer it after six months, but don't do it unless you know precisely what you're getting into, and with whom.

Will
- Former Swift co. driver
- Current Swift Lease Operator (Stop saying Owner Op people, seriously)
--- Oddly enough, making money at it too. But I'm single, debt free, middle aged, no mortgage, kids are almost adults. If your profile is not like this, be very very very careful before you sign.
- No, not giving you my truck number, not looking for referrals. I don't want the blame if you hate trucking.

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I got to see 40 states this year, where have you been?
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PlanetEarth · Dec 26, 2015

The drivers who want home time should not go OTR. Want to be home once a week or twice a month? Do Regional. Want to be home more frequently? Drive locally. OTR is more suited to the single childless crowd.

rabbiporkchop · Dec 26, 2015

Turnover rate at huge otr freight companies is comparable to turnover rate at McDonalds for similar reasons

Lightside · Dec 27, 2015

rabbiporkchop said: ↑

Turnover rate at huge otr freight companies is comparable to turnover rate at McDonalds for similar reasons
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I know that all too well. Had to get a brief job there making beef patties earlier this year. It's a simple enough job.

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