Oldnewbie, not a Swiftie as of approx 1430CST today!

I got fired! My purpose in this thread will be to help other new Swifties. In the thread I'd like to elaborate, as much as I can, on what new Swift drivers must do to remain in the driver's seat of a Swift Transportation truck. My errors in judgment, with respect to following ALL of Swift's rules, and my own errors in log-keeping led to the event of this afternoon. I will NOT fault Swift...that would be counterproductive to the purpose of the thread. My only intention is to help new Swift drivers, if I can, to avoid being fired.

My personal financial situation (I ain't rich, but I ain't sweating this), being an older newbie, makes it easier for me to weather this little storm than it would be for a younger driver with mouths to feed and a future to plan for. My only child is 36 years old and not a "young'un" anymore but I guess I still have a soft spot for the younger folks.

So, if you have questions, let 'em rip! I'll be as candid as I can be. I WILL NOT RIP SWIFT!!!!!

(I've made a lot of friends on this board. Several of them who know me pretty well probably saw this coming and encouraged me to "toe the line". I guess that toeing the line is tough on older newbies. "You can teach an old dog new tricks but it's mighty tough on the old dog".)
Be safe! Old new....

 

I took my first solo load on August 13 last year so just over 9 months.

 

Oh, I'll be around. One of the things the "firers" told me was that this would not effect my chances to work for another carrier. It's just that Swift, and Swift's insurers, cannot tolerate log violations and over-speed violations. I also had a "call-in complaint" about a merging situation. I told them that I am almost certain I know the situation they are talking about. The Swift reps that terminated me said they would not comment one way or another on the truth of the "call in". I told them that if it was the situation I believe it to be, then my error was in NOT realizing the speed at which the 4-wheeler in the hammer had sped up to to avoid being behind a big truck (if only for the few seconds it would have taken me to return to the granny lane after I had passed the big truck--triangles out--that I was merging over for).

My error: Instead of just slowing down and passing the disabled big truck at a much slower speed, I chose to merge into the hammer lane.

Newbies: Those 4-wheelers, cell phone in their ear, are not afraid of you and do not want to be behind you...no matter what!!!

 

Paper logs. E-logs would have sealed my fate sooner I believe.