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

Thanks!

I made my bed and now I just move from this point to the next point. One thing is for sure, I don't envy the planners, dms, csrs who have to deal with rookie drivers day in and day out. I'm not patronizing here, I'm just recognizing that it would be (should be?) soooooooo much easier to work with seasoned drivers.

(On a personal note...I'm gonna miss JP. I don't know how she was with other drivers but she was "jam up and jelly tight" with me. I know she's moved to the family fleet deal and I can only wish her the best. And, although I haven't talked to her in awhile, Daphne over in the new drivers area is a definite keeper.)

As long as I'm thinking good thoughts about some good folks, the young lady who was at the t-call window today at Memphis, and has been there during several of my trips through Memphis, is to be applauded for her incredible ability to keep a smile.

There are so many more folks who've made my abbreviated stay at Swift more enjoyable. There's a couple of guys at the t-call window at Columbus, the "rotund" guy at the t-call window a few nights ago at Jonestown, the guy at Avenel's t-call window who couldn't have a bad day if he tried, the tattoo'd gal (she'd probably kick my ### for the "gal" bit) at the t-call window at ? (crap, can't remember) etc., etc., etc. Swift has some good people working for them. They f'n A better do what it takes to keep 'em!

 

The problems I had were borne out of either dumb mistakes or my inability (because of the way I was raised and the way I've approached other jobs in the last 45+ years) to give up load (either by t-call or repower). I never, never continued with a load...just to get it there...if I was too tired to continue. That's not to say that I was always at my best, rest-wise, as I continued on toward the receiver.

At this point, I can say that it is best to t-call a load or have it repowered if there is any question about being able to get to the final without violating.

 

Lots of questions here. I'll try not to miss any and give answers to each.

I've had more than my share of violations. I made mistakes in logging plus I'm hard-headed. If I take a load...it's gettin' there. Not a good approach. Don't do it! As far as the number of violations goes I guess the best way to express that is to think what an old hand would experience if he/she was under a microscope. I'm not saying that old hands make a practice of violating, I'm saying that, under a microscope...ya ain't gettin' away with squat.

Your 2nd question: "Did I need to move over? No, not in the strictest sense of the word but I felt, at the moment, that I could have easily moved over into the hammer lane. What I didn't take into account was that the 4-wheeler approaching me in the hammer lane would speed up to the extent that he did. That's one thing that I believe a more experienced driver would have taken into account.

Memphis is (was) my home terminal.

Foot not on the pedal except to reset CC. Never, never letting truck ROLL.
One of the things I was working on was getting better at Jake brake/CC coordination. There seems to be a "sweet spot" on gentler downhill grades where you can dally with the accelerator (with Jake on) and "finesse" 65mph or less with the long pedal.

They didn't skip the warning phase but I was surprised when they fired me. The warnings came through the latest "speed" requirements. There was no direct, personal warning in the form of "stop doing this or you're gonna get fired". I knew that the speedometer moved past 65 on downgrades. I just have a hard time braking and engaging the Jake when, to do so, could be surprising to the driver behind me ("why did he hit his brakes?") and would put me in a momentum situation to be unable to climb the inevitable uphill grade coming up without creating a need for any driver behind me to pass me. All of this, of course, fluctuates with the load you are pulling.

I had 5 service failures. None in the last 4-5 months. Not sure exactly when I got the last one. I take full, 100%, responsibility for all but one of the failures. I might have avoided a couple more if I had been willing to t-call a load or have a load repowered. That's my problem though. T-calling or repowering a load might, might have resulted in on time delivery....maybe not. I'm still too green to predict outcomes. Bottom line here is for new drivers to plan very, very carefully. You need to know as early as possible if on-time delivery is in jeopardy.

I had ZERO preventables. Didn't put a scratch ('cept for some green from some low hanging limbs) on the truck. (BTW, that's the way it should be. Take it easy. If you're not sure where you going...DON'T GO!!! till you know!)
I definitely got into some "oh ####" situations but I was able to work it out.

Thanks for the good wishes. Take care of the little ones and follow the Swift rules and the DOT rules to the T. I hoped this has helped...even just a little!