Possibly start with Swift in March

I know from reading the forum there are a lot of mixed feelings with swift, and part of it due to the drivers behind the wheel. I think the legislation being worked on right now requiring all schools to be certified will be a good plus overall for any company. Just my 2 cents worth...

Anyway... What are some things I need to know about the company that would help me prepare? What can I do to be sure I get a good ... for lack of knowing what term they use... load manager that will keep the wheels rolling?

What can I do to be better prepared when I get my own truck? I do not want to be one of the statistics that helped give Swift the mixed reviews based on the drivers.

Do the trucks come pre-equipped with a CB or am I responsible for supplying one? Are the trucks well maintained by the fleet? I know some of these can only be answered by those that have worked there recently or are currently working there. Lets hope the changes with the company stay positive.

Thanks in advance!

 

Swift is a good company to work for (I have personal experience). The 42 days of training, if you are fortunate enough to get a good mentor, is very helpful to learn the system. Most of the terminals are good, as are most of the shops. The worst shop I dealt with was Denver.

You will work for a Driver Manager. You really don't have an initial choice on that as it is kind of the luck of the draw. Your preplans will come from the planning department. My understanding is there are some changes going on in this dept. that should improve things tremendously when it comes to load planning. They really don't want you to turn down the preplan but you can for safety or HOS situations, or if they give you a load that really should go to a team. You just need to be clear in your explanation and it is best to call your DM to do that.

As for the reviews, most forget that Swift has in the neighborhood of 20,000 drivers. If 5% of all drivers are bad industry wide, that means there are a whole lot more bad Swift drivers on the road then from a company that has 3,000 drivers. Swift actually has a better safety rating then many of the companies who have drivers badmouthing Swift drivers.

The truck I got had a CB in it but it was a tiny Midland. I got my own to run with. The trucks are usually well-maintained. Many of the terminals have a safety lane you go through to get to the lot. You have to stop for them to check things out before going on in. Trailers can sometimes be a problem. Just make sure you do a good pre-trip on any trailer you pick up. You will definitely pick up ones that need something done to them.

I would go back to Swift if it weren't for the "no dog" policy. Anyway, good luck to you. What terminal will you run out of?

 

Thanks for the response. It sounds like they take their truck maintenance seriously, which is a good thing. Less chance of getting stuck on route somewhere!

I'm hoping to run out of the Phoenix terminal. If not right away, definitally when my wife and I make our way back to Tucson later this year, which means I'll be changing from East to Western, so hopefully I get lucky with a DM both times.