Swift Driver Here

Hey mArTmAn I'm starting with swift in a few weeks and really looking forward to it(really hope I'm as fortunate as you) but my only concern is (pay), I know starting out I shouldn't expect much but how much is much? I search this forum and found alot of helpful info but not much on expected pay after training, since we're both gonna be driving for the same company can you please help me out on this issue (weekly ballpark figure) just so I can have a realistic idea on what to expect from swift.
thanks

 

2100 miles per week # 26 CPM = $546 gross per week.

I got the 2100 MPW number from the Swift website.

 

How much out of pocket did you have from the time you left home untill your first paycheck?

 

Hi Martman Have you been through the Swift terminal in Phoenix AZ? How have things gone since your post in Sept 07? Also Eric I couldn't find those figures at all under Swift's new driver area on thier website?! It doesn't even list new driver rather it starts at 1 year experience at 2100 miles per week which in total works out to .37 CPM, which is probably some BS?!

 

This is what I pulled from the Swift site under the 'New to Trucking' section:

Example 1
Dry van - Western U.S.
Single driver
One year of experience
2,100 miles driven per week
Annual pay - approximately $41,112


Now I know that states 1yr exp, however I was only using it as a mileage reference. It's pretty well known that newly trained drivers are receiving .26 CPM and receiving .31 CPM after 6 months. You also receive 1 cent more at 9 months, and again at 12 months.

As far as the first year working out to .37CPM, I think that the total number of $41K is meant to include other fees, such as layover and breakdown pay. I could be wrong on that though.

 

This is a good question, and I would like to know as well. Are they still having the drivers pay their own toll fees out of pocket, then wait on reimbursement?

 

Wouldn't out-of-pocket depend greatly on how busy they keep you even if they reimburse later i.e. having to stay overnight etc waiting for loads?

As far as safety data I found in comparison one might think Werner has a better safety rating than Swift yet Swift has more than double the fleet so as a percentage Werner is worse. When you look at CR England thier driver accident rate is 83.45 (anything over 75 is considered excessive) but they have a normal vehicle SEA rating?! Do we consider them to have deficient driver training or just the worst drivers from all sources? OOS data seem to be along those lines as well for those big companies but when you look at CRST Malone for example thier OOS is over the avg. What's interesting about Swift and Werner is Swift has twice as many trucks/units as Werner but only 10 more fatal crashes (53) than Werner. That would seem to show Werner is hire anyone and possibly not give the training they need?

 

And you really think Swift has a good safety record? In 30 months they've had 77 trucks involved in accidents were someone had died. In the same amount of time you've had 6421 moving violations. That's 30% of their drivers that get tickets. Maybe it's that great safety program that puts drivers with only 6 months experience as drivers trainers that's responsible for that great record. as far as I'm concerned I don't think Swift knows the meaning of safety. But you are right on one point, Werner is no better in fact they have a 43% rate for violations. These companies are bottom feeders and like I've said before they could care less about their drivers. It's very hard to move up when you have hits on your driving record so if you're using these companies as your way to gain experience you'll have a very hard time with the way they run the company. You'll have to be on your toes all the time then get out as soon as you can hopefully with a good record. You can possibly avoid all that by not going with what a recruiter says and going out on your own to look.

If you want to see some very good companies then look at Chevron, BP, Con-way, Wal-mart, and even Schneider. I realize that a new driver could not get hired on with Chevron or BP and I don't know about Wal-mart but Schneider has taken new drivers. You can do much better if you just go out and do some leg work.

 

Not saying Swift has a good safety record, rather the comparison on safety is based on the size of a companie's fleet and how much freight they move. I'm not promoting any company but drawing attention to what safety info is out there about any company.

It just so happens I looked at two of the largest fleet haulers and biggest employers in the industry. As they attract alot of attention from students it's important to have others aware of the data.

 

Unless something just breaks on you, and causes a loss of control, any vehicle you drive will give you a warning before something breaks. If you continue to drive with a 'vibration' or something you know you should have checked, and it fails, and you wreck, well whos fault is that really. That is like saying it is the guys fault for pulling out in front of you, when you were going 55mph in a school zone.