Swift stabbed me in the back

We live very rural right in the middle of nowhere but still along a major highway. Now my wife always puzzled before how to give directions to our new place. I told her to keep it easy:
Go through that small location, follow the hwy through three curves. After the third curve first driveway at left.
She was very skeptic about it since her instructions would have been???????......
Now the satellite dish for the internet had to be installed and the tech called a day in advance for directions. My wife: my husband is a truck driver and he told me to explain it that way......
The tech came right on time the next day and thanked her for those perfect instructions.....

 

Thanks for your encouragement, man. I just feel like I'm in a confusing spot as my record with Swift was bad but none of the incidents I had appear on my legal record, even though the police were there. Swift's definition of a preventable accident goes a lot further than the legal definition. My worry is if I would pass a DAC check.

One of them was hitting a traffic signal with my trailer, another time I got the landing gear and side skirts of my trailer stuck on a bump...I had no choice but to call 911 and a tow truck. Swift has a risk analysis score that they keep on their drivers, mine was like 68 at the time that I was fired, which my DM said was through the roof, and then I asked how many points would be on my legal record and he said "around 30". But, today, I ordered a copy of my FMCSA record and it shows no accidents, no tickets, no nothing. I heard it from Swift about those incidents, I know I messed up and I learned my lessons, but both times the officers told me it wasn't a big deal and didn't write me any tickets or anything.

Actually, yes, training with Swift left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I never felt confident, and I knew I was always on the verge of getting fired, so I was never driving with any peace of mind. My trainer wasn't of much help at all - he was an owner-op and had me do things that are a no-no in a company truck, like going around a corner or ramp at faster than the yellow sign - well, when I did that in the company truck, the "Critical Event" sensor went off, and Swift takes that very seriously, and I had gotten to a point where they were going to fire me if I had one more.

I enjoy driving truck and know the basics about safety but I do feel like I do have a lot to learn, if nothing else just by doing it more. Another couple runs with a trainer at my next company would do me good. Certainly going to get in touch with System/TWT as they almost hired me before I went with Swift, and I was really impressed by how caring they seemed.

 

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast."

Confidence means a lot. If you're scared to death anytime you're not on the Interstate, you're not ready to be on your own.

Don't get me wrong, there's some pucker factor there for all of us. But you can't be a good driver if you're quivering in your boots.

Talk to System/TWT. Melton, Wil-trans/Jim Palmer and Prime are also decent training companies.

When you step out of your trainers truck there should be a SMALL part of you thinking "OMFG I am all ALONE!" That's normal. But it should pass within a week.

I was really intimidated by the whole process of driving truck out of school. I got lucky and had a great trainer and great dispatchers and a good company.

Now, after having driven flatbed in 26 states and 4 provinces and logging truck in places where no sane person should EVER drive a 70"+ rig, it's mostly pretty ho-hum.

A little fear is a good thing. Keeps us all on our toes. Driving terrified because you're not confident you know what you're doing is a recipe for disaster. The fear alone will cause you to do stupid things. Training and experience will help. If you get hired on with System PM me and I'll refer you to a couple of great trainers.

 

This just happened this morning to me.

I headed to my 7am delivery in Chicago. The traffic was nice to me and I was on time. Pulled off I 55 and turned south on California Ave, the customer half a mile down the road. Half ways down I hit the Jackpot on Monday morning. A 13 ft underpass blocked my way.
I tried to get a hold of the customer but no answer.
The clerk at the small fuelstation comitted to be no big help for truckers since he wasn't sure where to send me. But the Road Ranger further back might be more helpful, he suggested.
So I backed up a few hundred yards across a light and went over to the Road Ranger.
She recommended a left turn, under an overpass.........
Question from me: Will I fit underneath there? A smile and a hesitation was the first thing I got.
Regarding her reaction I knew she wasn't sure and I didn't go. Instead I tried to get directions from the customer who didn't answer the phone before 8.
He knew exactly what I was talking about since the bridge was just outside his fence.
He gave me the needed directions and it was an easy way in.
Again one more experience for me and an advise for new drivers: don't go until you're stuck. Use common sense, stay calm, back out, ask for help before you cause some damage.
I was p##### about our office staff. For every load which is either picked up or delivered, they call the customer in advance to confirm the del/put. Why the f### do they send me to a place when they're not open? This is going to be the next topic with my fleet manager. The industry isn't only in need of professional drivers. We are also in need of professional office staff we can rely on.

 

I think I was the only 1 who got the joke

 

I got it. That was good!

 

it was inspired by a quip an automotive writer made at the end of an article about a German couple who followed their GPS off the end of an unfinished road into a cow pasture.

"What is it about Germans and always following orders?"

 

In 2007, a German truck driver follwed his truck GPS into a cherry tree. Got so stuck he had to cut the tree down to get out.

 

Didn't George Washington have an incident with a cherry tree?

 

Older model GPS though. He had directions on a piece of shale stone. Lol