Swifts breakdown pay is a joke.

No! Does not makes sense at all. It's breakdown pay or at least that is what I thought it was. You break down and they pay you. I thought layover pay was when you where laid over waiting on Load?

 

Exactly. And when you are given a choice to make some miles, you choose to turn that opportunity down, regardless of what the truck looks like, you have decided to sit. Why should you get paid when you make that choice yourself?

Let's look at it from another industry: Journalism. You have a reporter who has her computer set up exactly the way she wants it and is in the middle of a hot report. Her computer gets a worm and needs to be shut down and cleaned. Worms can take time to isolate and eliminate. She is told to use that ----> computer instead. No way! The one she had contains photos, works in progress and has her son's picture as the desktop wallpaper. Since she refuses to write her report up on the other computer that cigar-smoking, pop spilling James had because it's not good enough for her, why should she get paid?

I understand how you feel about the Volvo you are in. You take extra care to keep it nice and have made it kind of your "home." However. It does not belong to you. if Swift had a reason, they could move you out of it tomorrow. Had you taken the old POS, you might have been next in line for atrip to Phoenix and a brand new truck. And in the mean time, you would have been turning miles and making money for both yourself and Swift.

When I was company, I started in one of the oldest trucks in the fleet at the time. It had over 650,000 miles on it. I actually liked that truck. After I had some issues addressed, it was pretty solid. But, three months later, I was moved into a "nicer" truck that had different stuff wrong with it. Got that one fixed and got moved into yet another truck. That last one was sent to Phoenix for trade-in. I picked up a Volvo with 29 miles on it. And after living in Columbias, I hated that new Volvo. However, I drove it for my remaining time as a Swift company driver. It had an injector go out on it. It was down for five days in Michigan. I was offered to move into a different truck, but chose to go hang out at a friend's house instead. And did not get paid for it.

As I said. You were given the option to work and turned it down. I don't know how else to explain it to you.

 

I completely understand your anger in regard to the shop parking your truck after a service and not locking it. However, it's not just the Swift shop that has a propensity to do this. This happened to my husband when he drove for Swift, and it's happened with the company (DHE) he drives for now. If he's needing service, his wallet, phone, laptop goes with him. Going with a different company might not solve the problem of careless people.

 

I hear and read you drivers complain all the time about miles being not right and i agree they are not what we are getting paid for but those that say they are way over 10% what you doing wrong. I been with swift going on 11 years now over the road get home when I want for as long as I need to be. Get a new truck every 2.5-3 years. When I break down I get my break down pay, and put up in a motel. I get plenty of miles, Been a diamond driver now for over a year and am working on my second million miles with Swift. I think if I was you I would look at myself first and stop putting the blame on others. Clean your own garage before you complain about what others have in theres

 

This was my second choice too go with, gonna take me anthor year just too read all these forums,but anyway when i was driving , i never sit for breakdown, i was always moving, i worked with my dispacther, i never stayed in the same truck, longest was 2 years, but it go in for breakdown, i hop in anthor truck and go, i make it work, even got a truck off a dealership they loaned the company, what a piece of crap, the hood were its meets the top of firewall rubbed en squeek so terible, the front was way out wack , the steering wheel vib so bad and hard too keep going straight, but i made it work till i got my truck back out freightliner, if i had service at the shop, i jump in a day cab and shuttle trls too the drop yards for other drivers and brings theres back, that way everyboby making money, instead of me just sitting in a motel getting zip, so in a way i was helping other drivers too keep them moving and helping out the dispacthers even tho they were not my dispacther, you just have too talk too everyboby thats the key too success in trucking, so i got couple weeks vac saved up and might be going too kc and go talk to swift and see wat they have too offer all on my dime

 

Guess we can put drivers into 2 groups- those who do whatever they need to do to get the job done and those who will find an excuse not to.

 

It's my turn to join the whine fest.

Today is day 5 of my unscheduled California vacation aka breakdown.

Lathrop got my truck into the shop almost immediately and worked continuously to solve a fuel system problem. Unfortunately, they also discovered a service bulletin that couldn't be ignored. I spent the first night in my truck. Day two it was back in the shop for a low MPG inspection I wasn't told about on day one. They fixed 15 +/- little problems I didn't even know existed. At the end of the day I took the truck to the dealer who would then address the service bulletin. The shop arranged and I spent the next three nights in a hotel (Comfort Inn, not bad). At the end of the second hotel day, my DM called to say they had found another truck. Not after all this work was my reply. That was my choice. Tonight is the fifth night and I'm back in the truck w . a . . i . . . t . . . . i . . . . . n . . . . . . g for a load. Lathrop isn't the worst place on earth to get stuck but it's close. I don't mind being stuck, there just isn't anyplace/thing to go/do.

I know I'll get 3 days of breakdown pay. I think I'll get this day plus tomorrow in layover pay. Swift got the room so I should be able to cover my expenses. Is it fair? No. Am I happy with it? No. I would have preferred to be out running but the truck needed the work so here I am.

Downtime compensation will never be fair unless I join a union or until labor laws are changed. I don't want to join a union so I work to get the laws changed . . and I don't whine.

By the way . . the guy who is seeing check engine lights 5 miles out of the gate (mine was 7.7). . if it's a Freightliner, it's the service bulletin for the wiring harness I just had replaced. I don't know why but not all shops are aware of it or, if they are, they're not acting on it.

 

Hmm I hope you are not talking about me there Bud or I will have to come clean your garage! I know what I am doing and no when I am being screwed. Don't need no Swift yuppie wearing diamonds trying to tell me to look in my garage.,