If the driver applicant has verifiable experience driving a truck in the past 3 years Swift may hire them and start them at the pay grade for the amount of experience they have. Typically that driver would go through orientation with the other drivers but would be seated in a truck for solo or team as soon as a truck was available as opposed to the student drivers who must wait until for an available mentor.
Well, it seems that Swift really does have its act together! I was told to report to a terminal as soon as possible. I thought I might be in trouble for something! I went to my home terminal yesterday and talked to my DM. As it turns out, they knew I was getting close to the end of my training hours and wanted me to confirm how many hrs I had left. They are going to send me out for a quick trip of 400-500 miles out, with a backhaul to my home terminal. We leave Friday, so I should be done and back home by Monday! Then comes the waiting game for a truck..
Well, I officially have the required 240hrs of driving completed! We left MN yesterday with a load out to a Chicago suburb. Then, we picked up a t-called load from the Gary terminal headed back to MN. I drove the first leg of our trip, my mentor took over in IL, and I will likely finish the trip when my 10hr break is over. I hope to get the road test and other stuff done on Monday so I get on the waiting list for a truck. Stay safe out there, and enjoy the warm weather if you are lucky enough to be running down south right now. It's still winter up here...
Thank you for the kind offer TheSquid I went to the terminal today, and tested out. I passed! The road test was pretty easy. Took the truck out for a spin, and then had to do a drivers side back in between 2 other trailers. I got to drive a new International for the road test. OHHHH, I like!!! The transmission shifted so nice compared to the freightliners I have grown accustomed to. It also soaked up the bumps unlike anything else I have driven. Must.....Resist.....Urge......To lease new International...... Before anyone lectures me about leases, I have no intentions of leasing a truck until I get a lot more experience in this business.
Today was my lucky day! I picked up my truck at the Gary terminal this evening! It is a 2009 Volvo with a tad over 300,000 miles on it. The interior is in great shape, as is the exterior. I hope to get a load tomorrow so I can give it a workout.
