Why do drivers with 3-4-5 mill. miles continue driving for Swift?

Times have changed. Swift is safe and reputable now..compared to Super Ego or Amazon!

 

Depends on the why. Best guess. The run they are on gets them home as much as they desire or covers their needs. That and many people are lazy. Why get a new job when its a ton of hastle and you gotta start at the bottom and relearn everything? Many of these folks have settled in and gotten comfortable.

That and swift is stable. Even in the worst recessions and depressions their drivers always kept moving. Job security is worth a lot to some. Either way none of my #### business. If their happy,.more power to em.

 

Seniority made a big difference in everyday happiness at the job I was at a long time. Once someone starts seeing those benefits it's easy to get comfortable. When trucking is just a job & not almost like a fight to the death every day you can have a life outside of the truck. That is worth something.

 

The saying goes " the grass isn't always greener on the other side" and it's a common saying for a reason.

 

Which companies pay more for the same or less work?

Say what you will about the Megas, their pay and benefits are on par with the industry. Once a driver learns the system, it's a comparatively easy gig.

I spent 14 years at a mega. I averaged just over 5 days of work per week (not counting vacation weeks, if you do it drops to just under 5 days a week) and was making just over $100K a year, solid benefits, and job security. I was home every weekend and had a manager I liked and trusted. Why move on? Particularly when local work around me pays crud. To get a 'better' job I would have to move or endure a 30-45 minute on way commute.

I'll end with this - Kwik Trip advertises top pay of $98,000 for fuel hauling. $30/hr to start, working overnight either S-Th or W-Sat. Realistically a driver would be making $75,000 a year for the first couple of years. That's a heck of a pay and lifestyle cut.

 

In my terminal, Menasha, WI, around 45% of the drivers have at least a million miles. That means 8-10 years at the very least.
There are several with 3 million or more, and I have well over a million.

As some have said, money may not be the most important thing. Stability, control over how we run, the people we work with are also important factors.

 

I have seen the same, and wondered the same - Swift and Werner.

As another forum user says - "There is a posterior for every interior"

What we should give credit for, is their commitment, and longevity. That is admirable.

For me - a 20 year badge at ODFL wasn't in my future. And I sure as poop wouldn't have subjected my wife to another 12 years of a job she had come to despise.

So I bought my own rig and made as much money as her and I combined at that job - with her not having to endure it.

Best decision in life ? Don't know. The grass is about the same, but I choose the fertilizer, the mower, and whether or not it's growing over a septic system.

When I see the "3 million miler" badge, as I pass - I wave and acknowledge. 20 years without being killed is an achievement in itself.

 

AHEM,,,I have over 3 million SAFE miles,( 1978-2018) and I don't recall any special treatment. In fact, with all those miles, if I wanted to drive a truck today, I'd have to start at the beginning. Well, they can cram it with walnuts, I backed up more miles than they drove forward,,tooting my own horn, perhaps, but in MY mind, it's a record I'm proud of. It's okay, I never did trucking to get any kind of accolades anyway, maybe an "atta boy" once in a blue moon, but it was a self gratifying job. I didn't need a part on the back,or "good job" from the boss. There was a time when a million miles was a big thing. Many multi million milers, like me, got most of those miles on 2 lanes and through towns, we didn't just sit on our arse rolling down an interstate in an "apt/truck". When I go back to places I trucked in today, and big wide 4 lanes, and bypass towns, I'm shocked at how it's changed from the dangerous roads and poor equipment we had then. I used to like the fact, some companies( none I worked for) put that accomplishment on the door, and told the world, this driver is no schmoe and we're proud of that. It's a different world today, and I don't miss the actual trucking one bit.

 

I say the same thing about drivers with several years of experience under there belt. Why would you do a lease purchase after 20 plus years of seeing 95% of others fail from doing it?

 

But Kwicktrip is yummy…