Orientation Over With....now The Open Road

Hi Guys,

Another update on my progress so far......I started at Swift this week and today was my last day of orientation. Ten of us started at the beginning of the week with seven of us left when the orientation finished today. One failed on his driving test....one guy had a family problem and had to go home early and the other guy didn't have the proper paperwork to continue. For all us newbies out there.....always make sure you have the right paperwork before you get to the company....I really felt sorry for the guy and yes Swift tried their best to get it right for him to continue. But there is good news to the three that went home........

The good thing about Swift is that they have an open door policy for all three of these guys to come back. The guy that failed his driving test has thirty days to improve and can test out again......the other two can come back next week. I like their attitude towards this and a few other things for new arrivals. Like providing a menu for lunch and a decent hotel.

I know that all the trucking company's out there are desperate for drivers, but I was impressed with the friendliness and willingness of the staff at Swift to help you where ever they could. They will be paying for my school and any out of pocket expenses I have taken on....I just hope I haven't spoken too soon and get a trainer/mentor that is a real pain LOL

The next part of my training is to be out with my mentor. All trainee's have a total driving time (behind the wheel) with mentors for 240 hours with a total of 40 backing procedures before we can come back to test. We all have to test when we come back after completion of our hours and procedures and hopefully all of us pass and move on. After my test and hopefully pass certificate, I will decided to go either team or solo. I'm now waiting for my mentor to contact me, which could be tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday or Monday.....I'm on my way.

Yes I'm nervous and I want to impress. But so far so good for this would be trucker. Did I say I like working for Swift so far....

Good luck and stay safe!

Hi Guys,

Another update on my progress so far......I started at Swift this week and today was my last day of orientation. Ten of us started at the beginning of the week with seven of us left when the orientation finished today. One failed on his driving test....one guy had a family problem and had to go home early and the other guy didn't have the proper paperwork to continue. For all us newbies out there.....always make sure you have the right paperwork before you get to the company....I really felt sorry for the guy and yes Swift tried their best to get it right for him to continue. But there is good news to the three that went home........

The good thing about Swift is that they have an open door policy for all three of these guys to come back. The guy that failed his driving test has thirty days to improve and can test out again......the other two can come back next week. I like their attitude towards this and a few other things for new arrivals. Like providing a menu for lunch and a decent hotel.

I know that all the trucking company's out there are desperate for drivers, but I was impressed with the friendliness and willingness of the staff at Swift to help you where ever they could. They will be paying for my school and any out of pocket expenses I have taken on....I just hope I haven't spoken too soon and get a trainer/mentor that is a real pain LOL

The next part of my training is to be out with my mentor. All trainee's have a total driving time (behind the wheel) with mentors for 240 hours with a total of 40 backing procedures before we can come back to test. We all have to test when we come back after completion of our hours and procedures and hopefully all of us pass and move on. After my test and hopefully pass certificate, I will decided to go either team or solo. I'm now waiting for my mentor to contact me, which could be tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday or Monday.....I'm on my way.

Yes I'm nervous and I want to impress. But so far so good for this would be trucker. Did I say I like working for Swift so far....

Keep this good news coming, Mick..I will be keeping close tabs on your posts as Swift is one of two companies that have invited me to orientation, Prime being the other..you and Allan are going to be my go to guys for info in the next few months as it comes down to decision time..

Thanks guys for your comments...and the best of luck with getting into your own orientations. I'm still at home waiting for my training facilitator to come back to me with a date to start on a truck. I did get a phone call from a fellow student telling me that he starts out with his mentor on Tuesday. I'm assuming that I will be starting out next week too.

My student buddy also told me that he spoke to his mentor today and that this guy was a senior mentor. The mentor told him he will know within three days if he will be able to make the grade as a driver. And that the ratio of students that pass with him are 40% pass, 60% fail. I have to admit to finding this puzzling. Does anybody else get comments like this? and can any experienced drivers shed any light on this? I can understand if this mentor thinks my student friend is not road worthy and drives dangerously.....but to make that judgement call after so little time (three days!).....I don't get it.

We are supposed to have 240 hours behind the wheel of a truck and logged. I might have got this wrong or read it wrong, but it would be good to know what you guys on here think about this situation.

The mentor told him he will know within three days if he will be able to make the grade as a driver. And that the ratio of students that pass with him are 40% pass, 60% fail. I have to admit to finding this puzzling. Does anybody else get comments like this?

When he says that, he doesn't mean he'll know based on your driving skills. He'll know based on your personality, attitude, and ability to learn.

Nobody can drive worth a darn in the beginning. Everyone is terrible. That's not the problem. The problem is that some people have what it takes to become a true professional out there, and most don't.

1) Personality - you have to love a challenge. You have to be adventurous. You have to be fiercely independent. Trucking puts a lot of pressure on you. It's an endless stream of risk and challenges. When you throw someone into that type of environment, there's no faking it. And although everyone is overwhelmed and nervous in the beginning, some people can overcome their fears and frustrations, some get eaten up by it. You have to overcome and persevere.

2) Attitude - you have to be humble. You have to be willing to listen and learn. You have to understand that trucking is a lot different than you're expecting it to be so just roll with it moment to moment and embrace the challenges. Any expectations you have about the way things should be done or how the training will go - throw em in the garbage. Clear you mind and simply face what's in front of you one moment at a time. And try not to judge everything. Just do whatever it takes to make it through each moment and once the moment has passed just let it go. If you judge every circumstance, the negatives are going to pile up on you and you're going to become increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with the whole thing. Embrace the challenges, listen and learn, keep smiling, and live one moment at a time.

3) Ability to learn - once in a while you'll come across someone who simply doesn't have the coordination to drive a rig very well. Actually, that's pretty rare though. Almost anyone is capable of learning to handle a rig, but not everyone is willing to listen and learn. It's shocking how many students think they know everything, and it becomes worse once people have a CDL. Having a CDL only means you have the most basic ability to memorize some regulations and a basic understanding of how to maneuver a rig. But you're only about 5% of the way to becoming a true professional driver. The other 95% you're going to learn on the road, most of it after you go solo. So not only do you need the basic ability to be able to learn to drive a rig, you also need the right attitude so you're willing and able to learn as you go.

Nobody can drive worth a darn in the beginning. What's going to make or break you is whether or not you're willing and determined enough to go through the training and learn the profession.

Thank you Brett...your reply puts it perfectly into prospective. Having the right attitude in listening and learning how to be a truck driver and to drive safely is all that matters. My mistake was thinking that you would learn over the 240 hours, but if your attitude is all wrong you can have double the hours and still not get to grips with it.