Comments By Deonte M.

What are the dot regulation on post trip times ? I normally log 7 to 10 min

A trainer can't help you when they are asleep.

That's SOP for many training companies. You get to captain the boat, make deliveries, the whole nine yards. On your own. Then your trainer keeps the goods moving while you get your Z's.

3 weeks with the trainer in the passenger seat, ...

There's your hands on. You drive, trainer trains.

... and 4 weeks "team training"

You da MAN for ten hours. Then you swap. This is exactly the setup at Swift's road training.

HuntinDoug, after your 7 weeks training this way you'll think you know it all. But when you go on your first pickup: you, your tractor, and that trailer, you'll feel a bit of "all alone-ness".

guys he's said he has 6 months experience with swift already . he already knows what it's like to be alone.

but I can second that feeling of feeling like you learned everything during training then when you hit solo it seems like you get amnesia and can't remember the most basic things.

but I am also curious, why did you leave swift?

I don't mind waiting really...can't go anywhere once my 70 is low anyways. The most irritating thing so far is when 4-wheelers (especially pickups--they seem to think they are trucks for some reason) park in truck parking spots. Nothing more irritating when that's the only spot left!

oh god dude you nailed it! when I see that I immediately feel violent haha

Awww yeah my time to shine ! I have experience in this as I have gotten out of many bogus contracts in my day . my most famous including a title pawn ! lol

I am currently under contract with swift . I do not know for sure what a c.r England contract states but I bet it is similar. if you read the contract you are looking for is a what is called a non competitive agreement. what that is , it says that if you leave you can't work in the trucking industry for x amount of years . but unless c.r England is super tight I doubt they will have that in their contract .

what most company sponsored contracts deal with is the money they "spent to train you " and to make those weekly deductions out of your check until it is paid . if you leave early then the full amount of what left that you owe becomes due. if you can't pay it then it is reported on your credit , and they may go pursue you through a court if you don't pay it .

as far as any additional consequences would be lack of experience and no job . the tried and true advice to stay with your 1st company a year and for good reason . but a lot of company's will hire you with 6 months.

I graduated Swifts sponsored training class 545 . we had an initial group of 45. only 27 passed . and out off those 27 I know that 5 left swift the moment they got their cdl for another job . the only thing they had to do is just pay the fee or have it go on their credit . So that left us with 22 students . and I personally know 3 who left after a few months and got jobs else where . the only consequence is they just owe money.

don't feel trapped just because it is a "contract " . read it and I'm sure that you will find you have more options than you initially thought

there's a good chance you get it . go for it my man. I run reefer. yeah I log sleeper at customers or off duty if I'm the driver lounge. my my loads are drop and hook so for the 15-30min I'm there I log on duty. in speaking of logs I messed up mine a a week ago , and I have one more day before my full 8 days of perfect logs return! I'm so nervous about getting pulled over and getting busted for it. lol

oh idk if they told you this in training but always check your tag and registration. I got a ticket for that not too long ago and I was upset because I was never taught about that and it cost me a 115 ticket . it went on my record too for 0 points but still the fact is a ticket is a ticket to me.

but the job is a lot of fun. I just turned my passenger chair into a gaming chair by mounting my gaming monitor to the visor. and i have surround sound from it's the stereo . its sweet

my current issue is I have a damaged trailer (the inside of the door is messed up , but it is patched as if someone had already tried to fix it) and it was done before me . but when I called my dispatcher he told me to report it as an accident . no sir! I'm going to call the higher ups and see what the proper protocol is because no way I am getting blamed. nothing is going to ruin my accident free year haha

I haven't posted on here in a while, but things have been going pretty well. I finally completed all my training (with Swift) and got assigned my own truck a few weeks ago. It's been great to have the truck to myself and start seeing the country!

Here's where I'm feeling stuck though. While I don't have any restrictions on my license, my company training was in an automatic and that's all I'm allowed to drive with Swift. I actually think the automatics drive just fine and don't have any major issues with them, but I'm kinda concerned about what this might mean down the road for me (no pun intended). I'm very quickly waking up to the fact that this job doesn't pay as well as I originally thought, and it's a real possibility that after some time I might want to switch companies. I didn't even know about ltl and linehaul when I got into this, and I think eventually after some experience that might be a better fit for me. But if I only have experience driving an automatic, I'm afraid it might really limit my options.

Obviously, there's a real possibility I'll want to stay with Swift as I'll start getting quarterly bonuses and could land a sweet dedicated gig, but I'm trying to prepare for the alternative as well. I'm thinking about asking Swift if they could send me out with a mentor for another 50 hours in a manual. But even if they say yes, I don't know if I can afford that right now--I'm broke.

I just don't want to find myself with a year of class a driving experience that means nothing to certain companies because I can't pass a drive test in a manual. I know other companies are switching to automatics, not just Swift, so it's possible it won't matter that much in a year or so, but I still want to be comfortable driving manual just to widen my options.

Does anyone have any ideas of what I should do at this point to help keep my options open?

hey man I work for swift. went through the whole training program and everything . like Brett said as long as there are no restrictions that's good. and waiting around to gain experience for dedicated is not the only way. you have to network . my first day solo I got a dedicated account and a raise because I made Friends with my mentors friend and he put in a word for me and I got the account . try to be friendly with as many as the older guys as possible and you'll never know what you run into. Note I said make friends and not kiss up , I did not know the the guy I made friends with could help me lol

in fact I'm on my 2nd dedicated account because swift lost the contract on my first one.

I feel you on the pay. now that im on the new account (mid west regional &2nd week in ) my last 2 checks have been 300 or less. luckily I have some money saved . I definitely want to stay with swift as I only have 6 months left until my year is up , but if I keep getting checks like this I may have to really consider other options .

Deonte, I looked at my safety score the other day. Only one incident over the year. But I had to report on two backing crunches, and that speeding I mentioned.

on you swift safety score or the official csa/psp/dac?

I agree Errol, I totally understand the safety hazard of going so fast in such a large (heavy) vehicle.

Was there a discussion on this scenario during orientation Deonte? Where the expectations communicated clearly prior to the event? I assume the possible repercussions of excessive speed are abundantly clear, but if Swift is relying on their devices without communicating the status-quo & training drivers with an expectation of performance without outlining the proper reponse to these types of scenarios (especially if you are a graduate of their program)...they have failed in their duty to you as a paying student.

no they made that clear I remember. I was just cruising listening to my jams and totally neglected my speed . my fault. certainly preventable.

What do you mean tag for trailer are we talking plates or registration? Or both? If you loose your plate or don't have one have swift send you a temp witch is good for 45 days. Also if I have to drive to pick up a registrations I have them email me a copy so I at least I have an electronic copy this may or may not help you never had a dot office ask me when I was on my way to get as copy. As for your rsa score. No that is not reportable to dmv or any one else it's something swift use to gauge how much of a risk you are. The trailer bumping, might show up on your dac, but nothing else. Good luck I hope that helps.

I was cited for the trailer missing a tag. the having them email the registration is a good tip, it is certainly better than nothing! and I am relieved the rsa is a company thing then because I don't want my chances of getting hired to a new company after my year Is up to be jeopardized.

after the company policy violation and the no tag incident, It really has me cautious and drills home the point that I have to be on the ball because this is my lively hood .

In regards to the "speeding" and to answer Charlie's question, company trucks are governed at 62 mph because Swift safety has determined that is a safe operating speed, fast enough to not impede traffic (much) and slow enough to control the truck. That being said, it is definitely possible to exceed the governed speed by going downhill, if the hill is steep and long enough, and also depending on how much your load weighs. The engine brake can only slow you down so much, and its the driver's responsibility to keep an eye on the speedometer. If you are driving with cruise control on, if you are in a hilly area, set the cruise at 58 mph to help prevent those overspeeds.

I don't think the RA points can be reported, and your RA score will go down eventually. Negative points will roll off one per month for each month you don't have any RA dings. Also, as you saw, things like passing a DOT inspection, a positive road report, etc can also help lower the number. But at this point, your best bet is to make sure you are adhering to Swift policies, and wait it out.

In regards to the trailer with no registration, where were you picking it up from? The registration could be faxed or emailed to the shipper and printed out there, if they allow it. Just remember that checking the registration, tags, and inspection dates is part of the trailer pretrip. I've been driving for 4 years, and I still use my pretrip cheat sheet every day, checking off every item, to make sure I don't miss anything.

thanks for the info. I was picking it up from Sioux Falls, SD , Smithfield plant.

I didn't use the pre trip card because I drilled the whole inspection so hard during training. (the registration part was not part of the training ) but I'll use it from now on ,just to be more safe and sure. that was a good tip , thank you!