Comments By Deonte M.

Charlie Mac, the governor only limits speed from the engine. There's nothing to hold back coasting down a hill. I did exactly as Deonte did -nearly 70 down hill, and was called in for it.

It's not breaking the law if the posted speed limit is 75, but Swift has a policy against "over speeding", meaning faster than 68 mph.

BTW you need to over speed for a minute or two. If you catch yourself and slow down, no big deal.

hey man! I forgot you work for swift! did it go on your csa/psp record or?

and yes I went for more than 1 minute. they clocked me at 1 min and 09 secs ...

thanks

Hey guys ! long time no hear! For those that remember me , I work for swift and have 6 months of exp now! I need to ask you guys for some help and advice. Let me start by asking does anyone know if swift's R.A (risk analysis score , that the company does per driver) carry over to your csa/psp score? because last week it jacked up to astronomical numbers and now i am on company probation because they have me at 36 RA pts Let me explain how i got them.

While training with my mentor , he was teaching me to angle back. while he was directing me i blindly followed his directions and i dented another trailer ( in the terminal yard) the dent was the size of a basketball but otherwise no damage. (i should have goal for myself )I reported the incident to be accountable and they gave me 12 pts for that. However this incident happened in September and it is not showing on my mvr that i pulled today. (ordered from my states official website)

On monday I was cited for my trailer not having a tag. Swift gave me 8 pts RA for that. The dot also gave me an level 2 inspection that i passed so swift gave me positive 4 its RA for that. so that brought my total score to 16 RA pts . ( i am having this taken to court by my lawyer , to see if i can get this reduced , even though i am guilty , wish me luck )

Then yesterday i was driving on i80 (speed limit 80mph) and while going down hill i let me truck hit 75 mph on 2 different occasions. No laws were broken and i was not pulled over or anything , but swift gave me 20 pts RA ( 10 its for each occasion) because the trucks are governed at 62 and it is "company policy " .

which brings me to a grand total of 36pts of RA. will any of this carry over to me CSA/PSP score? from my understanding swift cant legally report the 75 mph incident because no law within the fmsca was broken only company policy , and csa/psp only records fmsca records. please anyone who can answer this , is greatly appreciated .

Now before any of you guys go crazy , yes i have learned my lessons, albeit unfortunately , the hard way. Ever since my incident in septemeber i always goal even if i have a spotter and when I'm " sure " i have have the back.

Now i always check my tag and registration before pulling any trailer. ( Infact the trailer i picked up today did not have a registration and i had to have it faxed to me . Which involved me having to drive 50 miles to the nearest truckstop to get it . Should i have done that? You know risking being pulled over en route to get a registration ? Or should i have not pulled the trailer at all and made them send someone to bring me the registration? )

And now i maintain the governed speed of 62 at all times even if the speed limit is higher.

my goal is to go to a local company after 6 more months of clean driving, which i am confident i can do because i have learned from my missteps and I realize that i can't repeat them or let them define me.

Thanks guys .

Also any random safety tips and advice is always welcome!

In the Atlanta airport right now actually. I like the city, but this place is insane haha

Keep at it man, gotta keep those good vibes. When you make friends and one guy messes up, the rest of the group reassures and gets him back in the right mindset. You'll soon be behind the wheel, and it is a scary feeling. But when everybody's keeping each other in high spirits, you'll get comfortable very fast.

I still keep in touch with two buds from up in Kentucky. We went to CDL school together and went our separate ways, seeing whose landed the best job, whose got the nicest truck, the best loads. Friendly competition keeps a guy on his feet you know!

Thanks for the advice and yes i agree with the friendly competition!

And oh man to the fellow who wont get a break from greyhound

Hey fellas. Update. First day of class was on tues day. All we did was drug testing and physicals. The drug test was a spectacle for me. This is because the rules were. Pee. Fill to line , dont flush. Well what do i do after i finish peeing? Flush! Crap. Had to wait 30 minutes to conjure up some more magic. And you wont believe it , i flushed again! Not flushing was really hard because its hard wired haha. Third time was a charm though. After our tests me and the fellas went downtown and toured salt lake city a bit. Salt lake is a nice city quiet too. While in a hat shop called lids ,i chatted up this beautiful Polynesian student. Shes been living here for 3 years , and we have a date planned for sunday the off day, maybe she'll show me more of the city while we are out! Later on my room mate treated me to the cheesecake factory! After that i just came back to the hotel and got some shut eye.

Today we signed contracts and that was it. Our instructor told us that we have a pre trip class tomorrow. So after class i walked around the yard and just inspected some trucks with what i already knew what to check for so far. Whilst doing so a man came up to me and said what are you doing to my truck! (while i was checking the lug nuts for rust) .... i yelled back inspecting your truck ! Incase you havent heard im sherrif around these parts! Btw your lugs have a bit of rust that'll be a 5 dollar ticket!(extending my hand out ) and we both just bust out laughing hard as can be. He then showed me some other things to check for around his truck. So im studying as we speak to be ahead of the game tomorrow. My buds all went out to go do something. Despite my best convincing efforts they said they were just going to wait til they get taught the pre trip and them study it. To each there own , but i decided to stick to my guns and go with what my gut was telling me. Maybe they will let me teach some of what i learn to them , it will really be more to my advantage because for some reason teaching something really reinforces it in your mind.

Now while im on the subject i was trying to access the tt pre trip flash cards by clicking the link but it just forward's me to daniel b's inspection . (great guide btw daniel b) is that the right page? The description made it seem like it was set up like high road or something.

Someone let me know.

Going back to studying now!

There was this lady who had a serious negative energy because she didn't make swift (she's now going to cr.england) and it rattled the fellas and I could tell. So while we were playing pool I was hyping them back up and putting out positive and focused vibes.

That's where it's at right there. Staying positive and having that enthusiasm. Learning to drive a rig is a huge challenge but that's part of what makes it so much fun. And what could be cooler than driving a big rig, ya know?

Go show em how it's done. Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

There is nothing cooler than that!

Just arrived in salt lake city. Headed to the terminal to get vouchers for the hotel as we speak.

I pryed a little bit at the lady driving the shuttle and got information saying that she overheard the class size was 86! Yes you read that correctly. Eighty - Six!

Can definitely see that there is going to be major competition to get drive time with a class that size.

However, my strategy is to put this big head to work , show my drive , determination and work ethic to separate myself from my peers in attempt to get more time. Also to show up earlier than everyone else and leave dead last ,and to perhaps befriend a trainer or someone who will let me work on Sundays or any other off days that occur.

I feel if I do the above, then I'll come out ok.

Well That's all for now guys !

Let's do this !

Keep us up to date, Deonte. I made this thread a Favorite. You make great posts/reading!

Errol

Hey man you got it ! I'll keep it updated daily just cus you asked !

Travel update . You know even though I'm having to ride this bus for 3 days total I'm having a blast! I've met about 5 guys all going to salt lake . And we're just laughing and joking it up . And every stop where we have a pretty good sized lay over we get out and tour the city's downtown districts on foot .

Before I left atlanta (place of residence) I showed the guys the world famous magic city strip club ,which is a block down the street from greyhound in atl if anyone ever wants to check it out. (won't post pictures of that one ,not really sure if the forum is pg or not haha 😂😂😂😲🙌🙉🙈💸 but I saved the fellas from having to pay for a dance because i knew the dj playing that night.

Last night in Nashville they had my favorite classic arcade fighter game called marvel vs Capcom 2 for any video game fans out there . Haha I spent about 5.00 worth of coin playing it .

This morning while in Indianapolis we got out and hit Lucas oil stadium !

I have photos but not quite sure how to go about adding them on my phone.

And just now I'm leaving Omaha and on my way to denver. While in Omaha we stopped in at a place called "eat the worm" ,which is an tequila bar . We didn't drink , but we got to shoot pool and have a good time for 2 hours while the rest of the bus just sat at the station haha.

Also while on this trip we switched companies from greyhound to a bus line called trailways. Man! These buses are laid out! Complimentary water , Plasma tv's showing aaa titles ( right now we are watching the avatar ) , double padded seats (you can actually fall asleep on these soft seats ) , dedicated laptop stands and power outlets wifi and dedicated headphone Jacks at each seat so you can hear the movie playing better if you wanted to. And as a bonus , super clean bathrooms with.... (drum roll please ) double ply toilet paper! Lol! 😂😂 This company should teach greyhound how it's done .

Really looking foward to what we get into in Denver as we well have a 3 hr layover , kind of excited about experiencing the mile high air for the first time! Me and the fellas are talking about chipping In on a taxi to take us around if nothing is in close vicinity .

Who said travel had to be boring and routine ! Even though I'm having fun while riding I'm preparing myself for school mentally. There was this lady who had a serious negative energy because she didn't make swift (she's now going to cr.england) and it rattled the fellas and I could tell. So while we were playing pool I was hyping them back up and putting out positive and focused vibes.

Well That's all I have for now . Guys will update upon arrival at denver going to get some shut eye.

Hey guys an update as we speak I'm on the bus to salt lake. I've been on it for 2 days now and man is my rear sore . Tomorrow at 10 pm I'll arrive.

Thanks my man!

Hey guys an update as we speak I'm on the bus to salt lake. I've been on it for 2 days now and man is my rear sore . Tomorrow at 10 pm I'll arrive.

Today I am proud to announce I exacted my revenge on the cdl permit test. I passed with a perfect 100. I'm now waiting for my recruiter to call me back with my bus ticket to Utah!

YOU DA MAN! Congrats!

Thanks man Georgians unite ! Lol I leave out Saturday night

Today I am proud to announce I exacted my revenge on the cdl permit test. I passed with a perfect 100. I'm now waiting for my recruiter to call me back with my bus ticket to Utah!