Swift Orientation And Training--Denver, CO

Hey there, just wanted to share my experience with Swift so far. I meant to keep a log of each day during cdl school but never got around to it, so hopefully I'll do better on here throughout orientation and otr training with my mentor. Here's a brief overview of cdl school while it's still fresh in my memory.

I'm from Greeley, CO, so Swift sent me to a little private school in Fountain, CO, called United States Truck Driving School (USTDS). They were going to send me to the USTDS in Denver, but they were kind enough to accommodate my request to go to the one closer to the Springs since I have family there! It was a 16-day, 160 hour training program--it was intense. My experience was overall very good there. I felt I got to experience the best of both worlds since my training was free and sponsored by my company, but I was able to experience many of the benefits that go along with attending a private school. Also, the school was very small (only 5 students in my class, including me), so I got a lot of personal instruction and got to know the other students and the instructors pretty well. We spent the first 3 days in the classroom, the 4th day learning to pretrip, and the rest of the time learning to drive and back. Actually, I only had 14 days of training since the last two days were cdl testing and graduation. For the most part, the equipment was pretty old (mostly early 90s Peterbilts and Freightliners), although they did have one newer International (I think it was post-2005) and a Werner truck (don't know the brand). Almost all the instructors I met were very nice and encouraging and tried to do their best at their job. It was a lot of fun getting to know the different instructors, and although there were a few discrepancies between them, it was mostly great to learn from several different people with different approaches to teaching.

I did, however, have a few issues while I was there. The biggest was the amount of time we had to learn. When I originally got there, I was given a schedule that had me learning for a full 16 days before taking my cdl test. It's not a huge difference in time, but it was a bit frustrating to find out that my accelerated schedule would be even more accelerated. I studied and worked my butt off, and it showed. I picked most of everything pretty quickly, but on test day I was still a bit shaky on my shifting. We also ran into some snow and really cold weather, which really screwed up backing practice on the dirt lot we had for a few days. I only got to practice parallel parking for 3 days and alley dock for 2 days. Some of the other people in the program only got 1 day of alley docking before test day (the lady I knew from that class happened to get alley dock on the test and failed it). The program wasn't extended at all for those of us who got less practice. On test day, I passed pretrip and backing but failed on the road test because I missed a shift and couldn't get it back in gear in time (uncontrolled vehicle). They put me back a few days, had me come in for one more day of practice and test again. The second time I passed everything just fine. The lady I mentioned earlier was given several days off, one extra day of practice, and had to test again right away.

I'm not sharing this to complain about how horrible the school was--as I mentioned earlier, for the most part I really liked the school and had a great experience. But I think it helps to share my good and bad experiences so if someone else happens to read this before going to cdl school, they might have a more realistic idea of what to expect. Honestly, I did think the program should have been extended for the students would weren't able to get adequate practice due to weather, which is completely out of their control. But well, nobody really asked me, now did they? I saw several (probably about half or more) of the students fail the test the first time and have to retest, and several of them continued failing and eventually left without a cdl. It made me pretty nervous, but I can't speak for them because I have no idea what their attitude was and how hard they worked. But I can speak for myself and my own experience, and what I learned was just how important it was to keep a positive attitude and do my absolute best. While I could've spent my time complaining to staff and other students and snoozing after school, I gave my full attention every day at school and studied everything I could at night almost every single night. And my result was that I passed my tests eventually with good grades (aced pretrip and got only 10 points total between skills and driving) and am now at orientation for my first trucking job!

If you got this far, thanks for reading, and I'll keep updating daily about my experience in orientation and beyond!

14 days of training does seem quite short. I can guarantee if I'd gone to this school I wouldn't have passed, when I went to school over a year ago I had nearly two months of training and still failed my first try (on the road test, and funnily enough it was for going too slow...go figure). Learning to drive truck was a struggle for me, I am a very keen book learner but not great at picking up things that can't be studied.

However, the program you went through would be great for somebody that's more adept at hands-on learning, after all you'll be out here making money that much faster. I think your attitude made all the difference in the world, and while you had a few negatives with the school you didn't let it stop you from getting your CDL. Thanks for your post, and congrats on passing your exam! Good luck out there, stay safe, and maybe I'll see you on the road one of these days!

Day 1 of orientation in Denver

So, first things first, I came in yesterday (Sunday) and checked into the hotel, which I was pleasantly surprised to find out is across the street from the terminal. I went to my room, expecting the same bottom of the line hotel I was put in during cdl training. Boy, was I wrong! I guess they start treating you a bit nicer once you prove you have a better chance of actually working out for them. This was the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in! The rooms were supposedly double occupancy, but I went in to find a king-sized bed and sleeper sofa...and no roommate! Okay, sweet, I could get used to being treated like this! Seriously, I wouldn't have even mentioned it on here, but I was just really surprised and impressed, considering I was expecting a pretty lousy place.

Anyways, fast forward to today. A shuttle picked us up in the morning and we headed 1 minute down the road for orientation. There were 5-10 other guys in my class. We all got along pretty easy and were chit chattin' it up in no time! The day went super quick. First, we all had to drug test, then we went over some basic and mostly common-sense safety info in class, had lunch, went over a bit more info, and then we were done for the day by 1:00. Only thing worth noting was that we are getting our Hazmat certifications as required by the company, but this is not the same as the Hazmat endorsement on a cdl license. It's just a certification that says we can haul unplacarded amounts of Hazmat. No big deal, easy test. After the rest of us left, a couple of guys had to stay behind to do their road tests. I thought for sure I was going to have to do a road test for them since I didn't go to the Swift Academy, but apparently since they work with USTDS and sent me there, that counts as a Swift academy! Good news for me!! They said we'll go over a bunch of info the next two days, but as soon as our drug tests come back on Wednesday we will be hired on with the company.

That's it for today, I'll update tomorrow!

14 days of training does seem quite short. I can guarantee if I'd gone to this school I wouldn't have passed, when I went to school over a year ago I had nearly two months of training and still failed my first try (on the road test, and funnily enough it was for going too slow...go figure). Learning to drive truck was a struggle for me, I am a very keen book learner but not great at picking up things that can't be studied.

However, the program you went through would be great for somebody that's more adept at hands-on learning, after all you'll be out here making money that much faster. I think your attitude made all the difference in the world, and while you had a few negatives with the school you didn't let it stop you from getting your CDL. Thanks for your post, and congrats on passing your exam! Good luck out there, stay safe, and maybe I'll see you on the road one of these days!

Yeah it was definitely stressful! I'm just glad it's over so I can get going on the road.

Stressful try 4 weeks cdl permit after 4 days of class

Day 2 of orientation:

Another short day. Roads were really bad so our instructor got there late and hurried up the day so we could all leave a bit early again. Started off watching a video about Swift ceo Jerry Moyes and did a tad more paperwork--really simple basic company stuff. Then a different man (don't remember his position exactly, just that he also assigns trucks) came in and went over logging on paper and the Qualcomm , DOT regulations, and Swift policy. Again, pretty straight forward. After company-provided lunch, we went over more company stuff--driver rankings, benefits, sexual harassment, etc. They told us tomorrow (Wed) most of us should be leaving with our mentors except for the experienced drivers who don't need one. A couple of us may have to wait a few days but that's about it. I'll find out tomorrow. I forgot to mention this before but only the inexperienced drivers go out with mentors. The experienced drivers just have to pass a road test, go through orientation (same orientation as inexperienced drivers), and then they go straight to solo driving.

We were done by 2:00. Came back to the hotel and tried out the pool and hot tub :)

I'll update tomorrow--keeping my fingers crossed I get to go out right away!

Day 3 of orientation:

We had a couple of other people come in and present some information in the morning. First was the Driver Development Coordinator. She mainly went over our mentor-trainee stage and told us how it should work and what things we need to be doing and learning with our mentor. They have a whole workbook dedicated to this stage. The basic requirements are that we need to complete at least 200 hours BTW (behind the wheel) and at least 40 backs with our mentors. We have to have certain numbers of certain types of backs. We should be averaging about 8.5 hours per day BTW with 2+ hours On Duty not driving. She also gave us some information about how our trainer would be rating us as we go along. After the training period we will have a road test, backing test, and a written test before being given our own truck and assigned our first solo load. The road test sounds like it's very similar to the state cdl road test--same basic auto-fails, just maybe a different point system. The company backing test is pretty different, though. We will be required to GOAL (get out and look) at least once for each back and, as far as she knew (I asked a couple other instructors too), there is no limit on the number of GOALs or pullups. The mechanic said he thought there was something like a 5-minute limit on each maneuver but he wasn't positive. The written test will be over things we should be learning from our mentor-trainee workbook during our road training.

Next the mechanic gave a presentation. He was really knowledgeable and had been with the company for 18 years. He told us about the fleet--what kinds of trucks and some of the different engines/mechanisms we would be dealing with. Some trucks (don't think all of them) have auxiliary heaters, so he told us when and how to use those. Then he talked about how we should be handling the equipment to get the most out of it and avoid breakdowns--stuff like avoid excessive idling and why it causes problems.

The coolest part of his presentation was learning about the new automatics. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to drive an automatic (at least not until I get some good experience with manuals) and most drivers I know don't want to either. I would still rather drive a manual, but I have to admit after his presentation that the new automatics (at least the ones Swift is using) are really, really cool. They are smart trucks. They learn how you drive, what the road conditions are like, how close you are following, and they will respond appropriately. For example, they will not allow you to follow too closely by letting off the accelerator, using the jake brake, applying the service brakes, or all three. Also, they are not what most people think of as automatics. I'm not a mechanic and don't really understand the difference, but they are basically glorified manuals with no clutch pedal. From what a classmate was explaining to me, what I understand is that they have a manual transmission with an electric hydraulic clutch. I really have no idea what that means, but basically they shift smoothly and also have a manual mode. So if you need to put the truck in a lower gear before going down a steep grade, you can manually put the vehicle in a lower gear and go down the hill safely. And they have the power to make it up the steep grades unlike the automatics of the past. So, I'd RATHER drive a manual, but I have to admit that if these new "smart trucks" can really do what they are supposed to, they are much safer than the trucks of the past (obviously, as long as you drive safely and use common sense).

After that we all met with the Driver Development Coordinator individually. I got my driver number and fuel card and she gave me the name of my driver manager and mentor. My mentor was in Salt Lake City at the time, so I have to wait til he makes it down here before I can leave. The next day I'm sitting here in the hotel writing this, bored...lol. I went down to the terminal today to take some online training courses and take care of some other minor business. They said he should get here tomorrow but they extended my hotel stay a couple extra days just in case.

Next time I give an update I should be on the road!

Paul W wrote:

For example, they will not allow you to follow too closely by letting off the accelerator, using the jake brake, applying the service brakes, or all three. Also, they are not what most people think of as automatics. I'm not a mechanic and don't really understand the difference, but they are basically glorified manuals with no clutch pedal. From what a classmate was explaining to me, what I understand is that they have a manual transmission with an electric hydraulic clutch. I really have no idea what that means, but basically they shift smoothly and also have a manual mode. So if you need to put the truck in a lower gear before going down a steep grade, you can manually put the vehicle in a lower gear and go down the hill safely. And they have the power to make it up the steep grades unlike the automatics of the past. So, I'd RATHER drive a manual, but I have to admit that if these new "smart trucks" can really do what they are supposed to, they are much safer than the trucks of the past (obviously, as long as you drive safely and use common sense).

He may have neglected to tell you that they will also "automatically" brake for overpasses, large signs on the interstates, and large/deep shadows. If a 4-wheeler happens to dart in front of you to exit an interstate , be prepared for a significant jolt. This technology still has a few "kinks" to be worked out. Don't get me wrong, I have been in and out of automatics for months (we still have a few day cabs with 10 speeds), they do have their merits and I for one love them in bumper to bumper traffic. All I am saying is they are different, be careful with it until you develop a better "feel" for the technology.

Good luck and enjoy. Safe travels.

Paul W., this was very helpful! I attended the USTDS in Wheat Ridge and I had some of the same problems you had. Like you, we encountered snow which affected our practice time on the dirt pad as well as our time on some of the maneuvers. I also, only got one chance to practice alley docking and I never got it down without hitting any cones. Luckily, I got the blindside parallel parking on my test so my instructor didn't even care about the alley docking. One issue I did have at the school was having to switch instructors. The first one I got was yelling at us about everything. Also, when we were practicing driving out on I-70 E and he would tell us to change lanes if we tried to look before changing lanes he would yell "Don't look just do it! I wouldn't tell you to change lanes if I hadn't already looked for you!" There were other similar issues, but I just ended up requesting a new instructor. Once I did, they fixed everything and put me with the best ones that they had! Also, we were originally supposed to be on the 16 day program but they changed it to 17 days instead because Swift didn't want to pay for Sundays anymore. Believe me, having Sundays off just about saved my life. There was so much knowledge and skills to develop in just 10 hours, plus we would be sent back to the hotel with chapters to read and work sheets and other homework. I would have been burned completely out if I had to do that for 16 days straight.

Paul W., this was very helpful! I attended the USTDS in Wheat Ridge and I had some of the same problems you had. Like you, we encountered snow which affected our practice time on the dirt pad as well as our time on some of the maneuvers. I also, only got one chance to practice alley docking and I never got it down without hitting any cones. Luckily, I got the blindside parallel parking on my test so my instructor didn't even care about the alley docking. One issue I did have at the school was having to switch instructors. The first one I got was yelling at us about everything. Also, when we were practicing driving out on I-70 E and he would tell us to change lanes if we tried to look before changing lanes he would yell "Don't look just do it! I wouldn't tell you to change lanes if I hadn't already looked for you!" There were other similar issues, but I just ended up requesting a new instructor. Once I did, they fixed everything and put me with the best ones that they had! Also, we were originally supposed to be on the 16 day program but they changed it to 17 days instead because Swift didn't want to pay for Sundays anymore. Believe me, having Sundays off just about saved my life. There was so much knowledge and skills to develop in just 10 hours, plus we would be sent back to the hotel with chapters to read and work sheets and other homework. I would have been burned completely out if I had to do that for 16 days straight.

Oh yeah I guess it was like 17 days (or something like that, we had Thanksgiving off in there so it screwed up the count) cause we had Sundays off too. The training days only came out to 14 though if you count them--that's what I was referring to. But yeah I agree I'm glad we had at least one day off a week! And I know what you mean about it really feeling like an accomplishment...I have to imagine my friends and family probably wondered why I was so excited about getting my cdl--I mean, c'mon really? It can't be that hard. Pshh yeah right. I was more nervous about that test than probably any other test I've ever taken. So congratulations man. I'll keep updating about training on here so feel free to follow along. Who knows, maybe we'll even get the same driving manager!