Swift And BP Issues

I am on a low dose of Blood Pressure medications and have been stressing lately to the point that either I have white coat syndrome or possibly need to have my medication adjusted last month I went for a checkup and my pressure was 140 over 100 yesterday it was 150 over 85 so I did get the bottom number down but now the top number is too high in the meantime I spoke to a swuft recruiter to see if they would still take me on ( I enquired about a year ago and foolishly didnt follow up) and they said as long as I can pass a physical they would take me on they said 500 a week until I have 200 hours with a trainer and then they bump me up to 37 cents a mile which sounds too good to be true because everyone else I spoke to said 300 or 400 a week and then bump me up to 25 or 27 cents a mile and to be honest I feel like Im being lied to no matter who Im talking to has anyone here worked for swift and if so how thorough is their physical??

Dave,

The Swift physical is likely through ConCentra or one of their other medical contractors. It's about 30 minutes long and thorough to the point they determine you have no medical issues preventing you from driving a CMV. Since you are on BP meds, as long as your readings are no higher than 140/90, you will get a one year medical card. I would wait until you have applied and know you have been accepted before getting the physical.

Are you be attending Swift's CDL school?

The training pay quoted by the recruiter may not be accurate, sounds really high. While you are training (during the 200 hour period) they will pay you approximately $10.00 per hour for every mile you drive. If you have a 550 mile day (which is very possible) you would earn $55 for that day's mileage. Since I haven't been through training in several years the hourly training pay while you are driving may have increased. Honestly $500 per week highly unlikely. There are other Swift drivers on this forum, one is a trainer, hopefully they will confirm or correct the hourly training rate.

Once you are able to go solo, the CPM for OTR work is 36 cents. If you average 2200-2500 miles per week you can expect $792-$900 per week. All depends on how the freight is moving and if you are able to make your deliveries on-time and keep yourself moving.

Hey Dave, I don't know if it will help to lower your blood pressure or not, but you may enjoy browsing our wiki section on Blood Pressure. There's a lot of great information there that should help you find a way to get that blood pressure under control.

Dave, the first thing to do about your BP is to chill. Your pressure will be different from one minute to the next. And you know aggravation will only push it higher. If you're up to 140/90, you will get through that part because it's not over the max. So don't sweat it.

I've worked for Swift for a year now. Around the start of this year I went to the clinic that did my first DOT physical. BP was a calm 130/80. I still got a 1 year for other reasons.

Took the paper to my DM who said, "Sorry, the physical has to be done by a Swift approved Dr!" I know that got my BP up! She told me to go to the Swift Wellness Center (at the terminal) and get another physical. The Swift Dr is a bit more thorough. BP in my aggravated state was 140/90 - the max for a 1 year card. But I got it done. One day from 130/80 to top out at 140/90.

As for training pay, keep in mind you get no pay while you're in Swift CDL school. You are not an employee yet. Training pay begins when you get to Swift orientation. Once you're on a truck with your mentor, the rates (a year ago 2015) were:

$7.25/hr On Duty Not Driving
$9.50/hr Driving

My weekly paychecks hovered in the mid $500's gross. When I went solo, I started getting $0.33/Mile.

Dave,

The Swift physical is likely through ConCentra or one of their other medical contractors. It's about 30 minutes long and thorough to the point they determine you have no medical issues preventing you from driving a CMV. Since you are on BP meds, as long as your readings are no higher than 140/90, you will get a one year medical card. I would wait until you have applied and know you have been accepted before getting the physical.

Are you be attending Swift's CDL school?

The training pay quoted by the recruiter may not be accurate, sounds really high. While you are training (during the 200 hour period) they will pay you approximately $10.00 per hour for every mile you drive. If you have a 550 mile day (which is very possible) you would earn $55 for that day's mileage. Since I haven't been through training in several years the hourly training pay while you are driving may have increased. Honestly $500 per week highly unlikely. There are other Swift drivers on this forum, one is a trainer, hopefully they will confirm or correct the hourly training rate.

Once you are able to go solo, the CPM for OTR work is 36 cents. If you average 2200-2500 miles per week you can expect $792-$900 per week. All depends on how the freight is moving and if you are able to make your deliveries on-time and keep yourself moving.

Dave my apology, 550 miles would require about 10 hours to complete, at $10 per hour would be $100. 500 per week is highly possible. Errol corrected my hourly figure to actual. Again my apology.

I was told by Swift that I have to get my DOT physical done & get my permit before starting school. Of this is so, once I get to class or training will they give me another physical there or do they just honor the one I got?? By the way they recommended me to this site if approved clinics so it definitely will be approved by them

I was told by Swift that I have to get my DOT physical done & get my permit before starting school. Of this is so, once I get to class or training will they give me another physical there or do they just honor the one I got?? By the way they recommended me to this site if approved clinics so it definitely will be approved by them

I got my own physical (and CDL permit) before I was hired by Swift. Once I was in the team, I guess I needed to use "listed" doctors.

No need to apologize I truly appreciate all the help and advice from everyone here I know I need to get my blood pressure under control before I even attempt the physical I also have a bad stignatism and always have trouble reading an eye chart and I am deaf in one ear and while I still passed a forced whisper test in both ears I worry that the company physical is more thorough then the DOT physical and that they might not pass me so I have a few issues here to deal with

Dave worries:

I worry that the company physical is more thorough then the DOT physical

The physical requirements are listed in detail on the long form. If you handle those, you should be able to pass.