Insulted By Shipper

Thanks guys. I apologize if I highjacked the topic. This aleviated my concerns. There seems to be a lot of negativity on the net and hard to tell. I would expect any school (company) that took the time and resources to train someone they would do so to their benefit. I'm committed to the decision to become a truck driver and have put in a lot of effort/study so far ( with lots of help here) and intend to continue to do so. I'm pretty confident in my ability to learn the necessary skills and I suspect the lifestyle will suit me just fine. (grew up OTR with my father and crossed different sections of the country later on foot and also bicycle). I'm more than willing to pay my dues and work hard and take the s#@* with sugar and give my best.

Tim wrote:

Thanks guys. I apologize if I highjacked the topic. This aleviated my concerns. There seems to be a lot of negativity on the net and hard to tell. I would expect any school (company) that took the time and resources to train someone they would do so to their benefit. I'm committed to the decision to become a truck driver and have put in a lot of effort/study so far ( with lots of help here) and intend to continue to do so. I'm pretty confident in my ability to learn the necessary skills and I suspect the lifestyle will suit me just fine. (grew up OTR with my father and crossed different sections of the country later on foot and also bicycle). I'm more than willing to pay my dues and work hard and take the s#@* with sugar and give my best.

Tim never apologize for an inquiry. You seem to have a well grounded, positive approach to this. Your attitude will help you win most of the battles you are about to experience.

Good luck!

Hi Tim. You've cone to the right place for positive support and truthful feedback....that can be a little surprising, straightforward, and more blunt than you might like at times. Lol

This is a fun community full of great insight and those negative people don't last long here. So...ask away!!!

Patrick wrote:

Sorry if I insulted you, G-town. I HAVE been in that guy's shoes. I have entertained a whole group of truckers for about 30 mins doing a blindside 45. Heck, I have entertained groups of truckers on more than 1 occasion doing blind side 45s. Probably why I hate TAs so much. Sometimes it is just nice to have the shoe on the other foot. IF the individual was with a trainer, than the trainer should of got their lazy butt out and spotted. Anyhow, like I said, If the individual would of GOAL'd, I would of gladly got out and asked if they wanted assistance. But that was not the case. As far as it being a Swift guy it doesn't much matter that it was. As it is always said, doesn't matter whose name is on the door. It just happened to be a Swift truck. The mention of Swift was what sparked the recollection. I have nothing against Swift.

Point of clarity here: if the individual was beyond the first 50 hours of their road training with Swift, they are teaming and their "Mentor" was probably in the bunk sleeping. The student (if that was the case) should have asked their Mentor for help,...and hell yes, they should have GOALed.

I appreciate your apology, however I don't feel insulted because I already know how to back and know what a good company Swift is. My concern with your reply; it sends the completely wrong message to unknowing people considering Swift (or any company for that matter); as an example the newbie who replied to this thread; Tim. We are here to help guys like him, not show them how we pass judgment and mock someone struggling to learn the basics.

Patrick you have clearly succeeded where many before you have failed miserably. You have offered many pieces of good advice to potential drivers and student drivers,...this is not an example of that. I think you are better than this. Enough said...

Thanks Rainy I've found this site extremely helpful and appreciate straight forward and honest. This sites members, from what I've been reading and the responses I've gotten, remind me of my circle of friends here at home. What a blessing they are in my life.

You are right G-Town. It was something I should of left unsaid. You are right about I wasn't born with the ability to back or drive a semi truck. Granted my life experiences have made me a fairly quick study. I have drove equipment bigger, heavier, and longer than a tractor-trailer combo. Sometimes I do take my previous experiences for granted. I spent 13 years as a rotary wing aircraft mechanic / Crew Chief. So on a near daily basis I moved aircraft around. I have driven CAT 775B 50ton mining trucks. I held 44 pax bus license in the military.

You are one of the last people I want to offend G-Town.

You are right G-Town. It was something I should of left unsaid. You are right about I wasn't born with the ability to back or drive a semi truck. Granted my life experiences have made me a fairly quick study. I have drove equipment bigger, heavier, and longer than a tractor-trailer combo. Sometimes I do take my previous experiences for granted. I spent 13 years as a rotary wing aircraft mechanic / Crew Chief. So on a near daily basis I moved aircraft around. I have driven CAT 775B 50ton mining trucks. I held 44 pax bus license in the military.

You are one of the last people I want to offend G-Town.

Well...you just offended me with your resume. :( you are better at this than me whhhhaaaaa. I want to go smash a college window with a fence now and start some fires.

Patrick wrote:

You are right G-Town. It was something I should of left unsaid. You are right about I wasn't born with the ability to back or drive a semi truck. Granted my life experiences have made me a fairly quick study. I have drove equipment bigger, heavier, and longer than a tractor-trailer combo. Sometimes I do take my previous experiences for granted. I spent 13 years as a rotary wing aircraft mechanic / Crew Chief. So on a near daily basis I moved aircraft around. I have driven CAT 775B 50ton mining trucks. I held 44 pax bus license in the military.

You are one of the last people I want to offend G-Town.

Patrick,...Buddy, we're good. Appreciate your reply. None of us were born knowing how to do this,...and indeed some learn faster than others. All true.

I am not your audience, folks like Tim are. That is what I was torqued about. You get it...👍

You are right G-Town. It was something I should of left unsaid. You are right about I wasn't born with the ability to back or drive a semi truck. Granted my life experiences have made me a fairly quick study. I have drove equipment bigger, heavier, and longer than a tractor-trailer combo. Sometimes I do take my previous experiences for granted. I spent 13 years as a rotary wing aircraft mechanic / Crew Chief. So on a near daily basis I moved aircraft around. I have driven CAT 775B 50ton mining trucks. I held 44 pax bus license in the military.

You are one of the last people I want to offend G-Town.

Well...you just offended me with your resume. :( you are better at this than me whhhhaaaaa. I want to go smash a college window with a fence now and start some fires.

Rainy, I severely doubt I have or could offend you. Besides, you have to catch me before you can bite me and drag me to your lair, lol.

You are right about that... many insurance companies require 2 years of experience before they can insure you and the pricing is ridiculous which is why it is always better to get your 2 years experience from the big boys. The reason for that is the fact that most of the big boys are self insured, are in captive programs or in high deductible programs so they can afford to train you and give you that much needed experience. Make sure your CDL is squeaky clean when you want to start working for the smaller players because you will affect the insurance rate for the whole company. Example: small company clean drivers 200 truck....: 1.5mil a year for insurance Prime 15k tractors.. high deductible program : 1.5mil a year for insurance small company bad Drivers 85 trucks : 1.5 mil a year for insurance Go to the big boys , get your 2 years under the belt, keep it clean and you will be a hot commodity

Thanks for the insight. They're one of the schools I applied to the other day. My concern being if I'd get some quality training but also if in the future I applied elsewhere after having gotten my driving experience with them how I might be perceived by a potential employer. I want to learn. I want to drive. I want to work.

Oh yeah you won't have any trouble being hired by someone else down the road as long as you keep your driving record clean and do well at Swift or wherever you go. Driving is driving--makes no difference who your employer is or who trained you. People run into issues when they don't go to company-sponsored training or a cdl school, but have their buddy who owns a truck show them the ropes. They may learn how to drive, but many company's insurance won't want to insure them, so they won't be offered a job.