Swift Training Complete, Upgrade Test Tomorrow.
Topic 21153 | Page 1
Congratulations Tom!
The fun is just getting started now.
Congratulations Tom!
Glad to hear everything worked out for you. I have been with Swift over 5 years, running Walmart Dedicated in the northeast.
Advice? Don't forget to G.O.A.L. during your backing test, and make it obvious. When they put you in the test truck, take the time to familiarize yourself with it before you begin your drive.
Good luck!
Big congrats Tom!! 
Just got my CDL myself and off to orientation at Stevens this coming Sunday ☺
Soooo looking forward to being in your position in 6 - 8 weeks 👍
Keep it safe!
Cheers!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Awesome! Swift Represents!!! Time to get to work. Remember, safety first, and GOAL. Congratulations!
Congrats. Way to Git R Dun.
Congratulations!! For me personally, as far as pure stress goes, the training was the worst. You get to actually feel progress from here on out. You will see the fruits of your labor and start realizing that the training headaches were worth it. Good luck!
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
Thanks again everyone. Passed my tests today! Truck assignment is Thursday morning. I guess I get to change my profile status to rookie solo driver now :)
Congratulations! Now the real education begins.
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Well it's done... I completed my training with Swift Transportation....200+ hours in the books and I'm set to upgrade tomorrow. Super excited :) very happy to be done with my mentor. He was a good guy and all that but let's just say hygiene was a bit of an issue. I consider myself lucky though with that being the worst thing I had to deal with. In all, it took 4 weeks with a 34 hour restart at home in the middle. We ran hard. Averaged about 2500-3000 miles per week as a noob so I'm pretty proud of that. I feel like if I can build off of that experience and improve from there I'll be fine on my own. I can't wait to get my own truck though. Picked up a mini fridge and a microwave today. Also got a crock pot. Might expand a bit once I get a feel for how much free time I'll actually have to properly cook a meal. Plus I'm waiting to see how much space I'll actually have once I'm assigned a truck on thursday assuming I pass my upgrade tests.
Probably going to running a dedicated automotive route since that's what I trained in. Talked to my mentor's dl and he told me there's a great chance for me to get that route since I trained in it and liked it. Plus it's fairly regional so it's pretty easy for them to get me home if/when I want some home time.
All in all its been a pretty positive experience so far and I'm ready to get out there and see what I can do solo. For now I'm about to go study some macros and get ready for this test. Hope to hear from some swifties about this upgrade test. Anything I should worry about? I've heard it's pretty easy. The written test that is. I'm pretty sure I'll have no issues with the road test.
Just want to take the time again to thank you all. This page has been a massive help along the way. You guys are doing great things here and I look forward to contributing once I get out here and get my feet wet and have my own experience to share.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.