Swift
Topic 8436 | Page 1
i'm not bad mouthing swift, but i just wanted to point out that imformation in the review isn't correct one thing is saying that they aren't forced dispatch and my recruiter told me that dispatch is forced as well as the instructors at the school, i have one more week to go before orentation, and and they say they have regional comfort zones but it's based on where you live and mine would be east coast anything east of the Mississippi river, not south east or north east just east, and new york would be forced dispatch, the only reason i went with swift is they do dedicated runs for walmart DCs and there is a DC just down the road from me, but have to be with them 6 months to do that, even though i've talked to guys that have gotten on dedicated runs sooner, i don't know if it's a good company or bad but i will say they over book the CDL classes my class started with 46 people but by 2 weeks it was down to 28 and the sent all of us home casue they were short on instructrs, becasue people in the class ahead didn't pass the test and had to stay an extra week sense they start classes every week there is a minimum of 60 people on the rage and only 3 insructors. so don't go there expecting to get much one on one training, they demonstrate it once and leave you to figure it out.
Swift is not forced dispatch, you can turn down loads. Also the "comfort zones" is no longer a thing if you re OTR you will go where the freight takes you. You can get on dedicted routes quicker if you mentor is part of dedicated group. I was offered a spot in my mentors petsmart/sears dedicated as soon s i got of his truck but i waned to go OTR.
I do know that the walmart dedicated that is based out of the PA terminal is always looking for drivers, but they go from the DC and deliver to the stores.
When you first start out at ANY company consider yourself forced dispatch as you have not been there long enough to turn anything down, however after you get to know your DM you can get away with turning down garbage. For instance right now i cannot go to the northeast :D as my HUD permit for NY is on my DMs desk and i have not been back to my home terminal since i got my new truck. I kinda avoid going to my home terminal because its a crappy little terminal as as long as my permit is there i cannot go to NY which kills the NE for me :D
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.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
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.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
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i'm not bad mouthing swift, but i just wanted to point out that imformation in the review isn't correct one thing is saying that they aren't forced dispatch and my recruiter told me that dispatch is forced as well as the instructors at the school, i have one more week to go before orentation, and and they say they have regional comfort zones but it's based on where you live and mine would be east coast anything east of the Mississippi river, not south east or north east just east, and new york would be forced dispatch, the only reason i went with swift is they do dedicated runs for walmart DCs and there is a DC just down the road from me, but have to be with them 6 months to do that, even though i've talked to guys that have gotten on dedicated runs sooner, i don't know if it's a good company or bad but i will say they over book the CDL classes my class started with 46 people but by 2 weeks it was down to 28 and the sent all of us home casue they were short on instructrs, becasue people in the class ahead didn't pass the test and had to stay an extra week sense they start classes every week there is a minimum of 60 people on the rage and only 3 insructors. so don't go there expecting to get much one on one training, they demonstrate it once and leave you to figure it out.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
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.