SWIFT TRAINING NOT SO SWIFT

While researching companies that sponsor driver training I read about SWIFT. After seeing some horrific SWIFT accidents on YouTube I'm thinking that their training isn't so swift.

You have to look a the big picture. I used to work for swift when i lest they had 21000 trucks with 25000 drivers. most companies do not even have one tenth of that...

Here is an example, say company X had 2000 trucks and they see an have a 10% accident rate a year that means they have 20 wrecks. If Swift has the same percentage of accidents they have 2100 wrecks year.Its a much larger number of trucks so people are bound to spot them more often. Also with 25000 drivers yo are gonna have more then a few that make forret gump seem like stephen hawkings.

BTW just an FYI out of 21000 truck in 2014 Swift only had 714 DOT reportable accidents meaning that someone had to go to the hospital or that a vehicle was disabled and had to be towed.

Dont get me wrong i highly dislike the company for my own reasons and moved to a superior company, however do not let the internet and youtube paint a skewed picture of a company.

Certain swift schools are run very well others are run like crap. Some were run so bad there was a federal investigation that shut at least one school down for a long time due to unsafe practices but that is in the past.

Swift is not much different then any other "training" company the vast majority of their drivers do not stay much over a year if that long. Personally at this point the only reason i would suggest against swift as a starter company is that their fleet is quickly moving to autos and IMO you should start in a standard just so you are more marketable to other companies

I am sure I will get flack but accidents happen in all companies, however the more trucks you have the more likelihood it will be more noticeable.

Prime

Knight

Werner

Schneider

CRST

FedEx

I meant to delete this thread yesterday and forgot. Now I'm pretty annoyed with myself for doing that because Misty wasted no time spewing as much criticism as she could squeeze into one evening and you guys put so much time and effort helping her understand things a little better.

Certain swift schools are run very well others are run like crap. Some were run so bad there was a federal investigation that shut at least one school down for a long time due to unsafe practices but that is in the past.

Technically they didn't fine Swift for 'running a school so poorly'. The fined them for shortening the driving portion of the CDL exam. And no criminal charges of any sort were filed.

Many CDL Students Unsatisfied With Swift Settlement:

Documents were seized, and the investigation reportedly centered on the illegal issuance of CDLs after the Tennessee Department of Safety said CDL skills tests hadn’t been properly administered.

Although no criminal charges emerged, Tennessee announced in 2009 that drivers who obtained a CDL through an unnamed third-party tester in Tennessee between May 2005 and January 2008 would be required to do a complete retest.

Attorneys file lawsuit against Tennessee, Swift over yanked CDLs:

“Former drivers said, ‘We had so many people we had to cut corners. We didn’t take the state’s 45-minute route. We did a five-minute route and came back,'” Lead attorney Frank Watson III, of Watson & Burns, said.

I really hate that I have to spend my time defending companies from ignorant statements. Please get the facts straight before issuing criticisms. We can discuss anything you guys like about any company out there but you have to present facts, not just throw broad-sweeping, uninformed criticisms.

I know one way to research a company: put "Swift Trucking Crashes" into a search engine, and you'll have hours of Swift Crashes to watch. (You won't find Celadon, Roehl, or Knight crashes in your result.)

Of course, like Misty did, ask some other drivers. They're experts of almost everything!

Or go to the FMCSA web site and lip up Swift's record with the government agency in charge: Swift had over 35,000 driver inspections in the last year. 1.4% did not pass. The national average for failing this inspection is 5.5%. So, if Swift drivers fail at a rate ONE FIFTH of the national rate, how are they "unsafe", Misty?

I would take those with a grain of salt, they do not give good reasons as to why it took so long or what the issue was. It could be that the person was not able to be trained causing them to think it was Swifts fault, then they will go to Youtube/websites to show people that it is the companys fault.

Like Greenhorn said. The YouTube videos are just one side of the story.

I just passed by two YouTube free nasty accidents on I-80 W by Des Moines.

100% certain the respected drivers 'training' played no fault.

Swift has around 15,000 trucks.. so at any one time they could have what? 8,000-10,000 trucks on the road? They are bound to get into a bad accident.. or several. Its just the law of averages. Rather you go to Swift training or anywhere else you are the one responsible for your truck. Not them.

Drivers that I know personally mentioned how unskilled they have witnessed SWIFT drivers to be. My jaw dropped when the pictures were pointed out to me. I've been talking a lot with other drivers to find which company would have the best training. So far Roehl is in 1st place for a 48 year old single grandma.

I do understand that training can only do so much for a driver. I wonder daily what cracker jack box so many received their license from.

Drivers that I know personally mentioned how unskilled they have witnessed SWIFT drivers to be. My jaw dropped when the pictures were pointed out to me. I've been talking a lot with other drivers to find which company would have the best training. So far Roehl is in 1st place for a 48 year old single grandma.

Ones again.. going back to the numbers if Swift has 10,000 trucks on the road at any given time and a lot of them being new drivers you will see them do some not so smart things. Its just how it is.

Go to whatever Company works best for you. But as someone who has been on the road for a bit trust me bad drivers are not limited to Swift. Ive seen several owner-operators who a lot of people consider "Cream of the crop" do some stupid things that put a lot of people in danger. Not only that I've seen drivers of Roehl, Prime, Knight, Stevens, or any other company do stupid things.

What I'm trying to say is don't limit the terms of your search to what you see on YouTube or the opinions of "super truckers." A lot of people on this form picked Swift to go to and they licked their pick. I've also meet several great and professional drivers who either drive for Swift, or got their start at swift.

Pick what ever company works best for YOU and only you. You can find bad things about any company. Especially one that hires brand new drivers. The driver is the one holding the wheel and controlling the pedals. Not Swift.

Best of luck in your search! Let us know if we can help you out in anyway!

You have to look a the big picture. I used to work for swift when i lest they had 21000 trucks with 25000 drivers. most companies do not even have one tenth of that...

Here is an example, say company X had 2000 trucks and they see an have a 10% accident rate a year that means they have 20 wrecks. If Swift has the same percentage of accidents they have 2100 wrecks year.Its a much larger number of trucks so people are bound to spot them more often. Also with 25000 drivers yo are gonna have more then a few that make forret gump seem like stephen hawkings.

BTW just an FYI out of 21000 truck in 2014 Swift only had 714 DOT reportable accidents meaning that someone had to go to the hospital or that a vehicle was disabled and had to be towed.

Dont get me wrong i highly dislike the company for my own reasons and moved to a superior company, however do not let the internet and youtube paint a skewed picture of a company.

Certain swift schools are run very well others are run like crap. Some were run so bad there was a federal investigation that shut at least one school down for a long time due to unsafe practices but that is in the past.

Swift is not much different then any other "training" company the vast majority of their drivers do not stay much over a year if that long. Personally at this point the only reason i would suggest against swift as a starter company is that their fleet is quickly moving to autos and IMO you should start in a standard just so you are more marketable to other companies

Most CDL schools both Private and Company's goal is to get you your CDL. Most of the real training doesn't began until you hit the road.