[dollarshort]

It's the ways companies describe "cheap labor". While they pay you peanuts they will run you into the ground. The big boys love having trainees to move freight around as cheap as possible.

[T * Storm]

Originally Posted by larryh31

T* Storm, you will see exactly what being "dispatched like a Team" really means once you get on the road with a mentor at Swift.

The only way that you can run 4500+ miles a week like a Team is to keep the wheels turning. And if your mentor happens to be a Lease Operator, it is going to be even worse. Because the only way he can make any money is to run like there is no tomorrow.

If that's the way it is with Swift, then my plan just may be feasible. Use the Swift sponsored school for my CDL and DOT physical (and just something to do while I wait) and go to Schneider for my REAL (OTR Mentor) training, which is scheduled to start on the date I'm scheduled to graduate from Swifts school. 8)

[osocanoso]

I appreciate everyone's time in reading my post and replying.....even the snide ones.

I trained drivers for two years without a single accident. Assuming a training program of 4 to 6 weeks (ours at National Freight was 90 days, longer than any I've seen today) you should be able to spend a significant amount of time driving as a team after you are sure that the newbie is competent. I have a hard time understanding why I would need to be in the right seat while a decent trainee is pointing the truck straight down the interstate. Besides that, trainee needs to be ready to go solo by the time he is cut loose, and that means giving him progressively more responsibility as the training period goes forward.

Certainly, until you are sure that he is safe, you will want to be awake and alert for all stops, driving in town, trip planning, construction zone driving, heavy traffic, bad weather, and all the other hazards that we know represent opportunities for accidents. I also know that truck drive training is uneven; the one I am going to now is not nearly as demanding as the one I went to the first time. Johnston Tech in Smithfield, North Carolina was run like a boot camp and produced, in my opinion, very competent drivers. The failure rate was high.

Comments from anyone else who knows of a long, high miles training program would be greatly appreciated.