Truck Driving Jobs

RaiderNation · #1 03-09-2007, 06:29 AM

apparently my trainer got his ability to be a mentor stripped from him because of too many overspeeds. :roll:

so now i'm at home through the weekend and hopefully will get a trainer early next week sometime. I have 22 days left of training, i just want to get it over with.

I'm considering local, but I don't have the experience that most local companies want, seems most want 1-2 years. So i guess i'll just sit on my ass and wait for a new trainer, at least I was able to get home and not stuck in a hotel somewhere.

Trubbledog · #2 03-09-2007, 01:41 PM

Sorry for your misfortune. But home time is a good thing, and I'm sure you'll make the most of it. Hang in there and keep yer chin up.

BanditsCousin · #3 03-09-2007, 02:27 PM

Keep hounding the local companies. Experience on paper is a penstroke away when they want you.

TRUST ME ON THIS ONE :wink:

Sucks the trainer got too many overspeeds. And for some rookies reading this- an "overspeed" can be coasting down a hill 2 mph over the governor on the engine :shock:

YoungZ.W. · #4 03-09-2007, 04:42 PM

Are you still at Swift Raidernation? If so, hows it been going?

Twilight Flyer · #5 03-09-2007, 04:53 PM

Wonder if that's the same guy I just talked to this week. Was a trainer and termed from Swift for too many overspeeds. :?

RaiderNation · #6 03-09-2007, 06:46 PM

well, he wasn't fired, they only told him he couldn't be a mentor anymore, so I don't think it's the same guy.

Yes, I'm still at swift for now. And probably will stay with them. I like it, they're a pretty decent company, I haven't had any issues with them yet.

My last trainer was pretty cool, we got along pretty good and stuff, however I am glad I'm getting a new one.. he just wasn't mentor material. He was quite hypocritical. He jumped my shit for taking a look at my phone while I was driving to see who i missed a call from. We'd already established that I wasn't gonna use the phone while i was driving.. not even with my bluetooth, which is fine, it's his truck. He said my safety was in his hands and that I need to keep an eye on the road, etc. No shit sherlock. It was the one and only time I'd ever done it and he went crazy on me.

Not one to take that crap from him, I fired back on all the crap he does while driving that makes me kinda fear for my safety at times. He puts his laptop on a stand next to his shifter and plays on his laptop while driving the truck! he swerves and is always hitting them rumble strips, sometimes swerving into the left lane. And god forbid his bluetooth needs to be recharged (he talks on the phone for like 8 hours while he's driving), at that point he'll hold the cell phone with this left hand, hunch over the steering wheel, drive with his forearm, while he's still using the laptop with his right hand, unbelievable. This dude was not a safe driver. So after bringing that up to him and telling him that my safety is in his hands and stuff, his response: "Good point, but I can do it because i've been driving for almost 10 years." And in reality, he's been driving only for almost 5 years.

not to mention he never let me back up. god, and having to listen to him fight with this wife for hours and hours on end with a merry go round of them hanging up on eachother and calling back.

So in hindsight, maybe it's better i'm waiting for another trainer....

good thing he got his mentorship taken anyway. I probably would have just ended up staying the rest of the time with him, never backing up, and just prayin we didn't end up in a ditch somewhere because he wanted to play on his laptop while driving.

right then, i feel better after that little rant. time for a beer.

redsfan · #7 03-09-2007, 06:55 PM

Ok, this is a dumb question, but how does a "trainer" get demoted for too many overspeeds if he is not the one driving in the first place? Is he being penalized for the number of times the trainee had an overspeed or was he one of the "team driving" trainers that are out there? Just curious.

NevadaJim · #8 03-09-2007, 08:12 PM

I don't understand why you would even consider staying with him if you didn't feel you were getting the training you needed. Now, I'm not saying that you should whine about every little thing you don't like about the guy. But, if you're not being trained on the things you will need to go solo it's time to raise the BS flag and ask for another trainer. Are these overspeeds actual tickets or is there a way Swift is tracking the speed of their trucks? What is the policy at Swift to request a different trainer? Don't they have some sort of checklist you and the trainer are supposed to follow during your training period? I will be at the mercy of the Swift boys soon and just trying to gather as much info as I can.

RaiderNation · #9 03-09-2007, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NevadaJim

I don't understand why you would even consider staying with him if you didn't feel you were getting the training you needed. Now, I'm not saying that you should whine about every little thing you don't like about the guy. But, if you're not being trained on the things you will need to go solo it's time to raise the BS flag and ask for another trainer. Are these overspeeds actual tickets or is there a way Swift is tracking the speed of their trucks? What is the policy at Swift to request a different trainer? Don't they have some sort of checklist you and the trainer are supposed to follow during your training period? I will be at the mercy of the Swift boys soon and just trying to gather as much info as I can.

they track overspeeds through the qualcomm. if you go over the governor, which can really only happen when you're going downhill, the qualcomm beeps and says overspeed. he's been in trouble for it once before. You can request a different trainer whenever you want. There is a checklist, and the first thing my mentor told me when I got on his truck is that he doesn't follow the checklist, we just run and do the stuff that's on the checklist over time and then he'll sign off on everything at the end of the 6 weeks. That maybe should have been a red flag, but I just wanted to get on the road. And yes, I should have requested a different trainer a week after i got on with this one, but didn't, i just wanted to get the 6 weeks over with. wrong mentality.

Uturn2001 · #10 03-09-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

I should have requested a different trainer a week after i got on with this one, but didn't, i just wanted to get the 6 weeks over with. wrong mentality.

I felt the same way when I went through training, and I did not request a new trainer even though my trainer sucked. When I got out on my own I realized how bad he sucked and how much was the training was lacking.

Not to discourage you any, but I started with Swift and other than the training /trainer issues, everything was cool until I was at about 8 weeks as a solo driver and was placed on a regular fleet. At that point things went downhill and kept going downhill.