I currently work for Swift. I got my CDL in March and have been driving solo since June.

I live in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, am 23, married, and just had my first child two weeks ago (November 28th).

I really don't care about pay, I just need to be home more often than once every 28 to 40 days (on average). I would love to be home once every other week or nightly doing a local job if at all possible. I've applied with TMC since it seems they try to get people home. I applied for Maverick, but was turned down since I had an 'Incident' September 14th that Swift put as an 'Preventable Accident' in my records. (I bumped a light pole at a customers, they hammered out the dent in the sheet metal and spray painted it and said it happens all the time, but Swift made me file an insurance claim)

Any suggestions? I really don't want to miss my child growing up, I had to fight tooth and nail to get home for his birth. I'm heading back out to my truck now (probably to a severely pissed off manager). *sigh*

Sorry to tell you this but that is a preventable accident and there is no way to tell another company that it isn't. This is the way it will be listed on your DAC. That being said it should not be that hard to find a company to get you home every week or at least every other week. Try looking for a regional or dedicated in the cad home page.

i agree this is a minor thing dont worry about it. Youl be able to get a job almost anywhere if this is it
post a response in your dac/usis report about this minor incident just to be on the safeside.

If Mount Pleasant is within a one hour drive of either Lansing or Grand Rapids, contact NTB. They get you home every week for 48 hours. It is a short haul company but don't know exactly what you're looking for.
Their website is www.ntbtrk.com.
Good luck in your search.

Why can't Swift get yuo home more often? They advertise for a Great Lakes Regional they have, is there some reason you can't get on that? Living in Mich you should be able to find a Co. that can get you home most weekends I would think unless you're in the UP.

As far as other co.
Roehl
HO Wolding
Celadon
Marten
Valley Express

Or just click on Michigan on the front page of this site and fill out an app at the ones you're interested in.

hey i don't know ho close you are to Clare, but if your willing to make the drive there's a company called Seiler Tank Truck Services. i worked for them in Albion Michigan about a 2 years ago. free health insurance. all oil Field work have to be willing to get dirty and drive older trucks. all of our trucks were not that bad. mostly 96 freightliner century's. not bad pay and not to bad work. winter is a little slow but once spring time comes around it ill be pretty busy. have to have haz and tanker endorsements. terminal manager is also lead mechanic and they are all good guys. you will be required to do some maintenance on your truck. oil changes tire changes and so on, but they are willing to help you if you need it. i have worked with him (terminal manager, but i cant remember his name right now) and hes s pretty good guy to work with. have any more questions PM me and i will try answer them

Have you looked into small local cartage cos. What about messenger couriers, alot of them use straight trucks for local pu and del they might pay percentage or hourly. In G.R. there's a disposal co. by the name of Phytch,(i think thats the correct spelling) they might hire someone like you who has less than a year experience. A friend of mine worked for them, good co.
I myself work for a courier service outside of Chicago that utilizes str. trucks. I'm in the office now, age catching up to me, but we have some drivers who earn 50,000-60,000 a year and are home everynight, the one drawback with our co. is no hospitalization, thou we have paid vacations and paid holidays.
Driving is driving, OTR or local, you may not make as much local but you'll be home just about everynight. Whatever job you end up with it just takes time to start making any decent money, but if I were a new dad, I'd take less money for time to spend with my child.
Good luck to you and congrats to you and your wife on your newborn.

I suppose you have talked with MLT in Mt. Pleasant? They have tankers and vans and real nice equipment. What about CJ Barkhaulers out of Hemlock? Or the guys in St. Johns that deliver to McDonalds? Go to the local fuel stops and check the bulletin boards for guys needing drivers. Hope this helped.

Chicago, I think the company you are thinking of is Pitsch. They are a demolition company here in Grand Rapids. Unfortunately I don't know anything else about them.

well i work in the detroit for scrap hauler i get your way every so often.there are few like c&j haulers,stone transport of saginaw,saberlien transportation.and i think acc transportation they haul g.m frieght,and Lb transportation of saginaw. bol the spaceman