Quote:
Originally Posted by Windwalker
And, you were being "trained" in a "team truck", weren't you? I've said many, many times, that "team-training" is not training. There is absolutely no training going on when the trainer is in the bunk, sawing logs. I've been a trainer. There is no training going on when the trainer is sleeping.
The first trainer had us signed up, as a team, about 2 1/2 weeks after I was assigned to his truck. The second trainer had us signed up as a team BEFORE I got on his truck. Here's a timeline of how everything went, from 04/25/2011 (Day Orientation Ended) to 08/09/2011 (Day Fired from Swift). Not all days and times are inserted. Would be too long. Most important dates and times are listed.
04/25 - Was told that there were no trainers available for me, at that time. Required to take bus home and wait for Swift to contact me.
04/27 - Was contacted and informed that my trainer would be available for me on 05/01.
04/28 - My trainer contacted me and let me know when to meet him in Sioux City, Iowa, on the 1st.
05/01 - Met trainer, in Sioux City. Did just a couple backing tests, along the curb, behind Southern Hills Mall, where he was set to unload.
05/02 - Unloaded trailer. He drove to Sibley, Iowa to pick up load. When load was picked up, he had me drive to Portage, WI.
05/03 - Trainer had me drive through Chicago, Indianapolis, IN, and Cincinnati, OH. I wasn't even supposed to be driving in any BIG cities at all, for the first week, according to Swift's policies.
05/07 to 05/09 - Sat in Denver, CO, at Swift Terminal, waiting to get dispatched with load.
05/15 (approx.) - Trainer had us signed up as team. But, he wouldn't let me drive to the businesses, where we were supposed to be loading or unloading. I would have to switch with him sometime before we would get into the city or town. Then, he would drive there.
05/17 (approx.) - Trainer accepted a load going out towards West Virginia. Stayed three (3) days out near Augusta, WV, with HIS former trainer.
05/20 (approx.) - Trainer accepted the LAST load that we would take together, to Des Moines, Iowa. We sat in the Des Moines area truck stops for two days. We never did any backing practice or anything. He didn't want to be on the clock or put fuel in.
05/25 - We headed back to Eau Claire, WI so that he could have his hometime for the Memorial Day Weekend. And, I went and stayed with my uncle in Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
06/01 - We left Eau Claire, WI and headed to Inver Grove Heights, MN so that he could turn in his truck. And, he left me there to wait for my new mentor.
06/02 - I emailed my Student Driver Manager and let him know that I needed a new trainer, because my trainer had decided to go with a different company. I received a message back saying to contact my Student Driver Manager and we would talk about getting me with a "good" trainer. Because, I had informed him of the problems that I was having with my previous one (i.e. not accepting almost any loads for the previous two weeks.)
06/02 - Put in truck with new trainer. Was told that we would be running as a team, from the time I stepped into his truck.
06/05 - 2nd trainer was given "relocation load" from Tacoma, WA to Willows, CA. However, I was not informed about it, nor was I informed about what a "relocation load" was.
06/08 to 06/11 - Sat in Denver, CO while truck was in shop.
06/14 - Had backing incident, in Home Depot Drop Yard, in West Columbia, SC. Scrapes were put on our trailer and another trailer. Trainer was standing outside of the truck. I DID get out and check to see how I was doing, while he stood there talking on the phone. I thought I was doing fine, but ended up catching the corner of the trailer next to us, on the passenger side, with the side of our trailer. He contacted my Student Driver Manager. Then, proceeded to help a driver, from another company, help him get into his spot. Yet, he was just so busy talking on the phone, while I was backing up, to even help me out in any way, shape, or form. That was my first acc/inc.
06/18 - I was "graduated" from my 2nd trainer's truck.
06/22 - I was given my own truck. Had to pick it up in Sioux Falls, SD and head home with it. I received a total of 4 1/2 days of "home time", since I was "officially" done with training, by their standards.
06/27 - I was given a load out to Swedesboro, NJ. I really didn't want to take it, because I had never been to those areas of the Country. Neither of my trainers would go to NY, NJ, or places like that. However, my DM told me to take it anyway and everything would be just fine.
06/30 - Got lost out near Hopewell, PA (east of I-99 and north of I-70/76, in western PA), on my way to Swedesboro, NJ. As you can imagine, I wasn't supposed to be near that area. I had missed my turn east near State College, PA, that would have taken me on 322 east. However, I was a sign that said 22 east. And, I didn't realize they were both the same road. So, when I got down to Highway 30, I turned east and followed the road. I couldn't find anywhere to turn around. So, I followed it until I came to Highway 915 north. I followed the road. And, boy, is that one steep-a** road!!! Anyhow, I got to the intersection of 915 N and 26 W, where there's an old-time steel bridge. My tandems had been all of the way to the back of the trailer. Which, I NEVER was told that they shouldn't or couldn't be to haul a load. So, when I got to the bridge, with the tandems all of the way back, I didn't make it around the corner. I was going so SLOW that I only put some black scuff marks on the driver's side of the trailer. YES, the Safety Department at Swift's Jonestown, PA Terminal did look at the trailer and verified that there were only scuff marks on the side. NO other damage was done. That was my 2nd acc/inc.
07/02 to 07/05 - Truck was in Swift Terminal's shop, in Jonestown, PA, to have the Regen (spelling) unit looked at.
07/19 to 07/21 - Home for Medical Appointments.
08/02 to 08/03 - de Pere, WI to have Regen unit looked at again.
08/08 - Accident in Flying J Truck Stop parking lot, in Winchester, WV. I was having a hard time backing into a spot. So, another truck driver asked me to go around the parking lot and head over to an area where there were two open spots, next to each other. I proceeded to do so. However, a truck was parked at the end of the driving lane, next to the scales. He wouldn't move. I mis-judged the amount of space between a legally parked truck and his illegally parked truck. I caught the legally parked truck's front end, with my trailer, and did some fender and light area damage. The Flying J Personnel and other truck drivers were all in agreement that "had that illegally parked truck not been there, the accident would have NEVER happened". The Flying J Personnel signed a note stating that the illegally parked truck's owner had continued rufusing to move his truck well before the accident had happened. It wasn't until the accident that he finally moved his truck.
08/09 - Swift fired me.
08/11 - Swift reported "Unsatisfactory Safety Record" to HireRight (DAC) and had it put on my DAC Report.
So, with all of the sitting around, for almost two weeks with no loads and a trainer that refused to do any training during that time, and running as a team for much of the time, there was really no possible way to get adequate TRAINING and SHARPENING of my skills. Not to mention the amount of time that was being taken up by sitting in the Swift Terminals, either waiting for loads or having trucks worked on.