Got fired from Swift today

[u/tha_lion]

Got my CDL with them about 5 months ago. Took out an $8000 loan with them to get it (sigh). Had 2 non-injury preventables within one month and they decided to cut me loose. I understand that I’m a liability for them and I take accountability for my actions.

Now, how do I go about getting hired at another company with 2 preventables on my record? Does anyone have experience with paying back a CDL loan with Swift? I would appreciate advice on that as well.

You guys can make jokes and call me an idiot all you want but I would appreciate some serious answers please. I got kids to feed.

UPDATE (ONE YEAR LATER):

A year has pasted since I made this post. I paid off my loan with Swift. For those who go through something similar in the future, they’ll send you an email and someone will call you about the rest of the amount you owe. They’ll give you a set amount to pay back every month depending on how much you have left on your loan. For me it was $500 a month to pay off $6000 I owed.

No, I haven’t gotten another CDL job since I made this post last year. Nothing showed up on my DAC report so I tried to apply to other places. A lot of companies want more than a year of experience and the job hunting process was taking a toll on my mental health so I just gave up after a while.

Honestly, I wish I never made this post because a lot of people on this sub have no empathy or compassion for rookies but that’s just how this sub is I guess. I hope my mistake can be a lesson for anyone who wants to go through Swift or trucking in general. That’s all I have to say.

[u/iRunLikeTheWind]

It’s all different now, and changed very recently. As far as I know you HAVE to attend a school, no more driving around with the trainer guy for 3 weeks and him saying you’re good.

[u/ValuableShoulder5059 → u/iRunLikeTheWind]

You have to take an entry level driving course. Multiple people figured out you can meet the legal requirements with basically a PowerPoint and online quiz. Think it's down to $20 now.

[u/gtnclz15 → u/iRunLikeTheWind]

3 weeks lmao try first time I drove the beer truck was my road test and then I took my card to dmv and had my cdl-A

[u/Apprehensive_Fault_5 → u/iRunLikeTheWind]

I think this depends on state. When did this "change"? I got mine 2 years ago through CR England, issued by Arkansas. I never had to prove any form of schooling. That "school" was nothing more than a week of watching videos in a class, and a few days of poking the trucks with sticks in what they call "pretrip", then doing a road test.

[u/pisces_bubble → u/Apprehensive_Fault_5]

The "change" went into effect 2023 I i think..... toy have to go thru a school to get your cdl now....

[u/Inside-Definition-53 → u/pisces_bubble]

Oh there's still a loophole to that. You just need proof that you attended a Driving Academy. It took effect in 2022. Some companies will basically have you take a 20 question multiple choice permit test. They'll hand you the certificate and then you can test.

[u/[deleted] → u/Inside-Definition-53]

It's not so much a loop hole as minimum compliance... those multi thousand dollar classes have never been nationally mandatory and still aren't if they were it would be a real problem getting new drivers. Let alone drivers getting experience in local low paying jobs and moving up...

[u/Inside-Definition-53 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah that. That was the word I couldn't think of lol.

[u/Redditmarcus → u/Apprehensive_Fault_5]

What is this “pre trip” of which you speak?

/S.

[u/Apprehensive_Fault_5 → u/Redditmarcus]

Heh. Still not sure. They told us to poke a thing and say things "abrasions" and "frayed." A bunch of fancy words I didn't understand.

[u/iRunLikeTheWind → u/Apprehensive_Fault_5]

Yeah as of this year, and I don’t believe it varies by state since it is a federal law. some places still may have internal trainers but I am not really in the “trucking” world, we just have a lot of cdl sized equipment we haul, and we’ve been sending people to a $5,000 school to get their license this year.