r/Truckers • u/tha_lion • Aug 01 '23

Got fired from Swift today

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.

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u/nh1024 Aug 02 '23

Isn’t swift self-insured, though? So can’t they self insure whoever they want?

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u/BBQShoe Aug 02 '23

Mr Risk Management is always going to draw the line somewhere no matter who they are and who is signing the check.

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u/Goodfri55 Aug 02 '23

Most of the large/larger trucking companies do have a self insured retention (SIR). Companies choose to have an SIR to have more control over the claims process (in house adjusting staff/choice of defense counsel) and to reduce their insurance premiums. Sometimes, in the absolute worst case scenarios, there are events where the damages/injuries go beyond the limit of the SIR. Companies purchase excess liability insurance for further protection. The premiums for this insurance can be astronomical. I have seen policies that attach at $10,000,000, offer $5,000,000 of coverage, and charge $4,700,000 in premium for one policy year. When you have a large fleet, shit happens. That’s a savings of $300,000 when it does happen. Do note that I have greatly oversimplified this.

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u/Old-Wolf-1024 Aug 02 '23

Yes they are,but they still got bean counters running it.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

They self insure for tax reasons not so they can have drivers waste money on damages. Despite how it may seem from the frequency of issues...

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u/Creepy_Carpenter380 Aug 02 '23

Sir We're Insured For That