Profile For Matthew K.

I got to experience annoying a fellow truck driver today. On my way heading south on I-39 in Illinois I passed another truck. I am governed at 63. The other truck was doing 62. During my slow crawl around him a 3rd truck came upon us. After I had finished passing the truck and moved back over the truck that had come upon us, passed me and proceeded to flip me off. I just smiled and waved. Then I chided him over the CB to not be mad. I don't set my governor. I actiallly get a small amount of satisfaction when I annoy the living heck out of someone because I made them slow down. I know, I am a sick and twisted soul.

Drive Safe and God Speed! (But only at 63 mph)

Isn't that special...

The Super-Trucker who passed you should have flipped-off the guy you were passing for doggin'-you. Total JV move. It's real simple,...dilute the testosterone, check the ego; when another truck is attempting to pass and it's obvious they are only moving 2-3mph faster, drop the speed a bit and let them go by. Then resume cruising altitude once they are safely ahead.

Also if attempting to pass and overtake another truck approaching an uphill grade,...reconsider this move if you are loaded and heavy. Otherwise it's going to be like dueling banjos until clear of the hill. Patience.

Be professional, considerate and above all else enable safety!

I legitimately thought I was the only one who would come off the throttle to let someone pass. It serves no purpose to make someone sit in the left lane for 5 miles to pass you. Just cancel cruise, let it drop to 55, then resume. By the time you get back up to speed, the guy passing should be well ahead of you.

I'm glad other people understand it, but it seems like not quite enough people are willing to do it.

But did you win $100 on a scratch off ticket?

57 and 24 are absolutely covered up with officers getting big trucks in all directions.

I passed through yesterday and for the life of me could not figure out what was going on. I got through unscathed, but a truck directly in front of me got nabbed. "In force" may be an understatement. It looks like an invasion, there's state troopers at every turnaround, at a large portion of the entry/exit ramps, and a truck pulled over almost every mile.

Also, I57 Northbound was shut down at exit 45 and a detour along a state road was set up. If it is still like that, expect ~2hrs of going absolutely nowhere.

Waiting is unfortunately the name of the game. I waited for 4 days for a load in Seattle once. Nobody would answer my Qualcomm and when I called dispatch, I was placed on "hold" and the line would mysteriously disconnect. This happened several times. I ended up just waiting it out and eventually got a load out of there. When I did get a load, I didn't get upset with anyone and didn't take it personally; I just assumed it was a lack of freight. Oh, and for the record, this happened over a weekend with weekend dispatch running the show.

Hang in there. You might have to wait a little longer, but they'll get you on the road as soon as they can.

My two days in Buffalo doesnt seem so bad anymore. Granted, they were trying like hell to get me out, just kept running into equipment/internal errors (first trailer had a smashed electrical box, the next two loads were incorrectly entered and didn't actually pick up until 4 days later.)

After the initial bedbug fiasco, I finally finished a full week running solo, hit 2300 miles.

I want more. I love it out here. I want to see more places. Granted, I'd like to have time to experience places too, but I can do that later after I've run hard and earned some money.

Sorry Matthew...for some reason I though you were with Swift. I apologize. Regardless I think you have a good plan.

I sincerely hope it works out for you.

My DM was much more receptive than I thought he would be. At first, he still seemed to think there was a chance of me taking the same truck, but after I took a look at it, I just said I wouldn't be comfortable (mentally) using it. Since he didn't have any trucks available, I asked to go home for the weekend (3 hour drive, had my personal car though due to rental mix up from when I first came out) and he agreed. He called me less than an hour away, found a truck in Gary, IN. I told him I still wanted to spend the weekend at home, and he was totally fine with that.

I got to Gary at 2am on Tuesday in a rental, went to sleep at 4 (maintenance had to pick the lock, keys were inside and the machine at driver services wouldn't cut a new one properly), and woke up at 11 to have the truck cleaned out and move myself in.

Spending another night at the yard, weekly new driver call at 1030 tomorrow, then I hope I'm ready to roll out. I miss the road. I'm ready to get moving :)

Matthew are you documenting the number of times your truck has been "treated" using the freeform text available on your QualComm? I think this is round 3 of extermination, correct? If you haven't been doing so, please document this. Although I am not a proponent of unnecessarily blasting a company, especially the one I happily work for, but I gotta be honest, this borders on ridiculous. In my mind, continued co-existence with these pests is robbing you of sleep (a safety issue), adding unnecessary stress (again a potential safety issue), and clearly your ability to make a decent income due to all the accumulated wait time for superficial extermination (which according to our Forum's BugMan, is only temporary). Although BB's don't spread disease, worst case you could develop a serous allergy to the bites, making you sick.

Try to get someone's attention with the authority to take you off that "science project" of a truck and into a healthier environment. Starting with your DM, try to work your way up from there, if need be to the terminal manager using your DM as an advocate (he ain't making a dime on you as you partake in the Orkin commercials). Choose your words wisely, be tactful and professional but make it known your desire to be removed from that truck; "it's negatively effecting my ability to be productive for the company, impacting my "rookie" progress, and compromising quality rest which is a potential safety issue.". Use of the word "safety" should get their attention. Stick to the facts and try to keep your cool. Document the issue as needed using freeform text on the QC; every time the offending critters reappear (which they will), every time you are waiting for extermination (including duration of down-time), the frequency of par-boiling your clothes, and also how it is affecting your ability to get quality rest (a safety issue).

I am probably the biggest rah-rah on here about Swift; but in this situation I am rather disappointed in their ability to effectively address a problem you clearly did not create and unfortunately seems like you must jump-up-and-down on someone's desk to get fixed.

When I get into the terminal tomorrow, I'm going to have a chat with my DM. Hopefully I dont forget anything you said G-Town, but to be honest I'll probably read your post directly off of my phone, or even show it to him. I can't live like this. I'm covered in itchy red bumps, literally everywhere, including my hands and feet. I'm sleeping like ****, even in hotels (sheets rubbing on the bites), and my nerves are starting to fray, making me more frustrated and angry every day.

Also, Schneider, not Swift.

Well after 3 1/2 weeks, countless states and 20k miles I got dropped off in Columbus last Thursday to start the upgrade process. After a waiting out the weekend to finish, I was assigned my truck yesterday afternoon, a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia. This morning I got a load out of Columbus heading to Louisiana to start this great adventure. Pretty happy with the truck, I asked for a manual so I can keep getting proficient with shifting, I used an automatic for close quarter training......did not like it at all. So if anybody sees a slightly clueless rookie in Swift 151507, come over and say hi!

Also, question. Does anyone have a good way to get rid of the smoked in smell. The truck is in otherwise Greta condition but the odor is bothering me. I've been spraying Febreeze and I've wiped down most of the interior but there is still that lingering smell

I'm twiddling my thumbs in Columbus waiting on my truck to be rid of bed bugs, stuck at the quality inn. I saw what looked like a swift drop lot on lockbourne, gravel lot. That isn't the actual terminal, is it?

I'm "smoke coming out of my ears" ****ed off. I just hide it really well.

It doesnt help that I found out that once you encounter them, they piggyback along with you and can take like 6 months to finally rid yourself of them.

So, the chemical worked... for about 3 days. They're back, and I can already tell they're repopulating. I'm calling my dispatcher as soon as he gets in this morning, telling him after I drop my current load I'm coming back to Columbus (150 miles from drop) to wash all my stuff (again) and get a different truck.

Oh how naive I was, to believe the problem was over.