Profile For Krytter

My wife and I are starting our CDL training tomorrow and I was wondering if some of you who have been through it recently could share what you thought was the most difficult parts of it. What gave you the most troubles?

Parallel parking! I was tense and over thinking it. Had great instructors that helped me out alot. Shout out to Danny and Charlie at the Swift academy in Corsicana! Once I realized it was basically a game of angles and learned how to interpret and what to look for in the mirrors it suddenly clicked for me. Dont over think it, talk yourself thru it, and get out and look every chance you get.

Now that is really strange. There's something called " chain of custody" with lab samples, especially DOT drug screens. DOT approved labs are no Mon-n-pop outfits. I would contact the medical director personally as his/her license rides on this... After all its your bodily fluids or property.

Something just ain't right here!!

Somebody is CYA'in at YOUR expense.

See, thats what i was thinking as well from the very start! Even though it was explained to me I STILL dont understand the whole situation completely. Even if my sample was found, Im not so sure i would trust the validity of it at this point...who knows where its been or if it had been tampered with at this point. I thought the whole chain of custody was supposed to prevent this from happening. Went thru the NMCSA page and found everything about drug tests except missing or lost ones! First thing in the morning ima start making calls and emails, as I told them I would do.

Great food in the Lancaster driver lounge by the way!

No kidding! Do they still bring homemade food? They could charge an arm and a leg for the food and I'd probably still buy it! Nothing beats home made cookin'.

yessir! Last couple of days I was there it was the 2 black ladies and it was the best food Ive eaten away from home in a long long time

I actually like going to the terminal there in Lancaster. The planning can sometimes leave a little to be desired but all of the people have been really nice and or helpful. LOL!

JJ

Ill be glad when they get the rest of the road opened back up, thats for sure!

On a brighter note. Ive had nothing but good experiences with everyone ive encountered at Swift all the way through their training and orientation classes. Theyve taken good care of me every step of the way...Great food in the Lancaster driver lounge by the way! This is really the only snag Ive managed to find, all be it a big one, and would still recommend someone looking for a good company to drive for to come to Swift. Ive learned alot and have had a good time along the way. I just have a knack for finding unique issues. Grand dad told me one time my nickname should be monkey wrench, cuz boy can i find em! LoL

Old School I agree with you completely and want this more than anything. I can tolerate and can let alot of crap roll off my back, being a jailer taught me that. Ive kept my professionalism and cool with them, and have kept my recruiter driver manager his boss and mentor in the know. And have a good realtionship with both ladies that handle compliance, they know me well and seem to genuinely feel sorry for me and appear to be working diligently to solve my issue. As far as any of them know Im cool as a cuccomber! But in all reality, I cant pay bills sittin on my butt waiting for someone to fix what should not have been a problem to begin with! Perhaps I chose the wrong words in aggravation on here last night blowin off a lil steam in a neutral setting, but i cant afford to wait that long. Luckily Ive got a few odd jobs i can do this weekend whilst I await my fate to make a lil extra money, but a month??? come on now!? Im going under the assumption that they said that to cover their butt just in case, but I dont know anyone that has the money to sit for a month.

Jim J Its the Lancaster terminal. and wow yessir you had every reason to be concerned! thats crazy

Maybe if a 2nd sample is drawn it will raise red flags with Swift's corporate office, because I imagine that's extremely rare, and that local academy is trying to keep it quiet that they lost/misplaced a sample; although, a third party entity should be handling the testing and the samples, so maybe that's not it. I would go higher up the chain-of-command and offer the second sample and to allow you to continue with your training. All they can do is say "no" and keep you in the same holding pattern you're already in.

Not in the school. Its the terminal. Really not sure its them so much as the company that handles their drug screening.

So heres my situation. I went thru orientation this week, last day of orientation AS WE WERE WALKING OUT THE DOOR, I get pulled to the side and was told my drug test was missing and was assured I hadnt done anything wrong. I know I havent as i had my copy of the drug screen paper and I know im clean. So I offer to just give another sample and was told no they had a trace on it and it should be found quickly....this was Wednesday.

Thursday morning I check back in with compliance and was told the trace had turned to pending and was given a meal ticket and a motel voucher. Stuck around for a lil while hoping for a change in my status. While there I was offered an amazing opportunity to have a quadruple diamond driver as my mentor, I was super excited, called him and talked to him and we hit it off quite well, great guy. Had me looking forward to gettin on the truck with him! I contacted my recruiter, who herself has been a HUGE HELP thru my whole hiring process and hasnt steered me wrong yet.

This morning ...Friday...since nothing had changed on my status. contacted my recruiter and he has reworked his schedule to try to keep me on his truck, which I thought was an awesome thing for him to do! I was given a bus ticket home for the weekend and I will be called back when they find my sample and was told it could take from days to months to be found. "But it outta be worked out by Monday" For whatever reason either i cant just give another sample or compliance wont LET me give another one. No way will I wait for a month or even a few weeks for someone to find my drug screen and I find it hard to believe I cant just give another sample...I am about to comb thru the fmcsa laws and was hoping someone knew anything about this issue.

Have any of you had or even heard of a lost drug screen and NOT being able to give another sample???

I gotta be honest Ive had to pee in a cup for every job ive ever had thru my life and ive never EVER heard of some one losing a drug screen...let alone a DOT DRUG screen and Im 46 years old!!! Ive seen them mixed up but never lost. There has to be a law or loop hole or something that covers such an issue.

Krytter, thanks for sharing! Swift @ Corsicana is on my short list for training. I would love to read how things are going for you with your trainer if you get time to post.

I leave in the morning Catching a bus to Lancaster for orientation then out on the road with a mentor. Really lookin forward to it!

Swifts academy in Corsicana is a great school, Id say go for it!

As a youngster, right out of high school, I became an EMT then up to paramedic. Tried to go military but was denied due to eyesight, weight/height and I had a GED. I moved outta state long enough to lose my license. Did a bunch of security work, mostly VIP escort and body guard type stuff. Spent several years in and out of warehouses and manufacturing jobs electric motor and magnet shops. Did some oilfield and refinery work, which i enjoyed a bit, but an oil recession took care of that. Was a slot tech in Las Vegas for a short time. Spent about 7 years as an animal control officer and humane investigator for a couple of different cities and the SPCA of Texas. it effected me to the point I started drinking smoking and popping pills. All the euthanizing and the sick things people do to animals finally got to me and I burnt out on it. Quit, cleaned up and out and never looked back. After that I landed a job as a correctional officer in a private owned regional jail and immigration hold facility. Worked my way up to Sergeant and was in charge of the SRT and fire team, as well as a gang intel officer. My unit was closed down, which in a way was a blessing in disguise, because here I am...on the verge of driving which I dunno why I didnt do sooner!