Swift Transportation Academy Phoenix

All good Devan. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience. Good luck and study hard.

Day 3

Back to school at 6 this morning. Finally adjusting a bit to the new time schedule. Went into the classroom to discuss more about straight line backing.

This proceeded to us going to the range to start. It was so awesome to finally be in a tractor. After we each backed after the instructor showed us we went on to cycle through all 7 trucks practicing straight line as well as learning how to properly adjust everything inside.

My first try went very well but quickly went down hill for the rest of the day. After today I can't stress enough to just relax and concentrate a little more. I got frustrated which lead to doubt because I am honestly a little scared of the evaluation tomorrow.

By the end of the day anext instructor pulled me aside and then went in the truck to show me something. He said can you read swift on the trailer and I was like yes. He then said well turn towards it. I did and it finally clicked why I wasn't doing anything right. This mixed in with proper mirror location, I finally understood what was being talked about.

Excited to get back in and actually try tomorrow. Not too worried about the evaluation anymore. Anyways that concludes today. See you tomorrow!

Swift doesn't like you to do pull-ups while training, so you need to make every "backing up" inch count.

Here's a trick I figured out to help with backing. Sooner or later your brain will get confused about which way the trailer will go when you turn the steering wheel say, left. Is the back end going to go left or right??

Make your guess, turn the wheel with the brake on. Look at the nose of the trailer in the mirror. Let the clutch out a tiny bit and back up only one inch distance. Stop.

Now you can tell which way the trailer will turn and you hardly used any back-up distance!

Day 4

Well today was the day. We evaluated for the straight line and I passed! All that unnecessary anxiety for nothing. Today started with us straight backing for almost 2 hours and then we actually did the evaluation. I was so nervous but I did good. What is even better is that I got the worse truck haha. After that we went back to straight line practice and I got it down way better because I was relaxed. Another thing that helped is talking aloud about what I am doing.

We were about to go back inside, but I got picked up because I had a diluted drug test. Word of advice to other big water drinkers, try not to drink too much before hand or the same thing will happen to you.

After I took care of that I went on to go over pretrip and that was it. Not much to note, just happy that I passed my evaluation.

Day 5

I don't like to talk about these kinds of things but today went from bad to amazing. Sounds weird I know, but let me explain. These last few days I have been exhausted, have some anxiety, and just feel unwell. This lead me to want to walk off which I did. However it didn't end like that. As I was on the taxi going to greyhound I changed my mind had the taxi driver turn around and take me back to the academy. He told me something that will stick with me the rest of my life. He said, "you have to take risks in order to live a better life."

Now that is out of the way, I am going to actually talk about what happened. We pre tripped in the morning for 3 hours and then went on break. Afterwards, this we went on to fun Friday which is us shifting up and down on the straight line backing range. Around this time I left. I chickened out basically, but came back no more than a hour later. I am so glad that I did.

After lunch we went on to have an uncoupling and coupling demonstration. Then we would go on to shifting the rest of the afternoon. The amazing part is how fun it was. I have bad habits developed on my clutch foot, but other than that I understand shifting.

Do not be scared and do not be doubtful. You are here to learn and these instructors will do whatever it takes. It's amazing how much I sucked at straight line, but now I can keep the worst truck on the range straight. I am having fun now and I am looking forward to what is next. I am learning quick how stressful this can be, but all one needs to do is take a deep breath and relax.

Hey don't feel bad! We have all had those days where we wanted to give it all up and walk away. I told my husband every night for two weeks that there was no way I could do this! Guess what? I'm at orientation for my first trucking job!!

Good for you that you went back! That shows your determination and motivation! It is so easy to give into the anxiety and run away but it's a million times harder to face it and keep going.

Every day you are gonna get better and better. Here in a week or so you are gonna be saying "I can't believe I ever struggled with straight line backing or offsets or whatever!" Everything will become second nature and you won't even have to talk yourself through the exercises (don't worry, I do the same thing!).

Here's a good saying for you to keep in mind on those rough days: You only fail when you GIVE UP!!

Keep on truckin' Devan! We are all rooting for you!

Hey don't feel bad! We have all had those days where we wanted to give it all up and walk away. I told my husband every night for two weeks that there was no way I could do this! Guess what? I'm at orientation for my first trucking job!!

Good for you that you went back! That shows your determination and motivation! It is so easy to give into the anxiety and run away but it's a million times harder to face it and keep going.

Every day you are gonna get better and better. Here in a week or so you are gonna be saying "I can't believe I ever struggled with straight line backing or offsets or whatever!" Everything will become second nature and you won't even have to talk yourself through the exercises (don't worry, I do the same thing!).

Here's a good saying for you to keep in mind on those rough days: You only fail when you GIVE UP!!

Keep on truckin' Devan! We are all rooting for you!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. These company based programs are fast paced, but I must keep my head down and remember why I am doing it. Good luck at your new career and be safe!

Day 6

After yesterday's mishap, I am more determined now than I ever was. I am so glad that I didn't give up. I can't stress this enough to other students, just relax.

Today started with us pre tripping. We did that for 3 hours. Afterwards we went to driving around the track shifting and learning how to do a right hand turn. This was so amazing, I thought to myself, I am finally operating a tractor trailer. My down shifting was surprisingly smooth but my upshifiting was rough. I was missing a lot of gears too, but overall I did well. It was the most fun I have had in quite a while.

After that we straight lined till lunch. We went on to getting demonstrations for offset and parallel parking and the system Swift has set up for doing this is quite amazing. We finished the day with a demonstration on right hand turning.

All I can say after the first week of class is how amazing this academy really is. People give Swift a bad name, but this academy is top notch. These instructors care and want us to succeed. They can honestly teach anyone how to drive one of these beasts. It just depends on if one wants it enough.

Well I am gonna get back to studying. This pretrip evaluation is no joke.

Day 7

Yesterday was super Saturday and today was video Sunday... We went over hazmat which is a required class with Swift. You do not need the endorsement, they just want to educate the drivers about it. Afterwards we went on to Swift decision driving which went over safe driving and showed some accidents and dangerous situations.

We then went to pretrip for 3 hours. This pretrip cannot be stressed enough. It is tough but it is not very difficult to remember. Thankfully growing up around diesel engines, I have somewhat of an understanding. Have the air brake test down, but I will practice it some more.

We had an hour lunch today so we ate at the Jake Break Cafe. I must say that the terminal is pretty nice. Oh yeah and the food was good.

Afterwards we had a sliding the tandems demonstration and went back to pretripping. Mainly we each got to do the air brake test twice.

This lead to end the day with classroom time. Going over shifting, sliding 5th wheel, and sliding tandems.

Finally have a day off tomorrow and I am happy to get a little extra sleep. This week is going to be another tough one.

I notice as time goes on in goes from I can't do this, to I hate this, to oh I get it. Haha there will be frustrations, but just relax, everything will get better over time. You are not the only one that is nervous and you are not the only one that lacks skill. Roll with the punches and most importantly have fun! I can honestly say that I am having the time of my life. I haven't been this happy in a long time.

I notice as time goes on in goes from I can't do this, to I hate this, to oh I get it. Haha there will be frustrations, but just relax, everything will get better over time. You are not the only one that is nervous and you are not the only one that lacks skill. Roll with the punches and most importantly have fun! I can honestly say that I am having the time of my life. I haven't been this happy in a long time.

That's how it goes, Devan. Some people get intimidated at the start, and even give up. A good example is the question on the other forum about shifting while turning. When you first learn about it, there seems to be 25 things that need your attention all at once as you turn. About a month later, it's no big deal. It's just a matter of getting over that learning hump!