Question:
I took this info off the Swift internet site:
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Consistent High Miles Equal Higher Earnings
Our drivers average more miles per month than most other carriers.
Average Driver Miles and Earnings per Mo.
Solo Teams Trainers
9,500 18,500 16,000
$2,600.00 $6,200.00 $4,400.00
High Runner Miles and Earnings per Mo.
Solo Teams Trainers
12,150 24,000 18,150
$3,350.00 $8,050.00 $4,990.00
* Pay based on 2 years driving experience.
* Earnings represent average for typical drivers in Swift system.
* Your earnings will depend on actual miles you drive.
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Seems to me that posting the increased mileage figures for a trainer, this company is telling us that they expect a trainer and trainee to run almost as a team. I found no where in the site that trainers received any other compensation other than pay for all the miles that the truck runs.
Trainers definitely need compensation for sharing the truck with another person, but they also need to be compensated for actually training someone.
Are there any companies that do NOT expect a training truck to run more miles than an experienced solo???
[This message was edited by sailtrucker on December 23, 2002 at 12:24.]
[This message was edited by sailtrucker on December 23, 2002 at 12:25.]
[This message was edited by sailtrucker on December 23, 2002 at 12:27.]

Answer:
There are a number of large carriers running trainer/trainee team operations.
Many trainers are in this for the extra money, it's the only way they can make enough money to feed themselves working for these low paying companies.
Not all team trainer/trainee make that high an income. It's common for Trucking companies to list the top performers in pay as a marketing tool to make the pay look better than it normally would.
There is no way to tell what percentage of how many of their drivers are making those published pay numbers. The carrier will never tell you what that percentage is because it is low. Giving out that information would defeat their marketing goals. It would also expose them in a negitive situation to giving out misleading information in their recruiting efforts.
There is a lot of misleading information these carriers are giving out on purpose to new drivers. Stretching that information to look positive, helps them hook the unsuspecting.

Answer:
"this company is telling us that they expect a trainer and trainee to run almost as a team." They not only expect it they support it by giving them the loads that require a team to deliver on time. Trainees are really short changed by this type of system and by trainers that do it for the cash alone.
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"

Answer:
I don't remember the exact figure but Swift does pay the trainer some small amount as a bonus ($150?) for each trainee they successfully train. In order for the trainer to get the bonus the trainee has to stay with company a certain amount of time (3 months?) and have no accidents.
Again, I don't remember exact figures but that's close enough to what Hubby told me when he was in training there in 2000.
It's obvious the trainers are getting the extra bucks from running as a team and getting the mileage pay from the trainee's miles.
I know I posted this somewhere on here before but Hubby and I talked to a Swift trainer and trainee in a truckstop one night. The trainer was an owner operator who was on the Fedex dedicated account.
They had stopped just long enough to grab a meal (he parked in driveway of truckstop rather than fight for a parking space ). The poor trainee looked totally exhausted. He was bragging about how good she had done, said she was done with training after only 4 weeks instead of the usual 6 because of the amount of miles they had put in (approx. 25,000 in 4 weeks)
Sounds like a full-fledged team to me.
Hubby didn't put in many miles at all because of the SC to KY dedicated run his trainer was on. They were home every weekend but he didn't learn much about running OTR. However, his trainer also ran as a full team from Day 1. He went to bed after 30-45 mins. and started snoring. Hubby said he didn't see him after that for the next few weeks unless it was time to switch drivers or they got to their destination.
A mind is a terrible thing to have.
Answer:
In school we had a recruter from a company off the Ohio Turnpike. I don't recall the company name. They said right up front that they had the longest training program in the industry. Mininum of 6 months with a trainer. Pay was .10 a mile then after training was over you got .25 a mile. Needless to say no one in our class signed on. In fact I haven't heard of anyone signing with them.
Life's a Journey, not a Destination....Steven Tyler

Answer:
I can speak only for my self as a trainer for Crete. The company wants us to run a solo driver for 4 weeks then we can run harder if we want. It's the trainers call as to when we run harder. Crete will only hire out of certain schools I am not sure witch ones. They only accept the top of the class as well. If interested you will need to check with recruiting, Crete is not like some companies we are not looking for warm bodies to fill trucks they will check out all applicants carefully.
Seek to know God and Jesus who was presented as the sacrifice of full payment for sin.

Do the VI maintain your following distance maintain your lane position observe the speed limit observe the things around you and keep good records

Safe driving to you.
Joe

Answer:
Crete has the right idea
If a company truely wants to support training, they need to let the trainer observe and train the trainee which means the truck runs like a solo for the first few weeks. Since the trainer is getting paid the miles at his normal rate, he is not losing any money.
By allowing the trainer to slowly transition the truck toward a team concept as the trainee becomes proficient provides the trainer with the compensation necessary to share the truck with another driver.
JTD thanks for the insight. I can only wish however that more companies would use Crete's methods. Some of the larger companies will only change their methods if they are forced by law.
Keep up the good work JTD. More drivers will become better drivers thanks to the efforts of trainers like you. The experienced drivers here at TruckNet do a wonderful service to make everyone of us safer.

Answer:
JoeTruckDriver if you don't mind telling us? What kind of compensation does Crete give trainers?
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"

Answer:
...imagine Crete pays their trainers about the same as ours here at Shaffer. Ours make their solo mileage rate plus get a flat rate of $150 per week. Our training program is virtually identical with the same goal of putting a safe, competent, capable new solo driver on the road who should be able to do well on his/her own. Guess that's one of the reasons our brand new solo drivers start as high as they do (.32 Shaffer, .30 Crete).
"Pain is weakness leaving the body."
"Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat."

Answer:
I started back in April with my trainer and that's what he told me he got for training me and when I picked up my red truck in New Kingstown in June started right out at .30
Broncoman

Answer:
Cyanide is corect Crete pays trainers 150 plus milage for all but two week driver improvment guys who have no QC experence for a two week guy trainers get 125 a week plus mailage. I personaly would prefer those fresh out of drving school. To whom I may teach good habbits from the start.
Cyanide one of these days we will meet. Till then
Seek to know God and Jesus who was presented as the sacrifice of full payment for sin.

Do the VI maintain your following distance maintain your lane position observe the speed limit observe the things around you and keep good records

Safe driving to you.
Joe