Complaint Review: Swift Transportation - Phoenix Arizona

Sorry for your troubles, but I am concerned about what would make you drink 8 beers inside your rig? Operating a commercial vehicle that size requires your full attention with your senses being as sharp as possible. It seems that you really did not use good judgement when you did this to yourself. We have our own issues with Swift but, on this one I gotta say I side with them. I hate to think what the results may have been the next day (following those 8 beers) had someone not seen you and called you in on this. That person did you a favor. You may have looked at more than a few days in jail had they not called Swift. This may be a nuisance now, but I bet you can sleep at night. Could you do that if you had driven impaired and killed innocent people? You got off easy pal!

According to DOT rules, alcohol is not allowed on a commercial vehicle. Regardless of your circumstances, you drank on the truck regardless of not driving right then. All companies also stress no drinking on top of that law. Save your drinking for home time--not out on the road. Who wants to get a call that their loved one was killed by a semi?? There's enough to watch out for on the road without a driver drinking. Driving a semi is alot of responsibility. I drive one and its hard enough watching out for the 4 wheelers let alone another driver.

You have not been ripped off. Furthermore, snitches are not unique to Swift, or to trucking. They are the norm in all American business today. It sucks that people snitch on the consumer/employee to employers and big business while the businesses are shielded from scrutiny from the employee or customer but to single out Swift is naive. Adapt to this. Then work on contacting your political representatives on the issue of changing laws. That's all you can do.

You have not been ripped off. Furthermore, snitches are not unique to Swift, or to trucking. They are the norm in all American business today. It sucks that people snitch on the consumer/employee to employers and big business while the businesses are shielded from scrutiny from the employee or customer but to single out Swift is naive. Adapt to this. Then work on contacting your political representatives on the issue of changing laws. That's all you can do.

You have not been ripped off. Furthermore, snitches are not unique to Swift, or to trucking. They are the norm in all American business today. It sucks that people snitch on the consumer/employee to employers and big business while the businesses are shielded from scrutiny from the employee or customer but to single out Swift is naive. Adapt to this. Then work on contacting your political representatives on the issue of changing laws. That's all you can do.

You have not been ripped off. Furthermore, snitches are not unique to Swift, or to trucking. They are the norm in all American business today. It sucks that people snitch on the consumer/employee to employers and big business while the businesses are shielded from scrutiny from the employee or customer but to single out Swift is naive. Adapt to this. Then work on contacting your political representatives on the issue of changing laws. That's all you can do.

U got no beef. You were wrong in consuming the alcohol while in possession of company property. You probably made someone angry on the CB and now you have to pay for yours actions. Quit complaining and face the fact your were wrong.

Eric, You STILL are not understanding the root of the problem here. Let me clarify it for you. NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, OPEN OR CLOSED ARE ALLOWED IN YOUR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE AT ANY TIME. This is FEDERAL LAW, not TN law. This is part of having a CDL, knowing the applicable laws. This has nothing to do with you being on or off duty, or in control of the vehicle. Those are additional charges. You can be off duty, go out and drink, and come lock yourself in the truck and go to sleep. perfectly legal. Just don't have the keys in the ignition while doing it, as that is in violation of the law. I suggest you get an APU, or pay for the idle air system or something if you plan on drinking while being on the road. You used bad judgement and paid for it. Learn from your mistake and move on. You never specified if you were actually parked in a designated parking area in a truck stop [private property], or on the road somewhere adjacent to it [public roadway]. This makes a big difference as to the jurisdictional authority of the police officer. You need a good lawyer to fight this and turn it around.

Eric, You STILL are not understanding the root of the problem here. Let me clarify it for you. NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, OPEN OR CLOSED ARE ALLOWED IN YOUR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE AT ANY TIME. This is FEDERAL LAW, not TN law. This is part of having a CDL, knowing the applicable laws. This has nothing to do with you being on or off duty, or in control of the vehicle. Those are additional charges. You can be off duty, go out and drink, and come lock yourself in the truck and go to sleep. perfectly legal. Just don't have the keys in the ignition while doing it, as that is in violation of the law. I suggest you get an APU, or pay for the idle air system or something if you plan on drinking while being on the road. You used bad judgement and paid for it. Learn from your mistake and move on. You never specified if you were actually parked in a designated parking area in a truck stop [private property], or on the road somewhere adjacent to it [public roadway]. This makes a big difference as to the jurisdictional authority of the police officer. You need a good lawyer to fight this and turn it around.

Eric, You STILL are not understanding the root of the problem here. Let me clarify it for you. NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, OPEN OR CLOSED ARE ALLOWED IN YOUR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE AT ANY TIME. This is FEDERAL LAW, not TN law. This is part of having a CDL, knowing the applicable laws. This has nothing to do with you being on or off duty, or in control of the vehicle. Those are additional charges. You can be off duty, go out and drink, and come lock yourself in the truck and go to sleep. perfectly legal. Just don't have the keys in the ignition while doing it, as that is in violation of the law. I suggest you get an APU, or pay for the idle air system or something if you plan on drinking while being on the road. You used bad judgement and paid for it. Learn from your mistake and move on. You never specified if you were actually parked in a designated parking area in a truck stop [private property], or on the road somewhere adjacent to it [public roadway]. This makes a big difference as to the jurisdictional authority of the police officer. You need a good lawyer to fight this and turn it around.

Eric, You STILL are not understanding the root of the problem here. Let me clarify it for you. NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, OPEN OR CLOSED ARE ALLOWED IN YOUR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE AT ANY TIME. This is FEDERAL LAW, not TN law. This is part of having a CDL, knowing the applicable laws. This has nothing to do with you being on or off duty, or in control of the vehicle. Those are additional charges. You can be off duty, go out and drink, and come lock yourself in the truck and go to sleep. perfectly legal. Just don't have the keys in the ignition while doing it, as that is in violation of the law. I suggest you get an APU, or pay for the idle air system or something if you plan on drinking while being on the road. You used bad judgement and paid for it. Learn from your mistake and move on. You never specified if you were actually parked in a designated parking area in a truck stop [private property], or on the road somewhere adjacent to it [public roadway]. This makes a big difference as to the jurisdictional authority of the police officer. You need a good lawyer to fight this and turn it around.

Not to be rude, BUT....... Would you be allowed to sit on the side of the road in your car and do all that the same way? It only weighs 4 or 5 thousand pounds not 70 or 80 thousand to kill with if you decided you were good enough to drive to. Not to mention the LAW. As much as I hate SWIFT, don't blame them for your idiocy. You burnt your self...... They did exactly what they should of.

I appreciate the rebuttals. It is interesting to read other people's opinions. Let me say, I do understand the process for getting out of jail now that I've went through it. In my first posting I was only explaining how I understood the situation at the time. As far as the federal law pertains to D.U.I. in a commercial vehicle (I understand the open container charge and never denied that I was guilty of that), from everything that I've read so far, all that I was guilty of was breaking Tennessee's state law concerning D.U.I. What confuses me is the idea of physical control. How can a driver be off duty and still be maintaining physical control of the vehicle at the same time? The two seem to contradict. The main point of my original posting was that Swift could have dealt with me one on one without bringing the law into it. I obviously didn't understand the severity of the possible consequences but I am learning and again, I appreciate the dialogue. Nobody has ruined my life but I still blame Swift for taking the life I loved from me. I would never snitch on someone but maybe I'm different in that way.

Eric, First of all, you don't have to plead anything to get out of jail. You simply post bond, or get released ROR at time of your first appearance. Been there, done that. You must be arraigned or let loose usually within 72 hours. You know that you screwed yourself, as pleading guilty to that offense just lost you your CDL for 5 years and made you unemployable as a commercial driver. Good job! Second, It is a violation of FEDERAL LAW to have ANY alcoholic beverages in any commercial vehicle. This is not company policy, it is the law! And, it does not matter if the alcoholic beverage is opened or closed. It cannot be in your commercial vehicle at all. You got arrested for one of two reasons or both. The first being that you obviously had alcohol containers in your commercial vehicle, and the second being you had your keys in the ignition while under the influence.

I drank the beers in my truck while parked at the TA truckstop on I-81.

What is company policy on drinking in the truck. I don't see where you denied it anywhere. What was time period involved? Not saying your an alcoholic or anything but 8 beers is quite a few. Only 2 or 3 in one hour and you are legally impaired (even if you think you are not). You said you slept for about three hours and you obviously still had enough in you to fail a field test. You ruined your own life. Why blame Swift??