How long is it 'okay' to leave a driver without miles???

How Long Is it 'Okay' to Leave a Driver without Miles??

Look on CraigsList and you see streams of ads bragging that 'we have the miles' and 'we'll keep you running'. That's a promise, isn't it? Nary a company out there wants to own up and tell you, well, we'll run you but from time to time you're going to just sit in that metal closet on wheels somewhere in the middle of nowhere 500-1000 miles from home, probably at a truck stop and nothing to do but think about all your bills piling up.

Just exactly what is the bargain, the agreement between driver and company? Dispatchers routinely use sitting as driver punishment, and that's a severe economic punishment, or can be. Take an unscheduled week off and you've got a permanent dent in your budget. Car payment, money for the wife or girlfriend at home, the kids, rent, house payment, credit cards, utilities. Suddenly you're trying to triage your debts. Figure out what to pay.

Company indifference in the truckload OTR industry is legendary. Unpredictable miles are legendary. Will put you effectively on the side of the road. Yet companies don't like 'unseated' trucks. They want a warm body there and are always recruiting. In the hope that there'll be plenty of miles tomorrow.

Okay, when does the company need to step up, bring you in empty or not, give you a fair severance check and send you home to collect unemployment? Seems obvious why companies DON'T do this, costs THEM money to have you on unemployment. And when you're too broke to quit, you're in trouble, driver.