When I first started at Swift I was told that you could get fired for idle time.

Been here over 1.5 years, and I always have a fairly high idle time. Sometimes very high, like it will be this month because of the very high temps.
It is always mentioned, and that I need to work on getting it down, at every monthly review.
And at the end of every monthly review I am told to 'keep up the good work'.

I really doubt any half decent company would fire you simply for idling your truck when you need to. There would have to be other factors, like service failures or accidents or complaints from customers.

Originally Posted by striker

my boss recently set idle time at 10 minutes, ok, I idle the truck, when the shutdown comes on, I rev the engine a couple times and it cancels out, no problems after that. But then again, if I'm taking more than 8 hrs off, I generally get a hotel anyhow, cheaper than fuel.

So, with being mandated to take a minimum 10 hour break, you get a hotel/motel every day?

And most newer trucks only use around .6-.8 gallons per hour on long idle.
That works out to ~$28 in fuel for every 10 hours of idling - at $4 per gallon.
How is that more expensive than a motel room?

Originally Posted by Moosetek13

So, with being mandated to take a minimum 10 hour break, you get a hotel/motel every day?

And most newer trucks only use around .6-.8 gallons per hour on long idle.
That works out to ~$28 in fuel for every 10 hours of idling - at $4 per gallon.
How is that more expensive than a motel room?

There is also the cost associated with engine wear while idling. Wearing out the bearings, alternator, any moving engine parts. It all costs money.

Originally Posted by jbatmick

There is also the cost associated with engine wear while idling. Wearing out the bearings, alternator, any moving engine parts. It all costs money.

The wear on any of those parts is minimal while not under a load.
And I doubt it would come close to a motel every night.