Originally Posted by Baack

Ive noticed a couple post's have become rude and personal
We all have our opinions
But if you don't keep them polite you will not be allowed to post

Originally Posted by jlkklj777

Any driver worth his salt can drive 1000+ miles per day. Under the old hos this was even legal (believe it or not). Begin at midnight, 10 hours driving= 650 miles (in a 70 mph truck), take an 8 hour break (re-setting drive hours), continue driving for another 10 hours. 5.5 (factored out pre-trip and fuel stop) of those additional hours would come in before midnight which adds another 357 miles for a total of 1007 miles.

Under the current HOS the best a solo could do (again start at midnight) "legally" would be 11x65mph= 715 miles then take 10 hour break to reset hours and begin new 11 hour drive shift. 2.5 hours would come in before midnight so that adds an extra 162 miles for a total of 877 miles "legally" logged within a 24 hour time frame.




I find this comment surprising. I have almost 8 years in with Eastern now
and have been DOT checked "maybe" 6 times. None of the inspections resulted in ANY violation issued to me or to Eastern. Now in all fairness VA did catch me running a hazmat load slightly over weight on the drives a few years back (34,500) and did write me a ticket for that. It was my error and I paid the fine on the spot.




Eastern does not order the trucks. NEMF purchases new trucks every 3 to 5 years and rotates them into the fleets as needed. To my knowledge the trucks are not financed at all and are completely paid for when they arrive. NEMF has a habit of parking the new equipment and taking the tax breaks for 1 to 2 years though. The older trucks were specced for northeast regional runs and are pretty bare bones as compared to some larger OTR carriers. This means low horse power engines, no engine brakes, and small, light weight, sleeper trucks. I drove the same trucks for several years before I was given one of the new auto shift trucks. As a matter of fact I refused to give up my old truck for an additional year because I do not like auto shift trucks. I finally gave in when I asked to train my brother (I needed the double bunk and the extra space). I believe they have over 60 new auto shift Volvo 610 models (2006/2007) integrated into the fleet. Last I knew we only have about 120 trucks so that would make a 50/50 mix.



While I do not know what the current turn over rate is here at Eastern I do know that there are many "old timers" that are still with Eastern. Lets not forget the current Eastern has only been up and running since 1994. The old union organized Eastern was disbanded and closed up shop in 1976. We have several drivers that have more seniority than I do still working here and making a decent paycheck.




Based on the current economy you should be happy you have a job at all. Of course you could quit and file for unemployment. I suspect that will not help you make enough money to pay your bills either though. Personally I have also taken a hit in my take home pay. I am about 12% lower per paycheck as compared to last year at this time. I attribute this to the current economy rather than a conspiracy concocted within the offices of Eastern.

Originally Posted by steelersfan

It is illegal for dot or any other police officer to collect payment for a ticket. so to say that you payed it on the spot sounds at the very least suspicious!

Originally Posted by freightgod54

once again you are right on both counts, the outstanding overweight fines, which are numerous and nobody will answer the weekend number,which is a joke. Somebody should be in the office on Saturday. Trucking is not Monday thru Friday 9-5 anymore. Eastern people are spoiled.

Originally Posted by jlkklj777

As Paul Harvey would say; "And here is the rest of the story...."

Our operating authority had been suspended by the state of Virginia due to an unpaid over weight ticket. I could not continue through the state UNTIL the previous fine was paid, as well as the reinstatement fee for our operating authority.

This is commonplace in Virginia and has actually happened to me twice. When the fines are not paid the magistrate revokes a carriers operating authority UNTIL all fines and fees have been paid. The scale house operators get the notification on their computers when they punch in the carriers DOT number when you stop on the scale.

Of course this was on a weekend a couple years back so Eastern dispatch was "unavailable."

I paid all the fines including the reinstatement fee with my personal credit card and then was reimbursed later on.

The second time VA DOT stopped me was during the normal work week so I called dispatch for an EFS check to satisfy the fine rather than pay it myself.

The problem is we have drivers that get an over weight fine and decide to quit (or simply "forget" to pay the fine on time) the company. They never tell Eastern management about the fine and so one of the current drivers get to clean up the ex drivers mess before they can continue through the state.

I hope this helps clear this up.

Originally Posted by steelersfan

Oh snap. well i guess that would do it. I know under normal circumstances if you try to hand them cash, the dot will tell you real quick to put that money away. So if you wouldnt have paid them would they just have held you there indefinitly