Calex Express....My New Home!

Well all, gotta go. I'm taking the wife out to dinner than going to my truck. I need to be in Tampa in the am to unload, then up in GA tomorrow night for a drop and hook. Be safe, and God Bless!

 

Living in that part of NY is a good thing, they always have freight in that part and will probably have regional available also.

 

Luck is a very small part of it, I truly believe that your resume' of your driving career speaks volumes when applying for a job. Especially when it comes to applying at a non-driver mill company.

 

Hello all, got in Sunday morning from a rather hectic week. I unloaded in Tampa on Tuesday then dead headed to Griffin Ga for a drop and hook with 3 drops on it that emptied in the Bronx on Friday. I then dead headed to Mcelhattan PA and drop and hooked on Saturday morning for my load to Orlando Fl for Tuesday morning. I missed going to the terminal for the first time since I started work here 2 months ago. I was able to spend the night at the TA at the 173 exit on 80 Friday night and was on my way home 7AM Saturday morning which is where I'm at right now. I am already preplanned to load Thursday in Atlanta for a drop in Pittston PA so I'll be able to get another night home. Next weekend will be the first weekend not being home since I first started here. After reading this blog from end to end I must say that I am very grateful for finding a company like Calex and working with a bunch of great people in Safety, Dispatch and all the other areas of operations. It's always refreshing when you are called and greeted by your first name. Be safe all and God Bless!
P.S. The season has changed!

 

I am writing an open letter on this blog about what I saw and experienced this last round. It is not intended to single out any one company or to start an argument with any one driver. This is solely based on my actual experience. I just hope that it might wake some people up!

To the Werner driver who had a mental breakdown at the George Washington Bridge at 4:30 last Friday morning and refused to cross the bridge after paying his toll, hit the right toll booth with his trailer, then got out of the truck to make his trainer drive, all while I was behind him, what did you expect driving into the most congested, heavily traveled part of the country? This is not I-80 across Iowa and Nebraska, this is the NY & NJ metropolitan area. I don't fault you, I fault your trainer for allowing you to "Experience" this first hand.

To the Schneider driver that was weaving all over the road while on her laptop that I tried to pass Saturday morning on I-80 in PA, I don't know if you have heard this, but the Federal Government has a nationwide initiative going on to have both the general public and Commercial Drivers not text while driving, somehow I'm pretty sure they also mean people using their laptop while going 60 mph on the hi way.

To the Swift driver that almost caused me to crash into the driver side of your tractor after you came off the shoulder from a dead stop onto the hi way, please check your mirrors the next time you pull a stunt like that, it just might save your life. Oh, and one more thing, I'm sure your trainer would have told you that for every mile of an Interstate highway, theres a mile of shoulder to be able to get up to highway speed. In case you didn't realize, the reason I couldn't move over was because there was another truck right next to me.

This isn't rocket science folks most of this is just common sense. I don't fault any new driver that has concerns or problems while learning a new profession, hell we all were new at one time, in fact, I try and help anyone whenever I can, the fault lies with these driver mill companies that need to fill seats at the expense of the rest of us. I'm sure there are very qualified trainers out there and I commend you for the job you are doing, but the trainers that are doing this in order to run more miles and make more money, it will and does come back and bite you in the backside. Unfortunately, I'm out there also!

 

A non-driver mill company is a company that hires an experienced driver that they need to put on a truck as a needed driver. A driver mill company has a whole department set up for recruiting and training in order to fill a seat due to the fact they have a huge turnover rate, sometimes in excess of 120%. You will find quite a bunch of companies out there that don't advertise for drivers and don't have a recruiting department to keep the warm bodies in a seat. I'm not saying there's a perfect company out there, but when I'm at the Pittston terminal every week and go into safety and not see a constant flow of new drivers it tells me that I'm at the right place. Now, for what Calex does as far as checking out a new driver, and mind you, this is what I went through so I'm quite sure this is for everyone, the first thing they do is pull your DAC record, then they do a criminal background check, then they request your MVR, then a physical/drug screen, road test and a small company orientation that lasts about 1 1/2 days to go over company policy and procedures. Once all this is done then you are good to go, there's no surprises at all. The only money held out of your first check is for $50.00 which is a deposit for your fuel, comdata, phone,and Idle Air cards. If you leave the company and return these cards then your money is returned to you. We aren't charged for load locks, all the trucks have 2 and are attached to the back of the cab. As far as getting there and them sending you home for some reason, I specifically asked Mort in the safety department that exact question and was told that when you get the ok to come to Pittston they have done and received back all the background checks and you are good to go. I got back home at 9am this morning and have to leave tomorrow afternoon to be in Atlanta for Thursday morning. I just have to say, that even though this weeks home time has been broken into 2 seperate days, I truly am enjoying my time here. I do know right now that I won't be home next week end but that's ok. We don't live in a perfect world and the way I'm treated here I have nothing to complain about!

 

Well everyone, time to hit the road. I need to be in Atlanta early in the morning. I'm taking my laptop this go around as I'm sure I will have time to go on line. My truck has developed some issues that need to be addressed and I'm sure I'll be there over night after I empty out. Be safe all and God Bless!