The truth about C.R. England.

C.R. England is where I started. I had been with them for two years. The staff of England have been good to me. I had worked well with England as a trainer and solo driver but there are many things new drivers need to know about being a lease contractor.
First, optimum peak performance of the 2010 Freightliner Cascadia according to Freightliner and Detroit Diesel is 65mph, not 62mph. This lower truck speed limits rpm torque range not developing hp for mountains or hills at average weight load exceeding 35,000lbs. The reason for this lower governed speed is in part misconception about driving safety. We impeed traffic in most states with speed limits 70, 75 and even 80mph. We are governed as much as 18mph below state limits forcing other drivers to merge traffic. Our accidents have double from previous years, not improved.
The federal government subsidizes England with lower taxes for reducing truck speed. This is a result of states federal lawsuit upheld in Supreme Court, Federal government does not have jurisdiction over inter state commerce.
The end result of these statements are the average driver pays higher fuel prices by reducing mpg, running fewer miles per week on electronic logs, governed speed and affecting our safety rating by actually increasing total number of accidents per year... Not all relating to speed but impact is felt by drivers making less money while increasing costs through variable mileage.
Another topic is any new driver is locked at 14 cent variable mileage. This means any new driver will not receive a pay increase of any kind while working for C.R. England. Lease Reserve takes away 7cpm. This reserve only pays 1cpm to your maintanance account. This means 6 cents per mile is held onto by England paying depreciation of your truck you have leased to own.
I had paid 508 dollars per week for lease. With lease reserve, that brings cost of my lease to average $700.00 per week for 3yrs and still leaving me a balance of $43,000 to pay at end of 3yr lease. By returning this truck, any new driver is taking over my lease by Horizon to Freightliner yet cost will rise to $650 on lease and with Lease reserve, 850- $900 per week. That is additional proffit at drivers expense to C.R. England.
The only way to make money is by training. We have cut training to as little as 10 days with no prior experience putting unsafe drivers on the road. Many students I had on board, I had warned England they needed more time beofre they would be ready to be an I.C. The training dept over looked my warnings, eager to lease. Each Training coordinator receives a bonus based on number of upgrades completed. CSA now holds trainers responsible for their students following 6 months upon the completion of training. The CSA score of any trainer is affected for any score of any student for 6 months after leaving your truck regardless of whether you felt they were ready and England does not guarantee the student will receive the training or experience they may need.
We also know that the student pays for their schooling. The Fed reimburses England $3100 for schooling. Obama stimulus also gives up to $3000 for every person hired that was previously unemployed. This means England makes as much as $10,000 per student. We have 4,700 trucks. We have 5 schools that start an average of 550 students per week. About 100 to 150 students graduate and complete training per week but we still have 4,700 trucks. England has the highest turn over rate of any trucking company. If drivers were happy at England, they would stay.
We are underpaid by as much as 500 miles per week. Paid routing miles vs actual drive miles following routing instructions. Look at your GPS or Rand Mcnally. It gives you the information. This is at your cost and time also affecting trip planning. England does not meet Federal average for fuel rebate. As cost of fuel rises, England charges the customer the fuel ser charge and reimburses the driver yet Englad makes an average of 4cpm for every gallon of fuel purchased by the driver.
I am within the top 90 percent of income for solo drivers yet I have found it impossible to survive out here any longer. My purpose is not the normal complaints about England. I wish to inform the driver about what is really going on. You decide for yourself if this is right for you but know the truth. Look at the number of lawsuits lost by England. Look at how accidents have doubled. Look at the turn over rate. It's not that drivers are idiots. Many of us serve in the military have college degrees or good prior work experience.
I am grateful to England for giving me a chance and for the experience I gained. I have not left on bad terms. They were good to me but what I have learned out here has helped me realize England makes their money off the drivers and are not fair to us. Please take your time and don't make the wrong decision for you.