Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

I finally made it home at 2:20 AM. I've heard the term "helluva trip" before, but if your talking about a bus ride that term is literal because it was straight from the pit. I do think I found out where television writers get their characters from though. They must go on bus trips for research. I met a guy who was going back home to Florida who came into possession of a '70s vintage blue water boat who leases some area of ocean from the government and dives for rocks and sells them at around 8 dollars a pound (and a single rock can be like 15 pounds) for aquariums as a side business but wants to move his boat to the NW. I met a concrete worker from Cincinnati who was a real dog. He spotted a girl on the bus and tried to hook up with her with no luck. When a couple came on board and there were only single seats he wouldn't get up for them but told them to go ask the girl to come back and sit with him. They did and we added another to the travel group. She was also from Florida but she revealed why the guy was having no luck, she was on her way back home where she lives with her girlfriend (yes she's a lesbian). But she kept those guys going the whole time anyway. Then there was the guy that latched on to me from the Utah terminal all the way to KC, MO. He was an out of work driver with (he says) well over 100 points on his CSA but just found work with a small (50 trucks maybe) company in Iowa and he was on his way to get a truck with less than $50 to his name. But as interesting as that all sounds I can't even think about a bus without cringing right now. Two 28 hour trips back to back have cured me of any desire to ever go back that way. I think I'm going to start looking into flight fares today. Everyone be mentally alert and keep it between the lines.

 

Nothing like a good 25+ hours on a bus to make you lose faith in humanity.

 

Doulos, Where are you from ? If you don't mind me asking. I am from Missouri and I am going to be going out there either the end of Dec. or the first of Jan. and it is about 21 hour drive god knows how long a bus ride lol.

 

I'm from St. Louis and its literally over a 28 hour bus ride to SLC. 4 hours less or so if you leave from KC.

 

No i will proubly leave from Cape I am south of STL. thats a loooong ride. Maybe I might see you there.

 

I'm looking at dates and prices and I may just fly out on January 6th. Currently SW Airlines has a $246 fare to SLC via Las Vegas. If that price holds when I'm ready to book I'll surely do it.

 

My husband and I flew... They reimbursed us the cost of what a bus ticket was, so our flight was only around $50... Well worth it to NOT ride a bus!!

 

Well, now whether or not I'll return to Central is in question. They sent me away because I am prescribed a drug called Tramadol and had taken it recently. They told me it was not DOT approved and that I had to be off of it for 30 days before I could return (they told me my doctor made a mistake when he filled out their Prescription Release form since it wasn't approved). Ok, no problem I'm thinking. I only take it occasionally when my arthritis acts up, but it works well (and nothing else has) and its nice to not have to go through days of pain if I don't have to.

So, I knew the DOT allows you to apply for exemptions so I thought I might look into that. My wife called the FMCSA office and they said that they had no problem with Tramadol and that I would have to talk to the carrier. So, being diligent, that's what I did. I spoke to my recruiter (who is always quite nice even when I can tell she's busy and has other things on her plate) and she passed me on to Emily in Compliance.

Emily told me that they have every right to make their own rules (which I know and never disputed) and implied that if I have trouble getting off of Tramadol that I must be addicted. She then went to tell me it is an often abused drug (really?) and that they would not allow someone to drive an 80,000 pound rig if they took it. I'm thinking, Ok I see your point in a way, but she is implying that I am choosing to be unsafe when I drive my own vehicle (you think I'd do that when I drive my grandkids around?). All of this I might have been able to take, but she was very rude and defensive when I never gave her a reason to be. And, they lied to me to begin with by putting their own decision on the DOT. I could have saved time and energy if they were honest up front. This sheds a whole new light on Central. I don't have to work with people who disrespect me.

 

What a heap of CRAP!! JJ had three months on Tramadol last year he had shingles, at the time he was a company driver with Motor West they didn't have a problem with it and it isn't even addictive!!!

 

During our conversation, Emily also said that Tramadol was a narcotic drug (which it is not). She did not like it when I corrected her. It sounds to me like she doesn't know what she is talking about. And, if she had any part in this decision that she made a blanket decision based upon that lack of knowledge.