The start of my first year with Swift.

Are you at the petro in N. LV? I'm not.

 

I don't understand the deadhead dispatch with no pay? Are you saying that you are on duty, in the service of the company, directed by them to drive to a certain location and you do not get paid for it? I don't get that at all.

While I am not nor have I ever been an OTR driver, I expect to be compensated for ALL of my on duty time. I don't know why people settle for less.

 

on duty, yes. In the service of the company, NO. Every time I deadhead, it is to benefit myself. It may also benefit the company by getting 1 more truck to a good area, but with a company as big as SWIFT, one truck does not make a difference. A swift truck sitting without a load does not put a dent in their wallet. However, if you show initiative, they will let you move so that you can make $.

Last time I ran deadhead, it was 200 miles.

christmas eve in nogales, az my load home for Christmas did not make it over from Mexico before the border shut down.

i had 2 choices.
1. Sit in nogales Christmas Eve and hope that someone, somewhere had a load going from nogales to Phoenix. Not gunna happen.

2. Ask for permission to deadhead from nogales to Phoenix so that I could play santa for my two boys.

i took option 2.

another time that I ran deadhead was from Lodi, Ca down to Bakersfield. Again, the choice was mine. No one can force you to deadhead.

Option 1 was stay in Lodi and wait a couple days for a load.

option 2 was drive 250 miles to an area that had a better chance of loads leaving.

O/O deadhead all the time to better areas for freight. Just because I'm a company driver doesn't mean that I don't need to be in a good area for freight to make $ as well. I'd rather lose out on 5 hours of pay by deadheading to a better area than lose out on 3 days of pay by staying in a bad area.

 

Interesting. I guess that some people, or terminals do not pay for deadhead miles. Fontana terminal did not get me paid for it, Fontana is my home terminal, and night shift at Phoenix didn't get me paid for it either.

 

I guess that is one of the many reasons I would never be an OTR driver. I don't care what the situation, I expect to be paid for all of my on duty time.

It has worked very well to this day. Thank you for your clarification.

 

id love to be paid for all my on duty time, but in the world of OTR, there is no such animal. Gotta make the best of the hand you're dealt.

do you get paid hourly? That's the only way I can think of that would ensure pay for all on duty time.

 

That is exactly how I get paid. It is the only true way to be compensated for your time. That is the main reason I would never be an OTR driver. If they paid hourly with OT after 8, I would consider doing OTR. We all know that will never happen so I will remain happy being home every night.