Good night from...

Ya know, in 3.5 years, close to 430,000 dispatched miles and 100% on time, I've never been asked, encouraged or winked at to run illegal. Nor have I found it necessary to do so to meet the schedules. The one time I miss judged my logs and saw I was coming up short on hours, Swift was quick to get it repowered.

I've had at least 3 instances that planners proactively tried to take preplans of off me, because system said I didn't have the hours ... So I really don't see where anyone has been encouraging or expecting me to run illegal.

 

I agree that there is not any pressure to run outside of HOS requirements. Any issues with tight schedules are most likely created by the automated "Plus 1" program. If I have a preplan with a tight schedule I just call and ask for the window, it is almost always much more generous than the actual plan offer. Most times I don't even bother with Mac-22 and just accept "as is" and run and gun with it.

Today I shut down for winter driving conditions for the first time... on the I-10 in Crowley, LA of all places. My shift behind the wheel started at 5:00 pm just east of Houston, TX. I-10 was closed in Beaumont, TX for a 10 mile section that took almost an hour to negotiate the detour on the side streets (with a lot of trucks parked in available spots along the way). I got back on I-10 and around MP 50 it started getting slick, so I backed off to about 40 mph and by MP 65 I was down to 30 mph and feather footing it...

.... and noticed I was the only vehicle on the road.

Pulled off at the Petro in Crowley, LA and parked in the fuel island (deserted) and walked the lot to see if I could find a spot to park in the overcrowded lot, being careful because there was almost an inch of ice in the parking lot. One truck had ice encasing the cab and the truck was running, so I bet the guy in the sleeper berth will have fun getting out...

... found a spot and got it parked for the night. They say it should begin thawing mid morning. Our delivery is in Daytona, FL, so hopefully we can get there in the next day and then on to Ft Lauderdale, then Georgia, then back to LA. No matter what I'm stopping to watch my Seahawks on Sunday...

 

I agree that it is a Plus-1 problem more than planners, for the most part.
But when I get a double pplan, that seems to me to be planners.

 

fontana terminal.only did that one costco load yesterday in mira loma. been there about 4 times and this was thee first live unload. they used all their allotted 2 hours to unload me. didnt get another preplan since. guess thats what i get for having hometime this weekend.would think i get a few local runs a day. i got on the kiosk and saw i only ran a little ove 6300 miles this month

 

Sitting at the Crowley, LA Petro, waiting for I-10 to open. It's a challenging walk from the truck to the travel center with all the ice on the pavement. There are cars parked here that have been here a couple of days, coated in ice. Some truckers are going to try heading east by going north to the 190, but I'm not sure we want to be getting into an adventure.

 

got a preplan to pu at millers brewey and deliver tomorrow morning in sparks nv. decline due to not sure i can get back here by tomorrow nite. though i know time wise and mileage, i could. realistically, most likely would sit a day waiting for a load back down. thats what normally been happenning with me lateley. got another load p/u in ontario and tcall in mira loma

 

wonder if they make tennis shoes with small spikes to walk on ice?

 

Don't know about spiked tennis shoes, but getting some logger's boots would be a good idea with this ice. The truck stops might object to holes in their linoleum though....

 

Cabela's sells slip on ice cleats for about $20. Amazon sells a whole bunch of different ice cleats and wildly differing prices.

 

I remember getting a free pair a few years ago, and they work and the cleats are not metal so they will not mess up the floor. Slip right on and off a pair of tennis shoes.