Stupid route from my night planner?

Most of my DM's needed to be shot, gutted, and ran over by a Buick.

 

Say a driver is at a galf tank. Driver puts in 50 gallons @3.00 a gallon, then drives 400 miles and fills up, call it 100 gallons @2.50. Total cost $400 and he is mostly full once done with the load.

He is going to need to stop someplace, so the time getting off and getting back on is a wash. It's just fueling itself, which should take 15 minutes or less.

If he had filled up at the first stop he would have paid $300, then at delivery would be at 3/4 tanks. If he fills up there, diesel is $2.75, total cost is $437. So even is the company is paying $30 an hour for all on duty time, they are still money ahead.

This example is over simplified, but shows the underlying logic.

 

CRST was into this passive aggressive approach to routing their trucks.

Apparently, some idiot bean counter at Crusty thinks it's more cost-effective to have trucks drive hundreds of miles through stoplights taking hours longer than taking the toll road.

But the problem with idiots is that even when you point out to an idiot why he or she is an idiot, he or she will remain an idiot because they don't realize that they are idiots to begin with.

One time, I paid the forty dollar toll to go through Ohio after having driven on US 30 through Indiana because I was so frustrated. On subsequent trips, I would avoid 80 altogether and just hit I-70. A hour or two longer, but it was toll free with none of the stoplight hassles.

 

are you trying to make my head explode?

 

Make me think of this

 

My partner and I deal with the same stuff. One time him and I asked, why cant we just stay on I80!?

My favorite was at I think its MO-65. No shoulder or places to pull over and curvy roads lots of grades and other impatient truckers trying to all pass each other.

In Missouri on 65 we had an issue with our reefer. It had the orange light so my partner jumps out at a stop light real quick and it said something was failing.

Partner calls it in to report it.
DM wants us to pull over so we can get a better look.
We explain we are on a highway.
DM there's gotta be an exit somewhere.
No we are on a highway, there's nothing
DM well you need to find a safe spot to pull over. You can't just drive 100 miles to the next location without checking this problem.
All the intersecting roads are small and we dont know if we can get turned around if we take one.
DM you need to get safely pulled over soon.

Theres nothing safe on that road we didnt even want to be on it!

To make it worse their tracking software was telling them we were on a different road.

 

We understand the logic. It saves the company money at expense of the drivers time.
That 15 minute realistically turns into an hour sidetrack. After all, all the other megas are sending their truck there also to save that penny a gallon. And most companies thay use fuel solutions don't pay for any on duty time, just cpm.

And one doesn't need to take the time getting off the expressway for breaks when there are rest areas available.

 

That's not a detonator material yet.

Schools play at teaching math... It's a satire of what it takes to really do math in trucking. /sarcasm...

 

Driver starts his clock at 0600 in BrookshireTX. Driver picks up a load at 0800 Thursday in Houston. Receiver's hours are Monday-Friday 0600-1500 in GreenvilleSC. Driver gets loaded and out the door by 1000. They have him stop and put 50 gallons on in BaytownTX at the Loves. Typical Loves, with idiots camping out on the fuel island. 1100, he gets back on the highway. Fuel was cheaper in Louisiana and so, they have him fuel at the Loves in DusonLA, but just 80 gallons. 3 hour ride. Typical Loves. He's back out and rolling at 1500. That puts in in the BatonRouge area at 1620. Huge backup at PortAllenLA. Every day bottleneck in RedStick. He gets through the metro area by 1745. No rest areas until you get to Mississippi. Either you pay to park at the Petro in Hammond or you hope for one of the few (I think 3?) mom and pop places. All truck parking is full on i12. Driver hightails it to Mississippi, racing against the 14. Driver shuts down in Gulfport,MS at 1945.

Friday, leave out at 0600 central time. Hit the north side of Atlanta by noon local. Hit the receiver as they are locking the gates and going home for the weekend, "See ya Monday!"

Yes, I know that beancounters have fuel costs as their primary thing they want to cut. But this driver could have emptied out, and went to the next load and wait, instead of sitting 2.5 days on a load that should have delivered Friday. As I said before, beancounters NEVER factor in the time it takes to count beans. That driver, sitting in the parkinglot playing pocketpool for the next 2.5 days...is he getting paid to count beans? Not if he's not being paid hourly or some sort of detention pay.

"But Six, he's saving fuel sitting in a parkinglot!"