Why I never follow to close or drive in packs

I’ve never heard of that. I haven’t been asked about my governed speed from my insurance agent. Maybe that’s only relevant to fleets. Megas fleets usually won’t count because they’re self-insured.

 

Possibly being trained this way? I have heard troopers tell other motorists to follow behind a truck in snow storms

 

Well, you didn't have to word it to me like I was a child, but whatever helps you sleep better at night.
I'm going to turn the oven on now.

 

I am glad you said “usually” and not always a Ca based company. Even after 30 something years my CB is still on most days. Every once in a blue moon someone will still tell you to “bring it back over parking lot”. It briefly brings back memories of a better time in trucking. A time when I flashed every single truck that passed me and nearly every truck would thank you. Blink Blink Blink. I know you are one of the good guys still left in Trucking Tall Mike.

 

Thanks.

we try to do the best we can.

Be safe !

 

Very few of us left. /Sarc.

Used to hang with a guy they called "Trucker Newell," he was a last of the breed type of guy.
Stories all day long; some of them even true! Split-windshield and round nosed trailer guy.
He was thirteen when he learned to split-shift and sat on a soda box to see out over dash.
CB stories of "courtesy of the road to you," Safety tips, and chain 'em up stories, too.
Finally, the testing got too much for him, not much for reading and tests, so he hung it up.
Must have driven 50 years or so, back when men were men, and sheep were scared.
I met him in 1983, so he started driving around 1940 or so; maybe 45.
Salute, old friend!

 

Nope. Hourly pay won't change a thing. It is often the hourly paid daycab drivers cutting in and out of traffic doing 70 in the 60mph areas of Chicago, for instance. It's always those same daycab drivers, who are being paid by the hour, who think they should be able to cut the line at a consignee. Paying hourly isn't going to help in OTR either. We will still be fighting unreasonable schedules and dispatch that can't read a map. Will still be dealing with unreasonable HOS. Still be rushing to beat the other guys to the last few parking spots at the next truckstop before the ELD clock ticks down. I still have to deliver this load before I can make money on the next one. Pay by the mile or pay by the hour, still have to get there and move on to make the most of the clock we have. There are many things that need changed worse than the pay computation method.

 

LTL would be a little harder true, hourly would be the better option

 

That is an issue, BUT, it would depend on the company and the agreement. Will they be a lease operator or a true independent as to the percentage amount. I would use my local Intermodal for basis. My company requires our Owner Operators to be Independent, they use us a broker and for our interchange/SCAC code, otherwise, they are not required to work, and are the first ones to sit when we are slow, if they want they can do something else, and have at times. They are paid 90/10, I'm not sure if there is a variable if they pull our chassis. Whereas, the majority of our competitors in the area are lease operator situations, or 1099 leases, and are paid 70/30 or 75/25. If I had the gumption to do it, I would buy my own, get my own authority, and go with the situation like my company has, I've seen some of our O/O's settlement checks. This also goes to the discussion we have other times about equipment, while we don't inspect their trucks, my bosses do ride them about keeping their trucks maintained. The three we have now all do a super job of keeping their trucks in excellent shape, in the past, we've sold our used trucks to them as well. We used to have one that drove a junker, treated it like a junker, maintained it like one. The company would chew him out, tell him if he didn't get repairs done they would refuse him loads.