Company tells me drive route that is longer more miles?

Simple rules for trucking companies.
1. If they require their own doctor for a DOT physical, then run.
2. If they want you to sign and agree to pay them for anything other than truck abandonment, run.
3. If they can’t put their offer in writing, move along.
4. If their lips are moving they are lying.
5. If they say the word “family” then understand that no one screws you worse than family.

 

6. If they advertise as a Christian company, or have Bible verse on their trucks, run.

 

Was this load a bagged product or tote tanks? Potato chips the bags can burst at higher elevations and some glue can separate.

 

And I guarantee you if any of these are the case the company is definitely getting paid for the extra miles. They just want the driver to bend over without complaint.

 

Think the issue is you may be spending to much time focusing on the miles when I drove I focused primarily on driving in a safe manner and getting the load delivered on time never worried about how short/ long the trip was or exactly how many miles I was doing. Although I guess in a 12 month period the miles do tend to add up don' they? Its a bit like with sport sometimes the umpire rules in your favour sometimes they don't in the end it all evens out.

 

It would help if you'd list the start and destination locations.

The best information that I ever learned in an orientation was at Crete in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

The terminal manager comes in all puffed up bragging hard on Crete saying something like this:
"You drivers are the cream of the crop. Crete only hires the best drivers. You're our Most Valuable Asset. You wouldn't be sitting here if we hadn't thoroughly checked you out. For the whole process to hire a driver: from advertising, to recruiting, to transportation to orientation, to hotels, food, drive test, orientation and processing staff, it costs Crete $8,000.00 for every driver that we put on the road".

The lightbulb went off in my head when he stressed that $8,000.00 investment. It kinda got seared into my brain.

After driving for them for a couple weeks, I get a call from the processing people at Crete claiming they need a copy of my Social Security data from the year before I started trucking, four years back. I had no income that year.

Since they had assured me, before leaving my previous company and scheduling orientation, that everything was in order, I was pi$$ed. But when I got home I went to the Social Security office and got them what they wanted.

Well that was just the start of the micromanaging culture rooted in there. As time goes on, the micromanaging eats away at your morale. And then one day, as I was stewing in aggravation over the micromanagement, the lightbulb went on again.

Most Valuable Asset....$8,000.00 investment........Most Valuable Asset.....$8,000.00 investment..... Most Valuable Asset.........$8,000.00 investment.............bingo, LEVERAGE!

From that day on, I started pushing back on unreasonable micromanagement. And I continue to do so to this day.

 

Out of curiosity, are there ever any loads you end up paid more miles than driven?

 

Miles ALONE don't mean a whole lot. There are several places in the country where the longer route can take less time to run.
I run mostly at night, and if I have to run to the San Antonio area, I run over to Cleburne and then take US highways all the way to San Antonio. Because of all the construction (ESPECIALLY WACO) I have saved as much as an hour running 40 or so more miles. The company I am with, the miles are real close to door-to-door most of the time. Sometimes I find a shorter route, that breaks even on time. I will run it anyway, just to get off the interstate. Like crossing Wyoming en route to ID, OR, or WA, I break North off of 80 just past Little America, and run up through Kemmerer, and by Bear Lake in Utah, coming down into Logan, just for the scenery. Coming from Amarillo to Nebraska,.instead of the company route of I-40 to Tucumcari, then across Kansas to I-135 and US81. I will run up 25 to CO and then take US350 to 50, and then pick my way across Nebraska. Its about 120 miles shorter, but about even time-wise. BUT....there are times I can run for an hour or so and not see another truck, and DEFINITELY not have to move over for some dumb ####### SQUATTING on the side of the road.