CRETE - A Year in Review

48hrs down, ouch! Would I be correct in assuming this isn't your first run in with the log department. I thought it took a few log violations to get that kind of discipline.

Running legal was the hardest thing for me to get used to when I came over to Crete. I did it from day one because I knew they didn't mess around, but it drove me nuts for the first few months. But I eventually had to admit it was for the best when I realized I no longer had to worry about going to prison if I happened to be involved in an accident in one state while I was suppose to be in another.

It also helped to work for a company that structures its freight around the restrictions of a legal log book instead of the other way around and makes it possible to run 100% legal and still get miles.

Although, It still drives me bonkers when I'm 3hrs from the house on my way to hometime and have to shut down for 10hrs.

 

I decided to put a little more emphasis on hometime this year. It cost me some miles, but it was a pleasant exchange.

As for this month I managed to get 12,007mi (You are in my shadow again). This was a vast improvement over last year in which I only ran 10,049mi and I was on the road the exact same number of days.

I am also NOT seeing the "no freight" message like I was this time last year. As a matter of fact I only lost one day to no freight and that was during the first week of the year when shippers were just getting revved up after the New Year holiday.

The national tonnage numbers have continued to show a decline in freight through November, but a healthy increase was seen in December. January's numbers are not out yet, but I'm guessing we will see a marginal increase over last year. The most recent numbers I could find shows that November's number fell by 3.5% over the same period last year (and it was really bad last year). December actually showed a 6.6% increase over last December, but last Decembers tonnage was down 14%+.

Crete seems to have adjusted well to the conditions. At least from my point of view because they have been keeping me moving with few delays. There are more loads with with "unproductive time" associated with them and the length of hauls seems to have dropped in the recent past, but the miles are still coming and the "no freight" messages have been few and far between.

 

Nope, not Steve. I could name the dispatcher, but I make it a rule not to actually call anyone out by name on this thread. I realize everyone has their bad days and we all have our own agendas. Every story has two sides, and unless I'm face to face with whom ever I happen to have a disagreement with I will keep it anonymous. Now if I were standing in front of the guy and he was present to defend himself I wouldn't hold back a thing.

I personally find truck driving to be a rather frustrating way to make a living, but I couldn't imagine the aggravation that dispatcher have to deal with. I have nothing but respect for someone that can do that job, even if they are incompetent trolls.

There are certain things you can always count on in the trucking industry. Truck drivers hate dispatchers, dispatchers hate truck drivers and truck drivers are dispised by mechanics.

 

I believe you have to be with the company for a minimum of one year. (I don't know if you have to have more driving experience than that though.)

You must have a clean driving record. No moving violations in the last year. No log violations in the last year. No outstanding issues with the safety department. You must show productive miles over the last year and meet idling standard, etc. In a nut shell, you have to be what they consider a "quality driver"

You must fill out an Trainer Request application. That will be reviewed by Safety and the Training departmant. They will look over your numbers for the previous year to make sure you meet standards. They will also pull up every one of your QualComm messages for the previous year to see if you have been a mild mannered communicator. If you are the kind of driver that likes to get into heated debates over the Qualcomm it may not bid well for you.

If approved you will be sent to a Train the Trainer class that last for two days. (No pay for this, but good free meals at nearby restaurants). When that is completed you will be set up with a trainee and be on your way.

 

I guess this thread is good for something.

Supersnack wrote:

Hey, I'm a week behind you again. I'm now sitting in Columbus and have to head over to Zanesville tonight for a live unload. It's a pain because I got here last night and have to sit around until 8pm tonight to make the delivery. I only have 3hrs available on my logs today anyway so it's not that big of a deal except for the fact that once again I will not be able to get in a reset.

I also tried to get my truck into the shop while I was here for a "B" service. I'm about 3,000 miles over and hoped I could get it taken care of. After all, I will have been here for 24hrs by the time I pull out to make my delivery. But I was told "Not a chance, Monday at the earliest." Big surprise.

This makes 3 weeks in a row that I've had to move the truck in the middle of what could have been a 34reset because the timing of my load required it. It's really annoying because it has made it impossible for me to get a good solid week of miles. I just can't break the 3200mi mark. Not because the miles are not there, but because I am constantly butting up against available hours. Day after day I am being forced to shut down and wait to gain back hours.

The other thing that has been killing my logs is a number of runs with multiple drops. Last week I had a 3 stop run down in Texas and this week I had two separate loads with 2 stops. Not to mention a number of shorter runs of late. The end result is that I keep running out of hours. Although the $30 extra drop pay helps the paycheck out a little bit.

If I could have squeezed in a reset or two I could have had an awesome month, but even without the resets I can't complain too much. I will end this January with 12,007 miles. Not too bad considering I couldn't get out of the house until the 5th.