CRETE - A Year in Review

Just wanted to post a public "Thank You" to the various Crete posters. I start the orientation process tomorrow at Spartanburg. My recruiter said it's just me and one other driver, so I'm hoping we can zip through this stuff, though I know the drug test won't be back until Wednesday.

Thanks again for the info over time....I'll post about my experiences as we go.

 

You will do the drug test and physical locally and then they will put you in a truck and a load and send you to Lincoln for the rest of the orientation. Keep an open mind and you will do fine. Just be prepared for all of the Tonn is God propaganda you will be hearing. He probably is to all of the big cheeses who work inside the building.

 

They're sending me to Lenoir City, TN for orientation. I'm hoping with just two of us, the days will be shortened. I'm actually staying at home for these first few days, since I live just 41 miles from the Spartanburg yard.

 

SS, there is a work around for your e-log issue, I know a few Werner drivers and they have the same 15 min restraints Crete has for load, unload, fuel, inspection, etc..

They have figured out to send the macro at 8 min or more past the quarter hour (8 after, 23 after, 38 after and 53 after the hour). This kicks the clock to the next 15 minute increment and gives them/you 7-8 minutes to drive that are officially e-logged as doing something else. It work's really well on Interstate rest areas and toll road park plazas. You might want to give this a try.

My Werner friends that use this system swear by it, One friend even described how he used this system to pick up "extra " drive time on his 11 when he was too tight on time to deliver legally, of course he said this only works if you have the time on your 14 to do this.

 

Thats good, the least time spent in Lincoln the better....LOL

I spent Christmas 2009 there...snowed in for 3 days. Was working Western Regional at the time, didn't realize their Western Region was so large......

Have fun.

 

Shoot, I only got 8950 miles for Janurary, depending on my transflos, sometimes I'll hold them til Saturday and get a 890 mile week only so I can have a 3,000+ mile week the next week.
My pal Cory sent me a preplan after I deliver my 820 mile run from Friday morning til Monday morning load, a real killer load too, wore me out running that hard. I get a 61 mile deadhead and 121 loaded miles if I follow their route thru the backwoods of New York and PA. Looks to me like 400+ miles as I plan to take the "Big Roads" and toll roads, for safety. That and I usually get a 200 mile Big Lots load with a 7 hour unload in that area.

Back to playing Monopoly, City Edition, Crete should hand this game out as you can play it for 20 hours straight. Or I might watch the 3rd season of Breaking Bad, what a show. Wait, I got time to do each. I'd go to a bar, but everyone would want to watch football, YUCK!! The Country Ridge saloon in Stony Ridge outlawed smoking a while back. So stay in Indiana or PA if you got time to kill.

AND the ONGUARD is great, I love seeing how fast the traffic is moving, sure it slams on the jakes and brakes for no reason, but in the snow it gets covered up and shuts down. There is a little fuse in the middle of the fusebox in the dash that disables it, It's labeled and easy to find.
I sure hope I don't forget to send in my empty call tomorrow and miss that great run, Cory did say he was working hard and doing the best he could, I never saw him but I imagine he looks like Eric the Midget

 

99% of Crete drivers cringe when a delivery takes them to Cory's area of dispatch...a complete #######! That SOB always claims 'short of productive miles' and than keeps you stockaded in his area doing 80-250 mile a day BS until you raise HELL, got to the point last Oct that I was pricing car rentals in New Kingstown.....
Jan mileage was 8379.

 

I have no problem getting out of Coryland...early in my Creten life I got on him from the start, and use to constantly ride and pester him about getting me out of his zone or I would bobtail home...viola, I get in and right back out to this date. I've even pushed it to the point of my terminal manager getting involved with 'my problem with Cory'.

It turns out, like everything else w/government, something simple is made very complicated. It turns out you can't simply e-mail the FMCSA/DOT a question(so that you have a hard copy proof) you have to call them, or go to the extreem and file against a company. I wanted to verify w/them I had a legitimate reason to file against Crete's logbook requirement policies. So now when I speak to someone, I won't have anything to back up what they say when I confront Crete. Or maybe it's done that way on purpose to discourage excessive or abusive complaints being filed by disgruntled employees.

 

Our system logs to the minute and doesn't round up to quarter hours. Only delay is the time it takes to move 2 miles at which time the unit automaticly starts logging you as driving. So if you go on line 4 for pti, don't move until 13 minutes have passed, or you'll be short on required pti time.

 

Well that stinks, I guess the differences lie in the compromises the companies have to make with the e-logs.