Husband/Wife Team to start with Covenant

One of the most wonderful things about being an OTR driver is seeing the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I don't think Ron or myself will ever get tired of seeing them. This would have to be classified as a Bonus. We would have probably never had the opportunity to see them in the various locations we have been. Thought I would just put that out there.

 

Still breathing a sigh of relief...
At some point yesterday, I thought we might be about to get a cavity search from an officer who looked at us like we were coo coo for bringing a loaded trailer onto a military installation NOT knowing the contents within it.

Now that I think about it...that was rather coo coo.

We've all been there... At some point we get that one trailer missing ALL it's appropriate paperwork. This was THAT one. But with persistance and time, we pulled together what we thought was sufficient to proceed to our destination. Only to learn upon arrival that the load could not be delivered without a proper Bill of Lading. We were pulled aside by security, searched and questioned and when asked what was in the trailer, I promise I did not say it...

"Well it's certainly not a ______________ !"]

 

No Bill Of Lading?
It is imparative that you have a Bill Of Lading on every load you haul. If there is no Bill Of Lading, an incomplete Bill Of Lading or an nonlegible Bill Of Lading, then it falls upon you to make sure you have one, even if you have to create one.

It is vital to protect your CSA and your legal rights.
You can pick up a pkg of blank Bill of Lading forms at any truck stop.

 

"Thank you Mr. McDonald!!"

 

Interesting to note.
YOUR CSA DOES'T JUST AFFECT YOU... any violations you might receive will affect your company's scores as well as yours. Even after you leave, the violation you had will continue to affect the company's scores for 2 years after the violation occurred. And for us, it's 3.

And did you know that you can be given a violation for operating a CMV while fatigued? Not sure how they would measure fatigue, but that is one thing I am insistant about. If I feel tired, I stop and rest. It is just not worth the chance of falling asleep and possibly killing others or ourselves. As Dennis always said... "Safety, Safety, .....Safety!!"

On our next post, we will post on the specifics about those pesky unsafe driving violations. Sadly (as pointed out by our trainer) they come with the job. At some point along the way, you WILL get some type of citation. Your best bet is to be proactive about keeping your scores low. Don't give a DOT officer ANY reason to pull you in for an inspection and if you do, be calm all the while KNOWING you have stayed on top of any obvious defects by doing your thorough Pretrip.
until next time...

 

Wow! You guys have had a rough go of it. Sorry to have passed along our Fuel Injection cooties.
Hope you get repaired quickly.