Worst places for 18 wheelers to drive

i thinm that the worst place to drive would be in the mud

 

Well, recently went through both downtown Chicago, where the 45mph speed limit is 70 mph, and Atlanta, where the 70mph speed limit is 10 mph.

HOW CAN YOU HAVE 10 lanes, and nobody moving, with no accident?

I grasp its 6M people, but come on!

 

Should a newbie expect to be asked to do some of these tough runs like NYC? Can a newbie refuse a run? Or in general, do the dispatchers set you up to succeed?

 

Yeah you could have a run out to NYC you will have to check with the company you work for on their policy about NYC, like USX offers you the choice to drop your load in Kearney, NJ and the day cab drivers take them over, but if you decide to go its a extra 65 bucks....

But as for refusing a load, all the big companies have a Forced Dispatch policy, you can only refuse if you are legally out of hours.. at USX they added the clause if you don't have enough hours to run the load you can refuse it..

 

Yeah, I second this one. It sucks.

 

Here is an easy out -- in NYC you are limited to 65' - your truck, if it is a sleeper with at 53' trailer - is 70' or longer, therefore it is not legal for you to go off the interstate further than is necessary to get fuel or food!

At my former co. that is exactly how I got out of running into Manhattan for an 0700 delivery! "What were they thinkin'?

Like any big city, know your route, go slow, make wide, wide turns, and clear your route for underpasses. Many cities will be happy to help you over the phone if you call ahead. If you are not sure of the number, ask 411 for the non-emergency # to the police department.

I heard a "trucker-tale" so take it for what its worth, in order to get a truck to a certain destination the Boston PD escorted the truck down a run of RR tracks, cause it was the ONLY way to get around low bridges.

And dont ever let anyone push you into doing something that you are not comfortable doing. It is your license-- meaning your livelihood -- means by which you are going to feed your kids, dont let anybody put you into a situation that will set you up for trouble. The company wont let you get away with "I told them that I wasnt ready and they forced me anyways!" It will be on your record not your dispatchers. Let them discipline/fire you if thats what they want to do. With a clean record you will be in orientation with a better company within 2-3 days. You mess up and get stuff on your DAC and nobody will touch you! Look into the threads on protecting your license, or repairing a damaged CDL. Dont worry about refusing to do something that you are not comfortable with if it means keeping your license clean!

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the advice, Juggalo and deepstroke.

 

Been drivin for about a week by myself second run was to new jersey. Missed one turn and was screwed for about 2hrs. Had to do a u-turn on a two lane road with 3ft sidewalks on each side.

 

I'll put mine in this order:

DC/Arlington area
LA
NYC
Dallas
Houston

Been to pretty much all points except the Northwest, and nothing holds a candle to any of these lovely clusterf***s.

 

I'm surprised by all the people I can call in a day that say "I Hate Chicago". At least Chicago/State of IL has Driver's Education requirements (for your standard Driver's Class D. UNLIKE some places here in the south (arkansas being one of them) Where pretty much all you need is your parents to tell the license station that you're fit to drive. Probably also leads to the state of AR paying INSANE car insurance premiums.