May Trucking Driver Pay Scale

Not practical miles. They come up a little short for each trip.

If a trip is dispatched at least 10% shorter than the map/gps calls it, your dispatcher may adjust the mileage for you. This is an unwritten policy, but a policy nonetheless. Let us know if you've been told something different. Even better, if you have a qualcomm message stating this policy, please take a clear pic with your phone and upload it here for instructional purposes.

 

As luck would have it I just had a chance to use the ten percent rule. This trip had me deadhead from Colfax, IA to Waseca, MN and drop the load at the yard in Brooks. Routing required me to take I-90 past the Wall Drug and Spokane, down WA-395 through the Tri Cities, and over to Portland on I-84.

The trip was set to pay 1905 miles. I punched the addresses into my gps and got 2062 miles, so I asked my dispatcher to take a look.


She found some more miles in the route and added them to the trip. Her numbers were a little different from mine, so I checked back over the routing. Google maps turned in a shorter route (http://g.co/maps/5b24y), but the route plan called for me to take some back roads between Spearfish and Billings.




This shortcut took even more miles off the trip (http://g.co/maps/w7jmk).

The trip mapped around 2005 miles. According to my odometer it took 2089. I was paid for 1954 miles. However you look at it, I got paid for 93-97% of the trip. That is par for the course. Keep an eye on your trips because every now and then you'll need to request a second look.

 

MTC cares about drivers' health. I recently received a trip that required lots of hand unloading. My dispatcher was able to work with me to prevent aggravating an old back injury. Below is our conversation. Make sure you ask questions, as always. I also recommend you see a doctor if you have any medical issues that might be made worse by strenuous physical activity. Then let your dispatcher know so you are not given any nursery or Christmas tree loads. Be safe! Thx

safety first


and safety second


cya


get it in writing


reach out to your DM


listen to her concerns


be open and honest


be understanding, too


be persistent


what's a DIS screen?

 

July 2012 was the hottest month ever recorded in the USA. Buy yourself a couple of those $10 fans that plug into your cig lighters. Be sure to document temperatures for your down times so you can submit and follow up on excess idle time authorizations (see page 3 of the payscale that is attached to the top of this thread.) Conduct all correspondence regarding idle time via QualComm. Save any messages and documentation until the idle time in question has cleared your paystub. Make sure to check every paystub so you’re never charged for idle time you didn’t use. Nothing's worse than paying for idle time...especially idle time that you didn't use, so keep an eye on this.

It's been suggested that Peterbilt drivers can grant their own idle extensions by removing a certain 3-5 amp fuse. (It's starred on the fuse board below, which you will find under your bunk on the passenger side.) Don't do this. It works perfectly fine, but it's impolite. Please don’t render your QC incapable of spying on your engine's rpms, etc. It's impolite and you might forget to replace the fuse in the morning. Then again, you might rubberband the fuse to your steering wheel every night and remember to replace it in the morning.

Psgr side under bunk fuse panel