CRETE - A Year in Review

Picking up chains before heading into Colorado. I was reading up on their requirements and saw this cool device they accept instead of chains: Autosock.

 

18mph?? I will stick to chains. Check out Pewags, great chains.Nice flat links lay real tight on the tire. You can run em 40 45 mph.

 

Probably a couple fellow drivers not putting the right info in when they had the trailer last.

 

Unfortunately all of the Big Box companies say use safety to their advantage and then leave it up to you to make money or not. They are just paying lip service to the government and covering their butt just in case you get stopped. Even though I am from NJ/PA, I hated driving OTR in the northeast. If my buddy Corey sent me a load that was gonna be close I told him I didn't have the hours. If he pressed me, I would just not answer the QC or cell phone and take my 10. At first it would eat me up inside because I wanted to get a load but knowing I would be running over my 14 is a far greater risk to my career. Just remember YOU drive for THEM. BUT, you cand drive for someone else as well.

 

Man, I wished the weekend dispatch had a clue. I'm not sure where blame lies or if it's just bad luck but I have been out almost 6 weeks and thus low on meds. I put in almost two weeks ago I NEED/HAVE to be home by Oct. 2 as that is my last pill. My A.M. had me t-call a load in Lincoln to pick one up to Texas. Well I am here in Texas needing to go home and they keep sending me loads further from home with no additional pre-plan to get me to Dallas. They keep saying the Ops Mgr is not available (he'll be around sometime today they said). I am getting nervous about things now.

 

This is exactly the reason I was nearly out the door a few weeks back. I'm hoping, and am optimistic, that my new AM (who has experience in this field of trucking) will take care of that problem. Good luck!

 

I'm in the same boat as you Joe. Trying to get home and they are playing stupid like they don't have a map all of a sudden. If the system will attempt to get me home then don't send me to a place that has no loads to get me home from there. Duh common sense 101.

 

Meds can be a critical issue. It's simply outrageous that they would ignore that. Then again it's so true about lip service: during orientation I witnessed two blatant violations of HIPAA (they discussed two drivers' medical conditions while we were sitting feet away and could hear). Another example is the whole sleep apnea thing. I totally support treatment for sleep disorders and agree that it is closely tied to safety in the trucking industry. But again, it is just CYA and lip service because they send you Qcomm messages and phone calls hours into your 10 hour break. Completion of REM sleep cycles is critical to restorative and restful sleep. The worst thing you can do is wake someone up in the middle of REM. I understand that trucking is a 24/7 job, but I have had dispatch try to reach me so many times after I told them I was going on break - and then they get all pissy when I don't answer.

 

Now for some positive news on dispatch; after a third call trying to get an Ops Mgr this person (whom I thanked sincerely) took an extra step after he told me "the Ops Mgr wasn't in just now" and asked the simple question "can I help you?" He was aware of my situation and took the time to explain what all they were trying to do and what they were up against. I feel better now. I have ran across some good apples in this barrel known as CCC so I wanted to make sure I tell the positives as well.

 

I get this message the other night because they knew I was sitting just outside the shipper's property taking my 10 and they needed my empty .