Life After Roehl

That sucks. Trucking sure can be hard on a body. There is a reason the life expectancy of a truck driver is about 10 years lower than a normal person. One more reason I got out of it.

 

Just some fyi gossip I heard from another Roehl driver at a shipper 2 days ago: He didn't know exactly when (isn't that how it goes?), but within the last month, 50 Roehl drivers walked out on the same day.

 

Hmmm. I guess this means I was ahead of the stampede that I thought might be coming.

Any my idea what their issue was?

Roehl hasn't been a driver friendly company for 2+ years. I hope they're happy! It took decades to build their reputation and just a few months to tear it down. They'll be decades getting it back assuming they care to.

 

Roehl's a great starter company, but long term? I don't know. It seems you have to fight for certain things, like getting paid accurately, and detention time all while dealing with severe micromanagement. When my contract is fulfilled we'll see what happens.

 

My husband and I drove for Roehl as a team and left in 2009. They haven't been driver friendly back then either.

 

It all depends on what you want, some folks do better with structure, while others get suffocated. From what I remember you were on the refer side, that was a new venture and a total CF when y'all were there.

 

It would be a nice perk if there was a little less "structure" when a driver has a safe record and has successfully passed his rookie year AND still wants to drive.

Like for instance, fueling at the driver's discretion. It would be a very minimal cost perk. The fuel route plan could give an experienced driver multiple choices and it would make it easier to make the fuel stop at the end of the day.

This is just one example and I'm sure there are others. I don't understand why Roehl would want to be a training ground for all the carriers that require 1 year of experience. For the most part I like Roehl, but I was one of the ones who felt the need to spread my wings a little when my first year was up.

Another low cost perk would be a better rider policy. I'm not sure why my 6 month clock had to start over, but it did when I came back. When I left Roehl I went to a company that allowed my wife (or anyone I wanted) to ride along from day one.

Hometime is the best perk that Roehl offers and for me right now it is worth putting up with some of the pettiness, but the above 2 examples would be an almost cost free perk that could be used to retain drivers who are now marketable to most other companies.

 

I agree with you; figured though that their wanting us to fuel at a specific place was due to fuel discounts they get from purchasing at certain brands of TS in a given location. Can't say whether it saves a lot or a little, but with the amount of fuel they purchase the total savings are probably up there.

Edit: Never mind; giving us a few choices would still allow them to get the discounts. Only other reason I can think of is for some people it's the only way they can help prevent the driver from running the truck out of fuel...but again, if they give you a pass on this once you've proven you can handle it, it should still be OK.

My FM told me once how many drivers run their trucks out of fuel; it's astounding.

 

What kind of idiot would run the thing out of fuel? That's disconcerting to think there are that many drivers with so little logistical sense running around.

 

I went 3 years with nobody running out then had two guys in the same day.