Forced dispatch

At Swift after you are empty can you just disappear off the radar for say 12 hours to rest up? Since they have so many trucks....

 

One of the tricks, only open the destination part. then they do not know that you have read it.

 

I hope that they do SOMETHING with Mac30, because as it stands it's almost worthless. I haven't found a decent load on Mac30 in WEEKS! Most of the time it's "no loads available" yet the planners keep sending you CRAP. That tells me that the planners are keeping loads off of Mac30. I've gotten 90% of my recent loads either from Command of my DM.

This is direct contrast with the first 6 weeks of 2013. I got EVER SINGLE LOAD I ran for 6 weeks from Mac30 and was NEVER planned during that same time period.

 

I have been finding in certain planning areas, like Lancaster, Jonestown (which covers Ohio now) and Memphis, all of this year, it has been crap on MAC 30, especially Lancaster and Memphis. Last time in Lancaster every thing that I was getting on MAC 30, under 300 miles.

 

The message saying that they see you have read the ppln is specific to terminals as far as I know because I never got those messages even if I read them and then don't reply for several hours. But that was from my old home terminal in Richmond, but I digress.....

When I just started running solo about 2 weeks in I got a load that I didn't like because I needed to be in Richmond to pick up my co-driver. I declined the load 3 times with my reason and I never heard anything of it. A similar situation occurred a few days later where they sent a ppln and I never responded so they dispatched me on it. I called and told them I never agreed to take the load and it is headed in the opposite direction of where I needed to be. They said to just take the load and I will get another one to go to richmond. I told them I never agreed and wasn't moving until I either had a ppln sent to me that gets me to Richmond after the load that they dispatched me on or they send me to Richmond from my current location. 30 min later that load was removed and a load to Richmond was sent across my QC.

I had no negative repercussions from the above situations and that was as a brand new rookie driver so I'd imagine that you should have absolutely no problem, but I guess it really depends on the DM.

 

My DM and I went round and round about it many times after I was dispatched several times from mac 31. What was interesting is that after I got off her board I was never auto dispatched from mac 31 again.

 

Swift actually is forced dispatch, however, it has not been enforced. I think things are going to change there though, judging from an email I have seen (I am a CSR for Swift). Granted, you will not be forced if you are due home time, or its an HOS issue, but if you are not making the payment on the truck, really, is there a good reason to decline a load, besides HOS, PTA, or something? Also, I used to be a driver, so I know what its like out there. 7 years OTR.

 

Just out of curiosity I would like to see in writing swift's policy on forced dispatch. If it really is forced dispatch I would be a little surprised.

 

Why would you be surprised?