calling in sick

Had the flu back in feb. called dispatch they said hold off if I needed. Took buckets for emergencys. Got the load off. Deadheaded home took 8 1/2 hours to make 250 miles, because I kept stopping. I would have been jammed up if I had taken a time sensitive load back south. Company worked with me no problem. Took about 4 days before felt right.

 

I ve done it one time...back in 03 I developed strep throat the day I was delivering in Laredo.....I called dispatch after delivery told them what was up.....I think I sat 2.5 days......Nowadays its against DOT law to drive sick......

 

It is also good to keep something like gatorade, powerade, pedialyte, Sprite, 7-UP, or Mountain Dew (more sugar), imodium, milk of magnesia, tylenol, (don't take aspirin when you have the flu because of the chance of Reyes Syndrome). Also water and a mug where you can heat water and drink boullion cube soup, or a can of chicken noodle soup, some of the cold and flu drinks that are heated are good too. Salt for gargling if you have a sore throat. Dehydration is not good with flu or other stomach viruses and even if you land up at a truckstop, which is a very good idea, you may not feel like trekking in. Plastic bags for trash can liner is a must also.

Somehow, whenever husband has left out of the house he picked up bugs from the grandkids (little germinators), and it would hit several hours down the road or the next day or two and be as sick as a dog, he would have enough time on the load where he could wait it out at a truckstop luckily. Most generally he would call his dispatcher to let know and if it got out of hand they could figure out what to do with the load, luckily he never had to have one repowered, knock on wood, so far.

 

The whole we treat you like family and care about you is only an expression. If you expect sympathy, compassion, understanding, or intelligence gimme hit of what your smokin.

 

I'm sure you never pissed in a bottle either. LOL!

 

I just love to hear from the SUPERTRUCKERS.. never took a day off, never hit anything, made more money than my family doctor. I think they say it to themselves more than to others... so lonely.

If you need a day off by all means call dispatch and let them know. If they have any sense at all they will know if you are full of it or serious. I am fortunate to have had a local job for 5 years now and one winter I was really under the weather. My account manager saw me at the end of my shift and looked at me and asked how I was feeling. I told him I might actually not make it in tomorrow. He immediately looked at the dispatcher and told him to take me off the board for the next day. He told me to get some rest. Now that is professional. Others wish they had that sort of management. Did I lose a days pay? yup. Did I make it up? yup!

 

Hahaha, thats funny you calling wore out a super trucker. I wouldn't be surprised though if he's never hit anything. After all not all drivers think trucks are bumper cars...

 

I got an infected tooth, got really dizzy and started throwing up took me ten hours to go 156 miles to home because I kept stopping and taking naps, needless to say I was off the next two days

 

i dunno i look at it this way do i want to sit in a sleeper away from for days not making a dime while i feel like ###. or drive as much as i can even if its if i don't run as hard as i normally would for the day and at least make something for the day. I mean were not talking digging ditches. Sleep in late crawl up in the cab drive 100 miles stop lay down for an hour get up drive a little more. really i could probably count the number of times iv ever called in sick in every job iv ever had on both hands and half of them were phony sicks. been sent home from jobs due to being sick more days than iv not showed up.

 

Been sick on the road twice. Under the old HOS rules, I made the delivery by asking my dispatcher what the real drop dead time was on the loads. I had him call the the receivers, and they understood the situation. I ran a few hours and then pulled over to rest along the way..........repeat...repeat.....until I unloaded.

Broke my glasses once in Detroit picking up a load of axles that need to be at the Ford plant in Virginia the next day. Couldn't get into any of the big box eye glass stores right away. I had dispatch work a repower with another driver. We got the job got done.

Tore up my right knee on a slippery dock on a multi stop load. Worked it out with the receiver myself to delay one day. No problems. Got the load done.

It's all about team work.......not the driver being the scapegoat. If the driver and dispatcher can't be mature enough to handle little things like that, then there isn't much use in dealing with each other.