Safety Observations, and explanations for idling?

If message comes in that doesn't have anything to do with a dispatch I would just hit Delete then Yes.

Otherwise hit Reply and type out the following, "Pursuant to Code of Federal Regulations part 390.5 you are hereby notified henceforth and forthwith to cease and desist all further harrassing correspondence."

 

Diesel prices pretty darn low...
All kinds of instructions about idle during cold weather...

Yet jobs are now being threatened??
Not really a your going to be fired, but you will lose your routes and be only eligible for stand by....

 

try talking to your dm's boss about switching to another dispatcher.

 

As you're standing by I assume you'll be idling to stay warm lol

 

Your DM is under pressure to keep certain numbers in check, idle is one of them.
So your DM puts pressure on you.

However, you don't need to let it stress you.
I am still working here after 5 years even though I always have had very high idle times.

I tell my DM (well, used to tell him) that I will try to do better. But if I really need to idle I will.
No one bothers me about it any more. Not one word.

If I have battery issues I may need to idle more.
If it is too cold or hot, I need to idle more.
If I need to keep the batteries charged I will idle to do so.
With an older truck it is even worse.

And all that comes down to safety.
I can not be safe if I am not well rested or well fed.
I won't get up every hour to run the truck for a few minutes to warm it up if it is too cold, or to cool it down if the temperatures are too high. If I have to start the truck during my sleep time it will remain running until I get up.
Period.
I need uninterrupted sleep to be safe.
The canned messages I sometimes get mentioning my idle time also say to make sure I am comfortable in the truck so I can be well rested and safe.

If they don't like it, well, they can install an APU if it is more cost effective.
Which, by the way, it isn't. Not for the time period that Swift keeps trucks.
Running solo it would take nearly 400,000 miles to recover the initial and maintenance costs of the APU, and trucks are retired at around that time.
I got my truck brand new in 2012 and it has 420k on the clock. It will be retired this quarter. That does not justify the cost for an APU.

Not to mention, idle time is the least of their worries - especially now with fuel being so cheap.
Accidents, CSA scores, on time ratio's... they are all more important.

If you stay safe, don't get tickets and be on time - they will eventually ignore any idle time ratio.


You don't need a new DM for this.
You just need to learn the rules, and learn how to ignore the BS.

 

I haven't lost routes or miles because of idle times, and I am far from being on standby.
I haven't even lost anything by turning down loads that provided too little time for my own liking, or by scheduling my time as I see fit.
Many times the next load to come along is far better. And it doesn't take long.

If I agree to a load it will be there on time, barring something bad happening along the way.
I don't have any points for tickets or accidents.

Like I've said, being safe, reliable and on time is much more important than other smaller things.

 

Heck I will be at the house setting up interviews.
My idle is currently good.

I was just amazed at some of the recent messages.