Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

I would think a call to HR would be needed in this situation

 

I'm the best writer or storyteller but @MACK E-6 your stories are great!
I really enjoy your stories and Mike's food service stories.

 

Just look for the truck that has the fifth wheel grease smeared off of it, you'll have your culprit. I can see how that could happen. But I can't see just walking away from it and leaving it for the next poor driver or the shop to deal with.

 

I'm the only one at our yard that washes his truck so the hose is always put back in it's place. Our warehouse has an automated truck wash, but it was down for a little while something about a door closing on a trailer I don't know. It's fixed now though it's good for washing the trailers which is it's primary function.

The beer company I worked at was a different story the fuel island there ha, there must have been 100lbs of "Oildry" on the ground. The window washer and squeegee was all bent and tore up and I think for a good month or so one of the fuel pumps did not work.

 

I did a relay this morning with a driver from our Columbus barn. It was my 2nd run of the day, supposedly a quick and easy way to tack another 200 mi. onto the end of my work week. What a nightmare. My meet guy arrived almost the same time I did, which the only good part of the experience.

Both boxes were over 20k. No big deal in itself, but Columbus is notorious for poor weight distribution. Anything over 18k pretty much guarantees an overweight axle somewhere. I asked the driver how it scaled out, and he just shrugged. Despite having to pass the scale on the way to the gate, he didn't bother with it. His reasoning was "I don't pass no weigh stations." True, but I had to pass one on the way back and it has a nasty habit of redlighting everyone most of the time. Cherry on top, both loads were hazmat, but the dude hadn't placarded the lead. Why not? Another shrug of the shoulders then he took the trailers I'd taken the time to properly placard and weigh for him and left.

I hate scaling at truck stops. No one ever knows how, and it's hard to find a good listener when I talk them through it. We finally manage, and I'm over on one axle AND over gross. Not by much, 200 lbs, but an inch is as good as a mile. Dispatch ok's me to pull it, but the three weighs to get it right ran my clock down to the minimum I needed to get back. At this point, all my choices sucked. Dodge the scale and run out of time, or take my chances and hope I slipped by. I'd reached Don't Care mode, so I took my chances.

I had about 15 miles to the scale, so I pegged it at 60. Not enough trucks were passing, so I dropped down to 55. The flatbed behind me slowed down too, no doubt doing the same thing I was and hoping they got me first. A few more trucks passed but not enough to be sure. I slowed to 50. So did the flatbed. Then like a gift from Heaven, six more trucks passed in a row. Back up to 65. It wouldn't do to let them get too far ahead. Two miles from the scale, I literally crossed my fingers...greenlight.

Lesson learned. Next time I'm in a similar situation I won't be a Boy Scout. I'll skip the weigh, get the ok to pull it, and dodge the scale to begin with. What pisses me off the most was that the other driver didn't try to even half### his responsibilities. Who placards one trailer and forgets the other? It wouldn't have taken any extra time to weigh before he left. Heck, the yard scale even adds up the axles and gives a gross weight automatically. Pure lazy is what that was. At the risk of being like the suspenders wearing grandpas that like to sit around the break room eating their applesauce and complaining about each other and everyone else too, I wrote down the dude's name and employee I.D. Never Forget.

 

Correct , would have called central got OK to pull and go. Over weight does not go against your license , or your CSA . As long as the oked it they cover the fine. And see it was a relay and who brought it out.