Good Advice—Can You Offer It?

First of all, if you don't have any or very little experience in a truck, take your time at first and get used to how the truck handles until you get comfortable in it.

 

go slow, don't be in a rush, allowing plenty of time to get where you need to be...

and most importantly, the double edged sword, don't be a billy big rigger or get yourself worked into a panic.

lost? heavy traffic??? whatever... just take a chill pill and work your way thru it slow and cautious.

they won't start unloading without you... regardless of what the dispatch would have you believe. the receiver would much rather have their freight late in one piece than on time in pieces...

 

Start out with a good week. One thing that a lot of drivers do is leave the house too late. I could have left out early sunday (6 am) drove 11 hours, crashed for 10, got up at 2 am and drove 5 hours to my drop with 6 hours left, not counting unloading. I left out saturday after my 34 restart. Got up here 45 miles out (could have went to the cons, but wanted a restroom, coffee, etc.) Got here at 3 pm, del has to be there by 10 am, but can go in at 7 am. Got 10 hours to drive after I unload and had no pressure of getting up here. Takes away a lot of stress with traffic, too tired to run, but have to etc. Also makes for a good paycheck.

 

i prefer (when delivery times permit) to run around 500 miles (or 8.75 hrs combined lines 3-4) per day that way i don't run out of hours and have o stop early in the day then get up at midnight to start rolling.
always plan to be there an hour early and add an hour if going thru a big city around peak traffic toimes. (you will learn where not to be at what time with experience)

 

Pay attention to everything around you. Write your directions down in a notebook (after reading them several times) in such a way that you can read them quickly at a glance, and remember to write down exit numbers and highway/road names. Also, make sure you understand which direction those directions have you coming in from. I learned this one the hard way. Got myself out of something I didn't think I could, but shouldn't have been in in the first place. The directions were for coming into the city from the north, but I was coming in from the south.

As with everything, it gets easier the more you do it. It can be a bit scary at first when you start driving, but before long it will become second nature. Don't get complacent though, as that's when things will go wrong.

 

Have a plan. As a for instance, I have just gotten information for a three pick load bound for Fargo, ND. I know where the sticking points are going to be, (Americold, Carthage, MO) where I can make up time (eight cases in Olathe, KS) and where and when I need to fuel to match the log that will get me to the house for the most amount of time before I have to deliver. Not long enough but time for a load of laundry and a hot meal.

Look at the big picture and try to plan ahead for the most common sticking points, be they shippers, traffic, home time, or receivers. Most of these sticking points will have built in "flags". The words "cold storage" or "grocery warehouse" mean that you are going to hurry up and wait 9 times out of 10. Look ahead to your route and plan on taking a 2 hour break before you hit Chicago so as to miss Friday rush hour traffic. It is all common sense stuff if you look at it ahead of time.

 

I think the most important thing for new drivers is to learn their comfort zone and stay within it. Always operate in a manner you are comfortable. From the little things like seat position to the larger things like fatigue or driving on ice, if you are not comfortble stop until you are.