Micro Management has grown 200%

Well over a year ago, I came across an OTR TransAm truck driver. I did talk with him. He was very CONSCIENTIOUS and METICULOUS about how he takes care of his truck, along with how he drives and maintains his paperwork and records. To this day, this OTR driver remains a clear memory.

1) He mentioned that he NEVER goes over 59 miles per hour, even on the busiest of interstate highways. He also mentioned that he always goes below the speed limit, no matter what stretch of road, street, or highway he goes on.

2) The OTR TransAm truck driver mentioned that he RELIGIOUSLY does pre-trip and post-trip inspections every opportunity that he gets, CONSTANTLY doing everything from checking tires, going under the truck to check for EVERYTHING, and FREQUENTLY opening and checking under the hood of his truck to be sure that all his fluid levels and other minor maintenance issues are well taken care of.

3) The OTR TransAm truck driver mentioned that he is EXTRA meticulous on both his paperwork and logs, along with all weights and measures.

4) The OTR TransAm truck driver mentioned that at every opportunity he will have the truck washed and cleaned, both inside and out. The driver actually showed me the inside of his truck. It was both METICULOUSLY and SPOTLESSLY clean, neat, and organized. He mentioned that it was a carry over from his days in the Army. I HIGHLY RESPECT him for being that way.

5) The OTR TransAm truck driver mentioned that at every opportunity he will be sure that ALL of his laundry is FULLY washed, cleaned, and stowed away, along with making sure that he is able to get a shower as often as possible.

6) The OTR TransAm truck driver mentioned that he will NOT ever patronize a lady of the evening to avoid any possibility of being arrested and/or taken away to jail, along with NEVER walking into any bars whatsoever.

Any reputable trucking company would benefit greatly having guys like this OTR TransAm truck driver on their staff.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

OTR & LTL - over the mountains - through the woods - coast to coast - sea to shining sea

The OTR & LTL truck drivers of America are positively the driving force of our economy.

 

Funny thing about this. If I'm being detained I go into the shipper and explain that if they don't have my load ready by the time my 13th hour is up that Ill be dropping the trailer and bobtailing to a safe haven and will be back to pick it up after my 10 hour break is up. That usually lights a fire under them to get it done and if not? Cya in the morning. You know, you don't have to play the game by their rules.

 

Did you ask him to walk on water?

 

My customers LAUGH at me and then proceed to hustle my over grown britches out of there. However... there was a one summer evening in which I was not allowed to run the reefer to cool the 130 degree dock... which I do sometimes as a favor to the hard working lumpers when it's a straight dry non temp grocery. I sickened about half way through the load of this and that.

A suit showed up to challenge me.

I unhooked and left him contemplating the half empty trailer at 10Pm on a monday night at Allentown. Bobtailed to yard a few hours away to get safe haven and rested from the sickness. The company dispatch exploded. But had no choice other than to bobtail someone up there to finish unload that week after suit exploded.

So much yelling in three directions. Suit to company, company to me, me back to suit and company saying "No." what part of "No." do you not comprehend? 4 days later I show up looking for a run, more yelling.

I live in such peace and quiet, at least until a neighbor goes down howling from a bone break or something in the hall.... If this town ever gets noisy like thuggie land or something, I'll find somewhere else with a pop of 20 and live there.

 

There was always somebody looking over our shoulder, even in the "good old days".
It's just that, with no cell phones or onboard tracking devices, the supervision was minimal and not nearly as constantly invasive as it is now.
When I started trucking in the late 60s I used to get irritated if I had to stop once a day and check in by phone. A lot of times we'd go for days with no contact from the office types.
But yes, somebody was always watching and paying attention and if you didn't measure up you'd hear about it real quick.
These days I'm the one "looking over their shoulder" but I try very hard to keep it to a minimum. I get better results that way.

 

I haven't heard that phrase, "walk on water", since my days of being on active duty, 8 years, in the United States Navy, (3/12/1984 - 5/8/1992).

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

OTR & LTL - over the mountains - through the woods - coast to coast - sea to shining sea

The OTR & LTL truck drivers of America are positively the driving force of our economy.

 

I try to put a lot of that into practice. My truck is pretty much set at 65 with 67mph on cruise, but I find myself going 2-3 mph slower than that if the weather is crummy (even slower if the road is really lousy with ice & snow) or experiencing a lot of the idiots who tend to hang in the left lane not passing for whatever reason. I'm not the most organized at times, but I try to keep the truck as free from defects as possible, and try to keep myself as groomed and cleaned up on a daily basis. I consider myself fortunate I'm working for one of the last few (good) small companies left and for the most part I don't get bothered too much unless something comes up... as for the cameras, I haven't been bugged much at all(pending a visit to the yard), I hate to say it but with all the liability (thanks in most part to the sue-happy public)and the endless amount of idiots coming into this industry, I am forced to accept this reality... to a point. There are some mega-companies and various sized training companies that do use the cameras, e-log, telematics, etc to micro-manage to the point where they turn their drivers into mindless pieces of meat... those are the companies I will not go to.

The part of all this which angers me is there is very little effort in most of the industry spent in improving the quality of the training and better screening of people coming into those programs...our education system no longer really educates but trains just to pass some "standardized" test... work ethic, basic skills like math and English and civics have long since been tossed out of the window. Years ago when I first started there wasn't as much of the problems I see out here now: the people sitting in fuel islands or driveways because of the lack of common sense and courtesy,loss of parking areas because of the pee bottles and other waste carelessly tossed about, the non-existent communication between drivers on the road (CB radio, lights, etc), the unprofessional stupidity.

Don't even get me started on the flipflops and people coming onto the docks, shipping/receiving office/scale office/guard shacks either looking(and smelling) like they either live in a septic tank or going to the beach, and the idiots who can't put the phone down while behind the wheel. We've become our own worst enemy whether we're all aware of it or not.

 

There is no training worth a ####.

Consider the whining that comes on here from newbie truckers who have not had the benefit of training and they make a boo boo. I don't hold it against them. If I had 50 people to train, half would quit and accuse me of some kind of abuse too. ugh.

It's the industrys fault, they don't train worth a ####. And you wonder why people don't have a job 3 months in when they rub that pole and tear something.