Ok Road Warriors, I could really use some help here in understanding this.
My husband just came off of his first 34 hour reset after his first week at around 3PM, just outside of Waco Texas, October 8. He had listed his NAT (Next Available Time) at 8AM on 10/9, because one, he's new, two, he isn't used to night driving yet, the company frowns on night driving, etc.
So on 10/8, at 8:30PM, they sent him his next pre-assignment.
Pick up a load 86 miles away in Lancaster, TX (no problem), and get it to Clayton, IN, est. 866 miles away. Again, great. Until we start trip planning (disclosure, I enjoy trip planning with my husband, it's something we can do together on the phone and helps ease up on him when he is weary on the road. I'm not a driver - yet - but I fully understand the 70, 14, 11, and 8 hour rules).
He was eating dinner, so I started planning. I was all pleased with myself, because I had him there in PLENTY of time on 10/11. Big problem was, when I looked at the assignment again, it had to be there by 10/10, not 10/11. Another part of problem was, the appointment window to pick up the load started at 3PM on 10/8, and went 24 hours over into 10/9, the next day. They didn't send him this info unitil 8PM, instantly shaving 5 hours off of his window of pickup on 10/8, practically ensuring an impossible run,
So we started looking at this again. If absolutely every single thing maybe worked right, he could possibly barrreeely squeak out that load in time if he hustled out within the next 30 minutes. But as you guys know, how often does anything go perfectly right on the road??
So we had it figured that if he left immediately, and not in the morning as planned, and got to the pickup of his load in 2 hours, and it took 1 hour to drop and hook, he could proceed and *maybe* make it if he kept the pedal to the metal at 60MPH. But when he got to Lancaster, the security guard working the yard laughed and told him "You picked one of the WORST times to pick up from this yard". - 4 hours later, and he was ready to roll out with a drop and hook after the 18 trucks ahead of him got theirs...so there goes that!
1. He knew yesterday evening when he got the assignment that if he didn't leave immediately, there was no possible way for him to make that load in time and stay in compliance with the hours of service, OR with the company's driving rules (they don't allow you to split your 10 hour break, prefer you to NOT drive at night, etc.).
2. He also was told over and over during training / orientation that the company is a forced dispatch company, so he had no opportunity to refuse the load due to not being able to make it on time.
3. He wasn't expecting at all to be assigned a load that would force him out before his reported NAT (next available time), so he wasn't as rested as planned (rookie mistake, our bad - still getting used to the wonky hours).
4. This will count against him. He was already an hour late on his very first load last week due to hitting major Traffic out of Denver. They didn't list it as driver fault, but it still hurts you and the company when you're late.
5. The routes they're sending him on are on some tight windows of time. I mean TIGHT. The trucks are governed at 60, but the Navigo will clock you for Overspeeding if you are doing 60 and hit a downhill slope (another ding on the driver).
6. He called into dispatch and tried to tell them about this situation, but they said they couldn't help with these particular issues during their shift, and gave him another 800 number to use, or told him he'd have to call back during regular hours. His choice was to move out or to call. He had to get rolling to have even a chance. He will be calling his DBL first chance he gets.
So, now that you seasoned vets have all of the info I remember right off hand - can anyone help us learn from where we went so wrong (other than assuming that they wouldn't assign a load that had a start time BEFORE the given NAT, and assigned even that almost 5 hours after the start window)? It feels like being set up to fail, and it's already hard enough as it is out there. Heh.
Doing our best to learn - we're on week 2.
Trip Planning / Time Management..
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by TheTruckersWife, Oct 9, 2018.
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Thank you all for the responses, they're all very much appreciated.. He (we) take full responsibility for being dumb enough to think the company would actually follow the NAT and not crack the whip on the 34 - (why even force a driver to give it if they're going to ignore it?), dumb rookie mistake, won't happen again.
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pmdriver - it isn't that he is unwilling or won't drive at night, he fully understands that it will be a thing. It was just an added point of stress for the noob
As an update, he spoke to his DBL first thing, and was told not to worry about it, stay on the load and it would be handled through back end channels. Again, thanks for all of the responses.
Rookie lesson #2: Don't assume your NAT means anything, be ready when that clock is ready. Got it! /salute -
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