Millis OTR journal

They're both #### holes lol

 

Okay so something happened today that upsets me, and it upsets me even more that it was another Millis driver that did it.

I delivered to Trenton today. Was told to drop in row H back in the back. I go back there, and there's a Swift truck backing in a couple of spaces down from where I was dropping. You could tell he was fairly new at this. It took him a minute and a few pull ups to get it in right, but he got it in there and did better than I've seen a lot of guys do. Even better than what I do half the time there. For some reason, even with all that room at Miller, I can't seem to hit the hole right half the time. I drop my trailer and go over to dispatch to get my bills signed. Swifty is already there, doing the same thing. Seemed like a really nice, older gentleman. Looked like he was at least my dad's age (Dad is 68) and was wearing a Vietnam veteran's baseball cap. Said something to the lady in dispatch about finding an empty then left. I got my bills signed, went back out to my truck, put in my empty call, and surprise surprise I got a reload out of the brewery almost immediately.

I circle around through the guard shack, find out what trailer supposed to pick up, and go look for it. There's another Millis bobtail behind me. As I'm going down the row where our trailers are, I see Swifty backing under a trailer. He pulls waaayyy forward (almost all the way up to the next row) to get himself lined up. Kinda extreme, but not dangerous. Millis driver behind me has to get on his radio and fuss at the guy about it. Not super hateful or anything, but come on. The guy cost us maybe 30 extra seconds of our time. It wasn't worth making ANY sort of fuss about.

Don't be that guy. It's one thing if you see somebody doing something stupid and unsafe, but a little kindness goes a long way out here.

I didn't see any antennas on his truck so I doubt he had a radio. Probably a good thing in this case. If he really is as new as I think he is, I kinda want to know why a man his age decided he wanted to be a truck driver.

 

Unfortunately trucking seems to be full of big mouth a__holes who seem to think that things that cost them a few seconds of their time here and there are somehow going to have a big impact on their day. In reality it will have little to no consequence to them.

Also for some reason people like to pick on Swift. Funny thing is everytime I have ever seen a wrecked out truck it has never been Swift. Usually it is a Billy Big rigger O/O type truck who had probably been going 70 mph in a snow storm or Fed Ex doubles. Swift hires a lot of new drivers. So does Millis. Look up Swift's company safety scores. They aren't much different than all of the other large mega companies. Swift has something like 20,000 drivers. You think they are all bad or inexperienced? No way.

Also another reason I rarely if ever turn my CB on. Only bought it because of one customer we go to. Don't need or want to hear all of the garbage.

 

It does crack me up a little that all these truck drivers are in such a hurry to get from one place to another. Being new I am so innefficient, forgetting to go off duty a few times a day, losing minutes here and there. Going a little slower at times either early morning late evening or bad weather. Yet I am crushing it in the paycheck department.

For some reason the one back that causes me the most grief is fricking straight backing!!

Also I am that guy when hooking to a trailer that pulls up a couple times to get it lined up. I hop out a couple times to make sure I’m lined up and that the fifth wheel isn’t to high or to low.

 

Sounds like you are doing exactly what you should be doing, MIT. GOAL. I sometimes get a little impatient with people driving and parking (cars). One time a lady (here in China) was just having a terrible time parking (its hard with very cramped lots and double and triple parkers). I was gesturing how she should line up, then she called out to my wife, and ask if I could just park it for her, haha.

I'm trying to become more patient when it is clearly an issue of inexperience versus the other person just being an ####### (sometimes it is really hard to tell over here).

 

I still get out and check my alignment /height and then the connection after I finish backing under the trailer. I have done tug tests without looking and it seemed hooked ar first but wasn't. Never dropped a trailer because I would still double check by looking and found it wasn't really connected. A couple extra seconds of your time can save you big time.

I don't want to me in one of those safety messages of the weekly follies

 

To answer your question, why a man his age,,,,
I’m 58, back at driving for almost two years now. For 30 some odd years I was a construction electrician, industrial computer programmer and I&C tech. I fell 4 years ago and fractured 2 lumbar vertebrae. 6 mos rehab, 9 mos before I could walk again. Not a chance in the world I could go back into construction and who the fark will hire a 50 sumpin year old white guy? Nobody. I sold everything I worked for all my life in order to live, and not on welfare.

I gotta find work so I thought maybe I can swing doors for a living and that’s what I’ve done. Millis took a chance on me and for that I’m ever grateful and a loyal employee. Maybe that old Swift driver driver had some hard luck too. If you’ll notice, there’re quite a few of us old guys out here. We take extra caution and time to be safe because our reflexes aren’t what they used to be but we’re dadgum proud of our job. We’re not sucking ’ the government tit yet.
Just consider it.

 

That makes me think of something unfortunate that happened around this time last year. My trainer showed me a news article where a driver in his 60s was killed. He had hooked up to a trailer but forgot to set his brakes before he got out to wind up the landing gear. When he did, the truck moved and pinned him beteern teo trailers.

He had previously retired from driving but came out of retirement because his wife had gotten sick (I think it was cancer) and he had to go back to work in order to be able to afford there treatment.

I heard a driver the other day cussing at another driver for taking a ramp too slow. I mean how dare that man try to be safer and cost that other guy a couple extra seconds of his clock! I got on the radio and defended the guy. Cussing driver says "Bah you can take this ramp at 70 mph. I do it all the time!" . Pretty sure he's one of those large car super truckers that one of us will see sleeping in a ditch in the near future.

Again... I can't fkn stand most of the other drivers. Usually the ones I find the most likeable are the old black guys.

 

Lol being new at this I find it funny the initial defensiveness other driver get into when you approach them. Whether it’s to make lite conversation or ask for information. It seems like they all are living on the edge of sanity.
I also find it amusing the shipping/receiving people can switch from dour/ miserable at the drop of a hat with a smile or a compliment.

 

Yep. Pretty amazing at what a smile can do,,, even from an ugly old cuss.