Vox: How job surveillance is changing trucking in America

I was in an orientation not long ago and the company had these driver facing cameras. During the orientation, they stated they only record the previous 15 seconds when there is an event. Everyone was like "ok, great" then they showed us about a dozen videos of THEIR drivers involved in incidents or near misses etc. What me and the guy next to me immediately noticed was that about half the videos had a record time in excess of thirty seconds before the incident even happened. LOL.

One thing I've learned thus far about the trucking industry as a whole? As a driver, you are literally told anything they think you want to hear to keep or rope you in, while using slight of hand to screw you a bit more. I am an infant in this industry and have already learned to not believe or take everything I hear with a grain of salt.

 

I'm impressed. I've always claimed within 15 minutes coast to coast. I'm not sure I'm quite confident enough in the cosmic forces around me to claim 7 minutes.

 

It's really close to your 15 minutes.

Specifically Avenel NJ to LA. We got it down to 7 minutes by breaching the US 1 series of lights to 287 speeding at 46 in several places to get ahead of the yellow timing all the way down. And skipping one of two fuel stops. Which was risky. 320 some gallons for just over 2100 miles. I usually risked 300 gallon trucks to 1600 but never more than 2000 as long the needle moved with the sloshing of fuels down there. But we would push it to save 20 minutes at Holbrook. It's a problem because shes getting dry. So we try go grab a quick splash late at night in the Little Rock area where we know it's possible to get in grab and go. 50 gallons or so. No wasting time.

If I had a ungoverned truck from say Yakima WA to Boston Market at 70... it's about 51 hours to drive, split up in sleeper berth stops on HOS PRIOR to the 11/14 rule years. So I can get within 10 minutes to 15 minutes when we will arrive there in Chelsea. Downtown.

If I had a governed truck, I have to go through Wisconsin and gather by stop watch the yardstick averages between them to the second. Once i am satisfied I know how many seconds per mile all out full speed flat ground, then I write it down in a notebook.

Ive taken some fast trucks there and some of those mile markers have gone by really fast. I quit doing that because Madison Lawman almost had me coming over the hill steaming...

 

Yeah, I just cheat and cook the books. I give myself an extra hour to spare each day and calculate at 65, 60 for back roads, 50 in some areas. If i lose more than that hour i speed up a little. At the other end I usually made better time and have 6 hours to spare giving me time to go golfing first lol

 

I tend to roll out a whole 24 so that the first 15 hours day driving is done and I am ahead at least 9 more and now know that I will be there somewhere between 14 to 30 hours early. Time enough to decompress and relax and get ready for the appt day unloading the #### thing.

It wont work on ELD.

 

As a general rule, I don't watch anything produced by VOX.