The BS level of this career is unbelievable!

In Jersey City there are knocks in the night. Just before they saw the trailer through to get whatever it in it. A very long time ago. You better answer the knock.

There was one incident my spouse as a team showed some worry and fear over a knock inside the south chicago meat market. I told her I will take care of it. Don't make a sound. Cost me a menthol smokes for a couple and a few dollar bills to get rid of the parasite. And he was on his way. Until the next one.

I tell you this, I had some trouble there that night when assessing trailer after being empty in the winter night at the edge of the property. A large white rat about 3 feet long with a tail half it's length and eyes size of half dollars examined me as a food content. Had my thumper with me I stood my ground if it should want to take a bite of me. It went into it's burrow.

I tell you what I will not go back there in any winter without the .45 Colt. in Super. with hardcast 255 grain for it. It's not as bad as it was but when animals examine you without fear it's a problem.

 

I don't view the beggars as such. Especially the lot lizards that are willing to put some slobs tool in their mouth for a few bucks.

I tend to view them thinking no one ever imagined when they were in the second grade they'd end up in such a plight.

I throw em a few bucks. If you can't afford the few bucks, probably time to get that cushy office job.

 

Is the eld going to report you for dropping the trailer? Or is there a way you can just do it.

I can not imagine calling the law because someone is knocking on my rig, I just have a hard time beliving trucking has come to this.
I also can't imagine tlling another company driver that they will have to come back in 10 hours, or getting bent because dispatch tried to call on my off duty time.
Honestly if this got you stressed, I am thinking it is going to be a miserable career, maybe a short one but miserable all the less.

 

I would just parade the dropped trailer, log the comms voicemail and log everything onduty, the lawman interaction and so on. It's all truck related. Then additional time as requires to interchange with other driver. And reset the sleep clock, then deal with the overweight back to shipper or find a drop lot to dump it so they can reload part of it into another trailer.

Stacks of violations all over that ELD in my case. The company would yank me into the office fast to 'splain this. I would have that dispatcher who left voice mail called in and asked him why did you fail to pass to me on the satellite the pending interchange at that truckstop you planned hours before this incident? This is why your company has all these violations.

Fire me if you want but this is not my fault. I would not want to be the Big Suit PooBah in charge of cleaning this mess up.

They are not used to have people like me speak up and talk truth to suits in power. Thats why they hire waifs and others who are not as able to stand on rules and regulations after a messy incident like this one. Trust me, they would be rid of me soon enough. Wont be the first time.

 

Sounds like a normal night OTR. What problem?

Had a guard knock on my door at 3am. To let me know I can unload. My cat got in the window under the curtain. Guard thought it was the funniest thing: "That cat looked at me like; What the hell do you want?!"

 

Just leave your phone on.
It’s a 10 hour break, not 10 hours totally isolated from the universe.

I hope you can accept criticism because you’ll probably get a lot of it.

 

It's not to be taken as criticism.

Companies do not operate in this universe. You have a problem and their first thought is the precious tractor first before anything.

"What did you do to my truck drivah?" not a word for your damaged body waiting life flight.... you are expendable and replaceable.

The BS levels here in the situation presented by the OP is normal and expected. You just have to basically log everything these days in real time violate stack the ELD and splash your company. All of this will blow over until next time. (And there will be a next time.)

A time ago before we stopped teaming, FFE had us go to Voss MO emergency one time from Memphis to grab a trailer that was late to Chicago. Had left Chicago going home to Arkansas for two weeks off. (Not today... or any day...) and 8 am Memphis sent us rolling coal cross country to Voss MO to get trailer.

I find the FFE truck and trailer there, knock on his door and say drop trailer please you get ours over there.

No problem trailer dropped. Turned out it was a trainer and student. Both were late to Chicago. and out of hours etc etc etc. sad stories. (Never saw them again.) this was on paper logs not ELD in 2000.

We were back in downtown Chicago that night prior to midnight same day. Saved the load.

They owe us some home time. Thats something that you will get next month after you run around solving company BS problems.

 

I don’t want to be that guy but In this industry there will always be give and take. Sometime they give, sometimes they take.

Next time be a team player because all you looked like was a stuck up d-bag to the other drivers.

 

So if he had a gun. Big deal.

I don't say this to tease or to poke, I simply don't care what the person knocking got as long he, she or it tells me what they want. It could be anything from swapping trailers to hooking or worse.

In my time I had a buck special in it's holster. if they want into that truck in those days it will take alot for them to get in. Seeing that there is a strapped pair of doors across the dog house and me in one corner waiting for them to stick their head in far enough. IF they still had a weapon then I will have to do what I need to do and we all will read about it tomorrow on the morning news.

One time in TN we actually had a honest to goodness invasion of our cab from a sexual pervert chasing my spouse. She got into the cab with me in the bunk then buried herself into the pax corner deep to see what I would do. The pervert escaped before I made contact with my knife. It would have been such a mess. It's too bad the law did not get him. Ive told this story several times as it happened before.

You should not be afraid of anything. Whatever happens will happen. If its happen to be too much excitement from OTR trucking and the wild night in nuketown... then maybe you can consider a shift to a nice local job pouring cement locally or something. It is good to be afraid. That means you are human. What you do about it will decide your future.