Getting my feet wet, as a pilot car

Yep. Nailed every point right on the head.

 

@Razorange, Ok about NO GO, let drop this because I do have my point of view on this and I guess you do have yours. (Me as a truck driver not always getting compensated for detention related to weather or something that is out of my control. If I did something that caused me and the Pilot not to roll sure, my fault NO questions asked NO GO paid).

"Everybody makes mistake" I don't think you would like to hear this phrase from your Doctor, Mechanic or Lawer, but why in this situation you think it is "Ok" to make mistakes.

All mistakes related to OSOW can be really costly. Who will take responsibility for them? Lead Pilot Car Driver? His direct job is to LEAD you. I'm not saying Truck Driver doesn't need to know his permit, but if the pilot car driver charges me money I want to get a good service. Simple as that.

Chief in a restaurant doesn't ask me how to make my stake medium rear just to make everybody's job easier, he is getting paid for doing his job to the best of his abilities.

 

Did you hire a pilot car or a gps?

I’m not sure how you would call a day where you ordered pilot cars and then didn’t travel anything but a no go. That’s literally the definition of a no go.

 

@kylefitzy Did you read what I have posted " it is 2 hours before sunset and no place to park" We agreed to start at noon, and we got crane loading that took longer than expected and but 3 pm we were ready to roll. The closest place that would be able to accommodate 13 wide 15'6 tall 130' long 236000 lb was 4 hours away and sunset was in 2 hours. Yes, we could start driving and at that point, I wouldn't have to pay NO GO, but that would create a problem for both of us. It wasn't a short run, almost 2000 mile and we delivered at agreed with pilot date and time.

My GPS doesn't charge me $1.80 a mile.

Please, could you tell me what is the pilot car driver job description? This way I will know for my future references.

 

Your job as a professional driver is to be aware of travel conditions. You should know ahead of time if inclement weather has a chance of forcing you to stay put. Yes sometimes freak storms do pop up but that's part of trucking.

If I tell the pilot to be there and we don't leave that day because of weather or any other outside force they get paid NO GO. I made that choice to not move because of weather.

Believe me I am well aware of the risks of making a mistake with OSOW.

I rolled into an Arkansas scale a day early because I misread my permit. The cop had would have been well within the law to write me a ticket for being 130,000 lbs over weight and voided a $1300 permit. Instead he accepted that mistakes do happen and let me off easy with a $127 ticket for overwidth only. Gave me the option of ordering a new permit or staying at the scale for a night. I took that ticket with a smile on my face, shook his hand and thanked him for not making it worse.

I never said that it was OK to make mistakes. Nobody is perfect though.

That front pilot car is not your GPS. His job is not to lead you on your route. The purpose of a lead pilot is to warn oncoming traffic of a load that me be over the center line at times. They are to warn you of road or shoulder obstructions that you will need to maneuver the load around. They are to help with traffic control when trying to make turns that otherwise might not be possible with traffic up to the stop lines at an intersection.

A pilot doing his job properly will warn you of all those things as well as warn the public of the hazards the oversize load make create. Yes he should know the route just as well as you do.

Asking the driver to confirm turns is making everybody's life easier.

As I said before I routinely go back and forth with my lead pilot and confirm most turns. If he hasn't called a turn or ramp back to me within 1 mile of it I generally call it to him.

 

If your customer was a day late in getting you loaded, for what ever reason, a assume you would charge them? I know we would, why should a pilot cat be any different. It’s just business.

 

2 options to avoid that problem.

1. Tell your pilot to be there the morning after loading. That way you have the whole day to deal with possible delays. If they don't think they will get you until the next day you can always stall off that pilot and possibly avoid your NO GO.

I understand this is not always ideal as it could mean a partial day of lost travel and a customer having to wait an extra day to get their load. It does allow you to avoid the potential cost of the NO GO for you.

2. Tell your pilot to be there the day you are loading and hope all goes well. If your customer is in a rush to get this piece delivered this might be necessary to take that risk. If the crane takes too long to load then you have to pay the NO GO.

If all goes well, you get moving as planned and make a little extra for providing slightly faster service. If it doesn't work out the NO GO fee is covered.


Believe me I understand how hard something that size can be to park as I deal with it myself constantly. I will gladly pay the NO GO before taking a chance and not having a safe place to park.

 

@kylefitzy If you will read a lot of contracts do state "No Detention will be paid for weather-related delays". This can go both ways if the driver got into a storm and delivery got delayed and if crane load got delayed because of strong winds. I think you a missing a point that the pilot car driver got done with that load on time that we agreed on, no delay for him. If I do understand correctly NO GO is a fee to compensate last or not earned revenue. In that particulate situation, we agreed that we will deliver on a specific date and time the pilot car driver got paid in full for his miles and has been relieved of his duty on the agreed date and time. No last revenue for him.

 

@Razororange I really appreciate your input. I don't have a problem paying NO GO or any other fees if you are getting a good service. This is very important. Sometimes it feels like, just because state does require to have a pilot car, and you have the pilot car that does drive like maniac and doesn't call anything on the radio for hours. I feel like I just been used.

 

I would fire a lead car if they did that. I'm paying them to provide a specific service. If they can't do that they can go find something else to mess up but it won't be my load. I would rather be a month late with the load than risk damage or injuries because of a bad pilot car.

It's all about communication. Before moving the load I let them know my expectations and how I run. I usually ask what their fuel range is so I can plan gas stops and bathroom breaks along the route. I let them know what I need them to call out. If I can see around the load I let them know that I may not always call out lane changes.

I've also been up front to many pilots that they are only there as a chase car because the state says they have to be. They get a nice easy paycheck and I get to keep troopers off my back. I've had plenty of times where we didn't say anything on the radio for hours just cruising down an interstate.