Covenant Dispatching - A Comedy of Errors

It was Classic Corrigated.

Aladdin Sane it's easy to bluster and threaten about Covenant's no-idle policy but when you need the work and with the economy like it is you can't afford to protest with your feet these days. I have been putting in applications with everybody I can for Redcoat and have not heard from a single company yet. Plus if you blow off their stupid policy and idle anyway, then they start taking $$$ out of your check and that hurts nobody but yourself there, too. I think it would take some kind of human rights organization to get involved and make it a media circus before anything would change.

Monday August 3rd (cont.) Redcoat calls the shipper in Denton, TX to see if he can pick up his load early to try to make it to Alexandria, LA before he runs out of hours for the day. They say the load is ready so RC leaves the truck stop at 1430 and arrives at the shipper at 1500. It's a simple drop & hook and RC is on the road in no time. Now here is where pressure is put on to the driver from all directions for those of you new to the industry. Remember that RC got up at 0600.

Factors to consider:
1. Covenant's no-idle policy and losing money out of your check if you do
2. The Texas summer heat which makes it impossible to sleep during the day so you can be rested to drive at night
3. DOT 11&14-hour rule
4. Must make an on-time delivery or face yet another service failure for not having a good enough excuse for being late. Recall the DM's unsympathetic words from a few weeks ago, "Figure out a way."

The choices are:
1. Idle anyway to get your 10-hour break in and end up working for nothing
2. Drive during the day (with A/C) knowing you can't get there before your 14-hours are up but at least you get your $100 pay for the trip.

How lucky do you feel?

Redcoat took his chances. He did a bit of fudge factoring on departure time and arrived in Alexandria, LA at 2230. He closes his log at the appropriate time not to go over 14 hours including his 15-minute post inspection.

He parks outside the receiver and will be the first in line to unload in the morning.

On his way to LA the QC beeped at 1600 with two jobs. XXXX659 pick-up in Crossett, AR at 1300 on the 4th, deliver Clebourne, TX at 0800 on te 5th. XXXX764 pick-up in Dallas, TX at 1230 on the 5th, deliver Meridian, MS at 0800 on the 6th. 545 total miles which will make it close as far as hours.

Redcoat contemplates asking his DM for a day off to take care of his hazmat endorsement since Tupelo is just up the road from Meridian.

Tuesday August 4th. 0700 RC leaves Alexandria, LA headed to Crossett, AR. At 1000 he takes a break for breakfast. He is 11 miles away from the shipper. 1020 he's on his way again.

 

Tuesday August 4th (cont.) After arriving in Crossett, AR to pick-up his load, he QC's his DM to ask for five hours off after delivering to Meridian tomorrow to take care of his hazmat endorsement. Ten minutes later he is deassigned from XXXX764. So he QC's his DM back to ask why he was deassigned when he needed to go there and gets the message back, "Checking with GP." Then a couple minutes later, "GP cancelled the load."

Maybe it's me but it sure seems funny that the load cancelled *right* after RC asks a favor for a few hours off to take care of his hazmat endorsement.

We'll never know....