A Driver On ELogs,Fighting His 14 Hours!!

lol them cold storage or grocery warehouse are a true pain.

 

My spouse hit a personal wall in Nevada. We had left Vegas which was pretty nice to be around, but headed towards Reno in the wastelands... I think some hours later we pulled into Hawthorne's front gate near Walker Lake, she woke me up and said I cannot take this nothing all day. Take me to Reno please. So I broke the HOS and got her from there to Reno that day. Apparently there is nothing between Vegas and Hawthorne the route we took. Just rocks and dirt and heat. Lots of each. It blew her mind.

We actually crossed the eastern sierras or cascade range where the pine trees are "THIS BIG" and what trees. And a foot of snow everywhere too. Going from Death valley's burning heat into the snow country is a bit mind bending even for me. It's too quick changing from hot summer to blasting winter.

 

Not necessarily.... Just tonight I planned on stopping Mt Vernon Illinois made it with just 2 min to spare due to a truck that caught fire on 57n just pass the 24w split.... Planning had me arriving here with over an hour left on my clock. All the planning in the world cannot account for unforseen circumstances.


That said totally preventable by looking at the surface your pulling onto and taking your time if unsure ( swing headlights over there put your window down whatever it takes) many times I have parked at truck stops or gravel lots that I was under familar with I would shne my high beams toward any area I was going to move my truck into ( a empty space to make sure it's empty) or get out and walk over there and check it.

I've been driving nearly 3 years now and never violated HOS but have come #### close on multiple occasions aswell as had to deliver late sometimes requiring a rescheduling of delivery or pickup. I simply consider my self lucky in those situations.

 

When DOT wakes you up.You can’t park here.Welllll sheeet!!!!

 

I remember them pulling stunts like that in rest areas, waking people up for inspections, then giving tickets for not logging as soon as they got out of the sleeper. Remember the regulators are a money making scam looking for ways to pull money away from the workers to justify the crap they pull. Government will not fix anything, all they do is take money from workers and claim it is in the name of safety while the worker with a family to support is going to do something dangerous to try to recoup the loss...while the company they work for still makes a profit and throws you to the sharks. Start doing the same hours as your dispatchers, if the place holds you over and you run out of legal hours to get to safe parking shut down in the dock and make them tow you off.

 

If you do that make sure you go into that place with at least 5 hours to work on the clock, state that you have so many hours left and you need so many hours to get to a safe place to park,, cover your butt and play the legal card while letting them know that if you can not get to your safe place it is the responsibility of the company and dock to provide a safe place or a tow to a safe place. Document it all because it will be coming down to hiring lawyers soon to cover our rights., Or if you do not have plenty of time pull into a spot that will block all the employees at that place, put your triangles out, and make them tow you.

 

Ok,we will reschedule you 3 days from now.Enjoy your rest.

 

Take the crap back to the shipper saying they do not want it, if everyone starts doing that the shelves will be empty and then what?

 

We going to need lawyers to start writing contracts to haul these goods, stating that unloading and loading is to take 2 hours to be completed and paperwork back in hand otherwise a hefty charge will be placed. We keep folding to these crooks we are going to be walked on and then the fines will always be to us. Something has to change, most of the drivers I know are honest hard working family people and we need to stand up.

 

Shipper and receiver excessive delays are much less then they used to be, and slowly improving every few years. You're never going to eliminate all of it. Crap happens that's out of other's control sometimes.

Seems some drivers want shippers and receivers to always be quick and efficient but when someone asks them to be quick and efficient, they pitch a fit and say "it'll get there when I get it there". How many times have we read those words in these forums?