Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

That was me. I'm finally gonna learn how to back this bucket up.

 

You go, driver!

 

LOL ... you just gave me a flashback from a year or so ago... longer story shorter, had just been “explained“ to me about a “conflict” that I had... which resulted in me having lost use of PC (for one day... lol) and about the same time I had gotten a talking to about communications and part of that conversation was that the QC was the “official line” of communications, or something because multiple people can see issues and respond as needed.... both left me a bit touchy... a couple days later, a broker F’d up a delivery appointment AFTER I started the load... it was to be dropped after my 11/14 and during my 10... I asked to stay on site... nope, can’t do that... told them if I leave I can’t legally get back here... nope, don’t care.... ok, I went and parked and submitted note (via QC) that I got kicked off site and I could not legally return.

next morning got a call from a grumpy Broker ... why didn’t I drop... told broker they F’d up and had me dropping well beyond my 11/14 and during my 10 (they knew when I left) and was kicked off site and could not legally return...

then the DM called... same thing... “well, I can’t use PC to move a load and I don’t want to lose it, again”.... why didn’t you call?... “I submitted a note alerting RVA to the situation via our official line of communications the QC”

For some reason, those issues have not come up since... lol

 

Wait... we are supposed to be able to back up??? Oh crap!!! Did I miss another memo?

 

Reefer I'm hooking this morning was loaded with Nestle water in Chesapeake on Friday. Somebody set it to 33° despite the BoL stating to protect product from freezing. Not terribly bad here as long as it warms slowly (thanks AP Chemistry,) but consider the same mistake made to one of our paint loads whose BoL says the same. Hoo boy.

 

Change in Dispatch Theory:

Im not saying this is what’s happening...
just connecting a few dots... but...

I think dispatch has changed from our traditional “Run Hard; Rest Later” approach to the “Revolving Recap” approach where each Driver has 8.75 hours to drive each day and they never have to take a reset. A concept I’ve heard from some Drivers that prefer to drive that way but never from anyone from behind the window.... until recently.

The dots that I’m connecting are as follows:

-a while back it was mentioned (I took in concept) by my DM... I laughed and said “sure, in theory if you can get the frieght to agree... lol”

-after the new year I was getting a lot of Day Runs and sitting until the next day leaving hours unused each day... I commented here about maybe we don’t have the frieght to keep everyone “running hard” and they were just spreading the loads out to keep everyone rolling a bit each day.

-I commented up the chain about it and I started to get longer runs of 1,100 miles... but then given two days to get it there... so it’s basically two “day runs”... again leaving unused hours but every other day as I sit onsite early.

-I mentioned here not too long ago that my DM “touched base” with me about a weekend load to Texas and suggested stopping two hours short in Austin for a Monday delivery in San Antonio which required starting my clocks instead of saving my full clocks for after LUL.

-and two days ago I touched base with my DM about my current load... CA to SC... LLD on Thursday... run hard for three days and could drop a whole day early... except I was going to run up to my 70... and would have to stop... (thinking they saw this and why I had an extra whole day on this load to accommodate for a required 34 hour reset) ... but when I communicated with DM that I would be in WM for a reset then drive Monday for LUL Tuesday... his response was “but that will screw up your recap hours”... confused I replied “if I get in a fresh 70 then recap is a moot point as I’ll have full clocks”

now that I’m thinking about it... I’m thinking they are dispatching on the “revolving recap” theory (and not telling us this is what they are doing) as the only way that me running solid 11s for 3 days and taking a reset (instead of driving easy over four days) would screw up my recaps would be if they were expecting me to be driving recap eight days from now and not any recap hours coming back soon.

so... just mentioning it here to see if others are getting similar loads or comments that fit this theory or if they are also being... well, not told, but “shepherded” from the “Run Hard; Rest Later” to the “Revolving Recap” approach.

So, I foresee that we will all soon be driving 8-9 hours each day and not taking 34 hour resets while OTR... I’m not judging it as good or bad... for I see pros and cons each way... drivers have shorter easier days and dispatch knows they have a standard 8-9 hours available from each driver each day.

Your Thoughts???

(@JohnBoy ... can your contacts confirm this?)

 

I have not put pencil to paper and done the math on it yet... but would running 8-9 hours a day every day result in the loss of a full day of driving from time to time compared to running hard and taking resets from time to time? Or it is 70 hours the same no matter how it’s consumed? Just wondering if people who are running “revolving recap” are making less potential money because they are missing out on potential drivable hours.

 

I meant, you know people that can confirm if this change in dispatch theory is more than just a theory and has in fact been put in place.