amazing how bad the mega drivers are

Do, they do not teach common sense. Because, common sense can not be taught in that context.

Common spelling can be taught...

 

My father told me once of a story from west Texas back while I was in the service in the late 70s. 2 drivers were fighting because of something each gettng in the others way coming from Dallas area. Somewhere around Van Horn it ended. One driver shot and killed the other. Over the years since people in 4 wheelers have shot truckers. It does happen.

 

And guess what. The insurance companies give out better rates to large mega companies than you or me single owner operators.

Its NOT about "risk liability" that sets your insurance policies, its about money

 

Swift has more million plus safe drivers than most companies combined have drivers period. Let that sink in. Hell, at the Troutdale terminal they have a hallway that is probably 250 feet long and both walls are lined with 8x10 pics of their diamond drivers and accident free million milers. And that is drivers from that one particular terminal. 500 feet of them, stacked 2 high. If you don’t work for a mega carrier, there’s probably close to 100% chance that your carrier doesn’t even have that many staff, trucks or drivers. And that’s one terminal at Swift. They have something like 52 terminals I believe... Swift just had a driver retire after 50 accident free years and then another 10 carting people around the Phoenix terminal. He told people to call him “Four”... when I asked him why, he said “because that’s my driver code”. As a frame of reference, my driver code was in the 400,000’s.

 

And I don’t believe for a single second that anyone with other a year on a cdl is accident free. Everyone has rubbed a trailer at a shipper, curbed a trailer tire, dragged tandems across some grass... they just don’t self report unless they are a ####ing idiot. Don’t be self righteous.

And don’t think for a minute that just because you haven’t been caught or been in a reportable accident that you’re a safe driver. You can get ####ed off out here in an instant. Your attitude is going to get you or someone else killed.

 

I am in full agreement. I will just add that most of the time when those things happen you wrote about. It is in docks that are old and really not large enough for 53 footers. Safe driving is an attitude. If I took the time I could write over 2 or 3 thousand words about things I have done. Most of the things were early on or when exhausted. Safe drivers should have confidence in their abilities. Not ####sure attitudes they know it all. Like I stated. Being safe is an attitude. However this industry is not forgiving of repeated mistakes no matter why.

 

A mega bragging about a safety record is like a drunk driver bragging about killing a school bus full of students. Sure, in the first 9 miles before the accident he was accident free, it is only in the 10th mile, before he hit the buss, that he had trouble. 9 out of 10 aint' bad? That is still an 'A?'

The mega is just a breading ground for stupidity. No not every driver that works for the mega is stupid, that is not what I am saying. I am saying, that it is smart to get away from the megas where you make more money and have more respect. And those drivers that take the smarter route in their profession, leave behind a larger population of dullards and #########, then the population in general, to make up the workforce of the mega.

 

Couldnt be much worse. Yesterday on Hwy 30 close to Tama, Ia there were 2 semis and two 4 wheelers willing to race around me and an oversize driver pulling a heavy backhoe on blind hills because he would bog down and i was stuck behind him at 77k. Impatient pricks. Tried to get ahold of the OS driver but met with silence from the cb. Couple near misses. From oncomming traffic.

 

"Cannot" is one word, just sayin'....