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The Gordian Knot is an apt analogy at times. Remember it to Alexander the Great with a sword to solve it- which is a classic example of thinking outside the box. And sometimes, you really gotta think outside the box. Problem in this case, is that the box is large and poorly defined, and is being spun around by the poo-flinging monkeys in the zoo.

Nobody's accusing you of being stupid. Trust me, the first person to catch the downhill ######## when the consignee is pissed because his shipment isn't at his facility by the promised date (despite it being legally and/or physically impossible) is me. I then try to calmly explain how transportation regulations work... and so on. I try to shield the carrier from that as much as I can. I obviously can't control what happens on the ground, but if you're holding your end up, I'm certainly not going to harangue you about it.

At any rate, that's my thoughts on it.

 

I wonder if the customer would be willing to be handed a controller, a computer and a powerful internet. They can drive and guide the robot truck there themselves.

That way if it failed, it will be on thier end. No yelling needed.

 

Hahaha.... That'd be hilarious.

 

I'm working on a Publishing Clearing House Sweepstakes

 

Now that #### be funny!! LOL

 

Don't laugh too hard. Drone trucks might just turn trucking into a job that resembles a call center long before the computers put you out of work.

Then again then even OTR guys would be able to go home every day on time every day. The job wouldn't pay as well and it would be sort of bad for Berkshire Hathaway (they bought out TA recently I think)... But is that really the worst thing that could happen?

The job would be a whole lot safer for the driver that's for sure. I drive a car around every day and I know who I'm afraid of ####ing up and killing me. It's other idiots in cars. I would HATE to be exposed to their idiocy for 14 hours a day driving something with reduced maneuverability. I get that the truck is really heavy and that makes it super dangerous period... But I don't think most people realize that truck drivers have similar on the job fatality rates to coal miners and like 3x the OTJ fatality rate of cops.

I don't know what to think about the whole game. I know that this specific version of it is only going to happen now and that tomorrow's version will be as different from today as today was from yesterday. I'll just keep on trying to adapt to it I guess.

 

Trucking is indeed very dangerous. Logging is more dangerous than trucking, but not by much in terms falls, injury etc.

20 years ago in a game forum with our Squad of about 1000 I joked on a forum posting that someday we will be gaming on a computer that is a size of a brick or less fitting in your pocket.

Guess what, they are doing that right now on smart phones which have contained the computer power that exceeded the desktops I first built less than 20 years ago. When I go into a online shooting game to hunt humans, some of them are on tablets and smart phones now. I actually just finished upgrading mine for internet purposes with mozilla and the same ad blocking stuff I have on this machine. There is essentially no difference now except size etc.

A robot truck just finished a coast to coast run not too long ago. So we are there. Part of my joking in that thread here on TTR is that we are no longer looked down on as steering wheel holders now we are recliners waiting for a computer screw up by the robot truck going down the road.

I appreciated your postings, I actually learned a little bit from it and understand it better than I did yesterday or any day.

Adapting would be so easy if your sales people could text the relevant trucker and dispatcher and set up the actual delivery arrival that takes in account everything. That way all involved would understand that truck will be there at a actual legit time and date rather than wallow in overpromising and possibly hormone driven energy on the phone best spent elsewhere or at home.

Can you imagine a workforce office in your group that is nice and peaceful because the trucks are going to get there at a certain date if not also a known hour depending on the National Situation when viewed in terms of storms, disruptions, HOS etc etc etc.

A long time ago when I first started trucking the old 40's 50's and 60 rigs would do well to get from say Jersey to California in 10 days.

Today's TRAINS do 10 days cross country, no one seems to stress about that. But trucking is required to have a team do the USA in 3 days or less. Ive done it as a team with wife. If solo I have to go from Yakima to Boston in less than 6 days. Winter storms are not a excuse. That Boston market will have their onions on the 6th day or I will be fired and someone else preferably dumber and less argumentative etc would be sent to do it. Laws and HOS, drugs etc too if necessary.

I can go on, but my view as a trucker who has to meet the promises of people I never see or talk to is a pretty small view from where I am compared to yours between the shipper, reicevers and my dispatcher and our company.

The new ELD system probably will create a 10 days to California situation all over again. That load in the box is still going to have to get to the store to be bought, it should not have to be done in three days if it will end up on the shelf for a week....