Do Folks Want to be Tracked Every Inch They Go?

OK, to put all the bickering and BS aside here. . .

Quite obviously from a lot of the responses, a lot of folks do want this. I had a run in with a fairly new dispatcher back in the 90's when she QC'ed me, asking why the hell I was out of route. I wasn't authorized to be "down on US 50" when I was "supposed to be up on I-70." Even though I-70 was closed at the time, due to multiple accidents in bad weather. I tried to explain that to her, but she was either too freaking stupid, too upset, or too enamored with her own perceived power to listen. She beatched me off to the owner of the company. Of course when I talked to him about it, that was the end of it.

But it set me to the point where I did not want to be tracked, nor did I want to work for an outfit that dictated routes. I left that company within a couple of months.

Now as to your question about using it for job ads, just look at the ads on TV and in magazines. Some folks will try to tell you that it is a plus to have to take medication that can kill you. I'm surprised I haven't seen an add trying to sell outhouses. . .

 

My company can track the tractors at will, and I am fine with that. They own the equipment, and have a significant amount of money invested in it and in the freight I'm hauling. It makes sense to me that they would look to protecting that investment. I am not tracked by my company during my off time. The company does not know if I have parked the truck in a safe location to spend time with my family or to walk down to the really good restaurant down the street. My time is my own. And I'm fine with that as well.

As far as being tracked through my cell phone, that only works if I carry the bloody thing with me all the time, and I don't.

 

I'm leased to a carrier that tracks company trucks, the reason given by the owner has been said here in previous posts. Also they track the drivers with qualcomm because the newer drivers can't seem to figure out how to route themselves or make good decisions. Electronics are making people dumber in a way of common sense and good decision making skills. It's easier they say to just google it or what ever and follow electronics blindly. Most not all drivers can't even do basic things like change bulbs or wiper blades or even do a good pretrip. Not talking about walking around trl and trk kicking tires and checking lights. I mean an honest to goodness pretrip. Most drivers can't even tell you the specifications or measurements that dot officers look for during a level 1 inspections. Most new and some old drivers can't be bothered, if the trk starts and will roll they say it's good. They don't look for hoses rubbing bulging might start leaking, hell they don't even check tire psi's. It's the not mine i don't care attitude. They provide no value to the employer in the way of doing little things to help them out god forbid if they are asked to do something without getting paid. This is the reason the companies want all this electronic crap to track irresponsible lazy drivers. To protect the assets. I'm so glad i don't have any electronics in my trk. Yes it's a new trk but no people net etc installed. Paper logs and still make a check call once per day. And i love it dispatch calls me with load info and i call customers and still make good money. And am just as effecient as a modern electronic cowboy. I have a very old basic flip phone that doesn't have any thing except basic phone functions it makes and receives phone calls that's it nothing else.

 

Ok, maybe the second sentence was harsh. I will concede that.

But this is a discussion forum, not an essay type forum post requiring a strict reply. We are here to learn. I wanted to learn why tracking is a bad thing in the OP's mind.

Mikeeee

 

Fair point. He did say he would go to a tracking company for better pay and hometime, i will leave it to him to elaborate on the details

 

In regard to the original question, I doubt many companies have the desire or the staff to track every inch of every trucks movement. However, having GPS in the truck can have several advantages. One being increase in amount of loads that can be hauled. There are companies that ship large amounts of freight that will not put it on a truck that cannot be tracked by GPS. Another is that many drivers want to be with a company that is technologically advanced. There is the thought among many people that companies that do not embrace new technology and operate as they did in decades past will not survive. Whether that happens or not, only time will tell.

 

If the tracking was used to for optimizing load planning on the fly, I can see it as positive. But we all know it is used far more like Big Don mentioned, as a nanny. And that's about as positive as anal seepage as a med side effect.

 

Yeah, I can relate to that scenario. With Swift we are supposed to keep our "out of route" below 16%. However, unless I happen to get a weekend or night dispatcher that is ... uhmmm... over reliant on computer technology, it's generally no problem to inform them I'm running out of route in order to be faster, safer, or to avoid known issues like trying to run through a national park. I had a run from LA to Pueblo, CO last winter, and in order to save 17 miles the computer system kicked out a route heading up I-15 to I-70, then go east on US-50. Once I got to Barstow I called dispatch and told them I was headed east on I-40 then north on I-25. "No problem, just reoptimize fuel when you need it".

On the other hand you'll run into a "Poindexter" in the office that's never driven a truck. Fortunately my home terminal is stocked with actual drivers that man the keyboards. That's a good thing, and it's also good to know they also have frustrations with the automated system kicking out weird fuel stops or inane routes through small towns that can be easily avoided.