Don't you love it when they tell you parking available

I was with May many years ago when I delivered at a grocery warehouse in Seattle. My doc time was 10 PM. May refused to pay the lumper and I had no choice in the matter. The load was a break down onto two hundred plus boards and it took more than six hours to get the truck unloaded.

At 5 AM I received my bills and was to pick up another load at Quincy Washington by 0800 that morning.

Well, needless to say, I had driven all day to get to delivery and worked all night unloading, so I went to North Bend - parked and went to bed. At noon, I got out of the sack and grabbed a shower, then called May.

They wanted to know where I was and why I had not checked in?

Imagine that! Of course I told them. Then they said I had to pay overtime to get the trailer loaded at Quincy and to get over there as quick as possible.

I flat out stated, the overtime will be arranged and paid by May for being stupid by the time I get there, or I'm going to continue home until they get their heads on strait.

Well, the overtime had been arranged and they paid it. My log book looked legal, but as most of you know, it was not. However, I was loaded by 4:30 that after noon and on the road again. I still had another days drive in by midnight.

No, they were not happy with me, but their turn over rate was 300 % every quarter and I still stayed with them and gave them a bad time for 18 months total.

Drivers have no protection. You do what you must to survive, but don't let them walk all over you or in far too many cases they will.

A company driver is just a number on a board. Don't expect Congress to write the regulations to support drivers as most of them have investments in the freight industry. They want the best profits they can get. Thus, the industry remains unfriendly in many ways.

 

Nobody has protection from government anymore.

Anyway, the company I drive for has QualComms, but they don't use them to monitor our every move. Mostly just as a communications device. We send in a Mac4 (hours of service) daily, but this is only for lines 3 and 4 and they don't track "hours available." The company puts the responsibility of keeping track of these things on the driver. When I send in an empty call, I include my available hours for that day and the next 24 hours.

I only get in trouble if the logs I turn in aren't legal or don't look right. It's my responsibility.

 

Yes, the responsibility is on the drivers shoulders. It does not matter the pressure from dispatch. If you get in trouble, accident, etc., you pay the price.

I know that Schneider requires drivers to park when their qual Com beeps when they are out of hours. They are strict. At least that is what I hear.

Doesn't help when you are trying to get to a truck stop for something to eat and a shower before going to bed.

 

I've heard that of several companies. I've also heard that some companies "shut off" the truck when the time is up, but that's never been substantiated. I'd highly doubt this to be true given the safety concerns involved.

 

Yeah, I could just see the truck shut down in the middle of traffic on the NJ Turnpike ten miles from the Truck Stop.

 

lol. Fer sure. I do know it's possible, through the QualComm, to set it up so the truck won't turn over (start up) after the ignition is turned off. That might be what's going on. Would suck if you stalled it on said turnpike, though. haha

 

Yep, could prove downright interesting.

 

Hey were does a guy find out that information on the fly?

 

CB Radio, Truck Stops (Just ask those who have been there). That is the fastest way to find out about a state. Legal questions you are not sure of, you need to contact the state or perhaps in some cases you can get the information over the Internet.