Good Night From II

Mira loma California

 

Oh, I see why you guys can get away without dinging your trucks... you don't spend enough time in the Northeast! Come on over and have some fun dropping trailers in lots with 10' spaces, and all of 60' between rows! Dance with four wheelers in New Jersey, driven by people who obviously have a death wish! Back around blind corners into docks designed for 20' straight trucks, with all the dock area lighting shut off because the neighbors complain about the light shining through their windows! Two lane state highways that make 90 degree turns between buildings, with cars parking on both sides! All this while dodging potholes big enough to park a Yugo in!

 

I havent driven NE since the beginning but I have had my share or tight areas and I also spend a lot of time with traffic driving in LA several times a week, also some stores that are nice and tight requiring to steal multiple lanes just to make a turn. I am glad we dont have the Pasadena store anymore, that one required making a left turn from the 3rd lane over and still could not make the turn if a car showed up in the intersection.

Patience, caution and taking your time goes a long ways in those hard places, some fail to have those qualities which cause the incidents normally.


I had to call onroad since I had a flat tire, 5 hours later my tire is finally replaced, now have to try and get some sleep then heading to Vegas.

 

MsJamie...haha, yeah..good ole New Jersey!!

i didn't say it's been a cake walk for me, just that I hadn't scratched or damaged my equipment. It's taken a LOT of effort and due diligence not to. I've come very close at times.

My first year I felt like I couldn't get off the East Coast. Got intimate with the I-95 corridor tween Baltimore and Washington. Memorable locations were down on street level in Norfolk, Boston, Philly, Baltimore and the Bronx. Got lost and hung up in power lines in winter going to Campbell Soup in Jersey at night. Going into small Appalachian towns backing in off the road where the REAL dueling banjo guys hang out!! Delivering in Chicago's Southside at night in the projects with gunshots around the corner. Downtown Milwaukee at night!! Navigating extremely tight mountain switchbacks in Flaming Gorge UT. Highway 50 in CO with 2000'+ cliffs with no shoulders and no guardrails. Delivering in Oakland, Compton and just about anywhere in The LA Basin. I respect the crap outta folks like Wolfie that run The Basin ALL the time..takes fortitude to put up with all that #### out there. And the list of difficult places just goes on and on!!

Bottom line is it's not just the East Coast...it's everywhere. There are a million ways to get tripped up if you don't pay attention and stay focused. Not preaching to you but just for all drivers new and experienced. New drivers learning the ropes as well as more experienced ones who have to resist complacency. Out of Houston this past year the more experienced drivers had the highest accident rates, mostly rear end collisions and backing.

I work very hard at doing the best I can at this job being safe and not having mishaps. I certainly don't want any injury accidents on my conscience either. I won't be with Swift forever and I want a solid, safe resume when I leave. I'm seriously considering regional hazmat chemical tankers out if Houston.

I don't want to sound like I'm Gods Gift to trucking..far from it. I learn something or experience something new every day and have a LONG way to go. My hats off to all the owners too that also have to run their truck as a business. I'm just a Company Guy. I'm just saying that anyone who comes into this industry, stays vigilant and focused CAN get through every day on the road without ####### up. I don't really subscribe to the mindset that accidents and mishaps are inevitable.

 

yep experienced drivers can have an incident just as easy, or if you get too comfortable with a route then stop paying attention to new things that pop up, wasnt too long ago a driver on this fleet who drove on it for years had an incident with a fire hydrant that was put in randomly....things happen. I always pay attention to my surroundings, also during heavy traffic or when im getting within a couples miles of turns etc I even pause my audiobooks to stay focused.

 

Doing a 10 at the Petro in Laramie. Only had 8 on my 70 for today and burned a couple going to the p/u. Had 1hr left when I parked.

Went to a live load at FMC a few miles north of Little America. Been there several times and arrived 15 mins early. They're FCFS 8am-1:30pm. Two other Swifties ahead of me, two more came after me. They only have 2 docks but they load fast. I was there for about an hour total trading "Swift" stories and scaled up at Little America. Just a tad under 79K gross with 3/4 fuel.

Ride to Laramie was uneventful. Get back 10 hrs tonight so will be keeping the left door shut tomorrow and getting as far as possible to reduce my delivery day drive to Chicago on Monday. Want another load after that ASAP that I can finish on Wednesday.

 

jurupa terminal. did the 1 trip from otay mesa to chino today. only had 4.5 hrs left on 70 and wouldnt have made it back here. so doing a reset for fresh hours monday. went and saw the movie Fury. first time i been to a theatre for a long time. movie was good.

 

How was the popcorn?

 

who the heck pays $5 for a popcorn? I sneak in stuff when I finally hit a movie.

Ran to Vegas and made great time today, took me just a tad over 10.5 hours for the round trip to end a decent day of 616 miles.

 

i never pay their overpriced stuff. ate dinner before going lol