How do I ETA like a missile?

Yup. He made me do my DOT 30min break after fueling. lol

 

Ahh. I missed that. Then he is probably talking about the travel ban pa puts in place for winter weather.

 

When my dispatcher asks me for an ETA, I take a look at the ETA on Google Maps, and depending on how close I am, I’ll add anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to give myself a cushion. Works for me.

 

I assume you're talking about your trainer/former trainer. I will fight a mf'er for blockin a fuel lane. The only time its half acceptable is at a truck stop that has empty pumps at night.

 

Wow, you made it from the quad cities area to Elizabeth within the 11hr window? It takes 6hrs to just get across PA.

 

I figure it at 49 mph plus required off duty time.

 

There is a lot that can be said, but for starters:

10.88 (driving) + 0.5 (break) + 0.75 (on duty) = 12.13 (or, 12:08 hrs)

This means that if you roll hard every day, assuming you have a 3,000-mile load, you will wake up about 1 hour and 45 minutes early every day.

Monday 08:00 (start of work)
Tuesday 06:15
Wednesday 04:30
Thursday 02:45
Etc.

NOTE: a beginner driver may want to be more cautious and perhaps go with 10.5 or 10.75 hrs of driving out of the 11.

I run numbers every day while driving to make sure I’m on time for delivery. The more you run numbers, the easier it gets.

Some factors:

• Weather (rain, snow, storms...)
• Terrain (hilly, mountains, flat...)
• Speed limit (CA 55 mph...)
• Traffic (going through cities...)
• Type of highway (interstate/freeway, two lane roads, traffic lights, stop signs...)

Converting hours to regular numbers

15 min = 0.25
30 min = 0.5
45 min = 0.75
60 min = 1

12 min = 12/60 = 0.20
23 min = 23/60 = 0.38
53 min = 53/60 = 0.88

These regular numbers can be entered in a calculator. You cannot enter hours and minutes in a calculator. They must be converted.

 

Many good points and the 500 miles per day average is a good starting point.


Also take into account around what times approximately you will be passing what major city to see if you’ll hit traffic or not.


I always tel brokers How many miles I am out and told them I’ll be on time with one caveat “if all goes well and no major interference from the man upstairs”, as closer I got to the end I would then guesstimate my Eta always promised delivery time yet always delivered early.

example:


Broker: what’s your ETA?
Me: I’m about 1420 miles out and I estimate I’ll be there in 3 days if there is no acts of god along the way.

brokers where happy, and I was always there early.

I also would plan my day to try and avoid rush hour through the major cities I would be traveling through.