New to OTR

No, you need to plan your trips with these kinds of thing in mind.

My last pplan had me picking up at 2200 in NJ, after being up all day. I would have to shut down for sleep just after pick up. In that area there are no parking spots left.
I countered the pplan with a pick up of this morning, still giving plenty of time for the delivery. But the computer rejected it. Then a planner stepped in and changed the pick up window to match my needs.

I don't know how your system works, but I never accept a plan without knowing first where I will be able to stop at a safe place. And in NJ there are no good places at that time of night. No Walmart allows parking in that area, as in many others. Targets and K-Marts can be even worse because of how they arrange the parking lots.

The trick is in learning your system, and working it to your own advantage.
And as you said, since most truck stops and rest areas are full by 1600 in that part of the country, you need to plan for that.

Marten is said to be a good company to work for, but don't they give you some leeway with the times you run a load?
Even where I work, Swift, does that with no questions asked. It is either adjusted times or I'll wait for the next load.


The company doesn't control our times and how we run, we do!
To a very great extant.

 

Learn how to do split sleeper and off duty drive with empty trailer and when short on hours and picking up loaded trailer try to figure out how far you can travel b4 elog kicks into driving. Last resort is safe haven when told to leave a shippers property, this depends on your safety department. My trucking company don't say a thing.

 

Ahhh yes ... Night dispatch. I remember those days. A twisted, sadistic lot they are.

 

OTR you are constantly in unfamiliar territory. Someone noted using Google Maps. I use it a LOT. Any time I get a new dispatch to an unfamiliar customer I look at the scenario in Satellite View and Street View.

I always stop about 1-3 hours before shutting down for the day to plan EXACTLY where I will find a place to park for my 10. Again, I use Satellite View and Street View to find hidey holes if there isn't a truck stop or regular rest area.

Get the Trucker's Path app. This will show you parking availability at truck stops and rest areas.

Get the MyRadar app to plan around weather.

Best bet is to work your schedule to start your clock at about 2:00 am. By the time you take your 30 minute break drivers have pulled out of rest areas and truck stops and there's plenty of parking. Again, when it is time to shut down for the day no later than 4:00 pm there's plenty of parking.

OTR your schedule changes a lot, but try to get into that ultra early schedule whenever possible. Watching sunrise after you've blasted through a metro area before rush hour is a sweet thing.

 

Some of them can be, while others are OK.

The thing to remember is, YOU control your hours. They don't.
You are the only one that knows when you are safe to drive. They have only numbers to go by, but we don't work with ones and zeros like computers do.

The planners and dispatchers don't have to worry about finding a place to park at the right time of day, or staying awake hours past their normal bed time. They just go home and leave it to the next shift.
So, we have to plan accordingly to meet our own needs.

We are NOT slaves to this industry - we are its heart and soul.
And WE decide how best to run the loads.

I know the regulations restrict us to a great degree, but they also liberate us from many things as well.

 

Night dispatch are those that are breaking into that area of the game. The "A" team is on days. The "B" team is on nights and weekend days. The raw rookies that don't know New York is east of California are on weekend nights.

 

Yes, but I've had some night and weekend people that were really on top of the game.

For those that are not - we have to teach them.

 

Thing is. With corporate monitored eLogs they know what a driver can and can not do [on paper]. The fact it is tight is not their problem or concern. Neither is the driver's preferences or comfort zone a consideration for them.

 

And if that doesn't work, then call 911.