Really Bad Experience with CRST

What they taught you at school was to just get your cdl! If you log line 4 when you are sitting at a customer for hours on end, well you r just hurting yourself. Even on elogs you go Line 2 when u are sitting in a customers dock for hours on end.

 

go ahead,log on duty while youre at that grocery whs for that union warehouse guy to unload you for 4 hrs,and then 3 additional hrs for the next shifts guy to unload your trk...and then you can explain to them youre out of hrs,as they call a tow trk.

you wont make any money,and furthermore you ARENT on duty,you are sitting on your ###...

these days i rly only do drop n' hook,and if anything does ever need to be unloaded and it takes any length of time im going to "cry" about it, time is money. and i will only log 15 minutes.

fueling? 15 minutes...who cant fill their tanks in 15 minutes? daily pretrip,15 minutes. if theres a problem suspected,the shop can figure it out,im not a mechanic.

this isnt rocket science.

 

If you are at a dock but NOT doing any work or unloading, you show 15 mins on duty, not driving to put the truck in the dock and the rest as off duty or if you can sit long enough, a 10 hour break.

 

CRST.

Zero cases of Sleep Apnea related deaths in Trucking.

ZERO.

In fact the only study used showed that people with UNTREATED SLEEP APNEA where safer than people without sleep apnea or treated!

 

Auch!!!! That is smth.
Question, why did you even bother getting that machine?
They are hundreds of thousands companies out there that will give you a job.
For the second thing, you should read your contract, it may say that if you don't work for 30 days they can consider it as Voluntary Leave- no matter the reason. And those phone records would not be of any help because your words can get twisted and your dispatcher can become your best friend in no time.

Companies like CRST have good attorneys on their side. If you go in to battle with them you will lose a lot of money ( paying your attorney) and most likely the case at the end. Their contracts are carefully prepared and are made for the sole benefit of the company. You should always read before you sign, especially the little fine print that it's hard to see let alone read.

Ratting on your teacher... No comment. You can easily become the most hated employee of the company. Better talk to them, explain what concerns you, your fears etc... They are human, maybe you will be able to get on the same page. Plus they can't all be so bad.

I don't think that it is in your best interest to go back to CRST after everything you wrote. I agree with the posting that they will only screw you more. Don't thing those managers have forgotten about the calls from the Unemployment bureau, or about your appeal, or about snitching on their trainers. In my opinion they will find a way to screw you.
Sorry for the honesty and good luck to you!

 

Current regulations require that a CMV driver while on duty may not have a blood alcohol level greater than 0.04. It has been suggested that people with mild-to-moderate untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can show performance degradation equivalent to 0.06 to 0.08 blood alcohol levels. CMV drivers are not allowed to drive intoxicated, but sleep apnea may be causing the equivalent effects. Also, experts in the field of sleep disorders believe that in most cases a person suffering from OSA is not aware of the condition and the only way it can be detected with complete certainty is through a sleep study. In addition, OSA is a highly treatable condition.

 

i dont understand about sleep apnea--is it that the driver doesnt get enough sleep and is always tired?
or is it that they are lacking oxygen in the brain, which would be similair to being intoxicated?
thanx

 

It is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Similarly, each abnormally low breathing event is called a hypopnea.
There are three forms of sleep apnea: central (CSA), obstructive (OSA), and complex or mixed sleep apnea (i.e., a combination of central and obstructive) constituting 0.4%, 84% and 15% of cases respectively. In CSA, breathing is interrupted by a lack of respiratory effort; in OSA, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort, and snoring is common.

Regardless of type, an individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body (sequelae). Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.
Sleep apnea can have numerous effects on cognition in the waking state. Those with Sleep apnea have daytime fatigue, impaired reaction time and vision problems which contribute to sleep-deprived driving. Other effects include difficulty with information processing, judgment, and short term memory These effects can severely interrupt daytime cognition. Behavioral effects also accompany sleep apnea. Behaviors such as decreased vigilance and motivation as well as moodiness and aggressiveness impact both social and occupational status. Many behavioral as well as cognitive effects of sleep apnea can be very dangerous in many occupations especially manual labor and machine operating.

 

This is what I found on the subject:
SleepSafe Drivers has signed a multi-year agreement with motor carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services to provide sleep apnea and sleep disorder services for tHunt drivers. SleepSafe will use its On-Site TM Diagnostic Ambulatory testing and Sure Compliance treatment program to deliver its services.


"We have documented significant improvement in the retention of drivers working with SleepSafe Drivers, with 86% still employed and successful with APAP (auto-setting positive airway pressure) treatment at the 12-month phase of the program," said Greer Woodruff, senior vp of safety & security at J.B. Hunt.
"One of our two-million-mile drivers who was tested and is now being treated for sleep apnea, lost 110 lbs and said, 'This program literally saved my life,'" Woodruff noted. "There is no doubt that drivers that have sleep apnea are safer and healthier following diagnosis and treatment. We are very proud to have the trial enrollment successfully completed, and to be making such a beneficial program available to our drivers nationwide."
According to SleepSafe, its Sure-IDTM system mitigates test fraud yet allows testing a driver in his or her truck, home or in a hotel vs. using the typical in-patient [sleep lab] testing environment.
If a driver's test is positive for sleep apnea, he or she will then be enrolled in the Sure Compliance treatment program which includes an APAP device with wireless monitoring. Each driver also gets a personal sleep apnea/APAP "coach" to help ensure successful long-term therapy, according to SleepSafe.
"Our program allows drivers to be tested and treated within 24 hours, vs. three days to three weeks with traditional sleep [disorder ] programs," said Dana Voien, president of SleepSafe Drivers.

 

Canuck i d t: It's kind of both. While sleeping, the brain is starved of oxygen and loses some cognitive and judgment capabilities. Since the patient "wakes" whenever this happens, the restorative REM level is not reached...or if it is, it is so short as to be nearly worthless...because that is when the body relaxes the most, causing the throat to close on itself and obstruct the airway. It's a vicious circle. With this "waking" from deep restorative sleep, the brain doesn't get a chance to reset. And the subject ends up tired all the time. Additionally, untreated OSA has been shown to cause heart problems and exacerbate diabetes.

Once upon a time, it was my business to know this stuff. And if a study is going to be cited that "proves" untreated OSA drivers are safer than everyone else, please link to the study.

As far as the rest of this rant.
(I can't believe I'm going to say this...)
Somebody has drunk the truck driver school Kool-Ade. If our O/P would stop for a minute and think about what he is saying, perhaps he might see why many experienced drivers are simply staring (to use a Nana phrase) and wondering how he learned to tie his own shoes.

If it takes more than 15 minutes to fuel your tractor, you need to learn how to operate the diesel nozzle. There is a high-speed on most nozzles I've used. You have to squeeze the nozzle all the way, flip the little lever down to hold it and let it sit in the tank while running. Use a bungee to hold it if it makes you feel better. Go to the other side of the truck, open the fuel tank and place the other nozzle into that tank. Repeat steps for putting it on high speed. You really can fill both tanks at the same time. Going to the bathroom, buying a pop and standing in line to pay for your pop do not count as on duty. You don't have to log the 3 seconds it takes to sign your fuel receipt. You don't even have to flag that. 3 seconds is less than 8 minutes.

Sitting in the driver seat waiting at a dock: What, exactly, are you doing while you're sitting there? Me? Usually have my un-shod, socked feet on the dash, kicking back, leaning on the door post reading and commenting on these forums. I'm not driving, I have no plans to drive, I'm doing nothing that has anything at all to do with driving. I'm farting around on the internet. I refuse to log that as "on duty." Too bad that the best seat in the house is the driver seat. If it makes a cop feel better, put something over the window like sunshades or a curtain. That makes it part of the sleeper BERTH as far as I'm concerned.

I have no idea who scared this O/P into believing police have so much time on their hands that they can afford to sit outside the gate of a shipper with binoculars watching him. Or, that they are timing him while he's in the truck stop taking a wizz.

Sheesh.