Rookie loads and dealing with dispatch

I've been driving for 6 months now after giving up my previous career of 4 years. I followed my dad's footsteps and started driving. I got railed with all the crap loads that nobody wanted to mud hole, cold, terrible locations. I did them and didn't complain, ran hard, delivered on time, and was courteous to the receivers. I went from pulling 30 year old dry bulk trailers with Dayton wheels Evey day to pulling 5 year old air ride hazmat tanker all around the east coast and making it home 2 nights a week plus weekends off. I like to think that because I did what I was told to do and did it right, they repaid me by giving me good paying loads and getting me home. A good attitude goes a long way, sometimes you just have to wait for the good to come to you, and yes, it can be very aggravating.

 

There’s plenty of threads here that go into more detail, but unless you’re out of hours when you leave the shipper/receiver and using it to the nearest parking location, that’s definitely a violation. I know everyone says stick it out for a year at your first company, but they also say protect your license at all costs. Some guys are fine running that way, and may get away with it, but if my company wanted me to run like that, I’d start looking elsewhere. It’s you that will get a violation if DOT reviews your logs. I don’t have the experience to really advise on all the pros/cons of moving on vs staying, but I’d start weighing my options carefully and maybe seek some advise on here from more seasoned drivers.

 

If the reciever kicked me out on out of ELD hours, there is going to be Captian Hook and all that entails showing up by the time I get through with it.

Now if Reciever kicked out a few dozen trucks that cannot go anywhere without being towed away they have a problem.

 

for whatever reason I’m dealing directly with the freight brokers and not my boss or his dispatcher. I don’t like it but I deal with it. I was dealing with a woman from cavalry logistics who would repeatedly call me at very early hours wanting to track the load and she complained that I wasn’t going to be on time even though the shipper left me sitting in detention for four hours and then had to rework my load later on in the day Due to weight. I told her I wasn’t willing to break the law by driving on personal conveyance when I’d already been on duty for eight hours to get 600 miles in for the day. She said she’d be contacting my boss and I said I’d be contacting the DOT. I never heard about it from my boss after that

 

I haven’t dealt with brokers much so far. When I do, it’s normally just for a short haul to get back to a decent freight lane, but it sounds like she’s just blowing smoke, especially if your boss hasn’t said anything. Couldn’t hurt to keep records of these conversations, even as far as a call recording just to cover your own should it become an issue later on. If I couldn’t make the appointment time, I’d let them know when I can make it by as soon as I get loaded, run out my hours, then turn my phone on “do not disturb” mode and get a good nights sleep. If it’s important they can leave a message. If it’s an emergency they should have planned better or gotten a team to run it. I’ll get the load there as quickly as I legally can.

 

thank you that’s exactly what i needed to hear. She said something about how they needed it just in time and I thought to myself; I was an hour early, if that was the case why did I sit in detention for four additional hours?? I’m learning that using the words “safety” and “dot” can usually always right the ship but I don’t want to get in the habit of that and do want to be as successful as I can out here without being too loud or drawing to much attention to myself. Do not disturb is a good idea. Sometimes I think they forget that 7 am in South Carolina still means 4am in California. You’ve reiterated and validated what I kind of thought to already be true. I appreciate you driver!

 

One broker, CH Robinson interfered with me directly after they were given the one number to my cell that I don't give out so they could call me and wife in the truck rolling south on 5. Every 45 minutes.

The third call the battery came out of the cell, qc'ed the FFE dispatch displaying onery displeasure at the constant BS interruption of CHR on the satellite and that was the end of that series.

CHR can #### well follow the dot down the coast, it will get there when it gets there. It's only a 63 mph truck and a team too.