Stop & Do the Math

That would be very difficult to do. I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic.

Every driver and company has different expectations. The point is there's a difference between how quickly a load can be done as opposed to how quickly a driver can/wishes to do it.

Even at the company I worked for [I am taking some much needed time off], my weekly maximum amount of miles was 3,600. Some weeks I did less than that, however there were weeks I did more. And even though we agreed to a maximum number of miles per week from the beginning, there were many instances where I was asked to do a load in an amount of time that would put me over that maximum, and to be a team player, I did what I could to help make my company $.

How did they do this? They regularly calculated loads in a way that I would not get a 34-hour reset, even if I surpassed my 70 in less than 8 days. They simply expected me to keep moving and not take time off. As the driver, I had to figuratively pump the brakes.

I noticed that the main tactic dispatchers use to catch drivers off guard is to offer the loads while they're driving so that there is no way for drivers to check the route using various GPS systems [Google Maps, Truck GPS], for winter driving to check the weather reports, to double-check hours left on the 70, etc. For many small companies like mine, they use the same 45 mph calculation regardless of whether you're on the east or west coast, regardless of what time you start the load and regardless of whether or not you drive at night.

Yes, that does sound like a bit much for drivers to demand according to the super truckers out there who live on the road and drive 700 miles a day, through the night if necessary. But I know my limits, the limits of my equipment and what it takes for me to not burn out. In that sense, every driver is different, however it seems every dispatch is the same in wanting to push drivers more and more.