Time Management

The only "trick" i can offer is to leave as early as possible. If you get there early you can always log off duty.

 

I agree with everyone that said run as hard as possible then do a rest when needed you'll get more miles and make more money that way.





American Trucker

 

Stay out of the truck stops! No seriously, don't stop during your drive time. Try to use rest stops or on/off ramps for pee pee! Everytime you pull off that interstate for a truckstop its going to be at least 20-30 min! Limit your beverage intake and that will limit your pee pee stops. When you fuel don't do it between 4-8pm or 6-10 am. Thats when the truck stops are the busiest. If you pull in at noon you can fuel, shower, eat and do what ever in 30 min!

Practice shaving minutes and you will be surprised how much they add up. Especially on cross country trips! Another thing to consider which maybe tough for you now but with practice you'll get it, is to time your driving through congested/city areas.

 

Not sure about other companies but with mine driving hard and doing a restart is to your benefit, better chance at those nice cross country runs with a full 70 hours to use.

 

Another trick to conserve hours is to fuel first thing when you start your day.Provided you are not hauling a placarded hazmat load you are allowed to combine fueling and your pre-trip inspection into the same 15 minute increment. This can save you 2 hours in an 8 day period. Every bit helps if you're running balls to the wall.

 

This is one place where it can be said that there is no substitute for experience.

After years of driving the same roads, you know what the slowdowns are up ahead. You know what unexpected things can happen and where, what rush hours to get through before 3 O'clock and after 9 O'clock.

Driving is a full time job. Maximizing drive time means eliminating telephone time. It means keeping the driver's door shut and keeping a steady speed for hours on end. It means maximizing fuel mileage to cut down on fuel stops.

You have to concentrate behind the wheel and constantly measure your progress toward the destination. No distractions behind the wheel- no eating, sending text messages, E-mails or television.

How many times have you picked up a JIT load or a production load with NO extra time in the trip to get to your destination?

No problem for a dedicated driver, but it's not even possible for a distracted driver.

It's not how well you drive, it's how you drive well that separates a pro from a fool.

 

Go look at the thread down the line called Trip Planning For Newbies. Lots of usefull info in there. Planning well on the front end will save you time in the long run. When I was OTR, i tried to get as close to 11 as I could with out getting jammed up, don't get to greedy. Thats why good trip planning is key. Also it has been said before I will say it again, stay out of the TS as much as possible, which leads to this keep that door closed. You are paid by the mile right? Read Roadkills post again I agree with alot of that as far as going through major cities, I drive in Chicago on a daily basis and you never know what you are gonna get, but the later at night the better, but sometimes you don't have a choice so you have to deal with it and shave some time the next day, be adaptable.

 

Roadkill has a good point. Not only can you save time by fueling and pretripping at the same time but you get more fuel in the morning then you do in the afternoon. Especially in the summer time!