Written up for refusing to drive tired

It isn’t always that simple though my friend. I flip from graveyard driving back to day shift driving about once every two weeks and it can be brutal on that first day. Usually what ends up happening is during your 10 hour break you sit there Wide awake because you’re on a dayshift and then you have to start driving overnight. And here’s where I’m going to give you an example of what happened to me a while back.

I had that exact scenario. Wide awake for 10 hours and had to start driving right at midnight. Drove all night nonstop, got the load there just in the nick of time. TIRED but got it done….Dispatcher calls me up and tells me he wants me to ride on another truck with another driver and complete another 10 hour break while doing this. Keep in mind I’ve already been up for two days at this point now he’s talking about three. But hey I’ll have a 10 hour break sitting in the seat with another driver chatting away, right? Get to the destination where I’m going to get in another truck and drive another tight load. I told him hell no I wasn’t doing that. I don’t care what the computer screen says in front of you, you’re talking about three days on no sleep, not to mention being taken out of my usual set up and environment. He didn’t like it, but at that moment in time when I told him no I was literally thinking about life and death. I was that tired already and couldn’t imagine going another 10 hours driving in the truck with another driver and getting on a strange truck and then driving another tight load.

Dispatchers will let you do it if you don’t say anything though. I don’t normally complain and I’ve only turned down a couple loads in my five years out here, but that was one time I wasn’t budging.

 

Frito Lay has very large plant in Perry/Kathleen just down the road from you. It definitely isn’t an easy job, 24/7 operation and driver unload most loads, home every day or they pay for your hotel. It is $100,000-$130,000 a year eventually with excellent benefits and retirement, seniority based so the longer you are there the better your work and schedule get. Most Frito Lay drivers retire from the company and very few quit. If you want an easy job, don’t even consider going there. If you want a well paid career that requires some physical labor give it a shot.

 

Ya, they are a plague

 

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing, but I looked at their website and they weren't looking for drivers. But, yeah. It'd be a sweet gig. Rolling boxes of potato chips ain't nothing like rolling pallets of beer

 

I imagine they will hire before summer. The OP could call that location if that looked like something he would be interested in.

 

Here's 3 that are local/home every day
Hart Fueling Service | Fuel Delivery & Refueling Services
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Diesel Fuel Delivery 24/7 Nationwide | Mobile Diesel Fueling
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On-Site Booster Fuels | Fleet Fuel Delivery | Booster Fuels the Future
https://boosterusa.com

 

I'd be looking at Kathleen hard. Yeah you gotta roll them off the truck, but you get paid for every box and I'll bet none of them weigh 5 lbs.

 

The attitude shown below towards safety is disturbing.

 

Its a service failure... get over it.. While the HOS protect you from being forced to drive tired, it doesn't protect you from being written up or even terminated for not being able to do the job when given the time of that is required.