Profile For Tony G

A bad truck accident took place in Pa this morning on i 81 3 trucks burnt to nothing one death and 2 helicopter rides. I don't want to preach but remember the basics. look ahead, get the big picture, keep your eyes moving, leave yourself an out, and make sure they see you. I don't want to see any drivers go out this way.

I have sleep apnea. I found this out when i went through crete/shaffer trucking. They paid for the sleep study. Once it was determined i had it they got me a machine. I had to pay 50 dollars a week till it was paid off. They put me in a truck with an apu and an inverter to plug into. I also had a form for authorities letting them know i had a medical device. they can and will ask for your smart card (if so equipped) and they will make sure you are compliant dot regulations are 4 hours or more per day. If you are not compliant they will park you. So if you have it stay compliant. You will also have to show compliant when you dot physical every year. It is a pain but needs done. I use my machine daily unless i am home and the power goes out. Don't worry as long as you are at 80% the doctors will pass you. Some companies will hold higher standards. Like the above they want to see 6 hours and they scan your card once a month. If you are not compliant they will park you until you get compliant. There are some truck stops where you can do a card read. Most companies are getting the programs to do this at their terminals. I am no expert on this subject I just do what I am told so I can keep on rolling. That is what i know. I think in 2015 this will be driven hard by dot so most of the large companies are trying to get themselves up to speed so they will have everything up to par when they have to.

That is the way to think. Just to the job to the best of your abilities. that is all we can do these days

It will depend on the team, the tractor, whether it is drop & hook, and the weight of the load. I've seen coast to coast teams get it done in 3 days. They ran legal logs and took proper breaks. They had good time management. they took their 34 hour breaks. even after the 2 cons days rule. They sat still for 24 hours that is it. It took them a few weeks to figure it out. but fuel breaks were shower breaks the guy on duty would get fuel the other would shower they switched back and forth. They didn't eat in the truck stops they grocery shopped filled their fridge and used their microwave. they only sat still each day about 3 hours. That was the drop and hook time fuel time and average restroom visits. It will depend on your own needs. And how well you manage your time. but these guys got 7200 miles a week. I hope this helps but the six months could be all they require you to team as for 240000 miles even a great team will take 7.5 months for that kind of miles. Ask your driver manager if it is 6 months or miles or whichever comes first. as for if it is possible or not. In my opinion no not legal. 240000 miles = 9,231 miles per week for 26 weeks. Another thing to consider is how much time at home will you be spending. These guys i'm talking about went home once per month for 4 days. And one other thing i would ask is the miles buy hub or dispatched miles. You will run more miles then are dispatched no way around that sorry. i hope this helps.

Thanks Brett. I don't have any prescription type stuff. I'm healthy as a horse. I just don't want to lug 200 vitamins, 100 Zantac and 200 Acetaminophen tablets with me on a trainer truck, lol. Once I get my own unit they'll all go back into their original bottles. Since Ive been out of work so long, Im trying to save every dime I can, so I opted to take some of what is here at the house as opposed to buying all new stuff. I cant imagine a cop would actually want to haul me into court after telling him what I was carrying, only to discover I was telling the truth.

keep the acetaminophen in the bottle i had lose ones in a pill box. Ct dot did not like that i got a fine

Don't wait for your state to get you your paperwork on time. I renewed my licence last august. However i did not get the time to take my hazmat knowledge test and get the fingerprinting done on time for the renewal. I lost my x endorsement. Now i am paying the price. I am a contract driver for an owner operator. Where i was working got slow. I got told they can't afford me anymore. My boss had something lined up. but no no hazmat now am sitting at home bored out of my mind waiting on tsa. So my advice to the rookies. as you get to about 4 months from your renewal date. If you haven't started the process get going. even if you don't need the endorsement at the time you may need it later.

You did the right thing i got my start at swift so did my friend he curbed one at night looked at the rim saw it bent in didn't report it and the next driver saw it on his pre trip reported it my friend got a qualcom message he was underload at the time message said come to closest terminal. He got terminated. It was his home terminal but not the terminal he picked up the tractor at. his dac reports abandoning equipment. reason being swift policy is the tractor needs returned by the driver to the shop in which you received the equipment. not the closest one. If he just reported the curbing he may drive today instead of asking do you want fries with that.>

I have worked on a wal mart account before not sleeping in 24 hours may not have been his fault. walmart dispatches drivers to long island all the time there are 2 routes out there where you are forced to take your 10 hour break at wal mart store parking lots out back one is decent and you get a good nights sleep the other is right next to an elevated train and you get no sleep. i have been there before at least 3 times i hated it.

Thats a wall cloud a tornado about formed you were lucky

I worked for shaffer i was on the walmart account the otr was not working for my wife well. at that time in 2011 they didn't have any local available now i get calls from the reqruiters. they have a contract with hershey they run candybars from the plant to the local distribution centers for the otr loads. I did not take the job cause the pay was only $13.00 an hour strait time no 1.5 the trucking industry does not have to pay overtime this is out of the new kingston terminal not sure about the others