What Happens If.....
Topic 11754 | Page 1
....you have some kind of emergency while out on the road away from home. Say something, like a family member gets hurt or in a car accident, you have a tooth that breaks, or something to that effect? You're obviously hours or hundreds of miles away so it's not like you can snap your fingers and be there.
As I'm trying to get my foot in the door to driving, some of these things have crossed my mind, so I wanted to hear thoughts, opinions, or instances of things like this, and how they were handled and/or what options you have. I'd image, get there as fast as you can is about the only answer?
Not sure if you have had an opportunity to review a Truck Driver's Career Guide or Brett's Book. Both of these Trucking Truth works contain valuable information outlining what you can expect as a professional truck driver.
For any situation like you described above, having a solid working relationship with your driver manager and/or dispatcher is key to resolving any issue or problem requiring an absence or change of route. Remember this is a lifestyle that requires compromise and a different perspective on how to approach life's everyday problems.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Driver Manager:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Every company has their own polices but they are pretty much the same... If a emergency comes up that requires you to be home say now they will find a way to make it happen (fly,rental car) but depends.... If you need medical attention you park as close as you can and walk or find a ride.. (Taxi,bus)...
I had to get home to transfer my cdl to my home state so crst got me a rental car and I booked it to home...
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I will give you 3 instances and how they worked out. I broke a tooth out on the road and it requed surgery to fix it. My dm got me home with in a week and I got it fixed. In the mean time I used that tooth numing jell. 2nd my wife calls me on new years day says she is in labor, and to get my ass home now, just 2 problem I am about 1000 miles from home, and this is 2 months early then expected. I called my dm she let me dead head, 600miles to a terminal , and I had my brother pick me up that night, my wife delivard a health lit the baby girl 5 days later and I was off work for a month taking care of wife and kid. 3rd I most resent adventure, I got a MSRA staff infection will I was on the road ended up spending 6 days in the hospital. I am still recovering and will be out of work tell mid Jan or early Feb. My dm said to let him know when I can work agen and I can come back to his fleet. Its all about the relation ship you have with your dm, as others have said
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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....you have some kind of emergency while out on the road away from home. Say something, like a family member gets hurt or in a car accident, you have a tooth that breaks, or something to that effect? You're obviously hours or hundreds of miles away so it's not like you can snap your fingers and be there.
As I'm trying to get my foot in the door to driving, some of these things have crossed my mind, so I wanted to hear thoughts, opinions, or instances of things like this, and how they were handled and/or what options you have. I'd image, get there as fast as you can is about the only answer?