Police Escort

Followed my GPS last night into a small town. I checked my atlas before heading out and asked for directions from dispatch, as I was taught. So I get to an intersection and the GPS tells me to continue straight. The directions I got were crappy, so I follow the GPS. I'm not a block down the road when this unmarked car comes up and lights me up. (I'm thinking **** I'm getting a ticket)

"Where in the hell are you trying to get to !?"

"In just trying to get to the Tyson plant. "

"Your about to get yourself into all sorts of a bad situation. .... follow us. "

No tickets, no harassment. But a police escort to the Tyson plant. Thank you officers !

Of course when I get to the plant and hit a reverse route, the GPS takes me the correct way.

Make sure you make some notes for the correct route. Forward them back to your DM , so they can (hopefully) update the instructions for that shipper.

Cops san oftentimes be nice about situations like this. We've heard stories here of a number of drivers that get themselves into a jam, call the cops, and they will come and stop traffic and lead you out safely.

Be smart, act professional - and it's usually not a hassle.

Glad it worked out OK for you.

Rick

Diver Driver count your blessings the Police helped you avoid trouble. I'd call their station chief and laud their professional efforts to keep you safe. Doesn't always have a happy ending like this.

I don't know the area you were in, however there are several things you can do to prevent this in the future. Better trip-planning is the key. If you do not know where you are going, your trip-plan should include "mapping", "synching" your GPS directions with the Rand McNally Truckers Atlas. Every GPS has a "look-ahead" feature accessible to assist with this process. Never, never, never rely entirely on the GPS route. This is especially true when you are off the beaten path of Interstates and major state highways or require re-routing as a result of an unexpected detour.

If I am unfamiliar with my final destination, I always rely on either instructions from the receiver/shipper (sometimes it is sent through Qualcomm or you can call them in advance) and/or from the mapping exercise I mentioned using the Atlas. If you can look-up the area where you had this issue on your Atlas, check if the route you were on was trucker friendly. Chances are, it was not. A truly great learning experience is one that doesn't involve an incident. Happy this worked out in your favor.

Safe travels.

When in doubt, I always call the shipper/receiver and ask for directions. Even I'd your load info says not to contact the customer, you can still call for directions. "Do not call" generally means don't call to try to reschedule, leave that to your CSR team, and most major outfits will have a dedicated directions hotline or menu prompt with clear, thorough turn by turn instructions to get you exactly where you need to be. Even ones that don't are usually more than happy to help and will often warn you about restricted roads or things like "no left turn from such and such onto so and so."

Never, never, never rely entirely on the GPS route. This is especially true when you are off the beaten path of Interstates and major state highways or require re-routing as a result of an unexpected detour.

When G-Town every says never, never, never about something.....to me that means copy and paste, then never do it..ever.

Never, never, never rely entirely on the GPS route. This is especially true when you are off the beaten path of Interstates and major state highways or require re-routing as a result of an unexpected detour.

When G-Town every says never, never, never about something.....to me that means copy and paste, then never do it..ever.

Even the Rand McNally Trucker GPS will try to send you down roads that an 18 wheeler has absolutely no business being on. There is no substitute for well done trip plan. Pick the brains of other drivers, dispatch, and if all else fails, call the business you are headed to. I'm glad Diver Driver got out unscathed. Kudos to the men in blue!

Google earth is your friend. On more than one occasion, I'll find a customer and can locate the specific truck entrance as opposed to just the physical address. It's a huge help because some places you go, the actual address isn't on a truck route but the next parallel road is. It's just another tool to add to the collection, making you a safer and more successful driver.

Good idea about the officers captain !

On my break today, I made sure to write into dispatch and give them updated directions with ACTUAL road named. Not just "the T".

Thanks for all the advice