How Often Do Drivers Make Pitstops

^^^^ thank you Rainey. This is the kind of stuff I was referencing. Take away the computer, and you can drive safe, park your truck where you need, take breaks when you need to, deliver on time, not be hassled by a green dispatcher , etc. and get the load in on time without a thing beeping at you telling you when to go to bed like a child. It just sounds more stressful than necessary sometimes, and I'll bet some drivers don't deal with it well (driving when tired, parking in horrible spots because there's only two minutes left on the clock, etc.). I'm grateful for this site that intelligently and patiently DOES tell drivers how to manage these issues of preplanning, professionalism, etc. TT Rocks!

^^^^ thank you Rainey. This is the kind of stuff I was referencing. Take away the computer, and you can drive safe, park your truck where you need, take breaks when you need to, deliver on time, not be hassled by a green dispatcher , etc. and get the load in on time without a thing beeping at you telling you when to go to bed like a child. It just sounds more stressful than necessary sometimes, and I'll bet some drivers don't deal with it well (driving when tired, parking in horrible spots because there's only two minutes left on the clock, etc.). I'm grateful for this site that intelligently and patiently DOES tell drivers how to manage these issues of preplanning, professionalism, etc. TT Rocks!

There was one guy who kept.micromanaging me all weekend. "Where are you stopping for the day. I see you did two hours earlier and are in the sleeper now, is this an 8/2 split. Why are you getting repairs at the TA and will it affect delivery". He refused to identity himself even after I asked him three times. So to be nasty I kept messagsing every hour " I still don't know where I'm stopping but I'm in Wytheville VA, now I'm in Roanoke, now I'm in Raphine."

Turned out I didn't have reception and the next day my FM got messaged flooding the system from me. He was like "what are you talking about VA for when you're in MA????" I explained his weekend cover was driving me nuts. He just laughed. "Oh".

But yeah, I think new dispatchers who don't know trucking need to be broken in.,..and in sure its frustrating for them to deal with drivers who basically say " no I'm not listening to you". Months ago I decided to only listen to my FM and just tell the others what I'm doing. I don't ask hahah

So yeah....new drivers get pressured by new dispatchers. Experienced drivers or new drivers with big mouths like me don't. Lol they just argue back and do what they want.

I will say this....I have had to reword several of my messages before I hit that send button. Cause i get mad and my Jersey comes out. Even so....not once has my FM called or messaged about these situations. So he doesn't care what I say or do. As long as I'm safe and on time :)

Something important Rainy notes here is COMMUNICATION - whether with or without her "sense of style".

Keep your ETA's updated - do everything possible on the QC - and DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE COERCED into doing something you feel unsafe/uncomfortable doing - or violating safety or HOS regs. Most FM's/DM's are going to be reluctant to do this on the QC, because all that stuff is logged and archived. So if one calls you to pressure you - tell em to put it in writing on the QC.

I will be really honest. You should stop and walk even if only around the truck every two hours, and that doesn't come from my knowledge about trucking; it comes from first hand experience with a DVT (blood clot). When I was like 20 or so I was a gamer and sat on my duff for a long period of time until I got a DVT in the leg. I had no idea that's what it was.

Yeah - I mentioned DVT earlier in this thread. If "they" (whoever "they" are) advise you to get up and move around on long plane flights - one would think the same would apply to sitting behind the wheel for hours and hours on end. Get out, walk around, jump around - keep them blood clots from forming. Many of us came from "desk job/sedentary" careers. It's just not healthy to sit behind the wheel with no breaks or movement.

Rick

Oh yeah...one of those new guys wrote 10/4 thanks on the QC then called me.

I hung up on him then told him I didn't have reception so he had to write it. Screw that phone crap. I want it all in writing.

I'm so evil.... But good too hahaha

I think you missed the part about "I wonder". Old School I believe you, that you work for a great company with great communication skills between drivers. That adjustments are constantly being made by driver and dispatch to be safe and efficient. I was merely speculating that it's *possible* some of the problems on the road are caused by pressured drivers without the experience to handle 14 hr days straight through, or to tell dispatch "I can't do that", etc.

Vending Dude, certainly it is possible, and Rainy confirmed that. My point is that with a little experience behind you, one can figure this e-log business out fairly quickly. I don't like the fourteen hour rule, but to be honest with you that is the only truly problematic regulation that I feel we have to deal with. Rainy's examples all dealt with new or inexperienced dispatchers, and I don't think we can lay the blame on "the computer" when we are talking about problems with "inexperienced" dispatchers not understanding the realities of how things work out here on the road. That is true whether you are on e-logs or not. Certainly there is some flexibility with paper, but the whole reason we are under these new mandates is that we have refused to self regulate ourselves every time we've been given the chance. Even Brett says that when he ran on paper he still strove for a 3,000 mile week, and felt like that was reasonable miles for a decent paycheck without wearing yourself out. I have no problems doing 3,000 mile weeks on e-logs, in fact I generally average a little more than that each week, and I have never felt badgered by dispatch to do anything unsafe.

I also realize that my situation probably is vastly different from most folks out here. I don't even have any kind of weekend or night dispatch! The information for the dedicated account that I serve is not even accessible to the regular dispatchers we have at our terminal. My dispatcher actually sits at a desk in the SAPA plant where we pull all our loads from. If we aren't smart enough to get ourselves unloaded early on Friday so that we can get a nice long load over the weekend we may end up having to do a "34" over the weekend.

My reason for even pointing out what I did in this conversation earlier was that I don't want new drivers, or those who are just looking into the career, who are reading this conversation to get the idea that they are going to be forced into doing things that are unsafe and or risky to their career and license just because they are on e-logs - it is a fallacy. We see this kind of talk all over the place on other trucking websites, and for the most part it is unfounded rhetoric that is propagated by the quitters who tried this career and failed, or from lazy drivers like the "Infamous Abe" who purposely set things up just to get a chance to get themselves on a camera and slam their company online. From day one when I first got started in trucking I have never felt that I had a dispatcher who tried to force me into anything unwise or unsafe. The thing about this business being performance based is that it puts a little pressure on all of us to perform and get more done. That includes the dispatchers and the load planners, and all of that pressure trickles on down to the driver. We've all felt pressure at times, but we (I'm including the dispatchers and load planners here) also have pressure from our safety departments to comply with the rules and the common sense that keeps a driver from doing something dangerous to himself and those he shares the road with.

When it comes to elogs vs paper....new drivers don't know anything but elogs so I doubt they feel limited the same way those who have run paper do. I run hard.

Kanelin has my FM. We were just talking on the phone about how our FM would rather have us pick up a load and run it until we run out if hours than give us shorter runs. Just this week he gave me a 2400 mile run, when my 70 got low, he gave the load to another driver and gave me a 34 which he doesn't usually do. I sorta felt cheated. then he gave me a 2600 mile run which made me happy again.

If you look at my posts, you will see I have had only 3 newbie dispatchers try to pressure me....out of what? 320 days on the road? So what is that 3% of the time I felt pressured then I pushed back. And just did what I wanted anyway. The next day was another dispatcher so who cares I didn't listen.

Bottom line....my company says I'm the captain of my ship. The owner of the company speaks to us every Fri telling us so. When I called safety about one of these dispatchers the response was "take a pic of the weather conditions then tell dispatch you want to send it to the owner and get him on a conference call to ask him if you should drive his quarter of a million dollar equipment plus freight in that weather. Dispatch will shut up". No lie...a safety guy told me that.

Most of these companies have easy access to management. If a new driver feels unsafe and pressured, getting safety on the phone is easy to do. Asking for a dispatch supervisor is easy to do. Building a great relationship with my FM is easy to do. We trust each other. I don't question his decisions and he doesn't question mine.

All the ones I deal with when he isn't there are just distractions. And truth is, my FM preolans me to last me thru the nights and weekends so my interaction with them is limited.

Building a great relationship with my FM is easy to do. We trust each other. I don't question his decisions and he doesn't question mine.

That is the critical component in this whole game we are playing... Trust.

It takes a driver a little while, and a good solid record of performance to establish it, but once you do, there are tangible rewards for your efforts. I can't tell you how many times my dispatcher has told me "I trust your judgement completely." If and when we have those few interruptions on a load that needs to be rescheduled, he always defers to what I am suggesting we do.

And that trust comes from not bothering for stupid stuff I can do on my own or interrupting the loads constantly

An example,.. I know a driver who while loaded will take the truck into a terminal or TA, hassling road assist about stupid stuff... The QC speakers not working, a 12v outlet not working, the passenger window not going down. Then when the TA takes four hours he'll then complain he didn't get enough sleep and needs another driver to finish the load.

These are things I would make a list of and when near a terminal will call and make an appt then tell my FM "hey, I got a few repairs and made the appt at the terminal. Can you get me a load in there?" Or I'd wait til the weekend when he is off and get weekend dispatch to route me in. That way I'm not using my FMs time for that stuff. When he comes back he'll want me running lol

Its about being smart and practical. Not lazy and stupid hahha

That is all great stuff there Rainy!

You are right at one year in now and already acting like a seasoned veteran. I remember way back when you were starting and you were talking about doing 8/2 splits and stuff like that. I remember thinking, "dang, this girl is smart!" Come to find out, you really were smart, and everything you learned here in the forum you took to heart and put it into practice. That is what I love about the way you interact in here. You are always giving out good solid advice and it is because that is the way you learned about the secrets of success in here.

There is nothing like taking the things you've heard about and then putting them to the test until you get a grip on how they work. Nice Job there!

Congratulations on your first year in!

That is all great stuff there Rainy!

You are right at one year in now and already acting like a seasoned veteran. I remember way back when you were starting and you were talking about doing 8/2 splits and stuff like that. I remember thinking, "dang, this girl is smart!" Come to find out, you really were smart, and everything you learned here in the forum you took to heart and put it into practice. That is what I love about the way you interact in here. You are always giving out good solid advice and it is because that is the way you learned about the secrets of success in here.

There is nothing like taking the things you've heard about and then putting them to the test until you get a grip on how they work. Nice Job there!

Congratulations on your first year in!

Awww thanks. I did learn it here. Lol from YOU hahahha

I think it's important to give examples. It really helped me understand things. I love this job cause I basically get to be my own boss with none of the hassles. I love my company cause they make me feel like family and keep me safe. They don't question my judgement other than a couple new guys....and never question or deny repairs.

I just spent the weekend in the terminal cause I brought a bad trailer in. They fixed it and I headed out. I was scheduled for home time for tomorrow but a rock hit my windshield....so back to the terminal where I got my annual inspection, my cab extenders replaced (cracked in Iowa wind last month) and got the interior detailed. Some people would have done that after home time..... But my FM will be there then. Why waste his superior dispatch skills for repairs???

Very important ladies and gentleman: do not drop bad trailers at your customers. Leaving a sucky trailer for the next driver is...well...sucky!

OK...I'm officially unhijacking this thread. Sorry