Question For Our Prime-ates Here

Rajinder, the whole problem with believing such foolishness is that there is nothing equal out here. Oh we can go on and on about how we are all driving the same type of trucks on the same interstates, and that we are all limited by the same regulations, and all that type of stuff. But what separates one driver from the other in terms of the ability to consistently increase his pay is his understanding of how to take all those seemingly equal things and still come out ahead at the end of the day. Understanding the fact that this is a competitive career is what makes all the difference in understanding how one succeeds at this career.

You seemed to have ignored or missed my simple and obvious point. When I said "all else being equal" that's exactly what I meant.

Let me put it to you another way, so there is no confusion. You, Old School in a truck that will cruise at 65 mph vs. yourself in a truck limited to 63 mph. All else the same --- same company, same account, same ways of "gittin 'er done." Do you really mean to say that you couldn't cover more miles in a week (and a month, and a year) in a truck that goes a little faster. Now that's a silly notion!

And to G-towns assertion that "you are not going to average 65 mph for prolonged periods of time," I say that, while there are parts of the country where this may be true, I had no problem averaging 65 mph for extended periods of time in the lanes that I ran when I was OTR. And, as I was getting good, long runs, no problem averaging 65 for 8 of the hrs of my driving time in a day. So, my math holds. However, it wouldn't hold for someone on a regional , dedicated account, making multiple daily stops, etc. Still, for the time that you are able to run 65 you would be outperforming yourself limited to 63. In the short run it doesn't look like much, but long-term --- it adds up!

I promise you that you could have a truck that goes five to ten miles per hour faster than mine, and you would still be challenged to keep up with me. I'm not bragging, ....

Well, I will happily concede that. I have moved on from OTR driving and playing the miles game. Now, I get paid a very good hourly wage to drive a sweet rig on a local gig, that gives me a regular schedule, and has me sleeping at home every day, among other benefits. We eacg have our own measure of success.

You seemed to have ignored or missed my simple and obvious point. When I said "all else being equal" that's exactly what I meant.

He didn't miss your point. He countered it perfectly, and accurately, when he said:

the whole problem with believing such foolishness is that there is nothing equal out here.

And there isn't. There are a million variables that go into the time you're going to make on any given day. So why would you even make the point that you would turn more miles if all things were equal when they're clearly not? No two people are ever going to be equal. You'll have trucks with different power curves, different fuel mileage rates, different traffic patterns, different preferences for taking breaks, and you could go on all day long. The list is 10 miles long.

Give us one example where you have ever come across a situation where all things were completely equal for two different drivers for an entire day. Ever. One example. Same power, same preferences, same traffic patterns, exact same pickup and delivery times, same weight, same fuel stop - everything. Even if two drivers from the same company pick up and deliver the same loads at the same customers they're never going to have 100% equal trucks in every way. There are always variations, even in identically built trucks. One could have a dirty air filter and it's not going to have quite the power going up a hill. One could have a little more weight on the drives which slightly lifts the nose of the tractor causing more air to go underneath. One could have a little less air pressure in his drives, causing the final gear ratio to be slightly different than the other.

Nothing is ever equal. There are two many variables.

If you want to tell yourself two miles per hour would ever make a difference in productivity you go ahead and believe what you like. It's a dumb point to argue and it never applies to any situation in the real world anyhow.

The only impact that type of thinking has is when someone changes companies because they believe such silly notions. But imagine how much money they would lose in the process of changing companies and starting all over again from the bottom somewhere new. Talk about chasing your tail!

You seemed to have ignored or missed my simple and obvious point. When I said "all else being equal" that's exactly what I meant.

He didn't miss your point. He countered it perfectly, and accurately, when he said:

the whole problem with believing such foolishness is that there is nothing equal out here.

And there isn't. There are a million variables that go into the time you're going to make on any given day. So why would you even make the point that you would turn more miles if all things were equal when they're clearly not? No two people are ever going to be equal. You'll have trucks with different power curves, different fuel mileage rates, different traffic patterns, different preferences for taking breaks, and you could go on all day long. The list is 10 miles long.

Give us one example where you have ever come across a situation where all things were completely equal for two different drivers for an entire day. Ever. One example. Same power, same preferences, same traffic patterns, exact same pickup and delivery times, same weight, same fuel stop - everything. Even if two drivers from the same company pick up and deliver the same loads at the same customers they're never going to have 100% equal trucks in every way. There are always variations, even in identically built trucks. One could have a dirty air filter and it's not going to have quite the power going up a hill. One could have a little more weight on the drives which slightly lifts the nose of the tractor causing more air to go underneath. One could have a little less air pressure in his drives, causing the final gear ratio to be slightly different than the other.

Nothing is ever equal. There are two many variables.

If you want to tell yourself two miles per hour would ever make a difference in productivity you go ahead and believe what you like. It's a dumb point to argue and it never applies to any situation in the real world anyhow.

The only impact that type of thinking has is when someone changes companies because they believe such silly notions. But imagine how much money they would lose in the process of changing companies and starting all over again from the bottom somewhere new. Talk about chasing your tail!

Did you even read the rest of my post?

I'm not talking about two different drivers, or two different trucks, or two different anything.

Same driver, same truck, except for maximum speed.

Try this. Get in your car and drive to St. Louis --- always driving as fast as you legally can but never exceeding 65 mph. How long did it take?

Now, drive back home. Same rules, only cannot exceed 63 mph. How long did it take?

Repeat experiment 10 times.

Which way takes longer on average?

I'll say this.........I wasted way more valuable time debating this silly point than I'd ever make up in a truck going 2 mph faster. And I can assure you in 1.5 million miles of driving I never once had a situation where I thought, "If only I could have gone 2 mph faster I could have made more money." Never happened one time.

Bret wrote:

I'll say this.........I wasted way more valuable time debating this silly point than I'd ever make up in a truck going 2 mph faster. And I can assure you in 1.5 million miles of driving I never once had a situation where I thought, "If only I could have gone 2 mph faster I could have made more money." Never happened one time.

Amen.

Well, forgive me for giving this dead horse another beating, but I thought maybe this might be helpful to those who are new here, as far as understanding the kind of point we are trying to make in this discussion.

I can't really argue with Phox concerning his points about his terminal. They did have a tragic murder there, and I have no idea of the ramifications of all that. I know the top brass at Knight saw fit to go in there and remodel the whole building in hopes of helping change the things that brought back bad memories for those that work there. But as far as letting a two mile per hour increase in your governed truck influence a decision in your choice of a company to work for, well let's just say there are way more important things to consider.

We always stress to folks about this business being performance based. The top tier drivers make the lion's share of the money, and it is a constant competition to be at the top. Phox didn't mention Knight's generous bonus pay for their top performers. There is a set of metrics, or measurements, that each driver is measured by in their bonus pay program, and everyone is eligible for this money. When a driver meets those measurements he effectively earns himself an extra five cents per mile over and above his regular pay scale. That is a considerable amount over the period of a year.

Drivers jumps ship all the time hoping to make more money, without even realizing that they are hamstringing themselves for a good six months at the new company until they can prove themselves again, or establish a track record that is recognized by their driver manager. My dispatcher still laughs about the time that I came to him for a business like conversation to explain to him that I could handle a lot more than he was allowing me to do, and that I wanted him to start stretching me out a little and let me show him what I could do. You see, I had already learned the ropes and established myself at another flat-bed company, and I knew that I could handle whatever he tossed my way. The problem was, that he was not convinced yet, and he was still analyzing my performance and slowly putting a little more on me bit by bit to see when I was going to mess up. These dispatchers will remember you by your last mistake. That is the type of thing that stands out to them, and puts a question mark in their mind about you. It takes a lot of really good work to keep you on their "go to" list, but only one good "screw up" to put you at the bottom of their list of guys they fully trust.

I mentioned the bonus money at Knight (Many other companies have similar programs) because that is an area that I would be focusing on if I were being tempted into thinking I could do better by jumping ship. I would first ask myself, "How am I doing on the bonus measurements?" If I was not doing well at all, then that tells me that I am not performing at the top levels, and I have got to figure out how to get there. If I am not doing it at this company, then what magical thing will propel me to that top spot at the next one? The reason I bring this up is because those measurements are calculated by the company as a way to measure your performance. Those metrics will help you to understand if you are really getting the hang of this stuff or not. When a driver at Knight is performing at the levels that put him up at those top levels, then he is worth an extra five cents per mile to the company. In this business you are really cutting the nut if they are willing to pay you five cents per mile more than your peers.

Here's a screen shot off of my phone from my last quarter's bonus report. The green check marks indicate the goals reached. If you don't reach a goal you will have a red X in that spot. My sole motivation for posting the photo is so that some of you might see the facts and figures and be able to relate to what we are talking about.

Take note of my total mileage for the quarter: 33,070 miles.

Take note that I exceeded their fuel mileage requirements.

Take note of that bottom dollar amount, that was the payout for that quarter.

Now if you do the math, you will realize that over and above my already generous pay, I am making on average, and extra 6,000 plus dollars per year, just by concentrating on measuring up to be one of the top guys there.

That is how you make money out here, by being at the top of the food chain. That extra two miles per hour on the speedometer will not come anywhere close to producing those kinds of numbers for you. Success is measured out here by productivity, not by speed. Productivity as a professional truck driver has a complicated mix of things that go into it, and I don't even factor in what my truck is governed at to get to my results.

Damn OS, I wish I can be more like you when I grow up!