I Shut Down And Ruined My Service Record Due To Fatigue!

Werner, Old School isn't a dispatcher but my wife is. Yes, my wife manages a fleet of trucks every day of her life, even on her days off if there's an issue.

We get it, if you're too tired then don't drive. But after 8 hours of rest.... com'n.

You have no idea how many phone calls and how many strings my wife would have to pull to justify this one to the consignee. She would literally be on the phone for hours talking with several different people, and each one would be chewing her ear off, for something like this. Believe me, I am in her office almost daily.

You're not too tired to drive, you're just a bad driver. I just began my shift at my local job and I have 11 more hours of night shift to go and a whole lot of work. Yeah, I'm tired considering it has been a long, physical week in this scorching heat. But I'm an adult and I have bills to pay.

What Brett and Old School said x1000. There is a huge difference in feeling "upset" and deciding not to drive, and being legitimately exhausted and deciding not to drive. Honestly, if feeling that way puts you in such a situation that you can't still safely operate a motor vehicle, then I don't think truck driving is the right line of work for you. If everyone only drove when they were happy, there would only be 4 people on the road across the entire country

So I shut down for a 2 hour nap...

Wait a second, you couldn't push it a maximum of 2 more hours to make the delivery on time? I was somewhat on your side in the beginning, but that's just crazy! I begged and pleaded with anyone and everyone that would listen to me to get more loads and more miles. I never would have wasted an opportunity over 2 hours. Dig a little deeper. Find something that will get you through those 2 hours. Sunflower seeds work to keep me awake and alert. Some people chew ice. Do something!

The fact that you're trying to make me come off as irritability and lazy really shows me that you are no professional driver

And of course this is classic because as I've stated, Old School is the epitome of a professional driver. They don't come any better.

Back in the day they used to say, "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch" ......and I would add "and criticize the big dogs, pretending you choose not to be one because you care too much about safety"

If you honestly feel he is the epitome of a professional driver , you're just as bad as him. The fact he would try to make out a driver as a villain doing the safe thing is in no way professional conduct.

We also don't get paid by the hour because it's a lot cheaper for companies to pay by the mile , truckers would work a lot safer if paid by the hour since they wouldn't have a need to do short cuts or drive a little faster than conditions warrant to get more miles. Me shutting down makes no sense for your augment since I wouldn't be getting paid either way since dot was off duty time.

What I did was the equivalent of a fast food worker leaving mod shift because they felt sick. I bet you would say the fast food worker was being lazy, even though they could spread their illness easily being in the food service industry.

Werner, Old School isn't a dispatcher but my wife is. Yes, my wife manages a fleet of trucks every day of her life, even on her days off if there's an issue.

We get it, if you're too tired then don't drive. But after 8 hours of rest.... com'n.

You have no idea how many phone calls and how many strings my wife would have to pull to justify this one to the consignee. She would literally be on the phone for hours talking with several different people, and each one would be chewing her ear off, for something like this. Believe me, I am in her office almost daily.

You're not too tired to drive, you're just a bad driver. I just began my shift at my local job and I have 11 more hours of night shift to go and a whole lot of work. Yeah, I'm tired considering it has been a long, physical week in this scorching heat. But I'm an adult and I have bills to pay.

I'm not sure the point of your story , you mean your wife has to do her job ? Things don't always run smoothly or as planned otherwise i doubt she would have much to do.

And for explaing all she has to say is , driver got fatigued and that's that. If people are being rude to her she should polity ask them to be kind or hang up and refuse to do business with them unless they can act more professional .

Werner, Old School isn't a dispatcher but my wife is. Yes, my wife manages a fleet of trucks every day of her life, even on her days off if there's an issue.

We get it, if you're too tired then don't drive. But after 8 hours of rest.... com'n.

You have no idea how many phone calls and how many strings my wife would have to pull to justify this one to the consignee. She would literally be on the phone for hours talking with several different people, and each one would be chewing her ear off, for something like this. Believe me, I am in her office almost daily.

You're not too tired to drive, you're just a bad driver. I just began my shift at my local job and I have 11 more hours of night shift to go and a whole lot of work. Yeah, I'm tired considering it has been a long, physical week in this scorching heat. But I'm an adult and I have bills to pay.

I'm not sure the point of your story , you mean your wife has to do her job ? Things don't always run smoothly or as planned otherwise i doubt she would have much to do.

And for explaing all she has to say is , driver got fatigued and that's that. If people are being rude to her she should polity ask them to be kind or hang up and refuse to do business with them unless they can act more professional .

You are the reason why winning awards and being the top driver in my fleet was so damn easy.

If you hadn't said "screw this load" you probably wouldn't be getting so much flack.

We all have days out here were we say **** it. You just got to push thought those times and get the work done.

With that said what you said in your post sounds more like someone who suffering from depression. Then some of who is lazy, or lack of motivation. I strongly suggest if this job makes you depressed to get help.

If you honestly feel he is the epitome of a professional driver , you're just as bad as him.

That's it - keep talkin. The more dumb things you say the more clear it is to everyone else what a terminal rat is on how they operate, cuz that's exactly what we have here.

Here's a podcast I did on this subject.

Terminal Rats Are Derailing Trucking Careers

Folks that are new to this industry, pay close attention to the patterns here. You have a driver who is obviously being lazy, but justifying his laziness by playing the safety card. This isn't going to fool a true professional for a moment.

Then, when his peers call him out on it he criticizes them, saying they don't care about safety the way he does. Of course keep in mind that this guy has only started driving a few months ago and he's criticizing drivers who have a combined decades of stellar safety and service records, people who have operated at the highest levels their entire careers.

One of the easiest ways to spot a terminal rat is their never ending attack on dispatchers.

"What are you a dispatcher?"

...he asks Old School, as if being a dispatcher is beneath this guy somehow.

And why don't terminal rats like dispatchers? Because dispatchers know what a Top Tier Driver can do and they know when someone is underperforming. You can't fool dispatchers. They see it all every day. They know who is good and who isn't. So if dispatch is giving a driver a hard time it's because the driver is failing to do their job at the level they should be.

You never hear Top Tier Drivers play the "us against the dispatchers" game because we realize that drivers and dispatchers truly do operate as a team. They need us, we need them. And when both drivers and dispatchers perform at a high level the company excels, the customers get great service, the drivers and dispatchers both make great money, and everyone wins.

Another trait common to underachievers is that they're constantly placing blame and criticizing everyone else:

"you are the reason we need more regulations in this industry"

....he says to Old School, as if running hard and getting the job done safely and reliably in an elite division is causing problems in this industry.

"If you honestly feel he is the epitome of a professional driver , you're just as bad as him."

...he says to me, with 15 years of stellar performance under my belt.

So to this guy, dispatchers are no good and top tier drivers are no good. And yet there's only one person in this entire crowd who failed to do their job. That's right, the one guy who takes no responsibility for his own failures, which is pattern #3 for terminal rats - nothing is ever their fault. It's "dangerous drivers" and dispatchers and I'm sure it will be his company and probably the people who wrote the logbook rules - everyone is to blame for his situation, except himself.

He says to Daniel:

I'm not sure the point of your story , you mean your wife has to do her job ? Things don't always run smoothly or as planned otherwise i doubt she would have much to do.

I mean, what kind of garbage is that?? It sounds like something a 6th grader would say. Come on, man, that's really sad.

Terminal rats:

• Criticize everyone around them, especially dispatchers
• Complain constantly about everyone and everything in the trucking industry
• Never take responsibility for their own failures, blaming others instead
• Perform at a low level
• Always have a pile of excuses

Don't let these types fool you. Don't let them sour your view of trucking or dispatchers or anything else.

Go out there and run hard, be safe, and by God get the job done like a Top Tier Professional. Old School said it perfectly - there's a huge difference between not feeling like doing your job and being truly exhausted and dangerous. A real pro gets the job done safely and on time, knows how to work well with the office personnel, manages their time efficiently, doesn't make excuses, and doesn't accept a poor performance.

what you said in your post sounds more like someone who suffering from depression

I think that's a reach. He's lazy. He's criticizing everyone and making a big fight out of this now, all to justify his laziness. The excuses, the criticisms of everyone around him who is performing at a higher level, the disparaging remarks about dispatchers, the "screw this" attitude - that's not depression. That's just a lazy driver who has embarrassed himself and is trying to save face.