Some Drivers!

So yesterday I was waiting to get loaded at Hillside Distributors in Edison, NJ it's located in the Raritan Business park right off the Turn Pike. I got there and checked in and they put me into a door right off as I was walking back to my truck this guy pulls in and parks basically right in front of the dock I need to back into. Oh what you can't see is there is another truck on the right side of this guy also waiting for a door. Space in this place is at a premium with drivers getting live loaded and pre-loaded containers waiting to be picked up. Well anyway this guy pulled in and basically blocked everyone. I figured he was checking in and waiting for a door but that was not the case from what I could surmise he either got loaded or unloaded at a different part of the warehouse and pulled into the lot to either wait for another assignment or do his 30. I jumped out of my truck and tried to ask him to back up so I could get back into the door oppsite his truck he said something to me but I couldn't understand him but I got the gist he wouldn't move till he was ready. Long story short one of the warehouse guys came out and made the guy move his truck the guy argued a bit with Warehouse Guy but finally moved his truck. When it was all said and done this guy basically brought the place standstill for about 45 minutes. Not only did he block me but I blocked two loaded drivers trying to get out, the local guys trying to pick up the pre-loaded containers. When I get to a location I try my best to stay out of everyone else's way unfortunately that didn't happen here. It's always a fun adventure when I drive in New Jersey

I hate drivers like that, always seem to happen in tight lots and never when its wide open lmao.

Some folks only care about themselves. Taking breaks on the fuel island is getting more often.

Last week I reserved a spot at a pilot because I knew it would be late when I got there. Well drivers had parked in the reserved spots without paying. The manager started checking tags and telling the drivers that didn’t pay to move. One driver got upset and refused to move. Police were called and he argued with them. He felt he should be able to just pay. He failed to understand they were sold out. He ended up in jail for the night for his stubborness.

PJ wrote

Some folks only care about themselves. Taking breaks on the fuel island is getting more often.

Last week I reserved a spot at a pilot because I knew it would be late when I got there. Well drivers had parked in the reserved spots without paying. The manager started checking tags and telling the drivers that didn’t pay to move. One driver got upset and refused to move. Police were called and he argued with them. He felt he should be able to just pay. He failed to understand they were sold out. He ended up in jail for the night for his stubborness.

I'm currently at Superior Beverage in Solon Ohio waiting to get unloaded. This place is really strict once you are unloaded they (Sup Bev) want you to leave the premises ASAP! Last time I was here a driver that finished unloading pulled out from the door and just parked his truck. So the Security Guard came up from the gate and told the driver to leave. When the Security Guard came up to the drivers truck the driver was out of his truck and they began to have a conversation from my vantage point it looks a bit heated because both guyd were failing their arms and gestering at each other. Finally the driver walked away from the Security Guard and instead of heading straight to the tractor the driver walks alllll the way around the back of his truck and then gets into the cab but not before the Security Guard came back and talk to him again. The driver finally started move towards the gate begrudgingly slowly. When I left I asked the Guard about it he was like I've got to deal with at least one knuckle head every day.!

These are the same "bag of jerks" who park on the scale pad and block the fuel bays, the inconsiderate minority who give us all a bad name. "So Special" are they...

These are the same "bag of jerks" who park on the scale pad and block the fuel bays, the inconsiderate minority who give us all a bad name. "So Special" are they...

I dont understand how people can be such A-holes. I felt bad enough the other day parking in a spot marked no parking due to tankers needing the space while delivering fuel. He was still able to do his job just made it more difficult. My intentions were good, as I try not to take a space in places that are near capacity from someone looking to shut down for their 10. It just so happened in the less than 5 minutes it took for me to run in to grab my scale ticket the fuel delivery showed up. In this situation I'd typically take a spot unless parking is limited or pull up to yellow line of pumps if it isnt busy but there was a wait at all pumps. We're all in this together and the more we're considerate of others the better off we'll all be.

I was in Winslow Arizona at the Flying J a few weeks back and a JB Hunt driver pulling an Amazon trailer was parked in the fuel aisle. No hoses in the tanks after 10 minutes I went up and pounded on the door. No answer. I went in and asked the manager to page him to tell him to move. Still nothing and I couldn't back up and go to another pump. After waiting 35 minutes here the jackass comes. With his backpack. He parked in the fuel Island and took a shower... as my mother would say I'm not very proud of you... But I walked up and called that SOB every name in the book. One of the drivers fueling also got into it because he knew what was going on. I told him I have his truck number and called JB Hunt. They were very apologetic but I'm not sure anything happened.

The one I run into most often is drivers exiting out of the entrance. No biggie in most places, but in some, it gets pretty tight. Not too long ago, I was trying to get into the TA outside of Snoqualmie, WA, and one of Swift's DIAMOND drivers was trying to exit the entrance and I had to pull in for him to make the turn to get out... well I could only pull in part way because he didn't give me enough room. He finally figured out he would have to pull partly into the road for me to get past his trailer and get my butt end out of the road. Then I had to wait for a Penske truck and a pickup pulling a camper to squeak past me because they were going the wrong way too. If the parking hadn't been full, it wouldn't have been as tight, but still, the drivers should have known better.

The one I run into most often is drivers exiting out of the entrance. No biggie in most places, but in some, it gets pretty tight. Not too long ago, I was trying to get into the TA outside of Snoqualmie, WA, and one of Swift's DIAMOND drivers was trying to exit the entrance and I had to pull in for him to make the turn to get out... well I could only pull in part way because he didn't give me enough room. He finally figured out he would have to pull partly into the road for me to get past his trailer and get my butt end out of the road. Then I had to wait for a Penske truck and a pickup pulling a camper to squeak past me because they were going the wrong way too. If the parking hadn't been full, it wouldn't have been as tight, but still, the drivers should have known better.

As you get more experience and deal with more truck stops you will know which ones to stay away from. Some are just designed very poorly. This is where route planning falls into place. I swear I can't believe I didn't have accidents in some of these places. Especially when I didn't know what the hell I was doing early on. I'm in Pennsylvania right now and there are some truck stops that we fuel at and I just refuse to deal with them. When I start out in the morning I already know where I'm going to fuel and roughly where I'm going to take my 30. There are a lot of places I refuse to do both because of the congestion. It's always better to be overly patient. I could care less with the people behind me think. If you're too aggressive you can cause these tight situations. Most of the drivers appreciate your caution.

Yep guys and girls. We're all in this together. Not only do we have to be very careful what we do, we also need to to watch out for everyone else on the road. There are definitely a few rotten commercial drivers who have no consideration for anyone, but I like to think they are a minority. A big thank you to the Puget Sound/I5 corridor truckers I work with silently every day. We got each others backs.