Something That Bothers Me

I have seen this all over the place. Not just this site but I feel like I should say something.

The saying, "Make your load on time, every time." is wrong. You should make your load on time, when it is safe! If you would be late because you need to shut down because the road is bad, then be late!!! Imagine how late you are going to be when you are getting pulled out of the ditch, or worse.

This winter season, I have been dispatched on a LOT of trailer rescues from people who wrecked because of driving in bad conditions. Some of the trucks, I'm not sure how the driver survived. I'm getting those loads because someone out there was hard headed enough to keep on driving when the conditions were rotten. They don't get to finish their load and instead spend time down waiting on the tow truck to fish them out, for the shop to make sure the truck is safe to drive and to do any repairs needed.

I'm not a pro and I know that. If I don't feel comfortable with how the truck is handling, I get my happy butt off the road. If I don't think I can keep the truck between the lines, then I am not going to drive. My life and the lives of the other people around me, depend on me making good decisions.

So, please, be safe first, on time second.

We know weather and traffic can cause a load to be late. No problem with that. What we mean by "Deliver your load on time,everytime" is if your are able than you get it there on time. A lot of times drivers are late due to poor time management skills. Sleeping late. Or anything else I can come up with.

The saying, "Make your load on time, every time." is wrong. You should make your load on time, when it is safe!

The statement is certainly not "wrong". Safety is always paramount and we preach that endlessly, but we don't explicitly preface everything we say with "If you can do so safely". We also don't list the Ten Commandments alongside every piece of advice but I would hope that people understand we don't want them to steal, covet, or kill either. I would like to think that it's understood pretty well at this point.

I wouldn't have responded at all except you're implying that we're saying "get there on time no matter the risk" and that's the furthest thing from any advice we've ever given.

So yes, be safe out there. Make smart decisions. Be on time. Don't steal, covet, or kill.

I think it should say

"Make your load on time safe, every time"

Remember everyone has family on the road and that at one point will cross paths with a Semi truck. Im pretty sure we will all want that driver be safe at all times. I sure dont want to be that unsafe driver causing a tragedy to a family.

I wasn't trying to imply that you guys are saying that you should do it no matter what. Rather, I was trying to add to what was already there. A lot of people out there will take advice that was given, literally. I have seen it far too many times.

It wasn't just here that I saw that, I have spoken to several drivers and they will say that. My trainer said that. And she really meant, no matter what. It was not safe, at all. A lot of drivers out there will try to make it on time everytime, without regard to safety. Otherwise we wouldn't see so many people in the ditch when the roads get bad.

I didn't mean to offend anyone. Typing doesn't convey tone of voice very well. I was just concerned about the other drivers I keep seeing wrecked or on the side of the road.

Doing everything with safety in mind is preached here so its taken for granted that its implied with all statements

A lot of drivers out there will try to make it on time everytime, without regard to safety

Without regard to safety? So you believe they're knowingly being reckless? Or do think that maybe they believe they are perfectly capable of handling the conditions that you deem unsafe? Did they tell you they don't care about safety or did you assume so because they were doing something you wouldn't feel safe doing?

One time I got a ticket for running "too fast for conditions" in Kentucky. There was about three inches of snow on the ground and it was snowing lightly. I'm from outside Buffalo, NY and I've spent my entire life driving in heavy snow. The cop pulled me over and couldn't believe I was doing 50 mph on the Interstate when it was snowing. To him I was being reckless. I thought I was being extra cautious by only going 50 because drivers like that cop have no idea how to drive in those conditions. So I was taking it easy knowing I had some people around me who didn't know what they were doing.

I asked him, "By what measure are you saying I was running too fast for conditions? I wasn't sliding. I was holding my lane. I was 100% in control of my vehicle. What makes you think I was running too fast for these conditions?" He said you shouldn't be driving that fast when it's snowing. I told him, "No, you shouldn't be driving that fast when it's snowing because you don't know what you're doing. The only dangerous thing that happened here tonight was you trying to catch up to me when you don't have the experience to handle these conditions and now we're sitting on the side of the road waiting to get killed by another Kentuckian who doesn't have the experience to handle these conditions."

He had already written the ticket so there was no talking my way out of it. Otherwise I wouldn't have said that. In the end I wound up getting an attorney and they reduced it to no points and a fine because of my reasoning - I had total control over the vehicle and showed no indication of being in over my head.

Maybe you're seeing people do things you wouldn't feel comfortable doing with your experience level in an 18 wheeler in certain conditions but others might be more than capable of handling it just fine. To you they're disregarding safety. To them it might just be an every day stroll in the park.

I don't believe there are too many people out there with a death wish who are knowingly getting in over their heads and driving "without regard to safety" just to get a load delivered on time. This isn't the X Games. People aren't trying to win a million dollar contest by doing things that might get them killed. People do indeed make a lot of stupid decisions out there, including truck drivers sometimes. I'm just not sure what makes you believe they're doing it without regard for safety unless they're actually saying so in those words.

I agree with Guyjax and reiterate what I said before - safety is always the #1 priority and that is preached by every school and every company out there. We talk about it all the time here also. It's also implicit in every statement we make regarding handling a rig, the same way it's implicit for pilots and astronauts and nuclear power plant engineers.

I understand you're just trying to make the point that people should always put safety first. Obviously we all agree. But when you make statements like "A lot of drivers are trying to make every load on time without regard for safety I have to seriously question where you're deriving that interpretation from. You're not even just implying so, you're blatantly stating that recklessness runs rampant in this industry in the name of delivering on time and that is not at all the way I would characterize this industry.

Look at this photo but its only one of millions on the internet. Obviously you would drive on this bright sunny day but I guess it was unsafe for him huh?

I agree, some people will take it to literal. An example of this is a story our instructor told us. He said he told a student to continue straight. He assumed the student knew to stop at the upcoming stop sign. The student was going to blow the stop sign until the instructor realized what he was doing and pressed the tractor and trailer air buttons. They stopped just as a car was going through the intersection. When the student was asked why he didn't stop, he said the instructor said to continue straight. Some people do take things very literal. I think it is good that from time to time we always have a thread like this to remind people, that no matter what safety always comes FIRST!. It does not matter the reason we shut down. It can be weather, fatigue, sickness, not in the correct state of mind, etc. Anything that distracts us so that our complete attention is not on what we are doing or anything that causes loss of control or ability to maintain control.

I agree, some people will take it to literal. An example of this is a story our instructor told us. He said he told a student to continue straight. He assumed the student knew to stop at the upcoming stop sign. The student was going to blow the stop sign until the instructor realized what he was doing and pressed the tractor and trailer air buttons. They stopped just as a car was going through the intersection. When the student was asked why he didn't stop, he said the instructor said to continue straight. Some people do take things very literal. I think it is good that from time to time we always have a thread like this to remind people, that no matter what safety always comes FIRST!. It does not matter the reason we shut down. It can be weather, fatigue, sickness, not in the correct state of mind, etc. Anything that distracts us so that our complete attention is not on what we are doing or anything that causes loss of control or ability to maintain control.

And this is a perfect example of not using common sense. You don't run stop signs. If your testing and training to drive a truck you are at least 21 years old and should have the ability to process what you're told to do verses what the laws state and put together the two things and come out with a working solution but if someone has to hold their hand and be told to do stuff step by step and they don't have the ability to think for themselves then trucking may not be the job for them.