Words From The Road.

Well here I am again.

Things are about the same around here. Still being sent to loads that don't exist. Being sent to shippers that are suppose to be drop and hook and end up 3 hour live loads. But hey, that is the life of a trucker.

Still going rounds with my DM. The computer might say I can get to point B in such and such a time. But the computer isn't stuck in rush hour traffic. Or going up and down hills at 25mph because they have 44,000 pounds of freight.

Don't you just love how those computers can tell you how to do your job.

I have read many many posts on here about backing. And all of them revolve around the same answer. You get better with time and with practice. Which is 100% true.

BUT.... also. As one of my instructors said in class. He had been an OTR driver for over 16 years. Some days you can park between 2 post with less than an inch on either side. Other days you can't pack in a 40 acre field.

I really don't mind backing when I am at a shipper or a drop yard. But in the evenings when there are 10 other trucks behind you waiting to get parked also. And it never fails. Out of those 10, you have at least 2 "super truckers" that knew how to back from the day they were born.

But, I ramble on.

I haven't seen much on the road lately. Except for snow. I love winter. I really do. But even I am ready for some green on the hill sides.

Talking about snow. I want to say, my prayers and best wishes go out to all the trucker's families and the truckers themselves that were involved in all the massive wrecks this winter.

And for the one that talked about a light going off one day, referring to backing. I don't remember what post I read that in. But I guess my battery is disconnected or I have a short. One day, I think I got the light. The next time I try to back, something is different and I have to change something.

But it is getting better.

Just biding my time for a year here at this wonder place. Then I look for a real job.

Keep it safe out here. The life you save might be your own. Joe S.

Just biding my time for a year here at this wonder place. Then I look for a real job.

Ok....two questions:

1) In the time you've been with that company, how many different dispatchers have you had? Have you been under the same one the whole time?

2) When you talk around to other drivers from your company, to they seem to be getting more miles than you are or is everyone complaining that there are no miles available?

There's no reason you shouldn't be getting your share of miles. If nobody seems to be turning good miles then it's simply the slow season and that will change soon enough. If others are getting miles but you're not then either:

1) You're not doing your job as well as you should be

or

2) You have a lousy dispatcher who isn't taking care of you

There shouldn't be much of a mystery in your situation. You should be able to figure out why you're not getting your fair share of miles. In 15 years of driving with various companies the only time I wasn't in the upper 5% of total miles turned amongst drivers were the few times I was stuck with a lousy dispatcher that for whatever reason wasn't keeping me rolling. And that would last about three weeks and I would insist on a different dispatcher. And each time I switched it was like someone suddenly turned on the juice and I was back to 3000+ miles a week.

Just like drivers, some dispatchers are great at what they do, some are not. If the whole company is slow there's nothing you can really do about it but wait for the busy season to start. And that should be very soon now. If others are getting more miles then start speaking with your dispatcher's boss and that person's boss. Get the operations manager on the line and insist that they take a closer look at your situation because you're slipping through the cracks.

Just biding my time for a year here at this wonder place. Then I look for a real job.

Ok....two questions:

1) In the time you've been with that company, how many different dispatchers have you had? Have you been under the same one the whole time?

2) When you talk around to other drivers from your company, to they seem to be getting more miles than you are or is everyone complaining that there are no miles available?

There's no reason you shouldn't be getting your share of miles. If nobody seems to be turning good miles then it's simply the slow season and that will change soon enough. If others are getting miles but you're not then either:

To answer your questions first.

1. I am on my 2nd/3rd dispatcher. I can't explain it because I don't understand it myself. But I lost my first dispatcher due to him being taken away from dispatching. I now have 2 different dispatchers. They work something called a "2/3". What ever that is. So I never know who is on the other end of my Qualcomm.

2. Here is the interesting part. I have talked to maybe a dozen or so drivers. And it all depends on who you talk to as to how many miles they are getting. Two of my classmates. One gets no less than 2500 to 2800 miles a week. The other one is about like me. One week 3000+. The next week, maybe 1500.

I don't think so much it is the time of year. Or our dispatchers. I really think our system here is broke for some reason. Let me explain. I have told stories in the past about being sent to loads that aren't there. Or not ready for 2 days. Being sent to a business that is closed.

Well, I talked to another driver the other day. About a week ago. We were at the same drop. He was told to be there at 4am. He arrived and no one was around. They weren't even open. He waited and waited. 6am someone showed up. Checked his paperwork. He thought maybe they made a mistake and put am when it should have been pm. Well on that part he was right. But not only was it pm, it was for the next day. Not that day.

When I saw him, he was just killing time. He arrived the night before and spent it at a truck stop down the road. He told me he was going to drop his trailer and go back to the truck stop till tomorrow evening.

By his paperwork, he was there when he was told to be there.

The company sent him to his drop 36 hours too early.

And that is just one driver. I have talked to others that have had the same thing happen to them that has happened to me.

Some drivers hardly ever have live loads. Maybe one a week. Other drivers, like myself, have half or more of their loads as live loads.

There is no rhyme or reason to what is happening around here. Or at least none that I can figure out or see.

If I have screwed up and made someone mad, I don't know what I have done. I have never refused a trip. I can't, it is forced dispatch. I have always done my best to get loads where they were suppose to be on time. The only time I have been late was due to a car wreck. Which was out of my control.

The only thing I have done that could be bad. I have voiced my opinion on some of the routing they have sent me on. Way out of my way. I was sent on one route once that took me 2 hours longer that if I would have gone by interstate. And I said so. It was "fuel efficient" they said.

How can being stopped by more than a dozen traffic lights be fuel efficient? When the other route was all interstate. Yes it was 40 miles longer, but no traffic lights and no 35mph speed zones.

For some reason this company has changed over the last 3 years. That comes from long timers that have been around here for years. Every day there are trucks abandoned by drivers. Every time I come to the Indy shop I see a dozen or more boxes in the shop floor of personal items where a driver just left the truck and went home. And not all of them are new drivers either.

One of the old timers told me the other day. Two things changed this company. And not for the better. 3 years ago, the company owner stepped down and turned it over to a board. He no longer runs it himself. And second. The school. Not many of the old timers like the school being here. They blame the school for where all the money is going. That and acquiring all these other truck companies.

They have acquired something like 18 companies over the last 2 years.

Like I said. I love my job. Just not who I do it for. I am here for one year then I will find a real job. All trucking companies can't be this screwed up. If they are, then how in the world do they stay in business.

This company doesn't care how many drivers they loose. They have a class of 30-50 every week to take the place of the ones they have lost.

Keep it safe out here, the life you save might be your own. Joe S (The Blue Angel)

Yeah, I've actually been in that sort of situation myself. I worked for TRL for a year one time and it was the same way. The company was founded way back in the day by one man with one truck. He slowly and methodically built it up to like 300 trucks over a 30 year period or something like that. When he was running it they had nothing but the best equipment and it was one of the very rare companies in the nation that actually had a waiting list to get on with them and they required 2 or 3 years experience at that.

Then he retired and turned the company over to his kids. That was about two years before I came on board.

Well the kids exploded the size of the company from like 300 to 2000 trucks in a 6 year period or something ridiculous like that. They no longer required experience, they no longer kept the equipment up, and nobody had any idea what they were doing. It was truly a cluster. I managed to get on with a great dispatcher so I always had a lot of miles. But I'm pretty sure I was the only driver that actually liked working there and even I could see the company was in shambles. I left after a year and I really had no complaints personally about the truck I drove, the equipment I had, or the miles I was given. I just happened to find a good niche in a messy situation.

I've also seen companies run smooth as silk for a long time and then suddenly go into chaos after changing software packages, dispatching structures, or middle management. New people come in with new ideas and turn everything upside down for a while. It eventually works itself out but it can take some time and create a lot of headaches and some lousy paychecks along the way.

It's very rare I say this but I'll offer this to you. If you really feel you've done everything you can do be an awesome driver and you're just a victim of lousy circumstances, then maybe changing companies before your year is up is warranted. It's very rare I say that because it's very rare that "the company" is actually the problem. It's normally the driver or the dispatcher or some sort of temporary glitch that will work itself out soon enough. But if this has gone on for some time, you don't see it changing, and you're confident that you're not the reason things aren't going as well as they should then you might consider moving on sooner. The busy season is coming up here at any time really. I can see from the number of new jobs on the job board that hiring is picking up so either companies are getting busier or they're anticipating being busier very soon.

It's your call. Only you know your circumstances. If you can work it out there and get yourself in a great position then do so. If you really feel you're at your wits end, it isn't going to get better anytime soon, and you've done all you can do then consider putting in applications elsewhere. Even if you don't leave just yet you can at least have other job opportunities ready for you when you are ready to move on.

What company do you work for?

Since I went to school here, I am commited to a certain time frame that I have to stay here.

Other fellow students that I went to school with have already moved on. But eventually they will have to pay back the $7,000 dollars.

If I stay thru my commitment, I can leave with a clear slate.

I would rather not mention the company here. If you look back over my past posts, you can find where I have mentioned the name.

Keep it safe out here. The life you save might be your own. Joe S (The Blue Angel).

He works for Celadon, IIRC