Layovers

The last week+ has been full of layovers for me. I get paid to relax, so it's not all bad, but I feel so unproductive. I had a load scheduled for 6:00 this morning at a Meijer DC. I check in at 5:07. I wait until 9:00 and then go back to driver check in to find out why I still don't have a door. Apparently I was supposed to be informed that the load was rescheduled. I was given a number to call and the person on the other end first wanted a piece of information that I didn't have and tried arguing with me that I must have it. Anyway, I eventually got them to accept a different piece of information to check on my load. I was told that the load was "probably" rescheduled. Wait, was it rescheduled or not? A few minutes later, yes, it was rescheduled for 12:00 midnight tonight. I am really wondering when I was going to be informed. Glad I checked. The good thing is that I still had a couple of hours remaining until I complete my break, so no time lost, yet.

Oh, for the newbies who don't know one load type from another. My load is a frozen meat load that is a live unload. A driver has to back the trailer up to a dock and remain on site until the unloading is complete. This is typically handled by preset appointment time.

Ok, so this is not a complaint thread. I just threw in the above conversation because I get a kick out of people acting like drivers never know what they are talking about.

I call dispatch to inform them of the issue and to request dropping the trailer in a nearby drop yard, so that I am not laid over, yet again. Dispatch has to get with customer service who then has to get with the broker before any decisions can be made. Yes, a brokered load.

No complaints here, as even with only running barely 2,000 miles last week, I still had a $2,048 gross check for the week. I think that if they tell me to sit on this load that I will respectfully ask to be taken off the load, considering I have done quite a bit of sitting without batting an eye. If they tell me that they don't have another load to put me on this afternoon, then I will accept, so long as I am not having to wait for the office to open at 8:00 tomorrow to get another load.

I am a team-player, so ultimately I will do whatever dispatch says they really need done. Within that, I will inform them of what I would prefer. We typically find a way to meet in the middle, or I've got you this time, you get me next time.

So as a newbie- dumb this down a little for me. If you are sitting and waiting on a load and unable to wave off to go get a different one- are you still on the clock or do your wheels need to be rolling to make money? Not knowing all the finer points yet, it would appear to me that if dispatch is requiring you to wait for that particular load then you should be making something since you can’t go anywhere else. Is this correct or am I way off base?

So as a newbie- dumb this down a little for me. If you are sitting and waiting on a load and unable to wave off to go get a different one- are you still on the clock or do your wheels need to be rolling to make money? Not knowing all the finer points yet, it would appear to me that if dispatch is requiring you to wait for that particular load then you should be making something since you can’t go anywhere else. Is this correct or am I way off base?

It falls under what is called accessorial pay. On this past week's check I had 2-1/2 days of layover pay ($200/day). On top of that, I had 9.5 hours of detention pay at $20/hour. On top of that all of the loads that I had were given east coast pay, which is $.15/mile added to my standard per mile rate. If you are sitting because you are doing company business, you will get paid something. If you are sitting because you couldn't manage your clock or something that you screwed up, you might not get paid. If you are sitting because you just just don't want to drive (and it's not a safety issue), you are definitely not getting paid.

So as a newbie- dumb this down a little for me. If you are sitting and waiting on a load and unable to wave off to go get a different one- are you still on the clock or do your wheels need to be rolling to make money? Not knowing all the finer points yet, it would appear to me that if dispatch is requiring you to wait for that particular load then you should be making something since you can’t go anywhere else. Is this correct or am I way off base?

It falls under what is called accessorial pay. On this past week's check I had 2-1/2 days of layover pay ($200/day). On top of that, I had 9.5 hours of detention pay at $20/hour. On top of that all of the loads that I had were given east coast pay, which is $.15/mile added to my standard per mile rate. If you are sitting because you are doing company business, you will get paid something. If you are sitting because you couldn't manage your clock or something that you screwed up, you might not get paid. If you are sitting because you just just don't want to drive (and it's not a safety issue), you are definitely not getting paid.

Very well said, Ryan! Impressively correct. And, you are with what some might consider a 'starter' company, yes? This ^^^ proves THOSE naysayers wrong, haha!

Your last sentence ... reminds me of that YouTuber we mentioned in another thread, "Run Hard, Get Paid." What an oxymoron !!!!

Nice post, IMHO ~!

~ Anne ~

I also had a one day layover this week. My company only pays $100 for a day’s layover. Ryan gets $200, which is more like what it should be. But all of us probably (I hope) make more by driving that day than getting layover pay. That’s why I don’t like layovers, but in 6 months I’ve only had two layover days. Today I got almost 700 miles @ .56 per mile. You do the math.

So as a newbie- dumb this down a little for me. If you are sitting and waiting on a load and unable to wave off to go get a different one- are you still on the clock or do your wheels need to be rolling to make money? Not knowing all the finer points yet, it would appear to me that if dispatch is requiring you to wait for that particular load then you should be making something since you can’t go anywhere else. Is this correct or am I way off base?

It falls under what is called accessorial pay. On this past week's check I had 2-1/2 days of layover pay ($200/day). On top of that, I had 9.5 hours of detention pay at $20/hour. On top of that all of the loads that I had were given east coast pay, which is $.15/mile added to my standard per mile rate. If you are sitting because you are doing company business, you will get paid something. If you are sitting because you couldn't manage your clock or something that you screwed up, you might not get paid. If you are sitting because you just just don't want to drive (and it's not a safety issue), you are definitely not getting paid.

Very well said, Ryan! Impressively correct. And, you are with what some might consider a 'starter' company, yes? This ^^^ proves THOSE naysayers wrong, haha!

Your last sentence ... reminds me of that YouTuber we mentioned in another thread, "Run Hard, Get Paid." What an oxymoron !!!!

Nice post, IMHO ~!

~ Anne ~

Yeah, a starter company. I avoid putting it out there because I really don't want to sway people. I comment too much in offering suggestions regarding potential employers, so I would rather not appear to be favoring any particular company. In my opinion, any company that offers training is a good, safety conscious company. It's up to the individual to decide which fits the person best.

Lately I have been run soft, sleep, and get paid.

I also had a one day layover this week. My company only pays $100 for a day’s layover. Ryan gets $200, which is more like what it should be. But all of us probably (I hope) make more by driving that day than getting layover pay. That’s why I don’t like layovers, but in 6 months I’ve only had two layover days. Today I got almost 700 miles @ .56 per mile. You do the math.

I am only averaging 300 miles/day and $.47/mile. But, it's the way that the company sets me up that has me not really worrying about cents/mile. I have great rapport with my dispatcher and even the fill in dispatchers know that I am a go-to driver to get it done in a pinch. I have yet to turn down a load in over a year. I have been tempted, but not yet.

Oh, I ended up not having to worry about leveraging good will to get taken off that load earlier. Dispatch acknowledged that it's better use of time and resources to work out the delivery of that load without me on it and put me on a two-stopper to Chicagoland (Bolingbrook and Des Plaines).

I also had a one day layover this week. My company only pays $100 for a day’s layover. Ryan gets $200, which is more like what it should be. But all of us probably (I hope) make more by driving that day than getting layover pay. That’s why I don’t like layovers, but in 6 months I’ve only had two layover days. Today I got almost 700 miles @ .56 per mile. You do the math.

I am only averaging 300 miles/day and $.47/mile.

That's the last couple of weeks. Prior to that, I was averaging 2700 since spring.

All my loads have had a lot of time on them lately. I've been packing in 400 to 800 a week in layover. If I can pick up or drop early they just hand me layover. It's frustrating but appreciated. I've been paid to sleep every night this week lol

All my loads have had a lot of time on them lately. I've been packing in 400 to 800 a week in layover. If I can pick up or drop early they just hand me layover. It's frustrating but appreciated. I've been paid to sleep every night this week lol

I try my best to get approval to drop the load, if I am early enough that it makes sense. Sometimes it backfires. Well, I remember one time it did. Had a load going to Meijer DC in Newport, MI (I think). I was going to be like 12 hours early. I thought of just parking and getting some good rest in, but the delivery time would have had me waiting several hours for dispatch to come in and get me a load again. So, I was able to drop the load and then had another load assigned, a farm load from one of the small farms in Ohio. Well, this particular day, that farm was completely backed up and my load was several hours from being ready. I was up against running out on my 14 after like 3 hours of waiting. Dispatch decided to put me on a <100 mile local run. I then sat and waited half a day for a load the next day. I would have been better off just staying on that Meijer load. That week proved to be one of my worst weeks for miles. I think I ended the week with like 1,800.