Semi-Retired ;-) CDL B To CDL A, Lord Willing!

Thanks for the reply, RB! I've had the thought that being number one isn't the most important thing, but just by being focused on fuel economy and safety will keep me in the high ranks knowing that I'm doing good for myself, others around me, and for the company. By working on the metrics, I naturally climb up and maintain a good ranking. Like you said, they're tied at the hip; neat observation. Have a great week!

Still working on those safety and fuel efficiency metrics. I managed to get to the number 8 spot, so my goal of breaking into the top ten has been achieved. Now headed for the number 1 spot.

It must be fierce competition in the top ten because the names move in and out fairly quickly. I dropped back to the middle teens from number 10 then back down into number 8, in the same day.

This week I was in the 20's. Weird. But on the whole, fuel efficiency has been going up.

I'll keep working at it. Probably gonna be one of those things where you get it dialed in then just keep it consistent and try to improve all the time.

Plenty of miles this last week. I let my FM know I'd be available for Saturdays, if needed, so he was able to accommodate and I put in around 3k, finishing up at home Saturday morning around 8:30.

A bit of a tough week, though, as my start times were in the early morning hours; which isn't too bad since I enjoy the lesser amount of traffic on the roads at those times. But the sleep schedule got a little skewed to accommodate the delivery times. It's all good. It's one of those challenges of driving.

I may have finished up my 6 month contract, as my safety bonus has increased as of this last week. Maybe a week early? I have recorded going into my 24th week this next Monday, the 17th. Yeah!

Pet peeve that has crept in is traffic merging into the highway. Seems they don't know how to press on the go pedal.

Another pet peeve is the auto brakes on the truck as they seem to have a mind of their own from time to time. I've picked up on that the radar tracks a vehicle further into an adjacent lane than my old truck, and if they're slowing down, my brakes may be activated. So I've adapted to that occurrence pretty good and keep a good eye on the tracking. It can be defeated by pressing on the go pedal.

Another time is those hard shadows from bridges that come out of nowhere and scare the crap out of you.

And if I'm too close to the vehicle ahead of me, and they start braking too quickly, those brakes may activate, which is annoying and makes my blood boil as I'm in complete control of the situation when this occurs. But I do have the radar looking as far ahead as possible, which is about a 10th of a mile. The fix is for me to react sooner to the following distance, and in most cases is just what I do, but occasionally you have some motorist jump in front of you and jam things up. Still, in the big picture, I need to adjust the following distance and all will be good. So I'm working on that so it doesn't happen that the brakes apply automatically.

Until later...

One trip into hilly/mountainous terrain can cause a significant dip in fuel economy. Do your best to hit that top spot, but know that where you rank may have more to do with who had longer stretches of straight/flat highway with no traffic delays. No matter where you fall in that ranking, you are a great asset to your company because you are focused on the right things. Fuel economy and safety are tied at the hip because the drivers who most frequently have the best fuel economy are the drivers who have the best safety record.

A new chapter in truck driving is set to kick-off in a couple of weeks as I start a job with Simon's Trucking out of Farley, IA. Keller had been a good starter company, but the pay is just not enough to get ahead of our commitments.

Until later...

Looks like they have several types of trailers. Do you know yet if you'll get to haul different ones or will you be sticking to van? Either way, good luck and enjoy the ride!

Hi ya, Sandman!

I'll be sticking with dry van. There are others options available going forward, like hazmat , flat bed, refer, tanker, etc... but I'm thinking of just dry van for now.

Looks like they have several types of trailers. Do you know yet if you'll get to haul different ones or will you be sticking to van? Either way, good luck and enjoy the ride!

A little update... I didn't end up going to Simon's. Staying with Keller since they are really a good company.

I strive to do the best job I can and just recently learned that I received "Driver of the Month" for April!

Woot, woot!

"Driven to Deliver" is my motto.

Until later....