Winter Storm

Got an attendance point for calling in yesterday

Sorry but that is kind of bogus, not your fault the weather sucks.

They told us we have to "make up the days we call off", they say they are going to have 100+ loads sitting. Every driver I spoke to will also be calling off tonight and tomorrow morning which is my scheduled gate time. They are calling for 50 mph winds and blowing snow, I do not foresee I-65 being safe for a single axel day cab with wiggle wagons nor for any truck for that matter.

Called in this morning and let em know I'm not running tonight/tomorrow. The dispatcher I talked to seriously asked "why?".

I cringed reading that. I mean the arrogance in asking why when it’s clear why. I thank my lucky stars every night that my company’s dispatcher are the owners who are still out delivering loads everyday while dispatching. And here you got college grad Brad asking why you won’t drive in snow and ice. Lol I’m not going to get started on that. You did the right thing Rob. I wouldn’t have even given an explanation. Doesn’t matter.

Got an attendance point for calling in yesterday

Sorry but that is kind of bogus, not your fault the weather sucks.

I'm not entirely sure if I will be getting a point or not, not concerned about it either way. 10 points in a rolling year is termination and you only receive 1 point for every 3 days a Dr note for 4 or more days is no points.

Called in this morning and let em know I'm not running tonight/tomorrow. The dispatcher I talked to seriously asked "why?".

I cringed reading that. I mean the arrogance in asking why when it’s clear why. I thank my lucky stars every night that my company’s dispatcher are the owners who are still out delivering loads everyday while dispatching. And here you got college grad Brad asking why you won’t drive in snow and ice. Lol I’m not going to get started on that. You did the right thing Rob. I wouldn’t have even given an explanation. Doesn’t matter.

I think the biggest issue within our transportation department is that my manager has been in his position about a year and a half but came from the warehouse with his only driving experience being during harvest season long ago, and although he has a cdl has only taken out 1 route that I'm aware of but that was in the summer and across town. Our new VP (after previous guy retired couple months ago) has no driving experience and was the #2 guy in the warehouse. Our dispatchers an overwhelming majority came from the warehouse and of the 6 we have I can only rely on 2 or 3 to always be able to assist me with what I need. Unfortunately we just call a general number and whoever is available answers. Thankfully our head of transportation that works at the corporate office (who oversees the 800ish drivers for our subsidiaries and the main company) knows her stuff despite not holding a CDL. We received a message last night from her telling us our safety and being home with our loved ones is the number 1 priority and if you're not comfortable going out that's OK, just communicate with them.

This isn't meant as a "us VS them" mentality I just feel strongly that at a minimum management and dispatch should be required to do ride alongs with drivers periodically, especially when we're back home daily. Our 2 supervisors have their cdl and are previous drivers so they definitely know their stuff and understand. Kinda strange why they needed so many drivers and have 30 loads that will be sitting but the 3 guys in management with cdls aren't taking loads out tomorrow.

I always laugh whenever I've called in to jobs I never give them a reason. All that matters is I'm TELLING you I'm not coming in. Does it make a difference in why I'm not there whether actually sick or if I'm distraught over my pet goldfish dying?

Off topic but boss man called me Wednesday when i was 10 minutes from the yard and asked "Would you be willing to take a trainee out tomorrow and friday?" So I told him I'm not working tomorrow or Friday due to weather but I will next week if he'd like since I wasn't going out in a blizzard especially with a driver I don't know. Then he said the other thing he needed was me to stop by and see him before I left which is nearly always code for drug test. Got to the clinic and was 1 of 10 drivers they sent that day.

Every driver I spoke to will also be calling off tonight and tomorrow morning which is my scheduled gate time.

We're off Friday and Monday for Christmas. Worked out this year with the weather being what it is. I volunteered for Monday, hopefully I get something.

I always laugh whenever I've called in to jobs I never give them a reason. All that matters is I'm TELLING you I'm not coming in.

I've never been asked why I'm calling out. The only question they ask is "do you want to put time in?"

Off topic but boss man called me Wednesday when i was 10 minutes from the yard and asked "Would you be willing to take a trainee out tomorrow and friday?"

I had a trainee this week. One of the last ones we have, since the training program has been suspended due to lack of freight. I'm glad it'll be done for a while. Training adds so much time to my day and limits what runs I can take due to HOS concerns and making sure I'm available for the times I want to run.

I delivered a load Wednesday morning in Lawrence,MA and I'm off until next Friday I live in Milford,MA and it's raining with high winds,but it's currently 54 degrees Supposed to drop into the teens tonight

I delivered a load Wednesday morning in Lawrence,MA and I'm off until next Friday I live in Milford,MA and it's raining with high winds,but it's currently 54 degrees Supposed to drop into the teens tonight

Mike, I’m headed to Hostess in Lawrence, MA for a 12:00 pickup. Very light load going to Kansas. Must be Twinkies, lol

I guess my terminal was closed because when I called in nobody answered. So I called central dispatch to let them know I am not running and he said no body is, they canceled everything and are counting it as a holiday I guess.

I guess my terminal was closed because when I called in nobody answered. So I called central dispatch to let them know I am not running and he said no body is, they canceled everything and are counting it as a holiday I guess.

I thought we were bad with communications. There's a number we call that has weather updates to let us know what's happening. Dispatchers will shoot a text with specific updates since the number provides very generic information.

We are running a skeleton crew today due to most of our customers being closed. Being towards the bottom of seniority list, I’m in today. Its currently still just rain here in the Philly area but as the storm pulls away the temps are dropping below freezing and winds are gonna really pick up. Having a little anxiety about the flash freezing thats gonna happen this afternoon during my shift. I have many years of experience driving in snow/ice from my landscaping days but I have zero so far with these tractors in snow/ice.

Talked to my dispatch last night about the projected conditions, he said we dont have too much road work today, mostly dock. If the roads get bad, he will reschedule the road work and we will just stay in.

We are running a skeleton crew today due to most of our customers being closed. Being towards the bottom of seniority list, I’m in today. Its currently still just rain here in the Philly area but as the storm pulls away the temps are dropping below freezing and winds are gonna really pick up. Having a little anxiety about the flash freezing thats gonna happen this afternoon during my shift. I have many years of experience driving in snow/ice from my landscaping days but I have zero so far with these tractors in snow/ice.

Talked to my dispatch last night about the projected conditions, he said we dont have too much road work today, mostly dock. If the roads get bad, he will reschedule the road work and we will just stay in.

I track the weather on the highways I'm expecting to travel on. For example, if I'm going to Ohio I'll check the weather updates in Hubbard, OH, Brookville, PA, Snow Shoe, PA and Williamsport. That's about every 80 miles. It gives me a good idea of what to expect.