Talking Shop: The Just Talking Thread

Trucker Appreciation Week!

https://www.overdriveonline.com/life/article/15546419/deals-recognition-for-national-truck-driver-appreciation-week

More Truck Driver Appreciation Month:

https://www.redeyeradioshow.com/2023/08/01/we-salute-the-american-trucker-2023/

Quick question:

What's the deal with the unmistakable noise of the Cascadia brakes?

I swear each and every time I hear one, it sounds like somebody is torturing a baby elephant.

Somebody posted recently about Frightliner keys, maybe it was RD.

Anyway, I was taking my break at a truck stop and a nearby driver saw me sitting in my seat. He came over and said he’d locked himself out of his truck and wanted to try my key. Sure enough, my key opened his door.

Good thing Frightliner isn’t in charge of Homeland Security.

Always good to have a 2nd key ! I locked myself out at a Pilot fuel Isle once, had to go in and buy the slim jim kit $30 ughh (have all that at home + a pro master lock picking set) I couldn't stand on the step, and try to use they long rod to pop the door. 2 nice younger Indian guys were helping. 1 couldn't get it, 2nd guy gave it a go and POP opens the door. I offered em cash but they refused. Searched under hood for a spare key too, as I'd heard new trucks usually have em. My new Legends truck did not dang it.....For the life of me I dunno how the hell I hit the lock button getting out to fuel.

The VERY next day, I'm in a rest area, when this indian guy comes and asks if I can let him try my key lol It didn't work, so gave him the long rod and slim jim, and he got his door opened. Offered me cash too, I told him to just "pay it forward"

Years back at Waste Management, I pull my Olds Cutlass up to the shop on my way home. Left car running while I ran to get something out of my locker. 1 of my co-workers being funny, shuts my open door !! Got a wire coat hanger to get it open. After that, I put my spare keys in my wallet !!

A good thing on my Volvo is it can't be locked if the door is open. So I don't have to worry about locking myself out. But I'm paranoid about losing the key! So I have spares everywhere, in my wallet, in my shower bag, even taped to the top inside of my shoe! 😁

Hey Trucker Friends!

It has been a while.

Currently at the company I work for, the time has been an emotional roller coaster as a new driver.

I accumulated safety points and had them reduced, then two incidents happened that boosted me back to where if I have one more incident, I'm terminated.

The points will not come off until one year has passed. Safety will not allow me to make any more videos to reduce the points.

They will suspend me for 6 days (3 days each week starting this week) which is more than we can bear as a family.

Even my wife said this was too harsh for a company to do this to a trucker.

I am learning that with trucking companies, they live and die by insurance.

I own up to the incidents...no excuses, only adjustments.

Thus with only four months of experience, I am forced to look for another trucking job.

This is discouraging yet this is all part of learning to be the best trucker I can be.

Hey Trucker Friends!

It has been a while.

Currently at the company I work for, the time has been an emotional roller coaster as a new driver.

I accumulated safety points and had them reduced, then two incidents happened that boosted me back to where if I have one more incident, I'm terminated.

The points will not come off until one year has passed. Safety will not allow me to make any more videos to reduce the points.

They will suspend me for 6 days (3 days each week starting this week) which is more than we can bear as a family.

Even my wife said this was too harsh for a company to do this to a trucker.

I am learning that with trucking companies, they live and die by insurance.

I own up to the incidents...no excuses, only adjustments.

Thus with only four months of experience, I am forced to look for another trucking job.

This is discouraging yet this is all part of learning to be the best trucker I can be.

Man I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m glad you are owning up to your mistakes…More on that in a minute.

I just jumped on here to say….NOOO. Please if you want your career to continue I highly recommend staying where you’re at for now. I strongly believe that leaving now would be one of the worst choices you could make for your career. I’d hardly consider myself a company man by any means but I think your company is actually being understanding and lenient by keeping you on and allowing you to work off previous incidents by making safety videos. Regardless, that’s not the primary reason I think you should stay for now.

1) Switching jobs will cause you to have to learn new processes. You’re already having difficulty avoiding obstacles. Switching jobs and having to switch things up (new company, new locations, different elogs , different truck, different policies, etc) will likely be a distraction you honestly can’t handle right now.

2) You are not an experienced driver. Four months experience is generally not considered experienced in the insurance world. Couple that with multiple incidents already and you’re looking at having a hard time finding a job and a harder time keeping that job if your track record continues at your new company.

3) The economy sucks. Again, referring to my previous two points, if you do have issues at the new company, you’re even less likely to keep your job than you normally would be. Times are tough and companies are being pickier right now. I know this firsthand because I have been looking for jobs myself lately and it’s been tough because I don’t have a perfect record. I have a bad set of tickets from nearly five years ago that are haunting me now worse than they were a year and a half ago. I’m insurable but a lot of companies don’t want the risk.

4) These things are completely preventable and there’s no good reason you can’t avoid more of them in the future. Definitely not trying to dog on you here. You said you took responsibility for your mistakes and I appreciate that. But I think some honest self reflection coupled with some open conversations about why these incidents keep happening is a necessity for your career. I am by no means perfect and actually just had an incident myself (last time I had an incident was 6 years ago) so again no judging you harshly here. But why are they happening is a very important question you need to know the answer to. My incident happened because I got too confident and lazy and didn’t physically stick my head out the window in a close quarters situation. Maybe you aren’t G.O.A.L.-ing enough, checking mirrors enough, rushing, getting distracted, etc.

5) The money you’ll lose switching companies is about the same as what you’d lose having a six day suspension. It’s not worth it.

Just my two cents. You seem like a good dude and you think you’re making a good decision but my experience tells me this would be a poor career decision and I’d hate to see you torpedo your career. At least wait til you have six months with them. Preferably wait til you’ve been with them a year before leaving.

Even my wife said this was too harsh for a company to do this to a trucker.

Okay, I can't even understand this statement.

Your company expects you to be a professional driver without incidents. They should have a reasonable expectation that you want that too. They also understand you're new at this, so they've set up some guidelines for you with metrics you can easily comprehend. They've given you grace and allowed you to reduce your points by making videos for them. It sounds to me they've bent over backwards to accommodate you. What gives?

How many incidents have you racked up at this four month mark?

You say...

I own up to the incidents...no excuses, only adjustments.

That's great - it really is! What are you learning from these incidents? It's not harsh for your employer to expect you to improve or increase your ability to operate safely.

I'm not trying to be harsh either. It may sound that way, but it appears to me your company wants or needs you to improve yourself. Surely you feel the same way. They've chosen a little discipline to help you realize the gravity of driving class A vehicles on public roadways.

Do you honestly think that's harsh? You make me proud of my parents. They understood the value of discipline and a strong work ethic. Had there been such a thing as participation trophies when I was growing up competing in sports events, they would have pitched mine in the trash.

They would have told me that trophy is worthless and embarrassing. We will gladly let you keep any trophies you earn, and we will be forever proud of your accomplishments.

It's not harsh to learn to be a safe professional in this career. It's absolutely imperative. You shouldn't be looking for another company. You need to stay where you are and prove to yourself and your wife that you can do this job safely. You told us the points come off in one year. That's great news and a solid goal for you to set for yourself.

Do it man! Put in one solid year of incident free driving. Your wife will be so proud of you. We would be extremely proud of you. Heck, you yourself will have a newfound sense of pride and honor. Don't run from this situation. Embrace it and let it transform you. It will mean a great deal to your future in this career.

I agree with pianoman on this. I can be a pretty harsh critic of companies at times, but if you ride this out, you'll be in a lot better shape.

Unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, companies are having their way with drivers. Many companies that I've watched have dropped their offered starting wages if they are even hiring. They are being far more selective on hiring, reducing bonuses, reducing ancillary pay and being very unforgiving of mistakes. It's quite likely that with only 4 months, preventable incidents that you might not find a job, or at least one that is suitable for your needs.

Even if and when the freight market starts coming back up, companies won't start being generous with compensation and hiring until they absolutely have to in order to grow or stay in business. It's cyclic, not a drivers market right now.

What you can do is see if you have any PTO accumulated, use that to survive the pay hit, and figure out how to avoid any incidents in the future. One way is to pick the least risky routes, really concentrate on your fundamentals of driving and working. Also, do everything by the book, by the numbers. If policy is 2 goals per back, do it. 3 points of contact, do it. Treat every day as if the safety manager is riding along with you.

You've worked really hard for your career, and you have the opportunity to salvage it where you're at.