Prioritizing - Or Risk Versus Reward

I wasn't sure how to title this post. So... here it goes.

I always seem to get in trouble while I am sitting in driver lounges at our terminals.

You may remember when...

I Almost Started A Fight At A Terminal

Or perhaps you remember when...

I Poisoned A Terminal Rat

I was waiting on some repairs to my truck in our Olive Branch, MS terminal recently when I heard a very distressed driver raising his voice with his dispatcher on the phone. He was based out of another terminal, but was picking up an MT trailer in Olive Branch. This was his problem...

He had a hard deadline to be at the shipper in Memphis, TN. He was literally twenty minutes away from the shipper and he had to be there in one hour. He found an MT, but it had a flat tire that he wanted to get repaired before going to get loaded. He took it to the shop and they informed him it would be about two hours before they could get to it. They were busy, and that is understandable. They had tried to be kind and gentle with the driver, but he wasn't having it. He insisted that he needed priority over whatever it was they were doing - he had a hard appointment to meet. The first lesson here is...

As drivers, we cannot let our ego make us think we are more important than everyone else out here trying to get things accomplished on the road. We are all doing the same job with the same stress. We have to chill and figure out how to manage our careers without putting ourselves into cardiac arrest every time something seems to be hindering us. We have to be adaptive, flexible, and creative. In a nutshell, we have to be adults who can deal with our own problems while working within the parameters of this sometimes challenging career.

He was quite animated and loud on the phone. Occasionally he gave me an almost pleading look, as if he wanted me to help him convince his DM to make a phone call on his behalf. He was convinced it would only help his cause if the DM would call the shop manager and explain how his driver was under a tremendous amount of pressure, and needed them to drop everything and fix his tire. I swear, he would get off the phone with the DM, let out a deep sigh, and then call him right back again. (Three times in a row) All he was doing was repeating himself with heavy moans and groans. He sounded like a spoiled child demanding his way. He wasn't even trying to come up with a solution. He was just making ridiculous demands.

I hate to say this, but I was not sympathetic. I have never called my DM about a flat tire. What can he do about it? Nothing. Besides, he has a lot of drivers like this one, keeping him on the phone unnecessarily. Okay, he finally got me into a conversation, and here is what I found out. His tire wasn't even flat. It just had a nail in it. He didn't like that and wanted it changed before he went over to get loaded twenty minutes away. The second lesson here is...

Learn to evaluate risk and reward. We have a ton of grey areas in trucking. We have to make our own choices and decisions everyday. Many of those decisions affect our results. Those results affect our pay. We get paid for what we accomplish. Therefore, we need to make decisions that help us be efficient.

This driver was insistent that everyone drop what they are doing to serve his needs. That is very inefficient. First off, each of them is trying to do his job efficiently. Constant interruptions by a demanding driver breaks up their efficiency. The driver trying to force everyone to change to his plan is very inefficient for the driver too. If he doesn't realize by now that this approach doesn't work, he still has a lot to learn about how to succeed in this career.

I tried to explain to him what I would do in this situation. I would take the trailer and go get loaded. I've driven fully loaded trailers with nails in the tires before. I've done it a lot of times. I have pulled a lot of nails out of tires only to find they weren't even causing any air to leak out. I still remember finding a screw in a tire that I decided to back out with a nut driver. As I backed the screw out, I began to hear the familiar hiss of air leaking. I just screwed it back in, made my delivery, and then contacted "break down." They told me where to go to get the tire fixed. It was all very efficient, and I was not stranded somewhere stressing myself out.

His tire was holding pressure. He admitted that to me. Still, he seemed to have a need for the drama he was creating with the shop people and his DM. It is all so silly, but it made him feel important. I see a lot of us truck drivers behaving this way. It is so counter productive, but many of us will even brag about this type of behavior. Why are we like that?

We need to be problem solvers. This situation could have been easily resolved. Go get loaded and bring the trailer back to the terminal. The customer was twenty minutes away. I was bewildered as I returned to my truck. I couldn't help this driver see a simple solution. I get so frustrated witnessing cringe worthy episodes like this. Unfortunately they are all too common in this career.

Take charge of your careers my friends - prioritize safety and productivity.

Sad, but too true OS. We had a bad tire once out on the I-80, on a loaded trailer we picked up. No big deal, I'm calling the nearest Love's we will be at in 15 miles,they had no tires. Ok fine, so I called the next Love's further down, they had no techs on duty (winter-ish time) Ok, on to the next Love's again, no go with them either. FINALLY, the 4th Love's said "Sure thing, we have tires, come on down we'll take care of you" This was 150 miles away. So we get there, get the tire replaced easy peasy. I only text our DM from the start so he knew we were going to get things done.

We never let those out of the blue problems, make us ****ed off or get frustrated because, "Ish Happens" roll with it lol

I've seen a few drivers at warehouses, get all huffy and yelling at the guys inside giving them their bills. 1 guy was so dang loud and acting like a 5 year old, cussing them out, etc. Swore he would never come there again (an owner op to top it off) Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face hahaha And there are plenty out there just like him!

I always like reading your posts, usually they ALWAYS have great advice and information for everyone !! Thanks

OS your spot on we have far too many people like this one in our proffession. He thinks everyone needs to accomadate him. That is the wrong answer but folks like that just don’t get it.

The other day I was speaking with a contact of mine because she was frustrated with some drivers she was working with. She gave me a general idea of the problems, and ended with a statement these particular drivers always have issues. That is a very telling statement.

Those shop guys will remember that driver and it will bite him in the future if he needs something from them.

As I was reading your story, I kept thinking "Just go to the pickup. then get the tire fixed." Even if the tire was off the rim, the other three tires there would support it. The chances are Teensy weency that he would get caught in some roadside inspection. Even then that would be an Out of Service 'till it was fixed.

I got to your eighth paragraph ("I tried to explain to him what I would do in this situation....") and I'll back you up any day of the week.

.... some people!



(P.S., I don't live in Olive Branch anymore, but it would have been great to talk with you again.)

Great post, Old School!

I lost the entire tread from a recapped tire one time. The entire contact surface was the steel belt. The tire still held air, and I was an hour from the delivery and had little time to spare, so I drove the rest of the way on it. When I got there, the drive had polished the steel belt as shiny as chrome, but the tire still held air, and I made the appointment on time.

Sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.

When I hear stories like Old School just told, I'm always reminded of the best filter I have for examining my own thoughts and actions: the word 'helpful.'

Is what I'm thinking even helpful in any way? Are the things I'm saying helpful in this situation?

Simplest word, yet the effects are profound when you use it to examine your own thoughts and actions.

If it isn't helpful, don't do it. When we get emotional, we often say and do things that simply don't help the situation.

Think things through and be especially mindful of unintended consequences.

On the bright side, that driver did find the nail so it must mean that he did his pre-trip, right?

But his attitude definitely needs an alignment. If I was tight on time, I would have run with that tire in that situation, no problem with that.

But if the tire was flat and off the rim, I probably would have not made the run, even for just 20 miles. Running with rubber that will probably be lost on the road can create trouble for vehicles behind the truck. I was hit by a big chunk of tire from a truck ahead of the truck ahead of me. Couldn’t avoid it, so it went under the trailer and took out a brake line. Brought me to a screeching halt.

I’ve also had a blow out that forced me to get off at the next exit and call it in. I could have continued on because I was close to my delivery, but I didn’t want that tire to come off the rim and leave Goodyear debris on the road. When I called it in, the company determined that there was a tire shop just a couple miles away and asked me if I was okay to drive there to get a new tire. So I went there on three wheels and got fixed up in short order. Saved the company a little money and I got a few brownie points. Win/win.

I don’t see the type of behavior that OS describes very often, but when i do see it I think it makes the driver look like a fool.

Really good discussion here. I always learn a lot when stuff like this gets discussed. Never too old to learn.

Fresh outta school, I might have panicked over a nail. After 9 years out in the real world, I would shrug it off, go get loaded, and deal with it later.

I was chuckling reading this. I' usually avoid our terminals like the plague for that very reason. Olive branch seems to get a collection of them there. I've had the exact same situation and did what OS said to do. I usually call my DM afterwards and let him know.

I just dropped off an empty that was missing the skirts on one side, nothing critical. I asked the shop if they wanted it in now or wanted me to keep running it. They thanked me and had me drop it. No skin off .my back.

If I can safely keep running I usually opt for it. I've seen a few of our trailers with notes on them that the landing gear were too stiff to operate. I always ask the shop if I can take them, and that gets me an empty and a workout. I've ran across the prima Donna's that just don't want to put a little thought and muscle into it. They're usually the ones complaining that they have no work too.

I came from a career where when there was a problem, you usually had to tell a manager so they could call a tech to fix the problem (computer issues). So when I started driving I would send in my problem and wait for instruction. And wait I did! Then I put into practice what I learned from reading here. I started letting them know the problem and where I would be going to get the problem fixed. They usually call it in so the shop I picked knows I'm coming. I keep moving in the right direction and get back rollin in much quicker time. Some people wanna make their problems more than they have to be. I don't know if they need hand-holding or want the attention, but I like having some say in how things get done.

Great story and lesson as always OS!

Deb R shares from her experience:

Fresh outta school, I might have panicked over a nail. After 9 years out in the real world, I would shrug it off, go get loaded, and deal with it later.

I have a pair of pliers handy just for the odd nail/bolt in a tire. Then I spit on the place the nail was at. Most of the time tehre ar no tell-tale bubbles.

Oh, by the way, Experienced drivers know "off the rim" means the tire is on the wheel, but just absolutely loose there.