Run It Or Wait It Out?

Here's a scenario I'd like to hear how others would approach it. You're traveling in Iowa, particularly Des Moines, taking a load out in any direction. You want it make it back to Des Moines by the end of your shift. About 10 inches of wet snow fell Tuesday, 3 inch snow squall overnight into Thursday. I80 still had wrecks from those and didn't advise travel until Thursday. Thursday evening through Friday morning another 10 inches of soft fluffy snow as Temps plummet to around or just below zero. Blizzard warning in effect for nearly the entire state Friday at 10am through 6pm Saturday. Sustained winds 35 mph gusting up to 50 mph out of the north/northwest. Dispatcher/manager tells you conditions aren't bad and "other drivers are doing the posted speed limit." This is what the 511 app shows, purple is Travel Not Advised, pink is completely covered.

You pull up plow cameras on your 511 app and to the north where the map shows green (seasonal) you see this. Temps are forecast to stay below zero until Wednesday mid day.

visibility looks pretty poor and I can see the ice on the road. Current temp is -5F.

I'd like to hear how others would approach this. Do you run in these conditions? What factors play into your decision?

Let's talk about it.

My written QC response would be: "Those other drivers aren't going to be sitting next to me in a courtroom. I am not moving due to the weather and my and motoring public's safety. I am currently in safe and legal parking, and will check again in X hours, and reevaluate and update at that time. "

Luckily even my miserable twit of a FM wouldn't argue with me when I brought out words that had she pushed could get her in trouble

I sat in a rest area on east side of Des Moines heading west to Denver from 01/08 11:30am to 01/10 07:00 due to winter storm Finn(?).

The 511 map looked like the one you posted. About 9 inches of snow and high winds.

I parked about 3 hours before the snow started at that location. It was already snowing west of Des Moines where I was originally targeting to park closer to Omaha. It was a good location.

I ended up getting to my delivery on Thursday morning about 25 hours later than originally scheduled for Wednesday morning.

No big deal. The appointment was changed based upon an ETA that I provided.

My company Safety Dept put out a message on Tuesday morning suggesting to drivers to park and let the storm pass plus give DOT crews time to clear the road rather than take risks on snow & ice covered roads. They were already dealing with several accidents with trucks slid off the roads.

Later I passed 4 tractor-trailers in the ditch. Two were rolled. Plus several cars.

One of the reasons Ive stayed with Knight is that they have never uttered that phrase to me. In fact, quite the opposite. They almost always say "Thank you for being safe, and we appreciate your dilligence."

I was just below that mess on 70, coming from Indy to KC. Same type of weather though, same temps, Same winds. I had ran the previous storm from Colony WY down to Birmingham AL, which went along 90 til souix falls. It was equally ugly with 40 mph cross winds. Both loads were heavy, one at 41k in the box, the other at 44.5k in the box. I chose to run based on the weight I had going and finding the lulls in the two storms. I did end up pulling off early on both runs, once on the way down, and once last night as visability was bad and I wouldnt have another parking spot until after St Louis if I stayed out. Also, a key factor was that the winds the last two days on my route were West, and Southwest, so headwinds. Gusts ranged in the 40 to 55 mph range, but weight and direction worked for me.

My next load however is only 11k in the box, going from KC to Denver. The winds are still about 30 mph gusts, will be north and northwest, so typical kansas crosswinds, they will die down tomorrow to about 25 mph peak gusts, managable for me. roads are now mostly clear despite the arctic weather. So I left the empty at the delivery and will get it in the morning, I shut down with 5 hours remaining on my drive clock. Its not worth it to me.

My terminal manager and DM both had conversations with me on Friday, they both said "We trust you, whatever you want to do let us know, and if you do layover for weather, make sure to let us know how much and we will get you paid, thank you for all you do."

Its my life, my CDL and my liveihood on the line, I wont risk it.

I'd like to hear how others would approach this. Do you run in these conditions? What factors play into your decision?

Let's talk about it.

I would not run. The risk out weighs the gain.

Being a road condition conservative, I’d definitely wait for safer conditions. My company encourages drivers to shut down rather than risk an unnecessary accident weather related.

I was in Fort Morgan CO when all this mess was starting and high tailed it south as fast as possible and now I’m just east of Nashville and it was dry all the way. I’ve only had to find refuge once this winter, so far, but when in doubt, I will sit it out.

In this situation, I refused to take out the load. I called in Thursday evening for my Friday run because the load I had would've been running out to a store in Davenport, then a store 30 miles north to Clinton IA before running empty across 80 to my backhaul back in Des Moines. Technically the blizzard warning didn't kick in until 10am but I knew with the light snow combined with wind out of the north just below the blizzard threshold coming out of the north and being empty I wasn't doing it. I'm glad I made that choice, as I80 was shutdown around Williamsburg IA (MM220) for several hours due to jack knifed trucks around the time I estimated I'd be passing through empty. I'll still receive an attendance point regardless if I were sick or due to weather, which I strongly disagree with and went back and forth with management about when I refused to run in a blizzard last winter around Christmas.

We continued to receive mass text messages friday (6) and on Saturday (7) about the conditions and needing to get some loads covered. Saturday I finally got tired of all the messages and sent my VP a strongly worded,yet professional, message about what they're doing is nothing short of coercion and harassment. The response I got back was "Sorry you feel that way. This is the best way to get info to drivers." I sent back that if we're viewed as professionals then treat us as such. Poor planning at the stores level not stocking up for a storm that's been predicted for a week in advance doesn't constitute an emergency on our part. At this point everybody that wants to or is willing to go out already has. If a driver wanted or needed to know info about conditions it's the drivers responsibility to reach out or use available resources to know conditions such as 511 app. It's also a huge distraction for those out on the roads to have their phones frequently going off.

Blizzard warning was extended until midnight for much of the state. Nearly 48 hours after the last snow fell, and 8 hours after the blizzard warning expired these are current road conditions.

I'd be willing to run in these conditions for sure but still exercise caution as the current temp is currently -16 with 15 mph wind causing salt/brine to be less effective.

They took me off the mass texts but my buddy sent me a screenshot showing they sent 6 more Saturday showing routes available and such.

Ya’ll be safe up there. I’m keeping my butt in the south. Rob I don’t blame you one bit for sitting that out.

In my situation I simply cannot afford to get stuck out somewhere. I have seen some loads going up your way and the price is decent, but no price is worth it to me to get stuck or wreck my equipment.

Stay safe and warm!!

Good for you, Rob. I'm glad you're willing to step up and speak up for what's right. I would do what you did and sit it out. No amount of money is worth the dangers associated with that. Fortunately, FedEx has no problem shutting down and sending everybody out the next day. On Friday, they shut down everything going west because of the weather Ohio was getting.

Ya’ll be safe up there. I’m keeping my butt in the south.

Stay safe and warm!!

You need come up here to "The Beach".....Beach, ND that is. Currently having a drastic warm spell in the upper Plains. Sunny skies, light breeze, and mostly dry roads. Great Falls, MT tomorrow morning at 0900 for me.