Troutville, VA - Midnight Motion

For reasons that defy logical explanation, all six lanes of the Pilot are in use. I've been waiting on one to open for ten minutes now. Why on earth is this little place so crowded at this ungodly hour?

Carlisle, PA - All bundled up and nowhere to go

It seems like things just haven't been working out with work. I got a work assignment that, had it come in a few hours earlier, I could have made the pick up Friday evening and parked at a shipper. Instead, because I was told to just find "any truck stop" I ended up going 250 miles in the wrong direction. Specifically, I went to the nearest place that I knew would have parking because dispatch hadn't given me any information on a load, then I got an assignment to go up to Philadelphia after I'd already gone down to Norfolk, VA. Had they bothered assigning me that two hours earlier, I could have earned two full days of layover; instead, I get about 42 hours. I'll still be catching up on sleep, at least.

After I get out of here tomorrow morning, I'll be going down to North Carolina. The delivery appointment isn't until Tuesday morning, so I still have some time to spare, but I do want to get down there so I don't have to get up exceptionally early for the appointment. I just hope they can find me something better than this soon, since 550 miles in three days is not very productive.

Temperanceville, VA - Nowhere to go

Turns out that they're not going to be able to get me a decent load after all. In fact, this is a first-come-first-served market and there's a long list already. The only concession they made is that I can drive to any truck stop that I have enough logbook time to get to and will get paid for it. Good thing, too; Ruther Glen, VA is the nearest truck stop with more than 20 spaces and it's 197 miles away from here. So I need to close the laptop now and hope I can make it there within three hours, forty-five minutes, or else I'm going to be over my 14. I don't even want to think about my 11; if I've used more than seven hours of driving time so far I'm screwed no matter what.

Suffolk, VA - Quirks

Been a weird day so far. Woke up an hour late due to neglecting time zones. The place I needed an empty from insisted that I be in and out within 15 minutes. Found rolls of wrapping paper in the trailer along with a lot of trash. Misread a road sign and "accidentally" took the right exit. Going to chance a 13'6" tunnel since the detour adds 240 miles. All this and it's not even noon yet...

Ruther Glen, VA - Where's the mileage?

As I was driving down the road, I saw a message come in about me needing to relay something, then a "work assignment change" message. The last one almost always means that a load got canceled or something otherwise went very wrong. Instead, in this case, I was supposed to take it to a truck stop to relay it off to another driver, as I posted earlier. When I got there, I found out that he'd only just arrived a few minutes before I had, not that he had been waiting several hours as I was told on the phone by operations. So that's one strike against them.

Then, once I unhooked from the trailer and waited for a fuel lane to open up so I could fill the tanks, I looked at my work assignment and growled at the Qualcomm. Rather than getting something good to make up for the fact that I'd lost 200 miles, I got something that requires me to pick up an empty trailer 120 miles away, take it 20 miles to get it live loaded, then just 109 miles to drop the delivery. Strike two.

I then attempted to trip plan it out, though one thing was almost immediately obvious: even though I said I would be available at 6 AM, which has proved to be exactly accurate, I would have to leave no later than 5:30 to have any chance of picking the trailer up on time. Strike three.

So I called support shift to complain, ask why I was given such a horrible load instead of being rewarded by getting something good, and ask to either be pre-assigned a load immediately following this one or, even better, get taken off of it and assigned something else entirely. They insisted that this was a critical load and that, if I didn't pick up and deliver on time, it would cause factories to shut down. Given that I'm only bringing in a load of pallets, I find that hard to believe that the absence of my trailer would be more than a minor inconvenience. He also said there's freight in the area, but that he didn't know what I'd be assigned and that he wasn't able (or, more likely, wasn't willing) to pre-assign me something to at least ensure I don't continue to get screwed over like this. The only good news that came out of the conversation was that the pick up time isn't critical, though I still need to get there as early as I legally can. Making the delivery never was a problem, since I have twelve hours to spare on that end.

For lack of any other solution to this situation, I'll be calling operations tomorrow while the trailer is getting loaded and probably taking someone's head off. Can you do that over the phone? I'd rather like to see video of that sometime. But if they don't find me a good load - preferably at least a thousand miles - I'm going to have a few choice words for people.

Mount Jackson, VA - U-turn

Another driver his an "emergency" and I have to relay my load off to help him get home. If it's an emergency, why are they making him wait on my relay? I also lose about 200 miles as a result of this, if they corrected everything in the computer; I'll be out 400 miles and be showing a lot of out-of-route otherwise. They owe me for this.

Carlisle, PA - At least it's not New Jersey

So I delivered the load this morning and, as expected, traffic in New Jersey was terrible. The closer I got to Newark, the worse things got. It's quite hilarious now, but at the time it was all I could do to avoid screaming obscenities in tongues at people. Seriously, I think I would have started swearing in Swahili if I had to stay in that state much longer. The best moment of it all? Seeing cars go five wide in a section of highway with two lanes without even using the shoulder. That move doesn't even work in NASCAR so I was stunned to see five non-professional drivers manage to pull that off without anyone colliding with anyone else.

It also took quite a few tries to get my load picked up. The guy couldn't find the paperwork for my trailer, nor could he find anything matching my load number. So I went out to the truck, called operations, complained about the traffic, and scared them because I never get worked up as I was this morning. That five-wide traffic comment made both of us burst out laughing; what else can you do about such insane drivers? I was sent about fifteen different numbers and basically got to go play bingo with that. The shipping office's response? "You know what you can do with those numbers? ... Nothing." Given that he left that sentence hanging in the air for about three seconds before finishing the statement, I was bracing for a typically New York area response, the sort of thing that would likely cause a sailor to blush. It turns out, though, that the information I had the first time was right; the other guy working behind the counter had grabbed the paperwork and nearly handed it to another driver for a different company. Oops. So after all that, I went to their other yard a mile up the road, picked up the trailer, and came here to Carlisle.

As I'm still trying to get back on any sort of rational sleep pattern, I'm not going to deliver this load tomorrow. Instead, I'm planning on stopping in Charlotte, taking my break there, and hoping to somehow coerce myself to get out of bed at around 4 AM. Even writing "out of bed" and "4 AM" in the same sentence makes me cringe, though it could be worse; I had to run today at 3 AM and that on less than two hours of sleep. I just wish it weren't so cold, since I still don't have a heater in the truck. It's ten degrees below average so I'm not just complaining for sake of complaining; this really is unseasonably cold. At least it'll be warmer once I get south, if I don't freeze something off tonight.

Naples, NC - Circles

Tonight was an exercise in frustration, if nothing else. My next work assignment came in during the afternoon... a 2 PM live load at a location about 80 miles from where I was unloaded previously. The problem is that, at this time of morning, parking is all but impossible to find. I tried three truck stops along the way before just calling support shift, exasperated with the situation. Rather than acknowledging that, if I couldn't find a stop that was directly along the way I'd not be able to pick the load up on time, the moron on the line insisted that I could go 45 miles out of the way to take my break and still be on time for the load. I hung up after I asked him to explain his math and got this answer: I'd be ready to drive at 1 PM, be 67 miles away, and still somehow be able to make the pick up on time.

So I started driving and hoped for the best; I figured that if I didn't somehow find something along the way, there was a truck stop about 15 miles past the shipper that I could use. I really, really hate having to go 30 miles out of the way, but even my last-ditch solution was better than anything support shift had come up with. Instead, I lucked out and found a place directly on the way with a large gravel lot that had some room to park. I am on break now and, even better, am only a few miles from where I need to pick this thing up tomorrow. So, when I come off break at 1:30, I'll have half an hour to go nine miles. I'll then have most of the afternoon to drive and probably will shut down at the Carlisle OC tomorrow night. Getting to Carlisle would be over 550 miles, so it would certainly be a productive day if I can get that far. Of course, the way things are going lately, "if" is the key phrase here.

Valdosta, GA - Northbound

Just about ready to get out of here. I'm a little behind schedule, at least relative to what I'd intended to do this evening, but it really doesn't matter. I'm less than 400 miles from where I deliver this load and my delivery appointment isn't for another 24 hours. I'll pick it up tonight and possibly stop in Atlanta, just since I can get a free shower there, but I might continue on toward where I'm delivering. Either way, I just hope they can find me something after I deliver this, since I really don't want to have to try find a place to park the truck at 1:30 AM on Monday; parking at that time of the morning is nearly impossible.

Valdosta, GA - Ahead of the game

I had a 2 PM appointment here and they were ready for me. Instead of this taking 3.5 hours like Izd been told, it looks very probable that I will be out of here within 20 minutes. I think they're done unloading and just need to take care of the paperwork now. Of course, this only helps if there's any freight out here.

??? - Excessive safety

This place is so anal retentive about safety that I had to watch a seven-minute video on the subject before they'd let me in the gate. The guard also wouldn't let me walk 100 feet back to my truck without wearing a hard hat and wrap-around safety glasses. I just "love" it when policy triumphs over common sense...

Laredo, TX - Finally, something

Because of the kind of load I'm on, I don't want to go into specifics, but I have something to pick up tomorrow and deliver on Friday. It's a nice, long run too, though I do have a reasonable amount of time to deliver it. If I've planned it out just right, I should have roughly eight hours to spare in case something happens or (more likely) I just want to sleep in on Thursday or Friday morning. For now, though, I'm off to bed and have a 7 AM wake up call coming from the front desk.

Laredo, TX - Nowhere, slowly

As expected, freight is terrible. All the bobtail parking is taken; presumably, all those drivers are waiting on loads. There are about 15 people inside here alone. So I drove the seven miles to drop the load and get back to th OC. Now I get to wait a day (or more) to see if they can find some loads.

Laredo, TX - Next to the border

I can't say "south of the border" for obvious reasons, but there are plenty of places in Mexico that are further north than this. Of course, the place I was supposed to deliver to is closed on the weekend and we don't have any freight, so I just had to take a layover. I honestly am to the point where I want to work; I've had so much time off lately that I don't even know what to do with myself. However, freight is always bad down here and things are exceptionally soft nationwide, so I've a bad feeling I might be waiting quite a bit longer to get something. At least the hotel they use here is decent; they have a security guard on site so I don't have to worry about anyone in the neighborhood causing trouble. But for now, I'm off to bed; if they did find me a load I want to be able to run all day tomorrow.

Baytown, TX - Same place, different day

I was originally given an assignment telling me to drop this load as a relay in Houston, then pick up a load from there and take it to Laredo. However, I could barely sleep last night so I was nearly eight hours behind schedule; I finally got to sleep around the time I'd originally intended to wake up. When I did wake up, I found several messages asking me why I hadn't moved and telling me that the other driver was waiting. So I called in and made a very simple suggestion: have the other driver pick up the relay I was supposed to have and let me continue down to Laredo with my current load. Nobody gains or loses any miles and the other guy isn't stuck waiting for me. They seemed rather dumbstruck that I had such a simple solution to the problem.

I would have continued into Houston to take my break at the operating center, but traffic on I-10 was terrible once I got close so I stopped about ten miles early at a truck stop here. On the bright side, I was able to get dinner (and won a free burger from McDonald's in their Monopoly game) and watch a bit of TV, both things I would not have been able to do at the OC. I'm taking it somewhat easier than I should, but given that we never have enough freight coming out of Laredo and things have been particularly soft the last six weeks, I'd be shocked to find a load ready for me when I get down there. At least, on the bright side, I should have some decent miles coming out of there simply because there are few places that aren't at least a day's drive from the border.

Hammond, LA - Here we go again

Operations actually seemed worried that I disappeared for a few days. They took me off the load I was previously assigned but gave me another load with comparable mileage. Hopefully they'll keep me busy now.

Evergreen, AL - Failure to communicate

When I came back to the truck Tuesday, I had a load to be delivered by noon on the 10th. I took that opportunity to go home and take care of a few personal matters (including casting an absentee ballot). When I returned to the truck this morning, however, I saw that my delivery had been moved up to the 8th by 6 PM. That message came in on the 7th at about 5 PM, several hours after I had left.

So the took me off the load and asked me to call in. I dd so, explained the situation, and they seemed to understand. At least I won't have to try and get home again before my vacation in November; I took care of everything I needed to do at home over the next six weeks. Now I just need a new work assignment - hopefully one without several days to kill - and I'll be on my merry way.

Atlanta, GA - You just hit MY truck?

Yeah, that subject line is right: I had a driver from the Sure Wish I Finished Training transportation company hit my truck. I was waiting to make a right turn; he came along and made a right turn coming toward me and the front corner of his trailer hit my driver's side mirror. It cracked the plastic housing for the mirror enough that I can't get it back into place and will likely need to resort to duct tape to hold everything together. This after a rather frustrating time at a customer; I absolutely hate it when the guard doesn't speak enough English to even tell me where I'm supposed to drop my loaded trailer or to find the empties. Took me an hour to do something that should have taken twenty minutes.

In any case, despite all the irritations, I'm still about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. I was making killer time on the highway today (I was averaging 59 mph until I hit Atlanta) so that cancels out the problems I had here in town. I plan on getting a shower and getting to sleep as quickly as I can, though, since the sooner I get moving the sooner I'll make it home tomorrow. And it is very nice to get home at least once in a while.

Middletown, TN - Something Special

The route to get to this place was... an adventure, to say the least. A narrow road with plenty of potholes. I hit one and worried I broke my steer axle; a quick inspection in that area showed no immediately obvious damage. So now I'm just waiting to get loaded. Since it's loose boxes, I really have no idea if they're even working on my truck, but it sounds like there's something going on back there.

While I was waiting, I also called operations to find out what happened about the first customer I picked up from, since they had several concerns. Ops is going to contact customer service and pass the information along; they should take it more positively coming from my board instead of directly from a driver. I also found out that I'm doing incredibly well in every category that they measure: insanely low idle (I was actually encouraged to "live it up a little" since 2.5% was so low), excellent service, better than 7 mpg, and extremely low out-out-route mileage. He said he needs to get back to me to find out just what I'm doing right, whether it's simply a matter of paying attention to detail or some special technique I have. I can't say that I've any particular technique, though it is very, very good to hear that I'm doing so well.

Russel, IL - Ahead of the game

I'm so, so thankful that September is finally over. I don't know why, but somehow, now that the blasted month is over with, things seem much better. That might have something to do with a few things going on outside of work, like getting those extra days off, but things seem genuinely good right now. Of course, assignments are as frustrating and misleading as ever: the first pick up for my current load was scheduled to be picked up tomorrow, any time between 7 AM and 5 PM, at a customer that allowed parking. In reality, they weren't planning on being ready for me until 9 AM and do not allow drivers to park. However, this is October! A wonderful new month! Instead of just telling me off and leaving me to complain to operations, they actually worked me in and loaded the trailer immediately. I was there less than 30 minutes.

So I'm at a TA just south of the WI/IL state line and am two hours into my break. I plan on getting moving as soon as my 10 hour break is up and making the second pick up stop for this load. I may then take my break in Indianapolis and just make it a half day (to catch up on sleep) or press on and try to have three 10+ hour days in a row. Both options certainly have their appeal, especially since the harder I run the better my assigned runs seem to become. However, before any of that can happen, I need to get the seven or so hours of sleep I can manage before it's time to resume working. :)