What does a company consider overspeed?

Ok, I saw this today on a discussion board that I frequent.  A person was basically complaining why a driver was fired after going just a mere 3 miles over what was considered the overspeed limit.  They thought the policy was outrageous.

Let me explain a few facts of life to you oh unenlightened one....

First, since he was a lease(owner) operator, he signed this neat little thing called a 'contract' or 'lease agreement'.  In this LEGAL document, he agreed to follow the company rules etc.

One of those rules is that the truck WILL be governed at 68 mph.  That is part of said contract, no negotiation.  The next one is the fact that you will be given a 'overspeed' violation if you go over 71 mph for any length of time.

Now there are a few reasons for this.

First lets talk about it on purely a physics level.  As a driver, you have control, using the accelerator to control your speed up to the 68 mph mark.  In legal terms this means you have full control of the vehicle.  Now, if you let it 'coast' up beyond that point, you DO NOT have full control of the vehicle since you are not directly controlling the speed of the vehicle.  Now the company does give you a buffer, of 3 mph off of that governed speed before they give you a violation.  Heck, they could be asses and hand them out at 69 mph if they wanted to.

Now lets talk on the enforcement level.  If at any point it is determined that you were going over the governed speed of the truck (which these days is pretty damn easy to do with today's technology) you can be given various citations for not having FULL control of your vehicle at the time.  This in some states is basically considered reckless driving, a MAJOR violation.  You can lose your driving privileges over this.

On the insurance side (for the company) this is just nothing but bad news if you allow your drivers to coast like this.  If they get in any type of accident the insurance claims can be huge so it is looked at from an insurance and economical viewpoint.

I guess it boils down to this....

READ THE DAMN CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN IT!!!!  If you don't agree with the conditions and they won't change them to something more agreeable, then don't sign it.  Once you sign it you are LEGALLY obligated to follow it or they reserve the right to cancel without notice. (which that is usually written in the contract, go figure)

The end of the run

Ok, this one is going to cover a few things lol.  I am coming up to the end of my standard '3 week run' that I normally do when I'm driving out here.

I had discovered that 3 weeks allows me to make a good living vs coming in every 2 weeks which can shorten the paychecks.  4 weeks is just too long to stay out here, it will drive you nuts.

One of the bad things though about staying out for 3 weeks is that it severely limits what I would have for a social life.  I keep telling myself that its no big deal, the person for me is out there I just need to find them, but at times I do wonder.  Heck, the last two relationships I was in, my ex's are now either married or engaged.  I can look at it in two ways, either I was that last bump or stop before they found who they needed, or I am just that bad.

I would like to try and look at the positive portion of that, but its hard at times.  I have times when I just want to throw in the towel and become the reclusive 'truck driver cat guy' that everyone whispers about but that's just not me.

You would think with social media it would help make things easier to find someone, but what I am seeing is that it almost makes it harder.  There are so many scammers, idiots, users etc out there that a person can quickly get burned out and I'm no exception.

Right now though, all I know to do is to continue to improve my business, and hope someone does by chance come my way.

Wacky Weather

I swear I'm going to hunt down that groundhog and skin him alive, or should that happen to his human interpreters lol.

Anyway the weather here lately has been plain crazy out here.  Part of the day you can be in wonderful 70 degree weather, then by the end of the day its below freezing with blowing snow, go figure.

So who pissed of Mother Nature? Seriously lol

I'm sitting here in York Nebraska waiting for them to open the roads back up so we can move on.  I can already tell its going to be a 'traffic nightmare' as soon as they give us the green light.  When I took this load I knew there was a small chance I might get caught by the weather.  Well, I lost that bet.

The thing that is killing this area right now is not snow, but the freezing rain that fell.  They are just not equipped to clear up ice off of the roads up here right now.  The other problem is that there are rumors of another storm possibly moving into the area.

I'll admit, I haven't listened to the CB in a long time and it has been interesting listening to some of those guys as I watch the weather on the computer here.  There are still quite a few idiots out there I swear.

I am glad though that I drive for a company that does not push the issue when they are told how bad the conditions are.  They actually put out a message about how the roads were in a five state region, letting us know to shut down if possible.  It's easier to reschedule a load vs pulling it out of a ditch somewhere.

Well, back to the radio entertainment.  I hope everyone stays warm.

Gun control, one step closer to losing all of our freedoms?

I have to admit this debate has gotten pretty old.  This week our 'leaders' in Washington are attempting to push gun control legislation through Congress.

One of the main problems I have with this though, is the FACT that we have many laws on gun control, registration etc currently on the books that are NOT being enforced.

Take for example the simple fact of lying on the background check form when you purchase a firearm from a FFL dealer.  That is a FEDERAL felony.  In 2010, nearly 80,000 were denied by the system.  Do you know how many convictions there were from those 80,000?  44...... Yes a whole 44 convictions were made from what should be considered an 'open and shut case'.

Some say the system is broken, that it doesn't work properly.  Well, if the background check system in its current form isn't working properly, don't you think you should fix that BEFORE adding an additional workload with the so called, 'universal background check'?

Technically, the power to regulate weapons is suppose to be a STATE power, not a federal power.  Many states have already passed good, (and bad) laws for their areas.  I believe a state has just a slightly better idea what its citizens want to be done within its borders vs the overreaching federal government who wants to do a 'blanket approach' to the whole country.  I'm sorry but it has been proven time and time again when you try this approach it just flat doesn't work.

Heck, take the trucking industry for example.  There are SO MANY different segments or types of trucking out here that trying to use one huge blanket approach just doesn't work.  For example, the NW part of the US allows heavier trucks to run on the roads.  Those same trucks would not be able to safely do it in the NE part of the country where there is a huge population density, and the road conditions are different.  But right now there is a push to raise the weight standards across the board.  It doesn't work everywhere.

The same goes with the different gun laws.  What works in Oklahoma, my home state, might not work as well in others.  But you know what?  That is for the citizens of that state to decide, not an over reaching federal government that refuses to even simply balance a budget let alone run anything else.

So the crux of the matter I think is simple.  FIX the current background check system, ENFORCE the current laws, and allow the states to adjust their laws as they see fit an move on.

A long week

I swear my whole week felt like one unending, long Monday.......

I needed to take some time off when my dad passed away so that the family, could get a few things done, etc.  I'll admit it was nice to be home for more than a day or two, but the bank account can only handle that for so long.

On another note, the shop FINALLY got a few major issues fixed on my truck.  I've had a major coolant leak that no one could figure out.  It turns out what was suspected all along, the EGR cooler on that wonderful ISX engine I have, and here I thought Cummins fixed that defect a few years ago.

The cooler was causing a few other issues, plus they took care of another major issue on the fuel rail.  Its really nice to be able to drive and not have the engine check light on constantly.  Between being home and the breakdown that drained all of my available funds down to near nothing, so I gotta get back to work.

As far as the whole week feeling like a Monday, I had 2 out of my 4 loads this week turn into live load or live unloads that went well beyond the gratuitous 2 hour limit we give them.  They have no idea how bad this screwed up my schedule, not to mention that one of those loads went up into the New England states where I hate to run.  I'm now sitting here in wonderful Osseo Wisconsin to end my week. I did drive over 3500 miles (I got paid 3261 loaded and empty), surprisingly with all the issues I had on the east coast, but boy did it wear me out.

Here is to hoping that the next week goes better, and I can guarantee this truck will not grace the New England states with its presence for quite some time, no offense guys.

A slice of the pie

One of the many things I have recently relearned while taking the CABS course through ATBS was the fact that there is only so much money out there to pay an owner operator.

The easiest way to explain it was to describe the money that was paid in from the loads is to describe the money like it was a pie.

You can only slice a pie so many times in order for everyone to get their piece.  This sounds easy enough doesn't it?

Now the question is whether or not the 'company' lets everyone know exactly where all of those slices are and what they go to.

The amount charged for hauling a load is not always the only income the company receives   It also receives compensation from other things, such as bulk fuel discounts.

What are bulk fuel discounts?  These are discounts paid to the company by a major fuel supplier for rather large purchases of fuel.  It's a way to lower the price and rate for the fuel as more is purchased from a supplier.  This does get a person pondering on a few things.  The owner/operators of the company I drive for number as a sizable portion of the companies fleet (such as over 20% of the total fleet numbers).  Taking this into consideration, we don't receive any type of fuel discount although we do constitute a good measurable percentage of the purchases.

I don't begrudge the company on making any profit.  Heck, that's what I'm in this for, the money, I am running a business.  What I do have a minor issue with is the company pocketing all of the discounts that my fuel purchases that 'I' pay for to begin with.  I believe there is a way to work out a system where everyone feels that they are getting what they should.  The question is, will they do right in their business practices and do it?

What did you learn today?

Like I have said earlier I am part of an interesting pilot program that the company is using.

One of the things I have learned is that there are some nice freight lanes, but they do shift around.

There for a while I was having a hard time trying to figure out where they were located at, until a fellow trucker posted on one of our forum boards a nice little website that can be used.

This website does have a monthly service fee, BUT, the small cost of the site can be more than made back just by the fuel savings router it has that you can use just in that.  That portion of it is real nice finding you the cheapest fuel on the route you want to take.  Just that alone pays for the fee in one to two fuel ups.

This site also allows you to create and look at various freight lanes, the going rate in a specific state, and other things of that nature.  It is also a load board showing current loads that are in that area that you are looking at.

There is an age old axiom... Work smarter, not harder.  I also use a nice saying that was coined by Kevin Rutherford who has the website Lets Truck, and a XM/Sirius radio show on the RoadDog channel.  His saying is 'You have to do the hard work'.  What he means by that is you have to do the work that is not easy for you to do.  It doesn't necessarily means work that is harder physically, but work that is more demanding, that you don't do out of habit...yet.  It's the work that can really make you more successful if that is what you want to do.

So, what did you learn today?  You know its a fruitful day when you learn something, even if its small.