In talks with recruiters, I've noticed
one thing in common: They insist that
their companies run legal. And, from
the inflection in their voices, I thini<
they believe v^^hat they are saying.
All my trucking jobs have been with
large over-the-road fleets. They use
software to ensure that they send legal
dispatches. But, guess what? The trips
sent out on Qualcomm don't match
what actually is happening. I can't average
the speed that the trip plan says
and then have to wait hours to get
loaded. Plus, I have other chores, such
as fueling and axle repositioning.
Fleets use forced dispatch. That
means you have to accept the trip, and
there is no backing out once you get
loaded. The only thing that you can do
is struggle to stay awake and push on.
The first time that you close your eyes
probably will be your last
So, I end up driving way over the
limit Not just a few minutes, but four
and five hours over. This happens day
after day. That overtime has to come
out of my sleep period, so I'm getting
only about half the required amount
Now, fleet managers can shuffle
through the phony log sheets for as
long as they like, but who are we fooling?
The regulators are sick and tired
of this nonsense, and they are planning
to put an end to it once and for all with
black box recorders.
There are two positive aspects to
this: 1) When 30 or more work hours
are taken away from all drivers, it will
reduce the industry's excess capacity
so much that there will be a severe
shortage of available trucks; 2) I t
will help alleviate some of the fatigue
that is reducing the lifespan of many
drivers.