Time & Space

"If you have the space, take it!" - old truck driver's axiom

I know I've used the phrase above before, but it's actually very important; we, as truckers/drivers are managers: of our own time and space. It's important as we're driving down the road, to make sure we are aware of everything around our vehicle (Trucking 101). Even moreso with me, I have to manage the space inside my trailer, since I'm in there half the time I'm working (probably more). So, I'm constantly moving empty pallets out of the way, clearing out garbage, cardboard, etc. to allow more room to maneuver. It gets especially important during the winter months, when your footing becomes absolutely crucial. The absolute LAST thing you want is to lose your balance as you're bringing a heavy load down the ramp.
Time is another thing. I know most of you experienced drivers out there know how to manage your 14 hours/11 driving, and it's very important. Of course, if you run paper logs you can always fudge the numbers. Heck, I've done it myself. Just don't get caught! ; )
Recently, I've had a different problem; we use onboard recorders, so it's impossible to cheat. I mean, my routes are usually 10-12 hrs at MOST, so I sometimes "pad" my hours, by staying on duty, once I get to the truckstop. Problem is, I get distracted, and forget to go into the berth (on the computer), and by the time I realize it, it's too late. So, I wind up starting too soon, which puts me in violation for TWO days, not just one. There's a pretty tight timeframe that we work with, so having to wait the 10 hours (computer time) would throw things all helter-skelter. Here's an example: I did this the other week, and I didn't realize I hadn't hit the "berth" button on the computer til about 4 in the afternoon (my shift should have ended about 12:30pm). So, you hit the berth button, but now you can't start till 2am. Screw that - I gotta get moving by midnite, so I'm in violation for that whole day, plus having "worked" 3.5 hrs too much the first day. It's a stupid mistake, but that's what you get when you deal with computers. If I were on paper, then it would be no probs to change the numbers accordingly - see what I mean?
Anyways, even the best of us make mistakes like that. I hit an overhanging storefront a couple months ago, busting up not only the overhang, but putting a nice dent in the front of the trailer as well. It was again, a stupid mistake - I was trying to avoid an island in the parking lot, and didn't look to my left, and crunch! One of our top guys rolled his unit in Indiana not long ago, coming back from MI - said it was due to the wind, but some of us think otherwise. Even empty, I've never had it so windy that the truck rolled (or even came close). I've heard of those who've
been "blown over," but those incidents were in open areas, where nothing shielded the trucks from the wind. Ths was on the 80/94 corridor between Michigan City, IN and the southeast Chicago burbs. Something fishy there - I think he fell asleep...

More soon,


Steve