Looks like this is 1/2 and 1/2. I say go ahead of the guy..if the guy in front of you isnt ready to go when gate opens give him a few and go around him...he only has himself to be mad at when he now has to wait even more. if gate opens at 0530 dont set alarm for 0530..get up a few minutes b4 then...alot of drivers are so lazy!!!!! :sad:

 

I was always taught that early is on time and on time is late. That goes for getting up to be in the yard too.....

 

I feel that it severely depends on the situation. It can balance out. I had a guy pass me in wisconsin going to a foundry up there thats first come first serve. I got out talked to him and laughed with him because we both new that foundry can take hours to get loaded at. So I ended up behind him. There was another truck there before us but we both got to the shippers office before he did. The other guy was first and I was next. A short while after he backed in I backed in. I was loaded sooner and left while he was still in his sleeper waiting 2 be loaded. Yeah some people take cutting in line seriously though lol. The truck that was there before us saw an ltl/pallet guy proceed to back into an open dock and pulled his truck out and blocked him from gettin into the dock until he confirmed with the shipper that the guy needed to get in there. I won't ever wake another driver up unless I have talked with him the night before. That way I know hes not hostile. If I haven't really talked to the guy and he's sleeping beyond a reasonable time Ill go ahead of him, take my chances and pretrip before I go. If it happened to me I'd be upset I didn't wake up early enough. Professionalism goes both ways.

 

So how long are you supposed to wait? 1hour? 5 hours? It is not my responsibility in any way shape manner or form to "help" another driver who is too lazy to set his alarm clock to wake up at the correct time. If I'm 3rd in line and they open at 0500 and I don't see any movement in the two trucks in front of me, screw em. If the receiver tells me I have to wait, that's one thing. But if they give me a dock I'm taking it.

 

If that's is truly the case and not just you trying to show how "cool" you are, then you are truly an idiot. If I saw another driver messing around with anybody elses equipment my first action would be to call the cops and then call that drivers safety dept.

Frankly I am sick and tired of drivers who think that the "old school" way is somehow superior to today's standards. Having been around long enough to observe both I can honestly say I don't miss the old days one bit.

 

I find it odd that the old school methods include waking up someone in front of you in line and a general attittude of helpfulness. This old school way also includes violence against drivers who didn't tow the line, vandalism against their property, etc.

I'm not sure if the old way is better.

 

If there's one thing I can't stand it's someone banging on my door when I'm trying to sleep. That's why I rarely ever parked at receivers' gates. When I did park at the receivers' gate the night before I'd set the alarm to get me up super early so I could get unloaded first. I would never expect another driver to wake me up because I was too lazy to get up on time. If a grown man can't get up on time for a job, maybe he should move back in with momma and let her take care of him. :roll:

 

I guess I could sum up my previous posts in this manner.

When you pull up to a place you should make an attempt to find out what is going on, and if in that attempt you are honestly unable to assertain the order then by all means go ahead.

Maybe I am a little different. If I mess up or my alarm fails and I sleep through my appointment time or miss my place in line then that is my fault and it is not up to another driver to keep me in order.

What does tick me off are the drivers who make no attempt to find out what is going on when they pull in to the factory/warehouse and cruise past all the trucks waiting in line.

 

i 2nd that!!!!!

 

I find most of the drivers that babble on about being "old school" have been driving less that 5 years and damn fewer than 10 years! Even in the old days if you felt like sleeping in while at a receivers gate, you'd find yourself at the end of the line. Old schoolers tend to get their asses out of the fart sacks and be there completely dressed and a decent representative of themeselves and would never be caught sleeping when they should be working! :roll: