I went to the bar last night. I don't do line 5 like Golfhobo, I'm generally soaking up Root Beer. But, there was another driver there that was really crying in his beer.

He picked up a load here in FL that was headed to St Louis. He ran with it and got there is record time. While he was looking for the address, his dispatcher called him and asked how close he was to delivery. "I'm here, just can't find the address."

They gave him detailed instructions, and he spent a couple of hours trying to find the roads on his map. No luck. Dispatch called him again and asked if he was there yet. During the second conversation, he found out that his destination was not St Louis, MO, but St Louis, VA.

Now, they're charging him for the fuel for 915 miles out of route. Roughly, 150 gallons worth.

Then, I started thinking about other mistakes I've seen in the past too. I took a load of paper from Wausau, WI to a plant near Knoxville, TN. They receive rolls of paper and process them into sheets. I parked the truck out of the way in case someone needed to get by me. On my way into the receiving office, J B Hunt came by my truck, opened his doors, and backed into the dock. I was not happy about him jumping in ahead of me since I was there first, but while I was checking in, the laughing started.

JB had the right paperwork, but the trailer number on his bills did not match the number on the trailer. His trailer was filled with 50# bags of RICE. Labels on the pallets of rice said the customer was in Chicago.

First of all, make sure where you are going. Start off by getting the State correct, then worry about the town. Second, make sure you have the right trailer. When you're hooked up and ready to leave, check the trailer number against the BOL one more time and make sure it's right. Those of us that know just how someone else's face can get by this, tend to protect our own from the same thing.

 

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth, Georgia what's the difference?

 

Hmmmm..Trip Planning Error

I don't understand how the driver (St. Louis) could have made a mistake like that. One thing, don't routes for the trip come over the Qualcomm? ... just sayin' :hellno:

 

Throw in a public flogging and I'd feel justice had been served.

My training went 6 weeks with a trainer then 6 weeks with another student who had just finished training. Our second trip was to undo an error created when an earlier driver picked up a '500012' instead of '500021'. It was a good long pull . . like Missoula, MT to somewhere south of Dallas and the other driver was already in TX before the problem was discovered.

 

Not all companies use "SUGGESTED ROUTING", and not all companies have qualcomm or Aithernet, or even Peoplenet. There are still some companies that rely on cell phones between drivers and dispatch.

And, back when I pulled for Burlington, they got a couple of pretty stiff fines with their "SUGGESTED ROUTING". Somewhere in Chicago, there is a bridge that three trucks cost Burlington over $4,000 when they crossed it. To this day, I have no idea which one it is, but I know that the drivers that crossed it were following the suggested routing.

I went off of suggested routing in VT when they suggested following US-4 from White River Junction to Rutland. At the time, you could not take a 53' through Woodstock. I didn't know if the driver or the company would get the fine.

We all got a message over the qualcomm that "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, WERE WE TO CROSS THAT BRIDGE", but they did not identify the bridge. They also stopped giving us suggested routing after that.

 

Guess that would be something else to bring up...

Let's say your company wants you to pick up a load in VT, and gives you a suggested routing. But, you check your permits and find that the roads they suggest you take are not listed on your permits.

Or in VA, and you already know that the roads they suggest you take do not allow 102" wide trailers on them.

Do you run the roads and take a chance that the officer will write the ticket out to the company rather than the driver?

I'll bet there are a lot of new drivers that have no idea they need to know about any of this.

 

As you know, I am new driver. I am in the habit now of getting the suggested route over the Qualcomm, and varifying it with the Trucker's Atlas. I also have a GPS that I use to give me an idea of miles to go and traveled and such and will look at that suggested route as well. If the directions are super involved, I write them down on paper to have close or even write them on the windshield (in a non-obstructive place). :eek2:

I would go the best route given the constraints, .... tolls,,, restrictions, miles, etc.,. I have deviated a little but not significantly without problems.

Ridge Runner :thumbsup: gave me fantastic advice as far as destination location directions. He said to call the shipper/receiver and get their directions as they should know the area best and want you to get there on time.

 

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation then by deflation, the banks and the corporations will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." Thomas Jefferson







stop trying to scare people with the truth. lol..

 

We get our permits and we follow them to a "T". If we are caught off route and get a ticket we pay it. That is why you check your permits against your route BEFORE you start. That is when you see what is what and if we have a problem we are supposed to call in and get it resolved.

 

Don't know what was in your coffee this morning, but I hope you get over it soon....
fftopic: