Who do you drive for?

Basically, I despise having to chain up. I don't feel comfortable driving with them on even though everyone says that I will get used to it. I want to run for a couple years with a company that is ok with drivers not chaining up and not giving the driver a service failure for doing so.

Who do you drive for?
Does your company want you to chain up, but your dispatcher let's you sit it out?


So far the only company I know of that wants you to park it if the chain law is in affect is Marten and that's one of the reasons why I want to drive for them.


Big Jeep on 44's and others who chain up, thanks, but don't give me a hard time, it's not for me!

Chris

 

Every company I have ever driven for has left it up to the driver whether or not to chain up, and most would rather you did not if you have any choice in the matter at all.

The only 2 companies that I have on my work history that hires in your area are Swift and Knight.

 

You will find that all the Big carriers like Swift ,Schneider,Werner ,Crete,Knight ,CFI ,Gordon , And so on will not force you to drive if the chain law is up ,and you tell them you feel the roads are unsafe to continue travel by your judgement , Because insisting you drive opens them up to liability issues ...Oh and always use the qualcom for documenting these instances ...But you have to sendf the messages stating you will be sitting due to weather ,and give an updated ETA ...If you just sit ,and don't communicate you situation and reason for delay then you get dinged .

 

I did orientation last week with a company that insists you must chain and run provided the roads are open ,And if you don't and the load is late they will charge you $500.00 for the late to be taken out of your check, And if you should slide off the road oer be involved in an accident they charge you the $1500.00 deductable for their insurance heck if you damage a tire they charge you $500.00 so if I slid on the ice ,and damaged the side wall I just spent $500.00 ...I laughed so hard I almost crapped my pants .

 

I don't know who this company is, but "They're going to charge you $500 for being late because of weather?????"

The difference between a smart driver and an INTELLIGENT driver is:

The smart driver has the knowledge and experience to know how the truck will handle in the weather conditions, what the conditions will allow him to do, and how to get through the bad weather conditions. He knows what he must do to survive the trip and make it to his destination.

The INTELLIGENT driver knows when to quit challenging Mother Nature.


Safety is the drivers call. Dispatch is sitting behind a computer and talking on the phone. It's the driver that's face with the conditions and driving on it. And, the driver is also the one that had better know his own limitations.

Back, before Burlington went bankrupt, I had a load of PHOSPHORUS TRI-CHLORIDE, and North Carolina had their worst snowfall in recorded history. I decided to park it at the Flying J on I-40/85, about 50 miles from the customer. Dispatch wanted me to keep running. I asked them if they wanted to be responsible in case of a mishap. They asked what the UN number was, and I told them. A few minutes later, they told me to do what ever I thought was best. It's corrosive and an inhalation hazard with a 5-mile evacuation area down wind. It MUST BE REMOVED, it can not be washed away. A spill could have cost them from $100,000.00 to well over a couple of million. I mean, add in a "wrongful death" because the fumes would have burned out someone's lungs.

It's not the worst chemical compound out there, but having to watch a 20 minute video on just how dangerous it is before you're allowed to leave the shipper ranks it right up there. When the customer was unloading it, I asked what on earth do they do with this stuff. The guy laughed...

"WE MIX IT WITH ANIMAL FAT AND A FEW OTHER INGREDIENTS, AND SELL IT TO HELENE CURTIS for MOISTURIZER FOR MAKE-UP..... Now picture all the women lining up at the cosmetics counter at Wal-Mart, Penny's, Macy's, and others to put it on their faces..... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

I know they would not be charging me a dime. As soon as they started talking that BS I would have been gone.

 

That is nuts, I drive for Swift, and a simple 'its not safe' over the qualcomm and you dont have to move.

 

Sometimes, it's better to stay put. :shock:

4 wheelers on ice....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzeiMJQrvk

 

"Chains"??? What are "chains"???

We do not chain up. Seems there is a distinct "prohibition" against chains on chemical tankers. Besides...since the tanks are "non-baffled"....chains are virtually "useless"....and would slide right off the road when the first "surge" hit you.

Even when I pulled a box.... "I" was in charge of the truck, and the load was "mine"....if "I" declared the weather to be "unsafe"....the truck got parked. I really could care less about what a "dispatcher" had to say about the load moving. Truly didn't.

I have chained up in the past.... didn't like it, and generally only did it to get to a safe parking place.

 

That shipment is intended for Northern Michigan. It takes some Industrial grade Jelly to wipe the ugly off these Beasts up here. :?

...of course it don't work. Pumice stones sell out a lot too. :roll: