FACING THE STORM

[Tennesseahawk]

LOL Dreamer... can't go wrong with a Rubber Biscuit. Whataya want for nuthin?

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

 

[davekc]

If you are going to trust a driver/team with a $100,000 truck, you had better feel comfortable with their judgement. My drivers don't need to call me. They make weather decisions on their own.










Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[x06col]

Can't imagine my drivers calling about weather. I'm not there. How would I know, except trying to help them figgure out where it ends, or, where they might drive out of it. Otherwise i'd have to give them that dunno answer.

 

[Moot]

Turtle, good move going west to I-57. Hopefully when you reach Chicago things will have improved. At least you have some extra time. Be careful.

 

[babs3361]

We were offered a load going to delaware this afternoon and was asked what it would take for us to take it. I said a new truck if we crash... not a used one because that is what we already have... Dispatcher laughed and said no really what would it take and I repeated the new truck thing. We then went out of service and came home since we were only 100 miles from there. You see they don't want to take any chances so why should I...

 

[highway star]

No "mission from God" for me yet. One of the Flying J employees suggested putting me on the payroll today.

 

[nightshift]

As a fleet driver we made the decisions on weather. Our owner trusts us to make the loads when we can and to not wreck his truck. Nice thing was that P2 backed us up on our decisions, this was on a load to upstate NY last week during the lake effect around Erie. Load was 10 hours late but dispatch, the customer, and our owner were all happy that it arrived at all and in one piece, and we were not stressed out from fighting the white out conditions. Sure we need to make income for us and the truck owner so we will take the loads as they come, but our own safety will dictate whether or not we shut down and get the delivery rescheduled.

Don't know where I'm going, but there's no sense being late.

 

[bryan]

Hi

I just bounced home from Dayton.I70 from Dayton to Zanesville is an absolute mess.But from Zanesville to Cambridge the roads are just wet.Yep all my clocks were flashing when I got home so the power must of been out here also.Good luck.Keep it sunny side up and between the lines.

 

[ABEJR2004]

Well I picked up my load last night about 10pm in Worcester, PA. The plan was to make it to Breezewood, PA take a short nap and try to make Erlanger, KY before the storm had gotten to bad. Well the nap went to 8:00am. So I just took the full 10hr break and made the drive.

Took my time, made stops when needed, and since I do not have to deliver until wedensday AM I have alredy shut it done for the night.

When I get Un-loaded i will double check the weather and let dispatch know my perferred direction.>>>>>>To Warmer Weather


AbeJr
TranStewart #6680
Stand Tall & Be Proud

 

[geo]

always in bad weather you have to remember if you keep going where are going to pull off, and if you have you may find you have to keep going to find a safe place to stop, so don't go stay put

one of last runs i did for fedexcc was from nc to tn and was running down 40 w before last down grade to tn and nc state police came on cb and said pull in to next truck stop and wait out the storm
and he gave his unit number and phone number and said if your dispatcher has a problem call me and i'll tell them were close and you are to stay put, and when i called in to say i was stopping
she told me i'm running late, and they didn't want a service failure on the load, told her i'm stopped and not moving until roads open
and one other driver was there and she was telling him to keep moving
i said we are stopped until it is safe to travel

still tried to get me to keep going, i ask her if she like house she lived in, she said she did, i said if i go and get in accident and was hurt or kill because of her bad judgement my wife would sue and then own it so she said what did you do call your wife , i said yes and she is listen in as we speak so she will know what is going on and this is also being tape for later use to , we didn't move until later next day
both of us were going to same plant and we ask them did you stay open and they said we left at 1500 when they closed plant for the storm
and they knew that but still wanted us to try and deliver
that dispatcher didn't work there after that night as she tried to get a few drivers to keep going , when they should have stop

 

[fastman_1]

I made it Home east of Cleveland I'm out of service for the next 18 hours.







































Owner/Operator since 1979
Expediter since 1997
B Unit Semi Retired
Somedays are Diamonds and Somedays are Stones
Home is Wherever you Park.
The Price of Freedom is Written on the Wall.

 

[RichM]

once I had a similar situation that George described. We were Eastbound on I 90 in Washington with a load from Vancouver BC to Rochester NY. Snowing like crazy and a Washington State Trooper advised us to pull off at Ellenwood WA. He gave me his badge # which I used when I called in to report the delay. Fedexcc actually put me on hold,called the Washington State Police to see if this badge# was on duty and where was his location. So much for trust.

 

[x06col]

Unfortuneately Rich, you and I get pizzed about that trust thing, But, I couldn't believe (until I experienced it) what some of these clowns try to pull to get over. Ya can't trust many of them, having a good reputation just isn't in any longer, it seems.
Seems all Carriers learn sooner or later, and, keep the clowns honest by checking. Nature of the beast.

 

[Dog_House2691]

I have been Laredo since sunday,enjoying the 75 degree weather and thinking I might be the first cargo van driver to turn down a Load to the midwest...LOL.No hopefully I will be out of here tomorrow and maybe the BLizzzard will be cleaned up.

 

[Turtle]

You know, you hear things on the CB, and come to find out that it's all nonsense. We kept hearing about how nasty it was between Effingham and Champaign, how all these big trucks and countless 4-wheelers were in the median and in the ditches, how there were white out conditions, the whole nine yards. Well, they left out a yard.

The roads between Mt Vernon and Champaign were just brutal. I can only imagine what it was like in northern IN and OH across that stretch. The slick roads were bad enough, but the winds were relentless. I saw half a dozen big trucks and one pickup simply get blown off the road in front of me. It wasn't classic white out conditions, cause it wasn't snowing and you could see the stars, which was truly surreal. But the wind was blowing the snow back across the road, and it looked like dry ice, a fog, 3 feet deep, and solid. Couldn't see the road at all. In some places the road was clear and dry under there, in other places it was a glazed donut. Then there was the unseen pillow drifts that were lots of fun.

It was stressful, but it really wasn't that bad. All you had to do was focus and do the deal. It wouldn't have been that bad at all if it wasn't for that goober that kept barking via the QC about some very important 5 hour break. Hrmph. Talk about a major distraction at the worst possible time. Sheesh. What a goober. I understand where he's coming from, but he's still a goober.

 

[nightcreacher]

Over the years I have had many storm situations.
My rule of thumb is,if I'm home and snow is comming down in buckets,I go out of service,I trust my ability,but it's the guy I don't know in another truck,that can get me killed.If I'm already in storm,may as well get loaded.
Myself,I've never had my judgement question by dispatch,when I told them that I was going to have to stop for extreme weather, I do know they will check on road conditions.
The other night I went against my own rule,I was woken at 0300,with that familiar,I have a situation,and was hopeing you can help,I was out of service do to haveing to go to dentist for toothe ache,which she also brought up,so if I turned the load down,wouldn't have mattered
Load had 130 mile dead head and was going 95 miles,was important that delivered by 0900 in morning,and they had no one that could or would do it
Well old softy me,said I would,and battled into the storm,an empty trailer across the icy ohio turnpike,was not fun,and I questioned my sanity,a few times.I did talk to dispatch,and they did say if I had stopped,they wouldn't have a problem with that.
I got to pick up on time,but as we all know,shipper wasn't ready for us,probably cause I made original time instead of bumped time.
I delivered an hour early,the snow we were getting in ohio,well michigan was clear,so rest of trip was pretty easy
I did get round trip money for doing this,going back home was very dfficult,but storm was suppose to get worst, I went home,and put myself out of service,they said when do you want back in,I said in the spring,my good dead for the year was just done.
There have been times where I have told them that I was stopping,do to poor road conditions,they have never had a problem with that,and believe me it has happened plenty of times.
The driver is captain of the ship,if you feel roads are unsafe,make your phone call and find a safe place to stop

 

[simon says]

Just curious? What five hour break are they talking about? Teams are not even supposed to run 5 & 5 now.
Anyway, I jumped all over a load from Rochester to Indiana, starting at 13:00, and hit the bad stuff at about Erie. 576 actual miles and while painful at times, once we were by most cars after Cleveland on 271, it was actually not that bad. My average speed was 48 mph, and I ran out of 11 & 14 at 2a.m. I will be over driving by .75 hrs and over 14 by 1.5. I could have stopped by Cinci, but then dispatch wanted me to finish. I will claim severe winter on the log sheet error form and that's that.
It helps when one can keep the drive tires (right side on mine) on a wet or snow-covered surface. The glaze ice was only south of Columbus and one could see it. Another key is just being cautious and focused as Turtle said. Such a situation could justify a locking diff., but I didn't see a $2000 option as feasible at the time. Never really had a whiteout situation: that was the other day near Oswego: now that's the scary stuff, when cars are all around...

 

[Moot]

Let us not forget the dispatchers and office people who had to deal with the weather to get to work last night and this morning.

 

[jaminjim]

I don't think you can use the storm extention. the storm was known about when you were dispatched. I think it can only be used if it was unknown at the time the trip started.

 

[bamamule]

when it's bad i just ask the dispacher are they married and have kids if they say yes to one of them i ask them to send them to my truck and i'll gladly deliver the load
bottom line it's up to the driver to say when road coditions are un safe and if the company still says to roll then i'd be loking for a new company