I have experience driving a box truck but I am new to the expedite industry. I recently applied to an expedite position in Louisville where the routes are round trip and all miles paid using company vehicles. I had to be willing to be on call which was fine with me but I was told that it was forced dispatch and sometimes I would be required to drive over 20 hours straight thru. Is that normal in this business? That sounded ridiculous especially considering that being on call I might be up for several hours before I even started the trip. After thinking it over I replied I was only comfortable going around 700 miles in a day. A 700-mile radius from Louisville covers the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast and D.C. to Wichita, Kansas. He said it would be virtually impossible for a driver to be limited to 700 miles in a day. I would appreciate some feedback from the more experienced drivers on here.
how many miles in a day?
- Thread starter steppenwolf
- Start date
tknight
Veteran Expediter
Average 50 mph with traffic and stops waiting time and mandatory 30 break .... Legally your lucky to do 550 a day if you were doing 20 hr drives I don't want to be anywhere on the same road as you !!! Your really breaking the hos laws and if your boss was demanding that I think it's time for a. New boss.
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Maybe hos doesn't apply, what type of vehicle would you be driving?
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No. It's breathtakingly irresponsible and dangerous, a lawsuit waiting to happen. Having the option as an independent contractor to drive 20 hours is one thing, because you can make that call depending on your state of rest at the beginning of the trip, but to mandate an employee to do that with forced dispatch is beyond butt-stoopid, it's criminal. Even if you are in a cargo van and not subject to Hours of Service, forced dispatch mandating up to 20 hours straight through is something over which a civil tort attorney will crap his pants to become a part. Juries are made up mostly of people who think a 5 hour drive is a long one, and anything over an 8 hour workday is just nuts. They know that it nearly kills them to drive 12 hours to grandma's house for the holidays. Throw an injury or death case in front of them with 18 or 20 hours on it, and they'll have a judgement party.
To quote someone who will remain anonymous, "Tell this guy to take a hike.... run away...."
Turtle tells it like it is. It today's litigious society you can easily lose everything.
Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately, I did not misunderstand him. He said it was unregulated and guys who were used to driving 18-wheels would say they needed a break after 11 hours, but he needed everyone to drive straight thru no matter the distance. It sounded too dangerous for me. I think they are using cargo vans, sprinters, and short box trucks. I thought the 11-hour rule was in effect for those vehicles as well but maybe not. I talked with him, twice told him my limit, and when he said it wasn’t possible I did not pursue the job any further. I like driving but sometimes it’s better to walk away.
"So let's be stupid about things!'
There was a time when trucking wasn't regulated. Stupid got it regulated.
I wonder if he has even remotely the proper insurance for those vehicles. I'm guessing not.
Vehicles under 10,001 pounds are not regulated by the DOT, as long as they are not hauling 9 or more people for hire (16 or more for-hire), or hazardous material which requires placards.
tknight
Veteran Expediter
Actually drivers of larger vehicles are required to bread after the first 8 hrs for 30 min then they can resume till they reach 11 hrs driving or 14 hrs combined driving and waiting to be loaded or fueling or even stopping for lunch or pee break 14 is 14 is 14
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Yeah....why aren't the names of these companies being ouuted....is it not allowed here on EO or a matter of slander or something?
Yeah lets just say I think you are on a careful path to the answer.
I don't know what the policy is. I was just trying to get some advice and perspective from some experienced drivers in this industry, but I can tell you that Moot is right about the irony.
At Panther van drivers are required to take a 5 hour break after 16 hours on duty. This is a company policy and not a DOT regulation. Your 16 hour clock starts once you move. Most loads are booked at 47 mph. Panther will either build in a 5 hour break into the transit time or swap the load with another van. Also, as with most reputable expedite carriers, there is no forced dispatch. If you are tired, just refuse the load or go out of service.
Well out of Louisville there is 2 strong possibilies ... 1 makes Dirt Fly ... 1 reminds you of the Alphabet .... there i beat around the bush ...
I'm still confused. The company that I think of most as coming from Louisville is the one whose boss wrote a scathing letter to Mercedes Benz about the Sprinter's problems.
Why can't we say Blair then?