Truck Driver Shortage

[greyhounds]

Great thread. Really great thread!

I have sent it to a Professor of Transportation at Northwestern University and The University of Denver and suggested that he bring one of you drivers in to speak to the students. I don't know how he'll respond, or if he'll respond. But I do think you'd be a great educational experience for the students.

The award for the best use of intermodal by a small truck line that I've ever seen has to go to Marx Truck Line of Sioux City, Iowa.

They would haul grain into Chicago for export on the Great Lakes. Then they'd take steel or whatever back. They'd have a driver shuttle two loads of grain over to the ICG ramp at Sioux City. Then, after proper rest, "I'm sure", the driver would drive a load of grain into Chicago. In the mean time, we'd "rail" the other two loads into Chicago.

He'd deliver his grain load, pick up his backhaul and take it to our Chicago ramp. He'd then take one "railed" grain load to the export elevator, get the backhaul and again bring it to our ramp. We'd start the loads westbound while he delivered the third grain load, picked up the backhaul and, drove it back west.

One time the owner's son was the driver. He stopped by in a suit and tie to negotiate the rate down before driving his load west.

One driver handled three loads.

We just basically admired that.

[Anonymous]

Handling multipule loads is rather tricky but can be done.

I point to your LTL example. "Less than truckload"

Let's see here. Myself and the wife had a orange load out of Florida. This load was bought and paid for by a loose knit group of people spread between where was it... oh yea.. in the New York state near the Newburgh River Bridge.

I believe there was about 9 stops on that load. The mission was to deliver oranges to individual people and to church groups who are selling them locally to the people who generally may not be able to get fresh oranges that time of the year.

One thing they dont teach in driving school: You dont take a Century and a 53' trailer with a reefer unit humming into a residentail area of single family homes at night and back down someone's driveway where you have 20 people eager to get you as close to the door as possible.

I rather have one trained driver who thinks like I do and knows how to back me into a hole. (Dock, doorway, parking space etc) than 20 people trying to guess which way that creaking trailer was going to go. *Sigh.

Anyways every stop was executed to best of ability and all have thier oranges.

Anything you can imagine to any one who has driven any length of time probably did happen.

I was told in my trucking school that 100 people wanna drive a truck. Cool aint it? 60 will fail the medical exam, or have issues that cannot permit them to be on the road.

40 left. 32 will make it to school. halfway thru 20 will remain.

I think about 19 will graduate with a CDL License. Of that 19...

3 months later 2 will be dead or injured pernamently, 8 quit forever.

9 left.

after one year 5 will stay on. The other 4 will either be injured or have issues with the job's breaking on the body and mind and quit.

After 5 years 2 of those 5 drivers will stay on for the rest of thier lives.

Those are the drivers we want to keep. Recruiting hundreds of thousands of people a year to keep millions of rigs running.

By comparision the railroads run a hell of alot of freight using a handful of professionals.

[passengerfan]

Ihad one load with 78 drops starting in Washington State, through Oregon California and ending in Arizona. With drop off money was one of most profitable I ever had. The store chain I delivered to had docks open and 7:30 AM and they closed at 9:00 and 10:00 PM so was able to make a lot of drops per day. Believe I was to deliver the entire load from Friday to Tuesday. Many loads I carried had multiple drops or LTL and I doubt their was anyway a Railroad could even begin to handle them. Especially on loads down the Oregon and California coast. Having deliveries along California 1 was interesting as trucks are not allowed on this highway unless delivering and was stopped several time by alert CHP officers. Sure was nice to be able to show freight bills showing deliveries, as I understand the tickets for trucks on this route expensive. Railroads will never be able to handle loads such as I used to carry many had an average 24 drops along the route particularly loads from N. Carolina to Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

[edbenton]

The only reason my father and I got that many miles was due to a computer governer failure [;)][;)]. I knew the password for the feul rack settings and removed the governer form our truck. It was a 97 pete 379 with a 500 kitty cat under the 13 speed double over nad 3.33 rears topped out at 100+. Lets just say I made time at night when I was about the only thing on the road and it helped the boss did not belive in advertising who the company was. Trailers only had a bumper sticker on the reffer unit and the tractors had a sign about the size of a piece of paper. We were the only truck that could run 75 all day long in the states that allowed it only probelm was the fact I knew we would get caught by the company sooner or later what helped is we had a computer failure and it ereased who changed the settings. Man I love a paperclip on 2 points and a 9 volt battery.

[Anonymous]

I knew the dollar trucks will get into the picture sooner or later.

I know very few people and trucks who can run faster than I did. All I will say is the time period of the early 90's prior to widespread qualcomm monitoring and goveners imposed on trucks is what I call the "Happy Time"

Before I get into the rest of the story, I state that excessive speed in a full loaded 18 wheeler is probably the worst thing you can ever do from a safety point of view because there are just no recovery from any of many points of failure.

Example if I am at 110 mph at 40 ton on a 5 percent downgrade and something gets into my travel lane, it's just it's day to die. And the question remains how much damage would the rig sustain before it threatens to kill or main me for life. There is always a point where excessive speed strips any human reaction to failures.

Now for the fun part.

I was given a Detriot 460 on a Rockwell 9 with rears geared for 70 mph travel at just over torque on the Tach curve. The rig was capable of about 118 on the flat at max rpm and I have broken 132 counting milemarkers against stopwatch on downgrades.

Travel time from Ohio/PA line to NYC on I-80 was about 3 hours and some change at night when proper communications over CB is maintained slowing only at known State police speed traps. Major barriers was State College and Columbia New Jersey as the hills and curves are just too tight for high speed. Milesburg eastbound leaves me with a sense of dread because of the broken concrete and the curve at the bottom.

Milesburg west was 80 MPH loaded up hill at times in the left lane. It is a 10 mile pull and the last 6 miles are so are still over 45 mph. When you run this empty let;s say two things, westbound left lane open? and how much cross wind? What a ride. Think of the fastest elevator you ever rode and add about half again to that feeling.

Speed in those days made the shippers and recievers very happy. It did not matter how long it took or what kind of delays you had as long as you can break 100 and average at least 60 mph at the mileposts.

Way way faster than the standard 35 mph average speed I plan my trips in the later years.

Out west I have seen flame from some incrediably fast trucks and as fast I was, felt like I was chained to the fence post.

Those days are long over. And I am not sorry to see it go. I have seen wrapped and organized pallets of cargo get totally shaken through out the trailer with some damage.

People who bought things at the store have NO idea of the loss, waste and other issues at the warehouse. That was then. It is much better today. But some waste still remains.

I think I wrote enough about high speed. I advocate safe fast travel today. But not at manifold melting, tireshredding and law breaking speeds.

Many times I have read where steam locomotives were pushed to thier limits and railroads were able to "fly" and some are legends and other stories relate real life travel at very high speeds over long distance.

But I have gotten a little older and slower. Speed is good. to a point.

1- Team drivers 24/7 with onboard coffee making and cooking as well as toilet facilities so that you are free from the truckstop except for fuel and oil changes

2- Dispatch that can run with you in terms of scheduling. They need to be giving you the next load before you are finsihed actually unloading the truck. And allow time for you to get ready for the next run.

3- Minimize problems from shippers and recievers. There are many issues that pop up and the #1 question from these people is:

"Can you get it there faster?"

Imagine. They are getting top notch service from quality equiptment, fully experienced team and a company that knows what needs to be done and gets it done ahead of time... and they still ask for more speed.

[ajmiller]

QUOTE: Originally posted by HighIron2003ar
Travel time from Ohio/PA line to NYC on I-80 was about 3 hours and some change at night when proper communications over CB is maintained slowing only at known State police speed traps. Major barriers was State College and Columbia New Jersey as the hills and curves are just too tight for high speed. Milesburg eastbound leaves me with a sense of dread because of the broken concrete and the curve at the bottom.

Milesburg west was 80 MPH loaded up hill at times in the left lane. It is a 10 mile pull and the last 6 miles are so are still over 45 mph. When you run this empty let;s say two things, westbound left lane open? and how much cross wind? What a ride. Think of the fastest elevator you ever rode and add about half again to that feeling.

I live in State College, and my parents live near Allentown, so I happen to drive I-80 between State College and route 33 near Stroudsburg from time to time. That's about 140 miles on I-80 and I probably rarely drive that stretch (usually always late afternoon to early evening) in less than 2 hours. The Ohio border to NYC is probably what, 350 or 360 miles? And you say you did it in 3+ hours? Wow you really must have been averaging 100 mph or more! And even going east there are still plenty of steep hills. I wonder what you averaged on the down hill sections. The speed limit on I-80 is 65 until you get to the I-380 junction where it drops to 55, but the traffic flows at about 80 mph except if it's backed up because of construction.

[Anonymous]

There were sections of interstate in those days that were not under construction Note that I said a little over 3 hours. I think it takes about 6 to make the trip today.

I was not able to maintain such high speeds all the way across PA. I am using PA as a example because alot of traffic came down 322 to 15 from State college to points south. Once off I-80 it was no longer a speed issue. I think there was a grade of several percent for several miles down a very steep and winding pass called 7 mountains or something like that. When you did not have Jakes you had to be slow to make it down that natural barrier.

I recall a winter storm that left 2 feet of powder we made the trip in a little over 7 hours because traction was a problem (we are not required chains like the Northwest)

My thinking of 3 hours or so is contaminated by the fact that State College is one of the jump off points to and from I-80 and points west. Alot of the freight I ran with the company required State College to be one of the main "Junctions" for getting on and off a interstate.

Your milege is correct and I recall that many sections especially towards NJ was not suitable for high speed.

Even so a successful high speed transit saved hours that would make the difference between being on time or late.

I am sorry if my numbers confused anyone. It was a long time since I made the trip. However, it was FAST compared to the 55 mph speed limit in those days.

[ajmiller]

Yes, the seven mountains is a steep decent on a section of 322 between State College and Lewistown. There's a runaway ramp at one of the sharp turns. I don't go that way often because I don't like driving on I-81/78 between Harrisburg and Allentown. PennDot has been slowly expanding 322 to 4 lanes over the years, including the Narrows stretch south of Lewistown. But there's still a two lane section from the top of seven mountains to Boalsburg just south of State College.

Also, if you haven't been through in awhile, they've been building I-99 between Bald Eagle (just north of Tyrone Pa.) to I-80 at State College. The portion between I-80 and the US-322 bypass around State College was opened a few years ago, and they've rerouted US-220 to follow the new section instead of going down the Bald Eagle valley at Milesburg which they now call Alternate 220. So now 322 and 220 (and eventually I-99) share the same route between State College and Port Matilda. PennDot ran into problems though when they discovered that they exposed a major lode of pyritic rock where the highway is to go over the Bald Eagle Ridge at Skytop just west of State College. The rock is causing acidic runoff in local streams and they've had to delay construction to figure out what to do.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update, it was much appreicated.

The Seven Mountains was where I trained in mountain driving. Dispatch made sure that I ran that thing many times by winter.

Then they had me run the PA Pike instead of the US 40 (Soon to be I-68 at cumberland) in bad winter weather as it was safer. Town Hill on 70 south of breeze wood was another favorite.

New drivers were kept on local mountains with trainers until they run the hill with disclipline the same methods every time. Then they were cut loose to run where they are sent.

With that in mind Dispatch of the bigger companies did not allow any driver into the rockies for a very long time virtually everyone banned I-70 between Denver and Utah in winter and nothing but the most experienced (And some locally raised folks) ran that road.

I was to meet much bigger and stronger mountains since Seven Mountains but it is a favorite. I ran it the same way every time without any issues.

I was wondering when they were ever gonna get the roads sorted up there, it is kinda "Bottlenecky" thru some sections years ago.

I also remember Babcock ridge near Altoona with that 10 mph switch back curve near the bottom. If you ever drive a flatbed with no load on it on ice in winter down hill with all of those cars around you... I salute you.

Mountain driving kills if you dont do it right.

[route_rock]

He hehehe Flashbacks [:D] I learned in a one stack Mack witha window in the back, raced down Montegle ( you JB Hunts that threatened to turn me in when I asked "Hey JB want to race to Chat?" they never caught me) Had a combine at 100+ on the back of a W9 550 cat . Went down Cabbage at night with snow. My wife and I ran team for Chicken Flippers (not what we called em) Inc and ran from Ohio border to Sacramento over Donner in snow ( she was training) in 36 hours OR ELSE!

Screw driving anymore get out now while you can if you are! I read earlier back where someone said O/O's can raise their rates. Nope sorry not with Ill haul it for a penny a mile companies out there. Driving was at one time fun. After the new HOS law we thought ok cool but as a team we got blasted BIG time. 5 days no shower cant think straight to answer a yes or no question. As soon as Max (CFI used mobilemaxs) said you were mty there was a hot load 100 miles plus away and you had to be there in 45 minutes. ETA means EXPECTED time of arrival not estimated.

35 mph dispatch ohhhhhhhh God love ya man! Solos were at 45 mph and teams were 47 one time we were dispatched faster than the truck could run! Imagine telling a guy " I cant be from Sacramento Cali to Laredo Tx in 24 hours!!" and he says Sure you can I can do it in 18 HA I may have been born at night but at least the lights were on! Once we were a full team we said no to Priority dispatch. Well when you drive off all your drivers guess what. You are now just someone to move all the loads they booked. Sleep? Do it when your dead! My wife naked? Never saw it for over 2 weeks we showered at different times so we could move the load! We were dedicated good little truckers till finally I went postal and said enough!

Kids if you want to drive no one can tell you how it is. You have to find out for yourself. I wouldnt trade 13 of my 14 years of driving but that last year you can take it [xx(]

[Anonymous]

routerock, You brought up some good points. Showers were a problem out there. Alot of other things like trash was also a problem. I think the last 5 years up until December of '01 it was pretty bad with the amount of garbage. I am talking actual trash like snack bars, soda pop bottles and unmentionables. They were either too tired to dispose of them or did not care.

My wife and I were two hours from home when dispatch stopped us and had us run our wheels off into Voss MO truck stop and retrieve a flower load. A load of Cut Flowers is one of the hottest time loads in trucking. Those things you gotta get a star trek transporter to keep em fresh.

Upon arrival in Voss I learned that the trainer had a student driver who apparently could not drive. The dispatch told us they spent 10 hours in Phoenix and again in New Mexico another 10 hours lost. It was my judgement that the trainer failed to remedy the situation by sending the trainee home on a bus and trading off to a team while still in Phoenix.

When problems develop you want to reach out. Not wait for someone important to say "OMG! EHAT THE HAU_LL IS WRONG WITH THAT L:OAD!? CALL ME!!"

In the days of quallcomm a satellite message stating "CALL ME" means that the dispatch has already gone volcanic and you are up to here in trouble.

Back to flower load. We grabbed the trailer and ran non stop that evening to Chicago despite having just completed a 1800 mile run. We made it at midnight to a grateful customer. They fed us, coffeed us and gave us first class treatment. IF we did not make it it is quite possible that stores would not get thier flowers and it will roll all the way uphill "Downhill" to the trainer who wasted the 20 hours while out west.

There were diversions like casinos. Some of these have truck stop facilities and for what it is worth they are truck stops. But they also are a place to waste time and money while under a load. I have seen many a driver stumble out ashen faced after wagering that "Last 10 dollars" in hopes of a good hit. I myself enjoy the tables but always when off duty for several days and wife and I bring in 200 dollars to spend that day. If we make something then we go home. Otherwise we are in for a decent rest, meals and a bit of cards.

Some drivers just toss a comcheck down and spend the money without thought to the needs that they may have, meals for the week, tolls, family bills etc. These are the ones that wind up back home broke with creditors calling. What a waste.

You mentioned Mount Eagle. You will find it in TN at the Alabama/GA line on the interstate. It to me is a small mountain but to many a very dangerous one. You knew one of two things. You knew the weather at the bottom and are about to find out the weather at the top.

I think out west in the Sierra range it is quite possible to eat breakfast while it is 60 degrees out, climb a pass and be in roaring winter with chains out and cold penetrating the cab by lunch and down in the blazing 100 degree desert by dinner. Fortunately for me such extremes in one day were not too common.

You mentioned the "Cabbage" that refers to the Blue Mountains in Oregon. (Correct me if I am wrong) in winter that is a pretty challenging and dangerous drive. Sometimes a winter storm hits the coast and spreads over the NW so fast that you may find yourself coming out of Oregon into Utah on chains for many miles at 10 mph at 4000 feet for a hundred miles.

Alitiude was important to the trucker. You may sit in Philadelphia at sealevel and it would be 50 degrees. Above you it may actually be snowing only it is too dry for you to see it unless you got high enough. Sometimes wild weather plays a role.

One more story before I head out. I was past Rapid City SD heading west trying to out run a winter storm warning for Rapid City. I figured I had some time to get into the Wyoming range and get "Past" it with a chance of not having to deal with "Split ice"

Well it caught me at Sturgis at the 13 yard stick when I heard the CB say... "westbound" "Yea come on, pick it up and kick it back!" "I just come out of the worst whiteout a mile behind me I'll pray for you" "Thanks driver, see you on the flip side."

A mile later I was wrapped in a total whiteout being lashed by hurricane force winds and actually by feeling the steering wheel bumping the rig against the barrier rail as far right as I could get it without regard to damage to get off the pavement as I hollered for those behind me to stop where they were.

The whiteout was so total you could not see the hood of the rig, the mirriors and the temperature reading from the outside combined with the wind meant you dont ever open the door or anything. Just hold what you got and wait. An hour later I was free to move again luckily the snow blew up, not down or sideways and did not pile up anywhere serious.

5 hours later I learned that Rapid City got hit with 3 feet of snow forcast by morning. I made the right choice by going but was to hit Ice on the back side of the storm. If you can walk on it, you can drive on it... but dont take my word for it. Especially those little bitty 4x4's that think they can OWN the winter. They cannot. In fact... if truckers stop, everything else should stop except maybe trains.

[passengerfan]

To all those drivers running I-80 west of Larimie over El Mountain in the winter their is a much safer way and the old timers know it. That is the old route 30 that parallels the UP main and stays down in the valleys. And if you are a train watcher you will see plenty of action along the route. First starting running this route before I-80 was completed it was the only route. After one trip over Elk Mountain in blizzard i reverted to the old route and found I made just as good a time. Just because it looks shorter on the map doesn't mean that it safer or any faster. This is just one case of where older is better.

[MP173]

Very entertaining thread.

I worked for 13 years in the LTL industry. It was (is) much different than the TL side. I really respect you guys out there, particularly the OO's that try to make a living while putting up with shipper demands, dispatch, and all other issues.

Greyhound, that story of the Iowa trucker was great. Does the CN still run intermodal over that route to Iowa?

ed

[Anonymous]

MP173 you run pups and doubles? If so, I salute you bouncing along with that short wheel base. And a touch of jealousy as these rigs fit into places I wont even consider getting a 53" into for coffee. (I have done it but those stories I keep just for me. I may share one later today about city driving)

I did LTL where freight is gathered from all over consolidated into several drop offs in one region for FFE out of Lancaster TX and thier system works. But I was also thinking about Restraunts like Red Lobster that requires special kind of LTL.

Take care y'all. I'll be back later with the horrors of Hunt's Point NY where some drivers deliver and somehow never come out.

[greyhounds]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP173



Greyhound, that story of the Iowa trucker was great. Does the CN still run intermodal over that route to Iowa?

ed

No, they don't. CN shut down the Iowa intermodal operations of the old IC and the Wisconsin intermodal operations of the Wisconsin Central.

Like a trucker, an intermodal operation that goes only 500 miles has to be on its toes to make money. We had to keep it balanced - loaded both ways, watch equipment utilization like hawks, etc.

CN has bigger fi***o fry. In the marketing world this is known as "Discrepancy of Size". CN's too big to be bothered with a customer like Marx Truck Line and a 500 mile intermodal haul. That's not a knock on CN. That's just reality. That's the way the economy works and you ain't gonna' change it with a law or anything else.

I think a 3rd party intermodal company that aggregated these opportunities to get the attention of CN and others could make a good buck. But I have no idea how to start sutch an enterprise.

[edbenton]

A 500 mile run could be made by a driver in under 8 hrs as long as you keep the left door closed. I have repeataly done a 550 mile run in just over 8 hrs key is keep the left door closed and run like the wind.

[chad thomas]

Good stories guys....Keep em' commin'

[passengerfan]

Years ago got stranded in Yelloeknife NWT for six weeks. Delivery was scheduled for friday AM and I was on time at Canadian Forces Bases Yellowknife. They refused to unload me until Monday well guess what the Ice Bridge went out over the weekend and it was four weeks before ferry service began. Government paid my truck 280.00 per day and I didn't turn a wheel until ferry service began. Flew home and waited for ferry service had a nice vacation. Apparently this happened every spring and fall don't know if it still occurs that was almost twenty years ago.

[gabe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by greyhounds


I think a 3rd party intermodal company that aggregated these opportunities to get the attention of CN and others could make a good buck. But I have no idea how to start sutch an enterprise.

How about you, me, and futuremodal pool our resources, go into business together with it, and agree to take no action unless we are all in agreement?

Gabe

[jeaton]

Gabe

I don't think your group could get a majority vote on a yes or no question.

Jay

[gabe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

Gabe

I don't think your group could get a majority vote on a yes or no question.

Jay

Laughing: yeah, that had occurred to me.

Gabe

[greyhounds]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton

A 500 mile run could be made by a driver in under 8 hrs as long as you keep the left door closed. I have repeataly done a 550 mile run in just over 8 hrs key is keep the left door closed and run like the wind.

Yes, and if it's gotta' get there in eight hours, it's gonna' go by truck.

Most of the freight isn't that time sensative, the shippers generally want reliable transit times, not fast transit times. We hauled water heaters from A.O. Smith at Kankakee, IL to Omaha day in and day out with a 24 hour transit from the Chicago ramp to the Council Bluffs ramp. A day's inventory cost on a load of water heaters isn't that big of a deal. What kills railroad competitiveness is erradic delivery, not one day slower delivery.

You can often buy a day with a rate. And that's what the railroads have to do with their intermodal service. Provide reliable, consistant service at good rates. The transit time has to be reasonable, you couldn't sell seven days from Kankakee to Omaha, but we could sell 36 hours dock to dock and make a buck doing it. And we did.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gabe

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

Gabe

I don't think your group could get a majority vote on a yes or no question.

Jay

Laughing: yeah, that had occurred to me.

Gabe

One "yeah"
One "nay"
One abstain.

There you have it. Democracy in perfect synchronicity.[:p]

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth, here's an analysis from the financial sector regarding shipper preference rail vs truck. It does bring up the point that the current situation is a temporary glitch, and sooner or later the trucking sector will catch up with it's natural demand curve. If the railroads really want to keep this piece of the pie for the long term, they better come up with something more tendable.

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/freightnews/article.asp?id=6722

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by greyhounds

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP173



Greyhound, that story of the Iowa trucker was great. Does the CN still run intermodal over that route to Iowa?

ed

I think a 3rd party intermodal company that aggregated these opportunities to get the attention of CN and others could make a good buck. But I have no idea how to start sutch an enterprise.

I will tell you this: It would only be worth the hassle if the railroad already has some freight opportunities that currently go begging. That's one reason a few of these 3rd party outfits have worked in the PNW. There's alot of empty containers heading west, so if you can fill 'em up with something that's already going that direction, so much the better. You still have to lobby the railroad until you're blue in the face, and it gets frustrating because the benefit is so obvious to anyone with any business sense.

I'll put it this way: If the grocery stores did business like the remaining Class I's, they'd only be selling the high margin products like cigarettes and beer, and the idea of selling the lower margin essentials like baby formula and toilet paper would be rejected by management as "not worth our while". There's an obvious reason for this.........

[Anonymous]

Some companies advertise they dont run NYC or offer extra pay for NYC. Take Hunts Point market.

Note that NYC has done a great deal of cleaning up in the last 10 years or so.

You ran into the New Jersey from whereever your load came from and found a truckstop about an hour or two away. Usually you got rested and had a last meal and talked with others going into NYC. It usually would find groups of drivers start to get together about a day or so before actual arrival.

Late in the day, you headed out onto the interstate with the goal of crossing the GW "George Washington Bridge" which was I-95 and a major crossing. I would have a map out.. in the day you took photocopies of mappbooks pages down to the alley level and you knew exactly where you needed to go. It was planned with military precision as you were going into a dangerous area.

One scam was they would approach you at a light... (Oh no. did you actually stop at the light in the city at night?) and ask if you knew where you were going. These locals already know where you are trying to go. IF you look like you know your stuff they will back off. But not before asking for ciggerettes, money or other tidbits as a tribute.

That was one of the reasons you kept moving. I usually brought along a warchest of small bills, ciggerettes and what not as peace offerings to som of these people.

The cost of these items are much less than the cost of assault, injury or worse. That was one way you bought friends for a while so you did not get vandalized or worse.

One of the streets I traveled to hunts point had a elevated subway track, the two poles confront you in the night. You remember that "Offset" training from driving school? Wal... here is an offset that will do a great deal of damage if you hit it.

Money. You needed toll money, tribute money food money and more money. Upon arrival at the gate to Hunt's point market they will charge money to get you inside.

Expensive huh? You aint done yet.

YOu would go to wait with other trucks in a area off to one side. There was a little porta-potty and perhaps a food stand open for part of the night. I swear that same porta-potty was there in the same spot for 10 years or more. The fence behind you has holes in it.

There are people of the night that seek illegal business with you and if you are smart stayed clear of it. each preposition or converstation will deplete your warchest of ciggeretes or small change.

When you are called to back in to unload, you would get more money out to pay the man for assistance with the cargo. There are many people willing to "Help" you with the cargo in different ways. Actually what they are doing is breaking up the order at which it was loaded so that the next reciever will have to rearrange the cargo and charge you for it.

If a dispatcher says dont let them touch the freight then you dont. YOU touch it. It takes a while.

When you are empty you leave the gate at near sunrise. If you are lucky the traffic will be nil and the people in bed. This is your chance to get out of the area. Once the traffic rush kicks in you are part of the exodus and will lose alot of time. Sometimes it will be noon before you get out of the City and back to your truckstop.

Only then do you call in for your next load. This is where qualcomm shines....

Today you can literally type your load request while at the Hunts Market, get your information, open your laptop computer with GPS street mapping, cell phone and have yourself set up and rolling to your next load knowing exactly what is going on.

Now. I have been lucky over the years with NYC, Boston and other cities in markets. Some drivers have not. The last time I had a situation in Rochester NY where waiting on a load of ale in the bullpen (A place for drivers to wait) I had a hooker preposition me and my wife heard the talk thru the window. I informed her that I am married and my wife is about to do something if she did not leave right away. She left. Good thing she did.

Of course I had briefed my spouse co-driver that these situations will come up and while she was upset she took it into stride. So that worked out well.

NYC and other areas have some of the greatest people you ever will meet and one of the joys is meeting people and learning new things. Good things and bad things.

One thing that happened alot was people would jump up onto my "Catwalk" which is behind my cab on the tractor with the goal of severing my airline and the qualcomm connection.

The only thing I will say is this: A sharp turn of the wheel into a J turn to jack the cab 90 degrees to swing the cat walk under neath the reefer unit of the trailer usually sweeps em out. To this day I dont ever have any idea if they lived or died. I will find out when I die and meet with the lord.

But I think they all got out. I usually check the trailer wheels and listen for screams. Nothing so far.

Welcome to Hunt's Point, we hope you enjoyed your stay.

[route_rock]

Oh yes HighIron Montegl was one that I got comfortable with over the years. The JB boys scared me on any mountains. I saw one fly by on Mont with brakes spitting at me ( molten brake pads are hell on a windshield) Grapevine where one went by me so fast I had lost the door decals! And good old Cabbage! You were right on locale we were coming out of Portland and it was 60 degrees across till you got to the base. It looked like a scene out of a scary movie the top of the mountain had blue clouds and i mean almost thunderstorm style blue black. So we stopped int he old truckstop with the shirts for sale ( I survived Cabbage!) and waited it out. Chain law got lifted and bam up the hill we go only to get to the top and still have a foot of chewed up ice all over hte road! Oh what fun. You got to haul flowers you say well wow more power to you I have seen the stress those folks go through with picky customers and stoke prone dispatchers (if my BP was that high 24/7 Id stroke too)
Speaking of "Unauthoried riders" a buddy of mine was unloading up in the Windy he got up on the expressway from surface streets and it was a J hook type ramp. He looks over in his side mirror to see a face looking in! Guy had hopped on when he slowed to get on. SO here we have malcontent on the side yelling let me in my buddy yelling back no. Malcontnet then says well stop the truck then so I can get off. ( we are now at 45 mph) Buddys response " You got on when I was moving you can get off while I am moving" he got her up to 65 and never looked back. Not sure where he lost the guy at if he lived died whatever. Its a hard world and by god out on the road if your trying to do something nasty unto me well turn about is fair play [:D][}:)][}:)][}:)][}:)][;)]
And the lot lizards dear god my wife wanted to see one so bad when we first got out there. Well wishes come to those that make them. SHE got hit on by one I thought it was hilarious as it was your typical I have to work the back row where the lights are dim lizard cause am all washed up and you wouldnt sleep with me if I paid you kinda girl. She never wished for that again.

[Anonymous]

Routerock very good post.

You wonder why many of today's trucks have "Clean" sides on the tractor without handrails. That is one of the reasons.

The lizards are part of the scenery as well as the bums and such. I dealt with them politely but never ever did business with them no matter how long I was away from home. There were *ahem.. other venues and if you had a girlfriend or a spouse then there was no need to be looking for these lizards.

If you pass a truck, look for the stickies that have a symbol of no drugs and no sex and similar. Once you have one of these on your rig near the bottom of both doors the hassle level declines greatly.

I have seen a great increase of behavior that I dont approve of among men. But you deal with it and move on. The restrooms in rest areas are filled with graffitti. You think you have seen dirty bathrooms, you try some of the ones Ive seen. I believe down in Mexico the food codes dont cover some of the bathrooms.

You had a chemical toilet on the truck. That also frees you in the eyes of the law to inhabit the vehicle for extended periods of time. If you had a inverter that generated 110 volt electricity that was approved by the company and installed by the truck's dealer not anywhere else and inspected for wear on the wires daily you were in good shape.

I still advocate gensets. The 5,000 dollar expense will be offset over time by fuel savings by not running the big engine. And they provide a chance to stay hot in winter or cool in the summer if your big engine did fail.

The backrow or the party row as it is known is the last row the furthest from the restraunt building of a truck stop. Usually truckstops try best to secure the place and keep "traffic out" but the fact of matter is.. stuff goes on. The most common problem besides lizards was the form of justice that some drivers recieve that no one will ever report to law enforcement. There are some people who insist on being boors or really bad towards fellow drivers and need to be "tenderized" that is all I have to say about that.

Another issue was robbery. In the older trucks it was possible to use starting fluid (A specific type of chemical but wont metion it here) where you would spray the can into the air intake of the truck's heating or aircondition system or simply thru a side vent. Wait a while. Use several more cans. Then you are able to get inside the truck and actually root in the drivers bunk while the unconsious driver knows nothing. That was one danger that the engineers design against today.

Today's trucks have "Buried" air intakes and reconfigured the vents so it is very difficult to get to them from the outside. Much safer today.

You would buy a television set for your rig, vcr's dvd's maybe even a sony playstation video game. Some drivers have hobbies. I built athearn or other car kits in HO during times of extreme waiting. Books, computers, cell phones and the old Park n View system (will describe next paragraph) are really great.

Truck stops have video games, store and other things to spend money on. Casinos are the ultimate in fun but cost alot of money. Some places like the Mall of America in MN have truck parking where you can spend your day "Decompressing" from stress.

In worst case scenarios a motel (Super 8 or hampton is best) is good for recovering from illness provided you dont need to visit the ER. Being sick on the road is really really bad on everyone. When I was sick with high fever and sweat I usually inform dispatch, trade the load off and work my way towards home and family with a bobtail. The closer to home you make it the better it is for everyone in case you do require medical care.

You have a park and view system in the truck stop where your parking space has a yellow cap. Inside that cap is a video line, telephone line hooked into the truckstop's internet, cable TV (Satellite) and telephone system. You purchased a card that would provide service to you personally anywhere in the USA.

It took several years to install in the truckstops at great expense and finally the company over extended themselves and was bought out. There are not enough truckers sitting still long enough in the truckstop. Everyone was either late, in a hurry or doing everything BUT watching TV inside the Cab (I know the TV room is packed full on football or sports nights schedules be ***ed but that is something else)

Eventually for several thousand dollars you were able to purchase a satellite system that kept you "Locked" onto the TV while on the move anywhere in the usa. Sirus radio and other perks improved life out there. Being tied into the TV set during 9-11 was one of the most difficult times and for two whole weeks that television set was on and I have NEVER EVER EVER lost the channel due to range. I think this was the power of the USA in television broadcasting that is only reserved for wartime.

If television service was that good in peace time, I would not have a need for satellite. But oh well.

[greyhounds]

What's a "J Hook"?

If I had to guess, and I do have to guess, it would be a left turn where you first have to steer right, then make a sharp left. Or the other way if you are trying to go right.

I drove a tractor-trailer one time. It was when I was in the Army and training to be a 2nd Lieutenant in the Transportation Corps. After basic I went to a railway unit, then I was assigned to a duece and a half platoon that had straight trucks.

My hat's off to anyone who can handle those things. To this day I can only back up a trailer with extreme difficulty.

[Anonymous]

Watch a Semi truck at any traffic intersection.

The driver "Should" come out of the turn lane on his green gently. Before you know it he is sitting half in the intersection postioned to sharp left when the opposing traffic light goes red clearing the way.

The cab will jack to the left with the radius sharper and sharper and reaches maximum "Jack" (Jackknife) and pivot the trailer into the turn. This can be done forwards or backwards.

Another kind of turn for right hand turns involves bullying your rig into both your right lane and also teh left lane. This prevents folks from sneaking by on the right.

Passing a truck on the right = Death
Passing on the left = Life

But you dont want folks passing on either side as you will swing first to the left until the trailer reaches it's halfway mark and swing hard to the right. Sometimes cars have to back up to let you clear the turn the trailer wheels should just miss the corner on the right.

JB Hunt's Tire Budget for the two right side trailer outside tires approach millions of dollars simply because poor drivers grind em up on a right turn.

Backing a truck.. whew. I cannot write about that here. You can only learn by doing. In my driving school we used to hold contests in rodeo style barrel racing backwards with a trailer.

(You insurance types disregard my last paragraph)

Sometimes fun and games driving backwards makes a skillful driver. But when you approach a food market jammed with trucks inches from each other it becomes very very seriously important to do it right.

That 300 pound bubba whose headlight you just broke probably will not be in any mood to talk insurance or payment.

Seriously tight spaces exist. You think driving school was tight.. whoo hoo boy... that is spacious and free in terms of room.

At times I have been in total tears and weeping because I cannot back worth a hoot. Or actually broke something trying to fit in that ittle bitty spot I think I can.

Get out and check behind ya!

Once I was so fatiqued I was at a ware house with many doors. I had the entire place to myself. I was told, pick a door.

2 hours later I paid another driver 10 bucks to back me in. Fatique is worse than being drunk. Dont drive sleepy. (Crazy aint it?)

You will be backing trucks inside buildings, under ground.. oh yes there are whole warehouses under the ground you gotta go down under the earth truck and all. Some miltary areas have cities where nothing above but prarie grass and wind. Awesome.

Then you might be backing a truck on a mountain top. Outside your right hand window is a 3,000 foot sheer drop filled with spear like evergreen trees and birds while to your left is all kinds of stuff you dont want to hit while under your wheels is loose shale or rock causing your traction to slip and slide you and the whole rig towards that 3,000 foot cliff.

Time for some whiskey and smokes.. might be the last as I drop to my death.

Sometimes you think your number is up, Im still here. I guess it's aint my day to die just yet.

I have seen folks injured or die on the road for some of the most stupid of causes.

I witnessed a convertable zip by me at 90 mph in the left lane of the interstate. We both head into mt eagle westbound in the driving rain.

Halfway up the mountain, the convertable is on it's roof on fire crushed against a rock face on the left while the body of the man in the hurry lies nearby.

In a hurry? slow down, you may not live to get to where you gotta go in the hurry.