Comments By Bill M.

A terrible situation that can put a person in a bad mood. No getting around that! I'm confounded by some of what I see out there. I've been blocked in once. I knocked on the door and they moved. Personally, I avoid Pilot truck stops, they are always a nightmare. I usually shower at a Love's or TA and then head to the closest rest stop if there is one.

I think you're spot on - a scam. It's like the millionaires/billionaires, politicians, and climate activists who brag that they buy carbon credits to offset their carbon footprint from flying their private jets and driving their fancy cars all around the world - they're still emitting carbon but they feel better about polluting )warm feelings). That's a concept that my logical mind cannot process.

I would have to say that's wrong. I want to make this clear... the following is my opinion. If anyone has facts that differ, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

The whole DEF system is part scam and part science. It doesn't produce harmless emissions, in fact they are pretty bad. What it does is eliminate black smoke. When people don't see that black smoke they somehow get warm feelings that make them feel they are saving the earth.

There is less carbon coming out of the exhaust pipe, but there is plenty of other bad fumes and gasses being emitted. By trapping the soot and then re-burning it at higher temperatures we eliminate the black smoke common from diesel engines. As far as producing "harmless" exhaust goes, we are a long way from that.

Hi,

I understand what you mean about the fumes. First and foremost, when I park, I look for a parking spot that does not have the following parked adjacent: 1) long nose Peterbuilt (most of those drivers never power down their engines), 2) Early Model Kenworths (same reason as 1), refer trailers (they are loud and the idle speed increase and decreases all night long), 3) APU units behind the cab. All of those will produce noise and fumes all night long.

After shutting down for the day I open my 2 windows in the upper bunk and open my hood. Opening the hood will allow the engine to cool quicker because the heat can escape upward instead of being trapped and forced under the truck which makes the cab feel warmer for tge next couple of hours.

A fan is a good idea. I use one in the warmer months. What kind of truck do you drive? If it's a Cascadia you'll have park smart which is very efficient at cooling without the truck running.

Anyway, hope this helps. I'm sure other experienced drivers will have some great input for you also.

These are great examples of how to stay busy, stay engaged, and keep moving.

I have only felt a slowdown for a couple of weeks and my mileage has been below where I'd prefer it to be. In the last two weeks, it's been up again.

I Run everything they give me. Last week, I was near certain the load I was assigned would have me stuck in NJ because the unload was expected to take 6 hours, putting me outside of the pickup time at the next live load. To your point, the day before, I mentioned to my FL that I would probably spend the weekend in NJ because of that long unload time and being unable to get to the next live load b4 they close. She asked if that was a problem, I laughed and told her "I run the loads I'm given," everything else is adaptation and comes with the job. As luck would have it, the live unload only took 4 hours, and the dock workers at the next pickup location said they would keep the door open an extra hour for "pops" to get there. LOL. I made it there with 10 minutes to spare, which got me home before my 70 was out.

Also, I've volunteered to move empty's out of customers' yards where there are too many empties sitting around.

Oddly, with all of this talk about a slowdown in shipping. I am seeing more trucks on my routes than a couple of months ago. Especially route 80 across Pennsylvania.

Good news for WM drivers and stores.

Aaron,

At this point, you know what you know and what you can do. Be confident in your decision-making, trust your instinct, and try not to be perfect - this should help you take the edge off anything. May I suggest a technique I used to help me? Also, I've used it in other trades when being evaluated. I envision that I am training my evaluator. I literally envision that they are hearing and seeing what I am doing for the first time. When I do this, it relaxes me and helps me to remember to cover every aspect of the evaluation.

Best of luck.

Educate, Inform, and Assist?

Now that's the definition of change. I hope this all works out well for you. If I may say, from reading many of your posts, I think it will. You are dedicated to your trade, work hard, and can adapt.

A vacation sounds like a great idea in this situation.

Best wishes for a smooth transition.

I am devastated. I have run for Greedy One Kenobi for over 7 years. Today I was told he is being forced to become a lease fleet manager.

I either go lease or lose him. This man has given me everything I wanted and i have spent years building and improving his fleet to become the best it could be.

People tell me i am treated terribly because i am a company driver and I laugh and thank them for letting me know. I never gpt that memo.

He listened to me cry when my Mom died and when i had surgery.

This economy is hitting us all, not only with slower freight, and lack of hiring, but with restructering. It sucks!!!

I do not know to whom they will assign me, but due to my hard work and reputation... i was able to make one call and placed myself on a mini fleet so i can remain a company driver.

I feel like someone died.

Oof! You're trolling us. Right?

You hit another vehicle and left the scene? I don't mean to sound harsh. But I don't want to give false hope either. That's a major offense. At a minimum, it's a misdemeanor offense for property damage. I'm surprised you haven't been informed of an impending fine and possible jail time - and that's just for property damage. At this point, any insurance company will most likely consider you uninsurable. But, I could be wrong.

Glad you made it through to safety. Overpasses are notorious for lost traction when using cruise control in wet or icy conditions. I still have some winter weather gear in the truck. I'm headed that way this week.

Terrible accident on I65 in Indiana a couple of days ago on perfectly clear roads and warm and clear weather. Hard to explain things sometimes. But, I saw a truck just drive off of route 76 like they meant to just park it in that field. Wild scene. The driver didn't even appear phased. Maybe he thought it was a good place as any to take his 30?