Profile For Banks

Welcome, Tim. You take a written test to obtain a permit. Unless something has recently changed, TMC trains you to get your CDL. Are you sure that Dawn didn't say you need a CDL learner's permit?

This hysteria panic has taken on a self-sustaining life of its own.

Nah, I think the panic is drying down. Now we're in the "what can I get out of this?" Phase.

But what is the end goal

Only thing I could think of is hurting China and putting India in China's place. The Chinese weren't willing to play ball with the new trade deal. India is. The world economy suffers and they pull business from China and give it to India. China no longer has that card to play.

Illinois is supposed to have a press conference at 3 Central supposedly implementing a new stay at home order. My guess is similar to those in effect in California and New York.

New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are the three largest cities in the country. They're the first three enforcing "stay at home" orders. For those who don't think this entire thing was premeditated and that they're just making decisions on the fly, that would be a pretty big coincidence that they just happen to order the three largest cities under lockdown without coordination.

It's becoming very obvious that this was all premeditated. Richard Burr, a senator in the intelligence committee, sold off a large portion of his stocks back in February. They all knew this was the plan all along.

Wonder how that will work out. I still have to be out here so are they going to give us permits to be out? Otherwise the power doesnt stay on, waste and water wont be treated and animals will starve because feed cant be made. I'm more concerned that this will force the quarries closed and then we won't be able to do our job anyways. And then everything falls apart.

They posted a whole list of what's essential and what isn't. Animal feed falls under essential. The list is 8 pages long.

How's it been going? Any updates?

You guys had any slow down yet?

For me, it's been a mix of dock work and random linehaul assignments. I haven't done anything that I haven't reported on previously, so I don't update as much.

As far as the Corona virus goes, we had a meeting earlier in the week. We were told that we could sit this out if we wanted to, but we wouldn't get paid. If we catch the virus the time off would be paid.

They're expecting a massive drop in freight, but I haven't seen it yet. If there isn't enough freight to operate as normal drivers work the dock, dock workers stay home.

Today was the first day of non-essential businesses being closed. We'll see how all of this plays out.

Turns out, Brett was right. Pennsylvania is expected to go into "Shelter in place" over the weekend with the national guard enforcing it. Only those working "essential jobs" will be allowed to travel.

Her position (which made total sense after considering it - which it usually does when it comes to my friend June, even though I consider her bat-guano-crazy on many things) - FLATTEN THE CURVE (which is pretty much the admins position). If EVERYONE GETS SICK NOW - it WILL OVERWHELM our ability to care for the REALLY SICK - and MANY MORE WILL DIE. So if we can "stagger" the outbreak, we will have a better shot at treating more of the critically ill - instead of doing "triage", and deciding who lives and dies right there in the tent in the parking lot.

That's my stance on it. Hospitals aren't equipped to deal with being overwhelmed that way. They're used to getting supplies as needed with some reserve and getting what that need within a day. Companies that supply hospitals also supply the public. With shelves being wiped clean they can't keep up with the demand.

I'm glad I live on a secluded property way up in the mountains with plenty of firewood, food, toilet paper, and my doggy. There are herds of deer everywhere and all of my neighbors are hunters. I can't imagine what it's like for the millions of families who live paycheck to paycheck and have $100 in the bank and three kids at home and can't work because their workplace is closed.

That was me some years ago. Living in NYC at a dead end job, taking care of a family, barely making ends meet. There were some weeks I would have to overdraft my bank account at the ATM to make ends meet. It sucks.

Today, I'm in the position you're in. Secluded in the mountains with plenty of food and supplies with enough wildlife around to put food on the table for a long time.

Saw a video of that.

Ok, but I want the Berry colossal crunch too.

Where are the escorts?

This reminds me of the first few weeks after hurricane Sandy when I lived in Brooklyn. There was a fuel shortage and people were camping out at gas stations waiting for that truck to arrive. The ones that just showed up would wait in line for hours just to be told "sorry, we're all out". Eventually, things went back to normal and nobody thought anything of it.

Today the fuel is hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Neither of those products will protect you from getting sick, so I don't know what the hoardings about. People will panic about not having hand sanitizer, but they'll treat the day like a regular day and it'll be business as usual.

The danger of this virus is that it's airborne and you can be very contagious without showing any symptoms. It's spreading because people aren't capable of just staying to themselves. They have to be social and everybody thinks "it can't happen to me". This is where the government overreach comes into play. People have to be forced to stay home to try to stop this. Hospitals aren't equipped to deal with half the population getting sick.

Idk the exact numbers, but there are a lot of people dealing with underlying issues that would make getting coronavirus a lot worse. Issues like heart disease and diabetes combined with coronavirus can cause death. You can get a flu shot thats effective in stopping the flu, but there isn't anything that prevents you from catching this.

Think of it this way, I don't know anything about electrical work. I can screw in a light bulb and that's about it. I want to be able to wire a house and open my business in a year because all I have to do is file some paperwork. What can go wrong? A lot can go wrong.

I always recommend learning your craft on someone else's dime. It leaves more room for error and you can see how certain hiccups are handled.

As for starting your own business, it depends on what you value. I value benefits, retirement plans, paid time off and a check every week. There are only a handful of reasons to start a business. The main 2 being you plan to build it up to sell it or you can make money while controlling everything. None of these apply to trucking. You're losing money as soon as you sign on the dotted line because the vehicle depreciates. You can build it up, but it'd be difficult to do and almost impossible to sell. You'd be making as much as a company driver with no control because your customers control everything. If you're hauling cars and the cosignee says I need these cars ASAP, you can't say I'm taking some time off. You just lost a customer. As a company driver, they'll send somebody else and they have a system in place to satisfy the customer.

What makes you think insurance rates will go down and rates will go up? The opposite tends to happen. Insurance rates go up and rates go down. I've never paid less for insurance without giving up some coverage, be it medical, auto or home.

I can't think of any brokers willing to risk their business and customers by gambling on a driver with no experience. What happens if you buy a dually, trailer and pay for insurance and everybody says "get some experience then come back"? That's most likely going to happen.

You have a lot to think about here, but don't go jumping into this huge investment based on hearsay. Contact insurance companies and see what the rate would actually be. Call brokers and see if they would actually work with you and what the current rates are. You're doing a lot of guessing with no facts. Get real numbers and then do the math.

If I weren't at FedEx, I'd go to OD. Linehaul pays great and it's predictable. That's what I like about it.

Like Auggie said, at FedEx if an extra board driver gets cancelled they can work the dock. They also have the option to stay home and they can volunteer for weekend runs. Different strokes for different folks.

Do you mean the clutch fluid reservoir? In the manual trucks I've used it's by the airlines. I put a flashlight against it to check the levels. It's always been good, but if it weren't it goes to the shop.

This can be fixed by having a conversation. Just call swift and ask to be reassigned. As for ghosting, you're not hurting anybody but yourself. Swift and Schneider aren't going to notice you being gone from one day to the next.

Kobe Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, TMZ reports.

Bryant was reportedly in his private helicopter with three other people when it crashed.

Emergency personnel responded when a fire broke out.

No one on board the helicopter survived, according to TMZ Sports.

TMZ says that Vanessa Bryant was not onboard.

TMZ Report

Congratulations!!

Will you drive full time now or do you still have to work the docks until a full time driver spot opens up??

I've been a full-time driver since I finished the program in late July, early August. My driving duties are delegated by need and seniority. I'll usually take whatever I can, but if the weather is bad or expected to be bad I'll pass on a run and it'll go to somebody with less seniority. If I have to be finished with work by a certain time, I'll pass to make sure I'm done when I have to be done. My full-time assignment is and will continue to be a dock assignment because that's what's available and that's what works for me right now. I'm also waiting for a linehaul position to open up because I don't want to do city.

Congratulations! Well done Banks

Thank you G-Town

I've never heard about draining the air out the back trailer before, I'll have to keep that in mind. Usually rocking the trailer back and forth will free them or crawling under the trailer and hitting the brake drums with a hammer.

I hook multiple sets a day and have forgotten to supply air once or twice.

When do you guys supply air to the dolly? Before or after you hook the rear?

I'd never heard of it either, but this is my first winter. I tried rocking back and forth first, but that didn't work. As for hitting the drums, that would be the last resort.

We supply air to the dolly once we hook it to the lead before we hook the rear. I didn't supply the air and he viewed it as me taking shortcuts.

Dumping the air multiple times is to clear out as much excess moisture to help prevent the accumulation freezing within the brake system?

Congratulations and well done, Banks! We knew you could pass with flying colors./blockquote>

Yes. Let the air drain out of the rear of the trailer by turning the supply valves back there. And thank you pack rat!

Anything fun happening?

I've been turning down runs for numerous reasons ranging from the weather to issues at home that require me to be done by a certain time.

I did have my driver review and it was done by my trainer which added some pressure. His expectations are way up there and I knew he would call me out if I did something he didn't teach me. I've received lots of tips from lots of people. I take what works, discard what doesn't and make my own way. Some of what I do, he may not agree with.

The night started out with an explanation of expectations. Part 1) Is the driver in full and proper uniform? I was not. It's cold out and the dock is colder so I dress warm. I do keep a uniform in my car in case I get sent out so I had to go grab it and change my clothes.

We went out into the parking lot and he said I can grab any tractor I want as long as somebody isn't going to come looking for it while we're out. I grabbed a kenworth autoshifter. He didn't say anything but I could tell he was hoping I grabbed a manual. I thought about doing that, but the kenworth is what I'm used to and it's in my comfort zone. I'm ok with going out of my comfort zone, but I didn't want to miss a gear or do something else that would cause me to fail. I went the safe route.

Once I had my tractor, I pretripped it and I went to grab a dolly. Luckily, there were newer dollies available in like new condition. That's not the norm because the senior guys usually grab those. Before dropping it in front of an empty trailer, I got out to make sure the trailer was empty. After dropping it, I went to hook up to my lead. I go to pull it forward and it drags.

I think "crap did I forget to supply air?" No, I didn't. The brakes were frozen and I learned something new. My instructor told me to open the air valves at the rear of the trailer let all the air out. I had to fill the tank and empty it at least 5 times and then the wheels started moving. I'm glad that happened while he was there and not while I was on my own.

I lined up the trailers and began to back up. I stopped to hook up my dolly. I hook up the pintle eye and chains and start making my way to the tractor. He calls me can and asks "what are you missing?". I really have no idea and he asks "why are you not supplying air to your dolly? When did we start taking shortcuts? "

In my defense, the period between the time I finished the program to when I was driving was vast. You're going to forget some things when you're not constantly and consistently doing it. I supplied air to the dolly and hooked my set. I pretripped it and we were off.

We went out on a 50 mile run that consisted of numerous turns, local driving and highway driving. That part was very smooth. I caught all my signs, maintained my speed and stopped before the line Everytime. I had to do an emergency pullover and answer a bunch of questions, reminiscent of the state test, just a lot more questions.

Back at the terminal he told me to drop my rear trailer and dolly. Then he told me to take my lead and back it into a door, any door. As I'm driving passed a door he says "that one". I wasn't ready and had to back in at a 45 degree angle because I wasn't able to set myself up for a straight back. I back it in, use one pull-up and bump the door. He says "your backing got a lot better. Your setup was sh*t, but you made the right adjustments and did the proper pull-up. Good job". I said my setup would've been better, but I thought I was picking the door. That was a random pick I wasn't ready for.

I drop my empty and park the tractor. Back in the office he says "congratulations you passed. You did a lot better than when I left you, but don't start picking up the habits of people around you. That'll only lead you to problems you don't want." Now I'm officially completely done with all tests and training, unless I mess up somewhere along the line.

With Ground is it usually 1 contractor that operates each terminal that then hires drivers or is it like 100 different O/O contractors?

No 1 contractor runs a terminal because it would give them too much leverage. If a contractor wants multiple lanes, they'll usually get spread out to other terminals.