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I'm always calm and professional with them and they are with me as well. I just thought it was odd that the 'hold' lasts about 10 seconds or so and then hangs up if you don't get connected to someone right away. I do use the tablet if I'm able to get parked somewhere safe, but find it easier over the phone simply because of the numerous different abbreviations each of them use aren't always self explanatory. The QCs odd pronunciation when it reads it out to you while driving doesn't help things either.

I've mentioned the phone disconnecting to them in the past and never did get a straight answer about it. They did seem aware of it, so I'm not sure why it hasn't been corrected yet. My trainer mentioned it's been like that since he started with them a little over a year ago.

I have called the customer myself with questions or issues I've had and then updated the company on it if necessary like Packrat mentioned but I'd say a good half of them either don't have a number listed or it's incorrect, though I imagine that's a rather common occurrence.

I can always tell when my fleet manager is off for the day. How, you ask? I have a question for dispatch, in this instance trying to confirm whether or not my next load is a 24hr drop and hook as I've been getting unloaded since 830 AM with no end in sight.

I call, and by some miracle the phone is actually picked up. (Usually it just rings several times and you're hung up on if your fleet manager isn't available.) I relay the situation to the person on the other end. "Good question, let me transfer you to so and so, they're in charge of you guys while fleet managers gone." Ring, ring, ring click.

I wait a bit thinking I'd possibly get a call back before sending in the same message on the qualcomm, mentioning the phone cut out. Thirty minutes later, no answer.

I get that they might be busy, but this isn't the first time I've not received a reply and it's almost a guarantee that if the phone kicks me over to the 'first available' hold it'll cut out. I've asked my trainer if there's an issue with the phones and was told he and several others have the same issue. They look at the caller id, see it's not one of their guys and let it ring.

The load assignments do list pickup deadlines and things of that nature but in my short time solo I've found more than a couple to be less than accurate.

Honestly this is the only real issue I've had with this company, and can live with it for the most part but I know eventually it will cause a problem.

I've been pretty lucky so far as far as getting a little time off each week to unwind. Seems like my fleet manager doesn't want to have to worry about his drivers not recapping enough hours as it's been rare in the short time I've been solo that I haven't been given a weekend load that allows for a 34 to end each week with. That could just be that I'm new and he doesn't want me to end up stuck somewhere out of hours, but my trainer typically had the same weekly 'schedule' as well.

If I'm being honest, if you're only looking at the 70 hour clock and not counting living in the truck as being at work, I'm actually putting in LESS hours than my previous job.

Interesting they gave your group things to look for on the pretrip. Our group they just cut us loose with the checklist and would take each of us and quiz us on random sections. Same with the drive, we went on a 10 mile drive once before we went out with our trainers. Other than that it was all backing in the yard.

Looking forward to see how high a score of 'lane departures' I get from them putting the cones so far over you're riding the line. There's an override button for the buzzer, but then it thinks it needs to send constant critical event notifiers to safety.

don't sweat it. As long as you're doing everything properly and safely safety will disregard this, especially if you have forward facing cameras. They understand its construction time in a majority of the country. Despite what other drivers would lead you to believe safety isn't out to get you. I turn my lane departure off in construction zones and have no issues.

Oh, I know they don't look at them that closely. They flat out told us they rarely, if ever, look at them because every little thing sets it off. My trainers truck went off for every on and off ramp we passed, luckily mines not quite as bad as his.

Still, even knowing that, being the new guy I half expected a call when I had 5 of them from turning it off this morning.

Looking forward to see how high a score of 'lane departures' I get from them putting the cones so far over you're riding the line. There's an override button for the buzzer, but then it thinks it needs to send constant critical event notifiers to safety.

Harvey spinning the yarn,..

Just a question and hope you guys are not too hard on me.

Do you ever make a U-turn even if prohibited?

My son "Jay" started driving for a new company last week. Flew out of state for orientation and then given trips further north from there and 1,300 miles until he got to his home base yard. He followed the company route on Qualcomm. I was meeting him at the yard because we had taken him to the airport. I used Google maps to get there and took me on a different road than Qualcomm. I was unsure of the entrance and drove on past the driveway and saw him straight ahead of me on the right at a big intersection with no other vehicles within a half mile. Problem: big road construction and the road I was on had the other lane blocked off so he could not make a left turn. He was at a dead end. He had told me that U-turns were prohibited and there before my eyes I saw him make a U-turn. He had a 53' refer and he had huge clearance. Had to make a detour of several miles to come back around the direction I had originally come from. Some other driver in the yard that makes local trips mentioned some other spot that it's possible to turn-around but he only knows that because of driving there every day. When going back a couple of days later, the road closure was much different, no map is going to prepare a driver for the current conditions. The only way to leave the yard at this moment is to turn right even though that is supposedly going against traffic (or take several back-ups to make a left turn in what should be the on-coming traffic lane).

While I was driving him home from the yard he called the safety department and left a message about what happened and said he had no choice. That was three days ago and he hasn't heard back.

These conditions are changing too quickly for dispatch to know what route to give drivers unless other drivers explain things to them daily.

You drove Jay to the airport? Watched him make a u-turn in his big twuk..? And then you drove him home?

C’mon...

Harvey when was the last time you submitted to a random?

Looks to me like Jay left last week, they eventually routed him home and they were picking him up from there. Guess I'm not seeing what the problem is.

You can up your verizon to unlimited data. I just switched to AT&T. So far ok. T-Mobile and sprint don't have coverage when you need it.

Hope that helps.

That's the thing, I'm on an unlimited plan, but after 50gb they slow you down 'during congestion' which seems to be at random. I'll have to look at AT&T closer.

Hi all, sitting here trying to do some trip planning and found myself having to use the WiFi at Loves because Verizon decided to slow me down so much I may as well have been offline. In fact, Google maps said just that.

Which got me looking, right now I only get 50gb before they drop my speeds to .47 mbps down as of tonight's speed test. Not even enough to load their own app to see what my usage is this month.

AT&T and T Mobile both have 100gb options which would work better for me, but I'm wondering if anyone here could tell me how the coverage compares between the two while OTR. I run out West, but any input about how the two compare is welcome.

Well, that sure escalated quickly.