That sounds like an understandable mistake. Do you get dispatched on a qualcomm or something? I always get a route to my next destination on the qualcomm even if I've been there a hundred times, partly because I like the display of how many miles to go, but also because it shows me I'm heading to the right place and I didn't misread something.
I didn't even bother to check the eventual destination of the load
This is far from a tragic mistake, but that right there means you have to consider this a failure on your part. You have to be more thorough than that and pay attention to the details. Details are critically important. What if they had accidentally put the wrong trailer number on the assignment and you pulled a load to TN that was supposed to go to Chicago? You could have caught that and prevented the typo from becoming a major cost to the company and possibly a service failure for their customer.
I've known of several circumstances where someone had the wrong trailer number and wound up moving a load hundreds or even thousands of miles the wrong way. One time a team at my company took the wrong load from Atlanta to Seattle!!! They had to bring the load back and someone else took the one they were supposed to have. That's a massive amount of money down the drain, simply because they grabbed the wrong trailer.
This is a good lesson for you to remember. Make sure you know what's going on and pay attention to the details. Also, whenever you find something unclear about a situation make sure you verify it with dispatch. They're super busy. They'll make mistakes sometimes also. You have to be on the lookout for that.
Like cutting material: check twice, haul once.
I didn't even bother to check the eventual destination of the loadThis is far from a tragic mistake, but that right there means you have to consider this a failure on your part. You have to be more thorough than that and pay attention to the details. Details are critically important. What if they had accidentally put the wrong trailer number on the assignment and you pulled a load to TN that was supposed to go to Chicago? You could have caught that and prevented the typo from becoming a major cost to the company and possibly a service failure for their customer.
I've known of several circumstances where someone had the wrong trailer number and wound up moving a load hundreds or even thousands of miles the wrong way. One time a team at my company took the wrong load from Atlanta to Seattle!!! They had to bring the load back and someone else took the one they were supposed to have. That's a massive amount of money down the drain, simply because they grabbed the wrong trailer.
This is a good lesson for you to remember. Make sure you know what's going on and pay attention to the details. Also, whenever you find something unclear about a situation make sure you verify it with dispatch. They're super busy. They'll make mistakes sometimes also. You have to be on the lookout for that.
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
That sounds like an understandable mistake. Do you get dispatched on a qualcomm or something? I always get a route to my next destination on the qualcomm even if I've been there a hundred times, partly because I like the display of how many miles to go, but also because it shows me I'm heading to the right place and I didn't misread something.
The problem is our dispatch will leave the final destination on the Qualcomm and not the destination you are dropping the load at.....and our navigation on Qualcomm aint the greatest and we were told not to follow it....
and as Brett said, this is my failure, I could have asked questions on the destination of the load if I had realized it was that close to the company terminal....
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
That sounds like an understandable mistake. Do you get dispatched on a qualcomm or something? I always get a route to my next destination on the qualcomm even if I've been there a hundred times, partly because I like the display of how many miles to go, but also because it shows me I'm heading to the right place and I didn't misread something.
The problem is our dispatch will leave the final destination on the Qualcomm and not the destination you are dropping the load at.....and our navigation on Qualcomm aint the greatest and we were told not to follow it....
and as Brett said, this is my failure, I could have asked questions on the destination of the load if I had realized it was that close to the company terminal....
Well, just to clarify, you wouldn't have to follow the qualcomm gps route, but by having it up on the screen you can still tell if you're heading in the right general direction, and if you arrive at the right place. But if the qualcomm isn't set up to route you to your destination then I guess this idea doesn't work for you.
Also, I said it was an understandable mistake because you call your terminal 'Loudon' and the message said to drop at Loudon. But there's no question it was your mistake. I agree with everything Brett said. We all work to provide a shipping service and the driver is the last chance for QC before the load starts moving, so double check everything. The last thing I do before starting out is to turn around (or look in the mirror) and check the trailer number against the paperwork one last time. Anyway the qualcomm thing is just another "check" on myself that I thought I'd share.
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Definitely check, double check, then recheck again the trailer number you’re getting against the BOL and Qualcomm messages. Also double check the address shown on the BOL the same way. If any of these don’t match up EXACTLY, stop and find out why before you leave the shipper , drop lot, or relay location.
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
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Got message to deliver load I was picking up in PA to "drop load in Loudon, TN", I dropped at company terminal , which has always meant to be the company terminal there....I didn't even bother to check the eventual destination of the load, as it turns out is in Loudon about 10 miles from company terminal, I could have easily dropped it at customer who is open 24hrs and accepts loads pretty much at anytime...no ones said anything yet and they accepted the load at the company terminal....local driver did joke around and give me a hard time for not delivering it (all good natured), good guy....
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.