Doctors And OTR Driving
Topic 2974 | Page 1
We have to plan our hometimes very well. Because that's basically the only chance we have unless we get into a 911 situation.
Basically, when you request hometime they do their best to get you home on that day - but it doesn't always happen. That's the nature of the business.
So the secret is to schedule your doctors appointment in the middle of your hometime.
For example, if I was on the road for a month that gives me 4 days off.
I'll take the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th off. I'll come back on the 14th. But also realize, that if you requested the 10th off and you get home at lets say.. 3pm. Then that doesn't count as a day off because you still worked that day. So if that happened my days off would be the:
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
and I would come back the 15th. I came home late on the 10th that doesn't count. So I'll have 11,12,13 and 14 off.
Schedule the doctors appointment on the 12th or 13th. There's very little chance you'll be home 2 days late and its extremely rare you'll be home 3 days late.
I hope that makes sense. The key is to schedule the appointment in the middle or end of your hometime.
If you ever happen to be in the area of the Iowa 80 World's Largest Truckstop, then they have these on site...
Chiropractor/DOT Physician
Walk-In Welcome On Call 24 hours
563-468-5512
Monday/Wednesday 9:00am – 6:00pm
Tuesday/Thursday 9:00am – 6:00pm
Friday: 10am-4pm
Saturday: 9am – Noon
Sunday: On Call
Dentist
563-284-6161
Monday – Saturday 8:30am - Closing time varies, please call ahead.
Closed Sundays
Walk-Ins Welcome.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
I believe this is going to be helpful in the near future as well...
Every town has a 24 hour urgent care facility, or a hospital with an ER....If you park at a truck stop, there may be a "Doc in a box" there, or you can take a taxi to urgent care, or the er...every truck stop will know where you can be cared for.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Thank you all for your responses. Very informative. Love This site 
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Hey all, I am just curious about something. I am not the type who goes to a doctor much if I can help it, but I am curious. How do the OTR drivers manage to do it. Not like you can really plan to have an appointment while you are home. So what if you need to say, see an eye doctor and you are OTR Driver. How would you manage that?
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.