Usa Truck

Driver U, welcome to the forum!

You didn't share with us how long you've been driving, but I'm going to take a wild guess that you are pretty new to this industry. Your post indicates a real misunderstanding about how HOS violations not only have a negative effect on the drivers, but also have a negative effect on the company's CSA score. Companies don't intentionally try to mess up their CSA scores. Every successful driver wants to be pushing his hours - I'm bumping up against the clock all the time. It just so happens that when you are up against the clock that shows that you are productive, and it also shows on your paycheck that you know how to play this game like a true professional. If you want to make some real money at this you will always be running out your clock - if you are not you are leaving way too many miles on the table.

The driver makes the final call on whether he will violate the rules or not. There is no physical way that manager can get in that truck and force you to break the rules. You have got to be the professional who knows how to manage his time and know whether you can commit to a load or not. If you get a load that can't be done then you just let them know. It is as clear cut as that. It is not your driver managers responsibility to keep up with your hours, and I sure wouldn't ever count on weekend dispatch to be watching out for me.

I've talked to my safety officer, she just says well you accepted the hours of the assignment so your at fault.

As harsh as it may seem to you, your safety officer is correct. You are the one responsible. One of the worse elements of being a driver manager is the element of having to babysit grown adults day in and day out. They grow weary of this stuff. Be the kind of driver who amazes his manager at getting things accomplished. The top drivers in any fleet do this stuff day in and day out. The managers give them loads and they somehow magically figure out how to make it work. If it is going to be impossible, they tell the manager and they will see if they can get a delivery appointment changed or whatever needs to happen so that it can be done legally.

I'm sure there are drivers at USA Truck who are getting all the miles they can handle, and making top dollar without experiencing the problems that you've accused the company of causing you. The reason I can say that with confidence is because that is true at almost any major carrier. This is where you need to focus your efforts. Work hard at your trip planning and being fully aware of what kind of hours you have available to you. Refuse to run a load that can't be done, but learn to manage those clocks so that you are the guy that they can depend on to be the one who somehow always manages to be able to pull things off. That is the way I built my reputation as a top tier driver, and it will work for you also. Once you have established yourself as a truly professional driver who understands how the game is played the load planners will be looking for your truck when they need some help with some really good loads. The guys who can always seem to get the job done are the guys who keep getting the "good stuff".

my only question is how do you bump up against the clockwhile not having to reset?

8.75 hours a day on duty/driving would give you enough to roll over indefinitely, the reality of that happening is another matter.

One day sitting or only using 2 hours will trip that up quickly.

I burn 60 in 5 days and then reset, though we've managed to run 8400 miles team in 8.5 days before.

Not a lot you can do apart from shoving that puppy in to sleeper or off duty at EVERY available opportunity.

10 speed governed at 62 mph. Live load and unload at both ends. Time to make that miracle happen.

10 speed governed at 62 mph. Live load and unload at both ends. Time to make that miracle happen.

Yup. You can't beat solid math. Give it your best crack.

Have you called the customer to see if it's a strict appointment time or first come first serve? It probably doesn't matter when you roll in there. You'll get loaded one way or another. If they'll load you when you get there then just let dispatch know you were dispatched on a load you couldn't run legally but you can still get there to make the pickup and then deliver the load. Problem solved, everyone is happy.

You just have to learn how to work the system out there that's all. You have to communicate clearly with dispatch and make sure every discussion is over the Qualcomm so there's proof of what was said. That way if a situation like the above one comes up you can work it out and keep those wheels turning.

You have to communicate clearly with dispatch and make sure every discussion is over the Qualcomm so there's proof of what was said. That way if a situation like the above one comes up you can work it out and keep those wheels turning.

YES!, that is very important. There have been a few times where my now previous fleet manager had to look up a conversation and then was forced to change his tune. We never had a real problem, but, the dude was stressed out and occasionally I had to remind him of conversations. He had over 60 drivers on his board and I did not want him to feel like he needed to babysit me. The only reason I am not on his board is because I am in a different division. Be good to your dispatch, they are people too.

Things haven't change. Was fixed appt. Since I didn't deliver on time they had me wait 12 hrs to work me in. Since I was late no detention pay. Today 4pm I'm a 68/70 and I'm at Atlanta area. Recover 12hrs tomorrow they want me to Pu load from Atlanta drop yard and deliver larado tx by noon tomorrow. Another note. Was reading your post about recuiters and I agree. All promises they make are just to get you in. After your in all promises are forgoten.

Driver U, I'm not sure what your unhappy about with your company to be honest with you.

First of all, you're running your *ss off. Congratulations! You get paid by the mile so you're getting awesome paychecks. I like to work hard and make good money and I think most people would feel the same. I don't know if you don't want to run that hard or what but getting a lot of miles is generally not a complaint, it's a blessing.

And you say your company expects you to make pickups and deliveries you can't legally make. Well at most companies they'll send you a load assignment and it's up to you to either accept it if you can do it legally or reject it if you can't. Now you might reject a load and they'll tell you to get the load picked up anyhow and they'll worry about handing it off to someone else or delivering late or whatever. That's fine. That's on them. You informed them of your legal restrictions and they're willing to work it out some other way. But if you tell them you can't legally make an appointment time then they obviously can't hold that against you. But if you accept a load and then can't deliver on it then it's on you for not informing dispatch about your current situation.

Well I declined the load due to not enough hours and they said next time I decline a load I'm fired. So now I'm sitting for 34 her reset. As for miles, I like the miles but I wish I could run legal. I'm getting about 3000 to 4000 miles per week depending how far over my 70 I'm pushed and however much they shave off cause they only paying travel from count to county. Paycheck recounting I'm getting 22 cents a mile taxable and 10 cents a mile per deim. I'm thinking I need a different company to work for.