THURSDAY: Got a potentially pain-in-the-ass trip to do today. First of all I make my scheduled delivery in the Lexington area. That's cool... it's a regular customer of ours and it was just a drop delivery (as opposed to a live-unload where I have to wait). Only takes a few minutes to get my next assignment (this is one of many reasons why I like my current company). It's to pick up a pre-loaded trailer right there at the same place. GREAT... uhh... except it wont be ready until at least 2pm. D'oh!
So, in other words I have 7 hours to kill followed by a 450 mile trip to Milwaukee. I have no particular problem with Milwaukee except that in order to get there I have to go through Chicago. Now... Chicago sucks ass. Major ass. I love the town and have visited on more than one occasion. But DRIVING there is the problem. The city's highways seem to be in a constant state of "fucked up" no matter what time of day it is. You can find 10-mile backed-up traffic even at 3am. So anyhow, I will keep my fingers crossed for an easy trip but I've learned to always be pessimistic when it comes to the windy city.
Now... another interesting point about today. In order for me to complete my assignment I have to break the law. I don't have any particular problem with doing this because the law is stupid and designed by bureaucrats who don't know jack shit about trucking. I shall explain:
The law states that 14 hours from when a trucker starts his day, he or she MUST stop working for a period of at least 10 hours. That may seem reasonable on the surface, but it doesn't take into account the realities of the world. For example, I woke up at 5:30 this morning. Started driving at about 6:00 and got to my delivery location at about 6:30. Once there, I found out about the new assignment which isn't ready until 2:00pm. Seven hours later. And the trip is 450 miles or so and is due at 7:00 Friday morning. The drive will take me between 9 and 10 hours or so. If I followed the letter of the law, I would be forced to stop at 7:30pm tonight no matter how far I've gone and take a 10 hour break. It DOESN'T MATTER that I've had a period of 7 hours off during the day where I've relaxed, rested, eaten, showered, and generally taken it easy and recouperated. I get no credit for that. Even if I spend it sleeping (which I can't really do since I just slept all night long). If I followed the law I could only make it about half-way to Milwaukee.
But that isn't what I'll be doing. According to my log book I haven't even started working yet. I'll begin my day at about noon'ish and show making the drop off and the pickup in Lexington at aproximately the same time. I'll then have 14 hours from noon (or until 2am) to complete the trip to Milwaukee. I wont be tired at all since I've relaxed all morning long and it isn't like I have to work overnight. Just part of the evening. It's really no big deal.
And the risk is all mine. Were I to get into an accident or get stopped by a state trooper between now and when I plan to begin my day officially, I'd be fucked. That's pretty unlikely though.
Every once and a while you hear in the news about a trucker who was in an accident and driving illegally. Take it from me... 9 times out of 10 the driver is perfectly awake and alert. The accident most likely wasn't even their fault (most accidents involving trucks are caused by cars). But the trucker still gets screwed in the end because the laws are unrealistic.
If you've read all this, give yourself a cookie.
EDIT: Now the load isn't ready until 6pm. So in other words I'll be driving all night long. I hate that. I'm definitely a "solar powered" truck driver. It's ridiculously difficult to re-adjust your internal clock to be alert all night long when you've been working days.
So, in other words I have 7 hours to kill followed by a 450 mile trip to Milwaukee. I have no particular problem with Milwaukee except that in order to get there I have to go through Chicago. Now... Chicago sucks ass. Major ass. I love the town and have visited on more than one occasion. But DRIVING there is the problem. The city's highways seem to be in a constant state of "fucked up" no matter what time of day it is. You can find 10-mile backed-up traffic even at 3am. So anyhow, I will keep my fingers crossed for an easy trip but I've learned to always be pessimistic when it comes to the windy city.
Now... another interesting point about today. In order for me to complete my assignment I have to break the law. I don't have any particular problem with doing this because the law is stupid and designed by bureaucrats who don't know jack shit about trucking. I shall explain:
The law states that 14 hours from when a trucker starts his day, he or she MUST stop working for a period of at least 10 hours. That may seem reasonable on the surface, but it doesn't take into account the realities of the world. For example, I woke up at 5:30 this morning. Started driving at about 6:00 and got to my delivery location at about 6:30. Once there, I found out about the new assignment which isn't ready until 2:00pm. Seven hours later. And the trip is 450 miles or so and is due at 7:00 Friday morning. The drive will take me between 9 and 10 hours or so. If I followed the letter of the law, I would be forced to stop at 7:30pm tonight no matter how far I've gone and take a 10 hour break. It DOESN'T MATTER that I've had a period of 7 hours off during the day where I've relaxed, rested, eaten, showered, and generally taken it easy and recouperated. I get no credit for that. Even if I spend it sleeping (which I can't really do since I just slept all night long). If I followed the law I could only make it about half-way to Milwaukee.
But that isn't what I'll be doing. According to my log book I haven't even started working yet. I'll begin my day at about noon'ish and show making the drop off and the pickup in Lexington at aproximately the same time. I'll then have 14 hours from noon (or until 2am) to complete the trip to Milwaukee. I wont be tired at all since I've relaxed all morning long and it isn't like I have to work overnight. Just part of the evening. It's really no big deal.
And the risk is all mine. Were I to get into an accident or get stopped by a state trooper between now and when I plan to begin my day officially, I'd be fucked. That's pretty unlikely though.
Every once and a while you hear in the news about a trucker who was in an accident and driving illegally. Take it from me... 9 times out of 10 the driver is perfectly awake and alert. The accident most likely wasn't even their fault (most accidents involving trucks are caused by cars). But the trucker still gets screwed in the end because the laws are unrealistic.
If you've read all this, give yourself a cookie.
EDIT: Now the load isn't ready until 6pm. So in other words I'll be driving all night long. I hate that. I'm definitely a "solar powered" truck driver. It's ridiculously difficult to re-adjust your internal clock to be alert all night long when you've been working days.
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