Time Out

Lori and Tamara are having to spend the day in Fairburn, GA after making the second of three drops in this current load. That's because stop #3 in Valdosta doesn't accept deliveries after 10 a.m., so it's hurry up and wait until tomorrow morning. Which actually is okay since they have both run out of hours they are legally allowed to drive this week. Twenty-four hours off will allow them to "reset" their hours.

Tamara, however, is trying to convince their fleet manager (FM) to have some other truck come get this trailer so Lori and Tamara can be put onto another load.

Lori and I talked about that approach and agreed we probably wouldn't do it that way. First, when you accept a load, the standup thing to do is finish it out if at all possible. Secondly, why make life difficult for your FM by asking him to find somebody else to finish your load? And if you think the load is so bad, why try to "dump" it on some other driver?

In this system, the quality of loads you are assigned is largely determined by your FM. And that means it pays to have a good relationship with your manager. You need to trust that he's assigning you the best load he can, based on the current circumstances as well as other loads that are coming available in the next few days. The FMs base their decisions on all sorts of information the drivers don't have, information the drivers really don't need to be worried about. Yet, some drivers try to second-guess their FM, assuming the FM is giving better loads to someone else. Yes, cynicism and the "entitlement" mentally exists in trucking, too.

FMs also need to trust that drivers will deliver the load on time and in good condition. Since FMs' pay is determined by how well their drivers do and your pay is determined by how many good paying loads you're assigned, it just makes sense to work together with your FM.