When in a rush, getting there safely should always be your main priority!
There are situations that arise, all to often, where truck driver's feel the need to push themselves beyond what the average person would call "being safe". Almost any driver will tell you that getting there safely is thier main priority, but is it really?
We live in a world where how fast you can get something done determines ones ability to gain stature and respectability. It's a fast-paced world we live in, no doubt. Unfortunately, this need for speed comes at a dire cost. Over the past 20 years, I've had the priviledge of criss-crossing our nation as a truck driver, delivering freight to farms, towns and cities, getting there safely every time. Admittedly, there have been more than a few times that I actually wasn't as safe as I thought I should be.
"Why?", you ask?
There can be several mitigating factors involved when driving a truck.
Shippers & Recievers want thier freight picked up and delivered on time, but do little to get the truck loaded or unloaded in an expediant manner. This puts pressure on the driver to make up for the lost time spent sitting at the docks.
Dispatchers and Load Planners fail to take into consideration the above when scheduling pickups and deliveries. They assume that everything will be "good as gold" and that the driver will face no delays.
Traffic situations abound just about everywhere you go. I sat for 4 hours a couple weeks ago on the highway because of an accident that happened ahead of me. As a result, I ran out of logbook hours to operate, requiring a shutdown of my truck for 10 hours. This, in effect, put me 14 hours behind schedule. The load was late and I lost revenue because I couldn't pick up my next scheduled load on time. It had to be re-dispatched to another truck! Therefore, it's easily understandable why some drivers might operate outside the rules to avoid a loss of income.
Driving a truck is a stressful occupation. Schedules are such that any delay could cause a driver to lose potential income. One possible solution might be to require shippers and recievers, who unreasonably delay a driver, to pay a penalty for said delay. In many instances, this is standard practice now in the industry but there are still too many holdouts refusing to pay for the delay. There are also trucking companies who fail to charge a "detention fee" because of the current market trends. They fear losing a customer to another company more than willing to haul the freight at a lower cost, or without charging a detention fee.
Delays at the docks are tiresome, and costly. Drivers lose income, but they also lose available time to work when they are finally loaded/unloaded and released to move to thier next destination. Getting there safely becomes a challenge.
It's a debatable subject, but many believe that the current requirement for Electronic Log Devices (ELD's) in trucks are big problem. On one side of the issue are drivers who say if you drove legal before the ELD mandate went into effect, there's no reason to think the ELD will change your situation. On the other hand, there are drivers who claim that using the ELD creates more restricti0n on thier ability to get loads picked up and/or delivered on time.
It's claimed that the 14 hour rule plays a big factor in safety among truck drivers, and there are legal challenges to this rule currently being made. In a nutshell, drivers are allowed to work no more than 14 hours in a 24 hour period. This "clock" begins when they first go on-duty and doesn't stop. Example: If you start work at 7:00am, you have until 9:00pm to finish your days work. If you're a driver sitting at a dock for 5 hours (which isn't unusual) you now have only 9 hours that you can work, or drive.
For the general motoring public, this seems like more than enough time to be driving. Unfortunately, these people don't understand the responsibilies of a truck driver and the time constraints placed on him/her.
I know of no driver who purposely drives thier truck with the intention of being unsafe, however, circumstances may arise where some may choose to push the limit to get it there on time. When it comes down to brass tacks, every driver is responsible for operating both legally and safely. Getting there safely should be the main goal, while doing it legally at the same time.
Read the full article
There are situations that arise, all to often, where truck driver's feel the need to push themselves beyond what the average person would call "being safe". Almost any driver will tell you that getting there safely is thier main priority, but is it really?
We live in a world where how fast you can get something done determines ones ability to gain stature and respectability. It's a fast-paced world we live in, no doubt. Unfortunately, this need for speed comes at a dire cost. Over the past 20 years, I've had the priviledge of criss-crossing our nation as a truck driver, delivering freight to farms, towns and cities, getting there safely every time. Admittedly, there have been more than a few times that I actually wasn't as safe as I thought I should be.
"Why?", you ask?
There can be several mitigating factors involved when driving a truck.
Shippers & Recievers want thier freight picked up and delivered on time, but do little to get the truck loaded or unloaded in an expediant manner. This puts pressure on the driver to make up for the lost time spent sitting at the docks.
Dispatchers and Load Planners fail to take into consideration the above when scheduling pickups and deliveries. They assume that everything will be "good as gold" and that the driver will face no delays.
Traffic situations abound just about everywhere you go. I sat for 4 hours a couple weeks ago on the highway because of an accident that happened ahead of me. As a result, I ran out of logbook hours to operate, requiring a shutdown of my truck for 10 hours. This, in effect, put me 14 hours behind schedule. The load was late and I lost revenue because I couldn't pick up my next scheduled load on time. It had to be re-dispatched to another truck! Therefore, it's easily understandable why some drivers might operate outside the rules to avoid a loss of income.
Driving a truck is a stressful occupation. Schedules are such that any delay could cause a driver to lose potential income. One possible solution might be to require shippers and recievers, who unreasonably delay a driver, to pay a penalty for said delay. In many instances, this is standard practice now in the industry but there are still too many holdouts refusing to pay for the delay. There are also trucking companies who fail to charge a "detention fee" because of the current market trends. They fear losing a customer to another company more than willing to haul the freight at a lower cost, or without charging a detention fee.
Delays at the docks are tiresome, and costly. Drivers lose income, but they also lose available time to work when they are finally loaded/unloaded and released to move to thier next destination. Getting there safely becomes a challenge.
It's a debatable subject, but many believe that the current requirement for Electronic Log Devices (ELD's) in trucks are big problem. On one side of the issue are drivers who say if you drove legal before the ELD mandate went into effect, there's no reason to think the ELD will change your situation. On the other hand, there are drivers who claim that using the ELD creates more restricti0n on thier ability to get loads picked up and/or delivered on time.
It's claimed that the 14 hour rule plays a big factor in safety among truck drivers, and there are legal challenges to this rule currently being made. In a nutshell, drivers are allowed to work no more than 14 hours in a 24 hour period. This "clock" begins when they first go on-duty and doesn't stop. Example: If you start work at 7:00am, you have until 9:00pm to finish your days work. If you're a driver sitting at a dock for 5 hours (which isn't unusual) you now have only 9 hours that you can work, or drive.
For the general motoring public, this seems like more than enough time to be driving. Unfortunately, these people don't understand the responsibilies of a truck driver and the time constraints placed on him/her.
I know of no driver who purposely drives thier truck with the intention of being unsafe, however, circumstances may arise where some may choose to push the limit to get it there on time. When it comes down to brass tacks, every driver is responsible for operating both legally and safely. Getting there safely should be the main goal, while doing it legally at the same time.
Read the full article
