FedEx Freight | City Driver covering Shuttle runs

Should this be a safety concern that would require a policy change?

  • yes

    Votes: 9 50.0%
  • no

    Votes: 9 50.0%

  • Total voters
    18
We see now, in vivid print, why safety is NOT the highest concern for many. Exactly why safety often takes a back seat, from a cultural standpoint. Well stated, but wrong none the less.

Be well rested and ready at all times, day or night. The better rested you are for one scenario, the less rested you'll be for the other. Great expectations. Again, anyone will likely be good for the trip out, but the return flight might kill you. Or worse, someone else.

And the icing on the cake? When someone does voice their concern, on this or any other unsafe practice, they are told to "suck it up buttercup". The typical response, ridicule and shame. No wonder most don't say a word. :nono h4h:
Has nothing to do with safety. As I stated, if one is not “properly rested” then take another 24 to get properly rested and return tomorrow night to try again...simple. Using the “not properly rested” argument because someone doesn’t want to work nights is a cop out IMO and perhaps they need to seek other employment. In LTL, if you’re at the bottom of your job class board, nights is certainly a possibility and it’s a definite for road so it’s the driver’s responsibility to get rested.

The FMCSA recommends a 10-15 min “power nap” when fatigue is present and I’ve never known our company to ever reprimand any driver for stopping to take a nap(s). Sorry, it’s not a safety issue when there are steps in place to prevent it from becoming a safety issue.

No, the cake is the issue, the icing is when someone is asked to do something the rest of us has already done and they want to complain and look for sympathy from us because they simply don’t want to do it. We didn’t want to do it either but we sucked it up and got the job done...SAFELY...perhaps buttercup should do the same or take a bid next time.
 
Has nothing to do with safety. As I stated, if one is not “properly rested” then take another 24 to get properly rested and return tomorrow night to try again...simple. Using the “not properly rested” argument because someone doesn’t want to work nights is a cop out IMO and perhaps they need to seek other employment. In LTL, if you’re at the bottom of your job class board, nights is certainly a possibility and it’s a definite for road so it’s the driver’s responsibility to get rested.

The FMCSA recommends a 10-15 min “power nap” when fatigue is present and I’ve never known our company to ever reprimand any driver for stopping to take a nap(s). Sorry, it’s not a safety issue when there are steps in place to prevent it from becoming a safety issue.

No, the cake is the issue, the icing is when someone is asked to do something the rest of us has already done and they want to complain and look for sympathy from us because they simply don’t want to do it. We didn’t want to do it either but we sucked it up and got the job done...SAFELY...perhaps buttercup should do the same or take a bid next time.
Red, this is a far better reply than your "suck it up buttercup" post. :1036316054:

Still, you seem to think the concerned driver simply doesn't want to run at night, even though he/she said that is NOT the case. The danger of a night to day flip is equally risky.

Keeping this short, at least you offered some advice on how to deal with the situation. Far more admirable and helpful. I won't share how many sun rises I've seen on a single run, but being a master of the art of the logbook, this was the (actual) vital tool used on those rare and inadvisable occurrences:


TtaVXHt.jpg


Again, when (any) safety concerns are raised, it's far better to assist and advise, rather than use shame and ridicule, as is common in this industry, and as this thread clearly shows. At least think about it. It might save a life, avoid an accident or injury, etc.
 
SwampRatt, I never meant to ridicule or shame anyone. It just seemed ludicrous to me that someone in this industry has an issue with how it works.

It seemed like a garbage man complaining about the smell, or a lifeguard complaining about getting wet.

We as drivers give up safety and long term health for a great paycheck and job security. I never assumed that a trucking boards poll or a complaint filed somewhere farther up the corporate ladder could provide me a better quality of life...

Then again, that's probably the reason that I've stuck around long enough to get a steady run and all that comes with it...
 
I am unassigned and the bottom guy. I left FedEx and come back losing my seniority. I ran road and was laid off in the 2009 lay offs. I come back as a city driver for 2 years and things got real slow again, so I had to jump ship with another company. I jumped back on board when things picked up again, and for the most part I am very satisfied with the city hours I am getting now. And to be clear about running shuttle. I don't mind running it. I did it for years.. My whole beef is not telling me until the morning of that I am being switched to nights after sleeping all night. I just feel that a 24 hour minimum notice should be given to allow a CITY driver to adjust. I know extra board ROAD drivers at the bottom get kicked around. Been there too. That's why I chose to stay in the city and not go back to a road position.
Update on the shuttle run I was supposed to take. It got cancelled.. Good thing it did, because I did not get the rest I needed. So, I missed an entire days work for nothing. And the city side was short handed and did not get all their pickups.
I did file a complaint through the alert line, to try and get some sort of resolution. Talking to management hasn't worked. As a matter of fact, I got snapped at for voicing my concerns of not being to sleep that day because I had already slept all night.. Anyway, I called today to see what time I needed to be there for my city run, to be told I wasn't needed today and to enjoy my day off. So now I feel I am being retaliated against.
I feel for you, salty. This is garbage...plain and simple. When I was at Conway (XPO), they pulled this crap ALL the time. Call in at 6am...”nothing yet, call back at 8”. Call in at 8am...”nothing, call back at 10”...and so on. Told at 1pm there was nothing for that day, so I said I’ll check back tomorrow morning. Then...you guessed it...the phone rings at 5:59pm...”need you for a (14-hour) night run tonight at 8pm”. So, after being awake all damn day, you gotta report for work at 8.

I’m with a Union carrier now, and if non-bid city drivers are called off for the day, they cannot bring you in that night for work. That’s the rule. If he/she WANTS to report to work, that might be a different story.
 
Truckload? Really? Talk about radically inconsistent sleep patterns... The only good thing, there is a bed right there. If you can find a place to park.
With truckload, as long as you make your appointments it doesn’t matter how you get there. Granted, dispatchers are notorious for giving little to no time to get there (atleast back in my day) but I found it easier to make better time driving at night vs the congested, accident, construction zone filled daytime highways...and it was a lot less stressful too!!
 
Red, this is a far better reply than your "suck it up buttercup" post. :1036316054:

Still, you seem to think the concerned driver simply doesn't want to run at night, even though he/she said that is NOT the case. The danger of a night to day flip is equally risky.

Keeping this short, at least you offered some advice on how to deal with the situation. Far more admirable and helpful. I won't share how many sun rises I've seen on a single run, but being a master of the art of the logbook, this was the (actual) vital tool used on those rare and inadvisable occurrences:


TtaVXHt.jpg


Again, when (any) safety concerns are raised, it's far better to assist and advise, rather than use shame and ridicule, as is common in this industry, and as this thread clearly shows. At least think about it. It might save a life, avoid an accident or injury, etc.
After going back and re-reading the original poster’s comments, he said he wanted a 24 hr notice...LMAO!! That’s basically saying he didn’t want to do it without saying it, especially in our industry!! There’s a danger with everything we do, that’s why we’re considered professionals and also why we’re paid what we are.
 
Perhaps he should change the color of his shirt, as in go to the dark side.
Then he could work on making that difference, until then, it's fitting he goes by salty (tears).
 
We are one in the same with our sleeping habits and yes, I understand that everyone is different, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we’re only talking about one day/night. For the remainder of the week it’s not hard to keep that sleeping arraignment.

Trust me, we could go on and on about today’s generation and what they can and can’t do..not all of them of course...but maybe LTL isn’t for them. Perhaps they’d be better suited for truckload.
Truckload has it's own problem where you're chasing the clock all week. And, for some at least, the fact that it's just one day can make it even worse.

I suppose I might be a little spoiled, being in the LTL sector and not being exposed to these issues as a result of my labor being contractual, and we are certainly in agreement about the next generation. But the reality is that the next generation is the one filling the ranks now, and taking a view of them not being cut out for it because of this or that doesn't change the fact that without them the industry pushes ever harder for automation. And that one will eventually impact all of us. To say nothing of how the industry claims to be changing to be more inclusive, a blatant lie with practices that force you into a box still so common.

I think there's a broader discussion to be had here about the industry, it's practices, and what we as drivers can do to make things better for all of us. Despite what the young folks think, we all know they don't know everything. And I think there's room to improve on that attitude via demonstration. If each of us took time out of our day, even just a minute or two, it's amazing what we can teach others. There used to be a time in this industry that a man with whiskers would teach a young man the things he needed to know to succeed and have a long career as a driver. Nowadays, the company tells them everything the school doesn't, both are wrong, and the young driver becomes frustrated when nothing he's been told ends up working.

Maybe, just maybe it'd pay off if, instead of writing off the new folks as know-nothing know-it-alls, we help them when we start seeing them get disillusioned and frustrated. Stop seeing them as competition in the rat race and start looking at them as an investment in the future. Because if they take to this job, it ensures those of us already here will work well into the future.

Just a thought, I suppose.
 
SwampRatt, I never meant to ridicule or shame anyone. It just seemed ludicrous to me that someone in this industry has an issue with how it works.


It seemed like a garbage man complaining about the smell, or a lifeguard complaining about getting wet.


We as drivers give up safety and long term health for a great paycheck and job security. I never assumed that a trucking boards poll or a complaint filed somewhere farther up the corporate ladder could provide me a better quality of life...


Then again, that's probably the reason that I've stuck around long enough to get a steady run and all that comes with it...

Fair enough, to a point. Yes, being a professional truck driver is (at it's core) a matter of dealing with adversity. City, road, each have challenges that involve danger, risk, and adapting, to minimize it.

I think, too often, just because things were done in the past, it becomes part of the current expectation. We are all guilty to some degree. We also pride ourselves on getting it done despite the danger, when in many cases the risk is NOT justified. Endless variables and specific instances aside, we should not be pressured by dispatchers, customers, or (especially) other drivers, into taking unnecessary risk.

The inconvenience of alternative solutions, for one, does not justify the risk to others. We, as veteran drivers, should try to offer solutions, tactics, guidance, when asked.

Not picking on you. We, as a group, tend to expect the next gen to "figure it out", like we did. Look at the driver in this video. Some advice could sure help the situation. Frustrating and disturbing to watch...

 
With truckload, as long as you make your appointments it doesn’t matter how you get there. Granted, dispatchers are notorious for giving little to no time to get there (atleast back in my day) but I found it easier to make better time driving at night vs the congested, accident, construction zone filled daytime highways...and it was a lot less stressful too!!
In my experience (yeah it's been a while), the dispatch usually started out fine and dandy. More often than not, by the time the loads finally get unloaded, loaded, etc, the situation goes from sweet to sour.

Yeah, I could always make it look good on paper via sleeper berth entry, or similar tactic. But the reality was, it often became impossible to be rested AND get the job done (make money). Suck it up, it's the nature of the job, right? Yeah I did it. Would I recommend the new guy behind me do it? NO, absolutely not. That's the whole point.
 
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