TForce | Winter driving

renegadebaileys

TB Regular
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Is it me or has central gone from the let's cancel every run for a single snow flake to run until the truck can grip the road anymore? We have had at least 2 major storms here in HRS and so far local dispatch has actually had to cut runs because central had no idea there was even a storm and both times we had trucks that were stuck out in the storm or were sent out because central said run. I know we have to service the customers but I thought safety was more important. I guess our lives only matter as far as they can make the company money.
 
I do not wait for central or anyone to cancel my run. I decide whether its safe to run or not.
Happened last night. central had no idea a major snow event was happening across Kansas and Missouri, I accessed the situation and decided if I was to go out I would only pull doubles , wanted me to go with triples, I said no, not safe. Of course its up to YOU the driver. NOT CENTRAL! a driver out of Salina Kansas got stuck on a hill, in fact two of them did, $1400.00 a piece to get a tow truck to get them up the hill. not to mention they let one driver pull empties! I'm fine with driving in snow storms, I'm NOT fine with how others drive though, I try to get the road to myself, don't want vehicles in the front or tailgating me, and I stick to a speed I am comfortable in driving, feel the road and stay focused, actually didn't have any problems and was only 30 minutes later to my destination than normal.
 
Best not to drive beyond your own personal judgment of what is safe or not.
Well cuz if anything negative comes of it you can guess who will be to blame.

Don't make a bit of difference what dispatch says,they are not the ones who have to protect their CDL.
 
Working local for Overnite several years ago, been snowing all day. I was doing p&d as far north on 1-81 as Woodstock, Va. Had a delivery for a building contractor in New Market, Va who was building a motel up on the road going to the battleground, it was up a hill. I stopped at 7/11(before cell phones) and called dispatch and told him that I thought it was too bad to go up to the construction site. I was told, "do the best you can". To make a long story short, I did do the best I could, I buried the truck up to the fuel tanks. I called in and told the dispatcher, "hey if I could have buried it any farther, I would have, done the best I could". For a $50.00 freight bill, it cost Overnite $500 to get me out. I did what the dispatcher said, "do the best you can":36:
 
Well The Best looks like another case of penny wise & dollar foolish.
Overnite is not the only company that ever made bone headed decisions,that cost more than they would have profited.

Back in the late 80's when LTL's were dropping out of business right after deregulation of the trucking industry.
When the larger companies were discounting the freight rates.
The companies that couldn't compete sited poor management as the reason they went bankrupted.

I know this as I worked for 15 who closed their doors before I hired on with Overnite.
I know Overnite survived because they made less bone headed mistakes then the rest that went under.
 
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The main thing is the "timing" of these weather events...The weatherman will make a big deal out of the forecast and 5 out of 10 times its nothing to be worried about. I don't know why with all this tech they cant get a forecast right within 12 hours. I will leave our terminal with no weather and come back to a blizzard, it happens ALL THE TIME, either way its never bad weather leaving or arriving at either terminals on the same day and I always get caught in between. Question is driver, what would you do? No motel and your less than a 100 miles from home.
 
...The weatherman will make a big deal out of the forecast and 5 out of 10 times its nothing to be worried about. I don't know why with all this tech they cant get a forecast right within 12 hours.

I look at three different weather reporting agencies, The National Weather Service, The Weather Channel and Accu Weather. Here is my opinion, when comparing the tree: The National Weather Service leans very heavy towards the worse weather. Accu Weather tends to lean towards the side of good weather and The Weather Channel comes in the middle. So take your pick. Personally, I trust Accu Weather & the Weather Channel a little more than I do the National Weather Service for accuracy. I think that the reason the National Weather Service leans towards the worse is because they don't want to be caught with "their britches down".
 
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