Waiting time ?

[Pat Hasler]

Since moving to this country and driving here I am amazed by the tales I hear about drivers sitting around for days waiting for loads without pay !!!

I have to say that if in any job I had to sit around in a truck stop for days without any financial compensation I would be headed home empty and the company could keep their job.

In my first driving job here with Bill I have to say I never had any problems, we would wait 2 hours if needed and after that we were paid hourly, if it went too long we were just told to forget it and return to base, this to me is the sign of a good employer who knows that family comes first.

The company I work for now has very few backhauls, I usually return to base empty without even calling in. If there is a backhaul I am usually informed of it before I even set out.

I heard two drivers talking on the CB at Bordentown NJ Petro about being there for the week waiting for reloads.  I would no longer be there LOL

[Jean Ouellet]

Too bad that all the company do not act like your employer! The longuest I had to wait was 4 hours...  I am starting for a new employer tommorow, hope it goes well!

[Tommy Davis]

All kinds of stories on this subject.  Dispatch to pickup sevling for a major retailer, everybody goes there to shop  lol  Had to wait three days, with 20 other trucking companies, our trucks was parked side by side with no food or bathrooms.  Was really a bad situation and the company first said they would pay for the delay but was a lie, did not get anything.  The grass was greener on the other side after this.  They are bad dispatchers out there, and forget about you, while on site to pickup. Just beware on what they get you into.   Does not matter if you are the best driver the company has, if they want you on a pickup site.  TWD

[Fred Davidsin]

i have since retired after 35 yrs on the road. The last company I ran for was a very good company at first when the original owner ran it, but when he stepped down and another member of the family took over, thats when things started to go down hill, pays were cut, couldn't find anyone that had a nice word to say about this new owner, stabbing drivers in the back, NO I mentioned it a few times to the up and up's  drivers take allot of crap on the road from, dispatchers,customers,dot.mot,borders,scale (that are in resting places), traffic,log books that have to be correct....we take this as part of our job..but YOU mess with our pays that's when it stops.Allot of brokers left and many company drivers left also.. I won't mention the name of the company as from what I have heard they are few on the road..:)

[phil thompson]

unfortunately the states treat their drivers worse the ours they make less per mile as well as lots of other stuff like waiting days with no compensation its sad but its been like that for a long time

now im not saying we don't have some carriers here that do that but i wouldn't work there for long

we get paid after 3hrs waiting and i think i got layed over 2 times last year which i get 200 bucks every 24hrs

i believe a hourly wage is what we need this way any wasted time would be charged back to the company causing this

i also find the worst company's for waiting time is in the states which just proves my theory that they don't give a rats ass for the driver

[phil thompson]

maybe you should mention the company save another driver some headaches i work for roadfast a division of quikx which was bought by transforce last January i take 3 months off in the winter and am planing to go back April 1st i hope they haven't changed anything except to make it better but if not i will leave and find another place to work for and i have been there 9yrs but we have to male a living and be as happy as possible in a already bad industry we have chosen to work in..

ps bet u miss the old days when we could actually make a good living at this

Fred Davidsin said:

i have since retired after 35 yrs on the road. The last company I ran for was a very good company at first when the original owner ran it, but when he stepped down and another member of the family took over, thats when things started to go down hill, pays were cut, couldn't find anyone that had a nice word to say about this new owner, stabbing drivers in the back, NO I mentioned it a few times to the up and up's  drivers take allot of crap on the road from, dispatchers,customers,dot.mot,borders,scale (that are in resting places), traffic,log books that have to be correct....we take this as part of our job..but YOU mess with our pays that's when it stops.Allot of brokers left and many company drivers left also.. I won't mention the name of the company as from what I have heard they are few on the road..:)

[dan bestfelt]

In my 32 years of OTR I would only haul dedicated loads.I knew then were it was going and the freight coming back to my home company to be distibuted out by are local drivers.Plus I did not have to handle the freight,all drop and hook.

[Rhett Butler]

Unfortunately that does happen with some companies and I'm with you. If you can't keep me loaded I better get some compensation for sitting or you can have the truck back! Every company I ever worked for paid something for sitting usually until the next day but no more than 24 hours. If these guys spent a week waiting on a load they were probably owner/operators that wouldn't take cheap freight loads (I don't blame them) but ya know anything to get outta a bad freight area usually leads to a better paying load outta the destination.

I've seen expediters (Fedex or Panther) sit in Ontario, CA for several days, usually in the spring when dry freight is tight, but that's a different type of running compared to OTR drivers.

[dan bestfelt]

I also remember when I started driving big trucks 32 years ago there were no CDLs to get.If you had a chauffers license and were over 25 you could drive big trucks.I also can remember no log books,no scales,no bridge laws,no piss tests,I,m dam glad I made it this far.What I do miss is all the drivers I would meet out there.Now at least I have this site to bring back some fond memories.To all,Be careful and be safe.

[David Naus]

You know it Pat: I was doing demonstration with Xp3  by a national carrier the other day and sat down with an Owner Operator who was waiting on his city run for over an hour and a half. We all know what that means.

[Chris Reed]

Well, 2 or 3 days is over the top but over the years I spent a lot of time and didn't get paid until the second hour went by. At best. So, I am told that my time is worth nothing. And if I sit for 24 or more hours, oh well? So my question is this. What other occupation gets treated like this? I don't know but I can't think of one.

[Tami Paulus]

 

I must say, you are lucky to be working with a company that is really concerned about their employees. It is rare in today’s world. Most of the drivers have a complaint about the waiting periods they’ve had to go through. It is sad that they have to go through all the trouble and end up getting nothing. Proves that the companies are least bothered about their drivers. L

[Pat Hasler]

Tami, As I stated my first company here was and still is owned by Bill (St Ann Transportation). They are a real family friendly company, I was treated like a member of his own family, Bill really cares about his drivers, but then it is a smallish firm. The company I drive for now is Foodliner and the run over a thousand trucks and I have no doubt you will talk to some who have worked there who will complain, those are the guys who usually expect everything for nothing in return and show no loyalty. The drivers at my terminal are so happy with the job it's suprising. We all get paid when in workshops waiting around, or delayed by the customer, if we have a family problem that takes priority over work as far they they are concerned.