DOT Bumper

The DOT Bumper is the bumper on the back of semi-trailers. This bumper is designed to keep cars from going underneath the trailer and decapitating passengers. Think about that the next time you are following a tractor-trailer too closely.

Chewing Gum - vehicles that follow so closely behind a tractor-trailer that the driver cannot see them in their mirrors. Some drivers do this to save fuel, thinking that if the get close enough to the truck they will not have wind resistance and the wind draft behind the truck will pull them along, thus the use of less fuel. What is the trade off here though?

Living or saving fuel. Keep my head attached or who cares if it is there or not?

If you happen to miss the DOT Bumper, guess what is next? Those big hard tires that will roll over and flatten everything. On the way in you will lose the roof of your vehicle and everything above the heighth of your seat back.

Oh, and if you are expecting the driver to maneuver the truck in a way to avoid hurting you, don't count on it. I am sure the driver will do everything in his/her power to make the accident less fatal, however, there is only so much maneuvering that can be done with a loaded trailer traveling down the highway at 60 MPH without jack-knifing.

Super Trucker

Trucker with a superior attitude. This type of trucker is most likely the ones that end up laying on their side, upside down, or jack-knifed along the roadway. They think they own the road and try to run over anyone in their way. They push/tailgate others who are going at speeds slower than they are. They come in all ages and different levels of experience. If one of these come upon you, it is best to treat them as an agressive driver and let them pass you, because they are not using common sense. With a fully loaded tractor-trailer they would be carrying a combined weight of 80,000 pounds. Take that figure and calculate how long it will take them to stop if traveling at 60 MPH. They are supposed to be following at a rate of 7 seconds in dry weather and 14 seconds in wet/inclement weather in order to have time to stop. That is about 7 or 14 striped lines in the middle of the highway/interstate. The trucker who is following a car on their bumper has no respect for their safety nor the lives of the individuals in front of them.

I also have to point out a safety factor here for cars and other vehicles sharing the highway/interstate with the tractor-trailers. If you pass a semi, you should not merge back into the lane in front of the semi until you are at least 7 seconds in front of the semi. Merging any closer puts your life at risk if you happen to hit your brakes. I am sure you have seen the signs that are popping up on the freeway that says, "Leave more space, don't get a ticket". If you pay close attention to that sign, you will see about 7 dashed lines between the semi and the arrow that puts the car back into the lane in front of it. You can be ticketed for following too closely to another vehicle or pulling too closely in front of a semi. The standard following distance between two automobiles is two seconds. That would be about two of those striped lines. This would give you reaction time to hit your brakes if the vehicle in front of you happens to hit their brakes.

Miles vs Hourly Pay

When considering a truck driving job you should examine closely the pay rate. There are some companies that pay by the mile and some that pay by the hour, and then there are some that pay both. One thing you need to find out is whether the company is paying "mover miles" or actual mileage. The difference in actual mileage vs mover miles may be small but can add up over a pay period.

If you are looking for a truck driving job there are several web pages on the internet that compare trucking companies which may be of interest to you. I have listed them below.

• TruckFLIX
• EveryTruckJob
• BetterDriverJobs
• FindaTruckingJob
• truckdrivingcdljobs
• Truck Driving Jobs

If you want to find more web pages like the ones above just Google "truck driving jobs".

Ending Career with Schneider

Yes, it is true. I am laying down my Schneider hat and moving on. It is not a decision to give up my Commercial Drivers License (CDL). I will most definitely keep my CDL intact, so don't give up on my trucking blog. I will continue to post entries in my blog which may or may not be directly related to truck driving. When there are things that fit more into my phylisophical blog, I will place the entries there, so be sure to check it out as well. There are a lot of things that crossed my mind while driving that I did not have the time to post due to the lack of personal time to get onto the computer. Now that I have my personal time back, I will be posting into my blogs more frequently.

Why did I give up Over The Road (OTR) driving?

The primary reason is so I could enjoy what I had worked so long for all of my life, my house, my home, and my family. Family is very important and should not be taken for granted. My wonderful wife was very supportive of me while I continued to try to make the OTR driving work. It was both our decision for me to give up what was keeping us apart and robbing us of our personal time together.

Another reason for giving up on Schneider was the unreasonable delivery times. After making my decision to leave I had spoken to several other drivers on the account I was driving for, only to find out they shared the same opinion and made the comment that several other drivers had already left for the same reason.

Schneider National OTR drivers were given a raise to 40 cents per mile while drivers on the account I was driving for were not given the same raise. While individual dedicated accounts would be reviewed at a later time to determine what, if any, raise they would get, I had already made my decision to leave and was not staying around to find out what it would be. It is more difficult to provide raises to dedicated accounts since the contracts with the company that hires the dedicated accounts has to be revisited and renegotiated before any raises can be passed onto the drivers and individuals working the accounts.

There is light at the end of the tunnel though. About half a dozen jobs have opened up in the Federal Government in the same profession that I used to work. I will be diligently applying for these positions.

While I am waiting for something to show up, I have the opportunity to do some part time driving for one of my friends who owns a trucking company.

Stay tuned, and don't give up on my trucking blog. There is more to come.

Morgantown, Pennsylvania

The Walmart receipt and my Bill of Lading says Elverson, but the maps and the sign says Morgantown. Go figure. I found the farm house with the silos across the street from the shopping center very interesting, along with the big building at the top of the hill in the back drop. There is also a runway for small planes to land across the street from the shopping center. I was surprised to see a small plane coming in for a landing there this afternoon. I was also awaken from my sleep to find out that the place I had parked was used for a cruise in on Thursday nights, so I had to move over into the Walmart parking lot.

Worcestor, New York

A picture near Worcestor, New York off I-88 from a rest area. You can see the pretty colors of leaves on the trees.

Vermont

A picture near Ira, Vermont just west of Rutland, Vermont. I took this picture on the way back from a delivery in Rutland. The last time I went to Rutland there was snow on the ground. I remember the welcome station just inside the border in Vermont. When there was snow on the ground and it was ice cold outside, they provided free hot flavored coffee.

Article about Speed Limits

My wife found the following article related to speed limits which is very interesting. Enjoy it as long as the link works!

Speed Limit Article