Wal-Mart DC- Hammond, La.

I have found the worst DC nightmare.
I was sent to Columbus, Oh. to pick up a load of powdered baby milk for Hammond. La. I usually loaded in Alta Vista, Va on a drop and hook to Opelousas, La for a drop and hook.
It took seven hours to load(another story) and I was upset. I headed out and had a great run. I had a full tank, kept the door closed, and took two bathroom stops. After my drop I was going home and that was what it was all about right?
I got to the DC and was shocked. I went to check in and the drivers room was full. After a few conversations I learned that some of the drivers had been there 5 to 7 hours. There were several immediate concerns. I had been driving 7 hours and would not be able to log more 2 to unload and make it home legally. There was a big sign that gave a set of rules that included not running the truck. It was the middle of summer and I understood why the drivers room was full. They actually had security to enforce this.
I called my company several times and the result was the same. They said they were working on it. I was resolved that 2 hours would be alright and I could stretch it to 2 1/2. I was pretty upset at the 3 hour mark and getting radical after 4 hours. All I could spare was 15 minutes and log getting home.
I had, up to this point, what I considered a dream job. I picked up in La. to Virginia then went by the yard in Alta Vista to pick up my already loaded trailer. I dropped this in Opelousas and a 40 minute drive home. I had a 4 day work week and cleared over $900.00.
After 7 hours I was allowed to bump a dock and an other hour to get unloaded. I could legally log this provided I did not drive any more. Another "rule" was that a driver had to leave immediately when unloaded. Now the Federal "Rules" are pretty clear on the facts of driver times. I was out of hours to drive and was told I had to proceed to the gate and check out. I called my company again and was told to go to the nearest truck stop.
Wal-Mart did not care if I would have to run illigal. Apparently, since Wal-mart is so big and was a big customer of my company, they did not care.
I was being forced to drive illigally past a serious scale to the nearest truck stop. What do you think I did? What would you do?
I called the company on Monday and told them I was not going to go to the Hammond DC again and was told my new dedicated run was from columbus to Hammond but they would work on the delivery times.
I quit what was a great job, thanks to Wal-Mart. Ok! and my company.

 

My question was, "what do you think I did?", not what I did. Mr. DOT if you read these posts I log legal.
My being lucky is not the point. I took the job I had because it was a permanent dedicated return home. The end effect is that a job that took 25 hours to complete would have to take upwards of 49 hours, an additional day, and no extra pay. Since my pick up and delivery had a reputation of taking hours to complete I was possibly looking at 15 hours of dock time as opposed to two drop and hooks.
Then I find out that the dedicated return run I had was being permanently moved and I would have an additional 100 miles deadhead to get home.
I have a clean MVR, good work record, and do not have to accept lies or take whatever is given to me. I have paid my dues and until the trucking industry is forced to work with drivers, and not against them, the trucker loses.
The point is that the hammond DC is a great place for truck drivers that like to work for free otherwise it is a terrible place.
It is very hard for drivers to make a fair legal living. I say this and some may say they always log legal. Companies are mandated to tell a driver to log it as it happens.
How many reading this, paid by the mile, can actually say they really log legal, as it happened, and it be the truth. I would like all to be honest but some tell a lie and tend to make it true in their head to justify things.
If you say you log legal lets take a look:
1)- Do you actually do a PTI as mandated by DOT?
2)- If you do is it a complete PTI. Have you looked at the DOT required PTI lately? If a person had a co-driver doing one side of the vehicle it still couldn't be done in 15 minutes.
3)- Even if you do the condensed version(not DOT approved but sort of accepted) do you log it as it actually happened or the standard accepted 15 minutes? If allowed do you sometimes log a PTI while fueling.
4)- Do you log docks as they happen or do you log a consistant 15 to 30 minutes at a dock?
5)- If required do you do the required safety stop after being loaded? If you do then you are among a class of few. Do you flag it?
6)- Do you log your miles and speed as it happens or do you average?
7)- do you log everything as it happens(not redundant) or do you log extra time left over from averaging as off duty?
8)- Do you log all the miles you drive or just what you get paid for? The majority of companies do not pay hub miles but either house hold movers(the worse) or one of the others that never pay all the miles driven. This is an industry accepted way of screwing a driver. The miles are always short and sometimes go from post office to post office. This is even with our current technology of accuracy.
9)- Do you log all the time at a dock as on duty not driving? If you do can you actually live on the legal miles you turn in?
10)- Do you log all the time waiting on dispatch to get a load as on duty not driving?
11)- Do you log time waiting on repairs as on duty not driving? Most companies dont start paying breakdown pay until after 24 hours.
There are many others.
If a driver logs a true legal PTI(as it happens and according to DOT mandate), the time waiting on dispatch, sitting at a dock, waiting in line to fuel, fueling, sitting at docks again(loading and unloading), a flat tire on the road, at a truck stop not eating but waiting on a call from dispatch, and many others, we would only have how many hours to actually drive?
When is the last time you sat on the road because of an accident? Did you log that as on duty not driving?
Take the challenge. Do you get paid by the mile? Do you really log legal as it actually happens?
Most drivers do not get paid for the work they do. What do you think?






[qote=Owner's Operator;634861]Several things:

1) The anti idling thing is beyond BS, they should have exceptions if the temperature is extreme.

2) No, Walmart or any other shipper/receiver does not give rat's rear if you drive legal or not.

3) Why didn't you just rewrite your log to at least get you to the truck stop? You didn't go through the scale with a "hot" log, did you?

But I'll be honest with you, if this is the worst you've experienced from a shipper or receiver you have been VERY lucky. The crap I've been through makes this seem like a pleasure cruise.[/quote]