You and your DSR and what do they do

I am a Company driver. (NOt an o/o). I wonder what the dsr does and is this job a needed function. My challenge prove to me the dsr is worth the money. I suggest boot them all, leave it to the planners, and give me a raise (lol). your thoughts and please state if o/o.

 

Do I dislike driveing for Roehl, the true answer is No. I love driveing always have and always will. My biggest problem is the hype that is promoted inside this and other boards which in the end hurts new drivers.

There is nothing that sickens my stomach more then seeing a new driver at a terminal or on the road who is ready to toss in the towel because he/she can not get the proper assistance that they need. I will site 2 normal examples Bad directions and illegal routes ( or should i say roads that an experinced driver would avoid).

Both of them problems could be easily avoided. Heck Roehl even pays people to take care of this. they just choose not to do the job they are supposed to do.

Some people are cut out to do this job and others aren't but to make somebody feel that they are 100% at fault 100% of the time to me is not accpetable.

I want to work for the best trucking company. Rick wants the best trucking company. I want middle management to stop dragging there collective beauracratic heels and lets do what we are supposed to do. Shut up and drive.

So if middle management does not want to do there job lets give them boot. Rick is a pretty smart guy and i hope he still believes in his drivers.

So now I am focused on the DSR's. Mine is nice, polite,curtious but in fact seems to have zero responsibility for anything.

As far as my post on the honors program, I read alot more info on it and I still dislike they are showing the GI bill as part of the salary. If you want to stand up for our military great. Want to teach them to drive trucks great. I am all for it. but pay them the same and let the gi bill be there bonus money. They deserve it. So you might take a money loss on training, or they might not stay for whatever reason. But maybe just maybe you will get the right ones for a lifetime.

These are of course just my opinions as I see them. and trust me when i say i will have more. I have been silent here for 2 years. the silence has been broken

 

Glad you are onboard with the program and as always I wish every new driver out there the best of luck. I know and understand that each individual has there own unique circumstances and I do truely hope you and all the others will do well.

I strongly suggest you get a lap top with some form of navigation program, I use streets and trips. Don't waste your money on .. LOL can't think of the name but the ones you see at pilot and other truckstops. screens are to small and hard to navigate with them for me anyways.

Now back to topic DSR what are they good for other then being a telephone operator. Messenger service. LOL the monkey in the middle. sorry that just came to me. I liked having a dispatcher, I dislike being empty and haveing to wait for the allocated 45 to 60 min. I liked haveing my preplans in advance, I dislike getting a preplan that I have about 30 seconds to look at cause i am 45 miles away with 30 minutes to get there. My dispatcher would not allow this to happen. My DSR says well just do your best. My dispatcher could help me handle a specific problem, My DSR sends an email to customer service. My DSR is useless to me, but my dispatcher did a great job. My DSR actually has more miles then I have driven. But my dispatcher used to keep me rolling.

 

Cross routeing will start to flow easier the more you do it, practice will help you in this skill. But always keep your eyes open, danger can come in a split second.

As far as mounting, the laptop not clear what Roehls stance is on that. Nothing in the DRG that says you can or can not. What you may have seen mounted was the driver tech pc. This is a test program on around 300 tractors. They are testing it to possibly replace the qualcom unit. I have heard both good and bad things about this project. But it does have a form of real time navigation.

My personal view: I would like to have my laptop mounted for navigation. Emails,IM and other forms of communication should NOT be used when driveing. (think most drivers would agree to that).

 

I know what ya mean Cheryl. I had one of the best DSR's in town, but she quit the company was just to tired of trying to fight an uphill battle everyday all day.

Situation: Running low on fuel, No fuel for 80 miles, Fuel stop not in truckstop guide. Exit number on interstate does not exist. If fuel stop is not there will run out of fuel.

Step 1: Called DSR. she stated that it was probably a new truckstop and to continue to fuel stop.

FOLLOW UP: (DSR's seem to miss this step) She called me back 10 minutes later said she had talked to the fuel stop and even told me the correct way to turn off interstate.

Gave here a cookie when i got back into town she liked cookies and I loved knowing that i could depend on somebody to assist me when i needed the help.

 

If I ran into that same situation today I think this is the message i would get.

Sent an email to the fuel dept.

Wait for around an hour to get this reply

Fuel dept says fuel stop is there.

But good news is I get to eat all the cookies.. lol