Want to see what Pam sees every day?

[glatt]

The view from the road before hand doesn't really show what is there under the roadway. You can see the guardrails get a little taller as they go over something. This is 2.95 miles north of the Chesterfield SC crossroads on RT 145.

[Carruthers]

As far as I can judge from the picture in Post #441, it would seem to qualify as a bridge culvert.



Link

[xoxoxoBruce]

Truck drivers a restless, pissed off, over worked, and underpaid, so the yearly
turnover rates reflect that.

Large carriers (over $27 million) = 98%
Small carriers (under $27 million) = 72%
Single and split load carriers = 14%

Overdrive

[Clodfobble]

98% of 18-wheeler drivers quit after a year on the job?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yes, but not quit driving, mostly change companies.

[BigV]

Trucks are cool.

*ahem*



Let us all bear witness to the *awesome* power of moving water.

[captainhook455]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

98% of 18-wheeler drivers quit after a year on the job?

Werner said my day off was the rest periods between driving. I once drove 9 weeks to get 9 days off for dental work. Got home 3 days late and they wanted me back on the scheduled day. I said fuck you motherfucker if I don't get my days you can come get the fucking truck. So I went back after 9 days off and the pricks never said a word.

I quit after 2 yrs and it was an interesting experience. The way the different state laws fuck the truckers in the ass without the benefit of anal lube. You know products would be a little cheaper if a owner/driver didn't have to go to the state capital for a tax sticker.

Back to the experience. I saw the border in El Paso, the Golden Gate which is brown, the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Las Angeles, Sturgis. Idk I have been everywhere, but Canada. I couldn't go there as I had a DUI in Jersey in 87. Since 03 when I quit I heard they changed the law up there. Trump probably wanted to visit.

I want to ride up to Jim's house in the spring, but don't want to take 95 through Philthe. All that traffic is right scary after living 25 yrs in the country. Maybe I will take the ferry. There are a few people to see on the way up in Gettysburg and my father's cousin in MD. Got to beat the heat and humidity of the southern states so I will have to think about what month to start. Well I see I am rambling, but I feel so much better.

[Undertoad]

Let us all bear witness to the *awesome* power of moving water.

[BigV]

maybe it would be a tie?

[Glinda]

Originally Posted by captainhook455

Werner said my day off was the rest periods between driving. I once drove 9 weeks to get 9 days off for dental work. Got home 3 days late and they wanted me back on the scheduled day. I said fuck you motherfucker if I don't get my days you can come get the fucking truck. So I went back after 9 days off and the pricks never said a word.

Good on ya. Fuck 'em!

Originally Posted by captainhook455

Back to the experience. I saw the border in El Paso, the Golden Gate which is brown, the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Las Angeles, Sturgis.

*aHem*

The color of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called international orange. The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog.

[Glinda]

Here's a thing I've wondered about for awhile, and it just occured to me to mention it in this thread:

I live in a pretty rural area of SW Washington, but I often see big rigs rolling down the country roads nearby. About a year ago, I learned why - seems these truckers are ditching I-5 just south of me and rejoining it just north of me, all to avoid an interstate weigh-in station.

Do trucking companies tell their drivers to do stuff like this as a matter of course? Or are the drivers going rogue? And why exactly would a driver want to avoid a station - maybe they know their rig isn't really safe? maybe their load is illegal? avoiding a delay/fees on the road between Portland OR and Seattle WA? What?

Thank you in advance for any enlightenment y'all might have.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Drivers for big companies have little or no control over the load. Owner/operators will sometimes carry more than legal.

[Glinda]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Drivers for big companies have little or no control over the load. Owner/operators will sometimes carry more than legal.

Ahh . . . That makes sense.

[Pamela]

That is true. Especially so for livestock, gravel/sand/dirt haulers and car carriers.

Jumping scales is illegal and the DOT knows which roads are commonly used for this purpose. They park portable scales at strategic points on those routes to snag unwary illegal truckers.

I have avoided scales from time to time for various reasons but not as a habit. Normally, I run legal.

I will offer another reason for truckers taking back roads.... the rise of the GPS. Sometimes the little box takes you on the scenic route to save you a few measly miles but adds an hour onto the trip. More than once, my GPS has told me to get off a freeway, take the frontage road for two miles, then get back onto the freeway! Why? It cuts a corner by a fraction but the traffic lights and lower speed limits make such a detour impractical. It is faster and safer to just stay on the freeway.

GPS is also a generic term for the routing software that many companies use called PC Miler. It finds the shortest route from A to B that is allegedly truck legal (not always true) so they can shave off a few miles that they don't have to pay you for. Using the HHG (HouseHold Goods) option only gives the mileage from one ZIP Code to another, which is what most if not all moving companies charge a customer (and pay the driver). This tends to cut off about ten percent of the actual (hub) miles the driver drives, thus underpaying him. Practical miles is more fair and is getting to be the industry standard nowadays.

My company pays practical miles, and pays fairly well too. I can't complain about that, although I do route myself rather than follow their sometimes convoluted route. Like everyone else, they say the routing is "suggested", thus letting themselves off the hook should their routing run a driver onto a no-truck road or into a low clearance. The difficulty of getting a semi out of such a situation can be tricky and at times involve heavy wreckers to get you back where you should be. The bosses will always say that the driver is responsible for following all laws and routing restrictions, which is nearly impossible given the ever-changing whims of towns and counties regarding heavy trucks on back (non-STAA) roads. I simply take that disclaimer to mean "ignore our routing and do it yourself".

Take my route for this trip from Minooka IL to Fulton, MO for example. The company route took two pages of local roads, back country two-laners as well as interstate highways. They offer 329 paid miles for the run. I looked at the route on my GPS, consulted my trusty Rand-McNally atlas and decided to run I80-I55-I72 to US54 into Jeffersonville, then west to the customer. Total miles:334. Sure, I lose $2.65 doing it my way, but I save a good two hours of driving on local roads, through tiny towns and possibly no-truck zones to stay on highways where it is faster and much safer for me. Totally worth it to me.

So the trucks going through your area may not be scale-jumping at all but following GPS routing instead.

[xoxoxoBruce]

53 cents a mile?