Looks like Barr Nunn is next for truck speed being cut....

[whatsmynameagain]

well I have had tthe last week off due to my wife having our new baby, well i just went and checked my new load on the quallcom and there was a message about fuelcosts and cost cutting and they asked all drivers to voluntarily reduce speed to 62...so I can only assume that this voluntary period will only last until they get us in the shops and set the speeds themselves. I have slowed down on my own the last few weeks anyways just to try and see what change there was in my own mileage but we all know the majority of drivers are not going to respond to voluntarily slowing down.So i guess we are next...I guess i can understand..slowing down has bossted my mileage up to around 7.3 mpg for my last few fill ups. that would make a difference fleetwide if everyone started hitting that and not idling..but this comes on top of them changing our layover pay to a 34 hour wait. If this fuel keeps going up trucking is not going to be worth messing with, at least on a company driver level. Companies are cheaping out and not getting APU's then telling us not to ever idle, trucks are going to start getting slow at every company, we sure as heck cant expect any pay increases in the middle of this, freight is slow and there is a lot of sitting for a whole bunch of drivers. It definitely doesnt seem that OTR trucking is going to be getting any more fun any time soon.

no fun, i ahve a blast driving my truck. if you sit around and worry about things that are way out of your control, then yeah you ain't gonna have any fun, you will probably also have a heart attack. slow down like they ask or when they turn the trucks down drive till the speedometer stops moving. seems easy to me. things are not as bad as people think, if you can be smart about what you do.

oh by the way, congrats on new baby.

[whatsmynameagain]

oh by the way, congrats on new baby.

Hey thanks...I guess we will keep him, he is a good baby so far.

About the slowing down thing, I'm with ya, people shouldnt worry themselves to death about it. The last few weeks as i said before i have been experimenting with it on my own and honestly, once you do it for a fews days and get your mind off of it, its just not that bad and when you get on a loong stretch without much traffic its actually kind of relaxing to just lower the seat down, find a good station and just sit back and cruise along and admire the scenery. It can be an inconvenience if you let it be but I just havent noticed it being a big problem for me so far. And since i have already slowed down on my own, if and when they cut the actual trucks back, I wont even notice it since I am already doing it.

[englishman]

I drive for Koch, they told us two weeks ago, turning the trucks down to 65, from 68, that is the trucks on our dedicated account @Kmart..... All new drivers will get a 65 mph truck, it can be frustrating, but on the whole, it's whats best for the industry, and the country.
I do have a couple of issues, 1) when you get around a truck doing the same speed, it depends on who has the most weight as to who gets past...... 2) It pushes the driver if like me, your on a time sensitive load!
At times you do need to drive a little different, getting past others can be tough, getting to the cosignee on time needs to rethink your use of time.... But, it's the economics that really count..... And please, don't come back to me offering remarks about "Well if they want the freight on time, I have to drive at 70." No you don't, Just keep working and quit hanging out at truck stops!
We all have seen the trucks rushing past you at 70, only to get 60 miles down the road and see them pass you again! Why? I guess most of the time, they have to keep stopping to drop off all that soda drink!

Congrats on the baby.......... Work real hard...... You now have a great reason to!

[Fredog]

well I have had tthe last week off due to my wife having our new baby, well i just went and checked my new load on the quallcom and there was a message about fuelcosts and cost cutting and they asked all drivers to voluntarily reduce speed to 62...so I can only assume that this voluntary period will only last until they get us in the shops and set the speeds themselves. I have slowed down on my own the last few weeks anyways just to try and see what change there was in my own mileage but we all know the majority of drivers are not going to respond to voluntarily slowing down.So i guess we are next...I guess i can understand..slowing down has bossted my mileage up to around 7.3 mpg for my last few fill ups. that would make a difference fleetwide if everyone started hitting that and not idling..but this comes on top of them changing our layover pay to a 34 hour wait. If this fuel keeps going up trucking is not going to be worth messing with, at least on a company driver level. Companies are cheaping out and not getting APU's then telling us not to ever idle, trucks are going to start getting slow at every company, we sure as heck cant expect any pay increases in the middle of this, freight is slow and there is a lot of sitting for a whole bunch of drivers. It definitely doesnt seem that OTR trucking is going to be getting any more fun any time soon.

now you can look forward to this


anyway, congratulations

[ALKELE]

Congrats on the new baby.

I got the same message on my qualComm and am figuring the same thing. That message a couple of weeks ago asking the drivers what we thought of 62 mph was just a warning. Next trip into the shop for a B service is probably when they will cut us back.

BTW, did you hear that they got rid of all drivers living in New York state? I ran into a driver a little over a week ago and he said that the company told him about 2 weeks before that, that he had 30 days to find a new job because they were laying off all drivers who lived in New York state. He was told that they didn't have enough freight in NY and that the fuel costs were too high. Ticked him off when he found out that they were deadheading me 198 miles into NY to pick up a load going to IA.

Changing the layover time to 34 hours to qualify does save them money though. I had to sit 29 hours over the weekend and since it was less than 34 hours, no layover pay. 34 hours? No one is going to hit that, just their way of saying that they will not be paying layover pay anymore.

Again, congrats on the new baby. Enjoy them will they are young. While you will always have fun with your kids, the first few years are the ones you will remember the most and with the fondest memories.

[whatsmynameagain]

yeah, i actually did hit the 34 hour mark this week but........once you took out for the dead head miles at their absurd 47 mph average I didnt qualify. Pretty bogus deal.

[ALKELE]

I was under the impression that they did away with the 47mph thing. I thought they said that if we qualified for the 34 hour restart then we qualified for the layover pay. You might want to check on that.

[Phreddo]

it's funny, today i checked my speed against my gps
if my gps is accurate, my truck speedo is 4 mph off ie 68 is actually 64
interesting

[ALKELE]

The cut down to 62 mph is getting closer. Dan keeps sending out emails about other companies that are announcing cutting their speed down to 62. I guess this is to tell us that this is becoming normal so that we don't complain too much when they cut us down.

Dan also informed us that they are going to put APUs in 20 new trucks they are getting in. But, they will be cutting the speed on those trucks down to 62.

These people just do not realize how hazardous it is with a top speed of 62 mph. 4-wheelers do not magically get out of our way when we need to change lanes. Matter of fact, there are times when people who have been behind us for miles, suddenly decide to pass us once we put our turn signal on. And that is at 66 mph. Changing lanes is hazardous at that speed. More people will pass you and then cut across in front (too close) in order to get to an exit ramp (have noticed more and more trucks doing this lately also).

Had to change lanes quickly the other day because of a car suddenly coming off the shoulder. SUV in the left lane was about 1 1/2 - 2 truck lengths behind me. Once I got back in the other lane, he cut in front of me and hit his brakes hard. Expect more of this behavior when at 62 mph.

Can't see how they expect cutting the speed to work out. Some of their runs are tight on time now. A Memphis to Baltimore run of 680+ miles takes 11 1/2 - 12 hours depending on the weight of the load. They expect you to maintain a 63 mph speed (governed at 66) but forget that the hills in eastern Tennessee and in Virginia slow the trucks down (my truck is lousy at hills). Of course, you are expected to log that trip at 11 hours. If you start asking to split the load, you start getting mostly 175-250 mile days (their punishment for running legal).

Too many companies are looking at cutting down the governed speed instead of looking at APUs or other forms of idle reduction (other than complaining to the drivers about idle time).

[whatsmynameagain]

Good Luck with it all....I finally had all the sitting around i could deal with last week and drove the truck from Toledo back to its home at Washington Courthouse. caught a taxi to Chillicothe and grabbed the greydog home. My last few months have just been beyond terrible and I just couldnt justify being gone for the pay i was taking home. Barr Nunn was a real good company for me for a good while but they are really going down hill in a lot of big ways. Good luck with it, I hope they keep you rolling.

[ALKELE]

You won't be the only one leaving. I will be leaving at the end of June. I'll take a couple of weeks off and hopefully should be starting with Conway Truckload after that.

[whatsmynameagain]

You won't be the only one leaving. I will be leaving at the end of June. I'll take a couple of weeks off and hopefully should be starting with Conway Truckload after that.

good luck with that, I think you will do much better there!