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ekaddon
Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:48 am Post subject: Talk about a crackdown on idle time |
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I got a qualcomm message 5min ago from my Werner dispatch. Said call dispatch asap. So i phone him up. my ears have been raped.
He told me my idle % of feb was 57% and march was 61%. He said if I do not get my idle % down they will route me to a terminal and fire me. He said over 40% of the drivers are getting this notice. Told me if you go above 51% idle 2 months in a row you will get a review and might be terminated.
What crock of bullcrap is this? |
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Pack_Rat
Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Posts: 14
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:01 am Post subject: |
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| They had better look into and APU i would think then. |
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Malaki86
Joined: 28 Aug 2004
Posts: 1974
Location: West Virginia
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:12 am Post subject: |
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| With a policy like that, come the middle of August, they won't have more than 3 or 4 drivers left. |
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Soladad
Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 372
Location: Vancouver, Washington
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| If you are idling over 50% of the time then you do need to find where the key is and turn it to the left to the off position. I like to keep my batteries up especially in the winter when batteries seem not to hold over night to help keep my up to 14 days worth of food in my cooler in safe condition. I was never over 40% winter or summer. |
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Malaki86
Joined: 28 Aug 2004
Posts: 1974
Location: West Virginia
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:29 am Post subject: |
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| Let's also not forget that if you can even come close to idling 50%, that means that your company definitely isn't keeping you busy. My truck never shuts down, but my highest idle time was about 35%. |
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Justruckin
Joined: 02 Dec 2006
Posts: 179
Location: SE Michigan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:37 am Post subject: |
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It's Werner's problem, not yours. As someone else said, you are spending just as much time sitting as you are running. I would return the truck and say see ya!
And then go find a real job.
Mike |
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dle
Joined: 03 Jan 2005
Posts: 730
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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How many miles are you running?
Like the others have said, a high idle rate like that usually means not that much in terms of miles.
APU's on Werner's trucks - :shock: :lol:
My general rule was, above 85 or below 50 --- i idle. |
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Uturn2001
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 4605
Location: East Central IL between the corn and the beans
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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One thing that will kill your idle percentage is taking a reset in the truck.
Personally though I wish these companies would stop expecting drivers to live in conditions that would get a person arrested if you did it to a dog and start installing APU's on trucks.
With fuel over $4 per gallon the things would pay for themselves within 6 months. |
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BigAtrukn
Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 251
Location: La Habra, CA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Be happy they dont charge you for idle time like May does |
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hitman
Joined: 28 Oct 2005
Posts: 231
Location: Clayton, Delaware
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Does sitting in traffic have any bearing on your idle time, or can they tell the difference? |
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Rawlco
Joined: 25 Jan 2006
Posts: 1115
Location: Central Maine
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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I had an idle time of 8.7% during the fall, and over the winter it rose to around 13%. My Fleet Manager said it was the lowest in his fleet by at least ten points. Remember I live in Maine and ran all 48 states for the winter. I frequently spent the night required to idle in temps below ten degrees, and a couple of weekends at home where the daytime temp did not get above 15 degrees and I didn't shut the truck off the entire weekend, even though I was in my house.
A few things to reduce idle time
1) Turn the truck off whenever you can. Fueling, waiting in line, waiting to get loaded, etc.
2) Turn the truck off as soon as you park and leave it off until you can't stand the temperature again. It is almost always an hour or two before the temp gets unbearable except in really hot bright sunshine when even with the truck running the AC can't keep up.
3) Get one of those curtains for the winshield to keep out the sun and keep in the heat in the winter. It also gives you some privacy.
4) Stretch out your trip. If you have all weekend to run 400 miles take one day and run a few hundred miles to get your truck to the temp you want, then take a break for five or six hours before finishing the trip.
5) Park during the most temperate part of the day. During the winter I start my day at 3am and park by 5pm. That way I get to run the truck and make miles during the coldest part of the day, and get several hours in the evening before it gets too cold. During the summer I start late in the morning and run until midnight, getting to sleep during the cooler night and morning. |
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Mr. Ford95
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 1816
Location: Orange, VA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Yes, sitting in traffic can raise your idle %. It's the same as sitting in a rest area or truckstop except you move a few feet every minute. |
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bigtimba
Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Posts: 147
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject: I concur with . . |
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. . the others; 50% isn't a driver problem, that's a Werner problem.
Try the OSHA website and see what they have to say about it. (I'd do it myself but it sounds like you have more free time than I do.) If you can't find it, call them. There have got to be some guidlines, ie acceptable range of temperatures or equipment requirements for extreme temperatures.
Report back with your findings. |
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unclehotte
Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 110
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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| If they FIRE you for idling the truck......thats a NICE lawsuit waiting to happen. That would be the way I would go, unless you SIGNED something that you are responsible for the idle %. |
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TomB985
Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 187
Location: Columbus, OH
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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Well, let's figure this one out....
Say you run 10,000 miles in a month, that should put your engine time at ~200 hours for the driving time...so you take that and add half of that to your total, that means you idled 100 hours.
100 hours of idling would burn ~150 extra gallons of fuel...which would cost the company something like $600 extra EACH MONTH!
IMHO any idle time even approaching that is downright rediculous. Way too damn often I see drivers who just will not shut their truck down for anyone. Going in the truck stop for a meal, showering, fueling, waiting...cold out, warm out, nice out...daylight, dusk, dawn, night...ALWAYS IDLING. This is WASTE.
Take a night out where it gets down to 50-60 degrees...perfect sleeping weather for most...and walk around the truck stop...a good 1/3rd of the trucks will be idling...for no reason whatsoever.
Does Werner provide you with a bunk heater? That's one way to cut down your idle time. I never idle more than I absolutely have to...just doesn't make any sense to waste that much money..... |
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