Fozzy you got it backwards.
When a young driver takes a dispatch he cant legally run and doesnt state when he can legally deliver, he gets charged with a SERVICE FAILURE.
If he rejects the load, he goes to the bottom of the list and may not get loaded that day.
No Load= No Money.
If he accepts the load and puts in the comments what he can do legally, he has a load and the dispatcher isnt going to read the comments once he sees the acceptance.

I was an Ops Manager for a few years and have seen quite a bit. This is the best way to combat illegal dispatches. My comment about going to see DOT is probably the worst way to combat illegal dispatches, but it will definitely get EVERYONES attention at your company.

 

Refusing the load via the QC because of pu/delivery schedules would also be on the permanent record. If you can't run the load, don't accept it and tell them why. It's not that hard to figure out...

 

Obviously for some.. this is a tough one. :roll:

 

I STARTED THIS POST BECAUSE NEW DRIVERS ARE ALWAYS COMPLAINING ABOUT BEING FORCED TO RUN ILLEGAL DISPATCHES. THEY ARENT FORCED TO DO ANYTHING. THEY DONT KNOW THAT THEY HAVE OPTIONS, WITH THOSE OPTIONS COME CONSEQUENCES. REJECT THE LOAD AND SIT, ACCEPT THE LOAD AND DONT DELIVER WITHOUT COMMUNICATING, THEN YOU HAVE A SERVICE FAILURE. MY ON-TIME PERCENTAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT, BUT SAFETY IS MOST IMPORTANT, A DRIVERS PAYCHECK IS ALSO IMPORTANT. EVERY TRUCKSTOP HAS MAGAZINES WITH ADS FOR DRIVERS, SO IF A COMPANY WANTS TO LEAVE THEIR DRIVERS SITTING IN TRUCKSTOPS, THEY ARE HELPING THAT DRIVER TO FIND ANOTHER JOB WHERE HE WILL GO THROUGH THE SAME SCENARIO.

NEW DRIVERS, YOU BETTER FIND YOUR LEVERAGE AND USE IT.

 

Wow... why all the shouting? The fact is that if the driver (new or old) is not sleeping through orientation, they will be able to know the procedures of the system they run under. The plain truth is that you are under NO obligation to accept a load that you cannot pick up and or deliver on time. The leverage is and always has been there for the drivers, but most who complain are either ignorant or simple minded, mouth breathing, steering wheel holding trollops who would do anything for the money regardless of the legal and possibly deadly ramifications. They want to be part of the dispatchers good little boy club... suckers!!!

 

Why respond to this at all, when your response is decidedly "PRO" dispatch/management?

A driver has, especially in todays work enviroment, two choices. Accept the load and work, or decline the load and sit, until a reasonable load assignment is given to them, which can be and usually is, three to four days after declining the first load. Load It gave some legitimate advise. Accept the "illegal" load on its merits, but place the codicle on the Qualcomm, regarding the legal time constraints you, as the driver, can meet.

It is sound advise to document any and all descrepencies, legal or illegal, on the qualcomm. Using the telephone, be it via landline or cell, is not proof of what a driver has communicated to dispatch/management, qualcomm messages are irrefutable.

 

No, there's a third choice. Don't pull for coolie-carrier outlaw outfits that give you illegal dispatches.

 

You aren't going to last long in this industry with that attitude.

 

Waiting 3 to 4 days to find a legal dispatch after declining one load is not the norm.Usually it is half a day or maybe even 10 mins depending on the volume of freight available in that region. If a company keeps an available truck sitting that long without pay than they are the WRONG carrier to drive for. Whoever keeps putting up with that nonsense deserve what they get. Back when I was a company driver I communicated ahead of time if I could safely deliver the load or not,even if it was a legal dispatch. Just ask your FM if you accept the load if you can deliver at a later time WITH an expected ETA. They will then check with customer service to see if the receiver has a later appt. available. If not they will usually take you off the load and look for another available truck. You should always plan ahead and let dispatch know ahead of time BEFORE you deliver the previous load if you will have any hours left and how many available hours you will have after delivery. This usually helps the load planners look ahead and plan a better load assignment. They will work with an intelligent and responsible driver IF they are a good reputable company and not a nasty fly-by-night operation.

 

Pro management? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Not accepting a load that is not "do able" has less to do with management and a lot more to do with professionalism. If they can get some sucker to accept a load with not enough hours the load is then out of their hands and all of the heat for accepting the load, showing up late is now on the back of the moron driver who accepted it and there is absolutely nothing that they can or will do to the dispatcher or load planner. The driver accepted the load and then was late, end of story, service failure, and then slower rolling loads on the rookie boards is usually the next step or starvation and getting rid of someone who cannot deliver on time or who has shown that they do not know the difference in a load that can be legally and safely accepted and one that can not. More often than not (and a point that somehow never made it into the post) is the fact that these loads CAN and DO get rescheduled all the time when a driver in the area is the BEST choice. Not accepting the load as is puts the responsibility back to where it belongs! If a driver accepts the load as is and decides to dog it, then management gets away with their poor performance and the driver who listened to the "advice" is in for a self perpetuated screwing that he or she may learn something from.