uh oh....double post :x

Not sure how JB works, but could this be an issue with a particular dispatcher?

I have a friend who's been with my company for about 10 years, and it's not uncommon for him to have a problem getting home on time...but I've NEVER had a problem...at all....I'm pretty sure it's his dispatcher....

Why not try getting another dispatcher?

Deadheading home without authorization could lead to possible abandonment reports on his DAC, and could be a very big obstacle to overcome when it comes time to get another job....not a good option!!!

Any driver still needs to handle things in a professional manner. I would be upset if I were out 28 days and the company could not get me home, too. The thing is that he is close to having his 2 years in with the same carrier. Once he passes the 2 year mark he will have many more opportunities available to him. If he just takes the truck home without permission, then there will be repercussions which will affect his career. The company may be wrong, but you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot, either. There is an old saying that goes something like this, "You win the battle but lose the war." If it were me, I would go over the dispatchers head if he could not get me home.

He needs to get empty-- park the truck somewhere-- send a message that he's sick- throwing up-- shutting down the truck for 34hours(some reason they can't argue with)-- get a rental car or have(already have) his wife or friend coming to get him--- go get his house deal(closing done)--- come back to the truck--- tell JBHunt he's ready to roll--- work as long as it takes to contact/find HIS NEW Carrier/employer---

then exit stage left-- gracefully, without quiting under a load or leaving the truck anywhere(abandoned) and find that better employer.

Oh, and be sure to lock down/secure that equipment before you leave to do that personal business.( while sick of course)


solution#2:

walk into a local bank-- ask for the fax number-- have the paperwork you need to sign faxed there--- usually there's a Notary Public employed at every bank-- so that person can witness and stamp the document-- fax it back-- and you've finished--- as soon as they have their routing number for the closing $$$$-- welcome to home ownership

there's a Land of Lincoln Motel there in Mt. Sterling-- shows having truck parking---- there's a Super 8 Motel in Beardstown, IL definately with truck parking( 17miles away)

Tell JB you're feeling sick, strange, and are looking for a place to park the truck--- go to the motel--- tell them their truck is secure there at whatever motel--- you could even actually check in(make it more real) then call them back a few minutes later-- tell them you're going to the ER with chest pain---you've already IN the cab-- call them a little later-- tell them the EKG was ok--- but the doctor said to "take it easy" for the next 24 hours and you're going to do that 34hour reset.

It's unlawfull to have you driving that rig-- when sick, especially is possibly having a heart attack!

irregular angina---tricky thing can be cause by many different things

Land of Lincoln Motel
403 E Main St Stop 1
Mount Sterling, IL 62353
Phone: (217) 773-3311

Super 8
9918 Grand Avenue
Rt US 67 and 100
Beardstown, IL, 62618 US
Phone: 217-323-5858

Despite popular belief, there are not unlimited loads going unlimited directions, all to some unspecified location on any given day and any given hour.

It doesn't matter if you give 28 days notice or 1 day notice for home time, there will be times that the loads just aren't there to get you home. Yep, it sucks but that's the way it is.

It is very possible that you were sent to where you are because there was supposed to be a load to get you home and it canceled. Happens all the time.

If JB can't find you a load going where you need to go in time to get there, I would park the truck in a secure location and rent a car. You are scheduled for home time anyway, so renting a car and taking a few days of shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, it sucks to have to do this... but chit happens sometimes, you've been driving long enough to know that.

There's no need to lie to your DM about being sick or whatever else, in fact that's a really bad idea. First of all, liers should go play in a busy street, blindfolded... The other reason being that if you make up anything that sounds serious, they are going to want to see a Doctors clearance before you can return to work.

Good luck.

I'd tell dispatch thwe situation and rent a car and cruise home. I bet they will be happier that you let the truck sit for 2 days and handle your business on your own dime. When you get back to the truck you'll have a 34hr restart.

I bet they won't-- it will be considered abandoned-- if you park it and leave it anywhere (except locked behind a big fence/Freightliner dealer) then leave the area -- like 3 states away. And they won't let him deadhead it out of Mt. Sterling very far( like to the nearest APPROVED/Secure location..like a Freightliner dealer) anyway because of cost of fuel.

He can't lie about not having hours and needing a 34hour reset--

The only "fudge" area is being too sick to drive-- 392.3

of course, it's not likely they'll believe him-- since he's already asked/begged/kicked and screamed--- then again this type of "anxity" could cause medical problems.......

And if they really want a "doctor's note"-- they would have to pay out the bucks$$ themselves -- through Worker's comp.
everyone could use a good MRI-- might find some "real" blockage --could save your life.
But as long as they think you went into the hospital on your own dime-- they're not going to press the issue for fear of having to pay the bill themselves--- of course, next time you're home-- they might politely ask you to go see your own doctor about that problem you had 3 weeks ago-- or else revoke your "safety clearance" --- which is a tricky situation anyway---- but hey, after having to do all the above-- You were planning on bailing anyway.

Yes, they will be happy he's spending his own money-- having someone pick him up--- they just won't allow him to leave the truck "somewhere".


and as far as liers playing in the street -- blindfolded--- what would we do without all those dispatchers & recruiters?

Everything Borgie suggested...except for telling them you have chest pain works!! If you tell them you have chest pain..they are going to make you go to a doctor for real, and spend the money for the full series to prove you don't have a heart proble,

Park the truck in a secure location..rent the car...close on the house...Just tell them you are ill and call it good!

It's a shame when things like this happens, particularly to a good, long-term driver. There's got to be a workable solution that isn't going to harm the driver's career.

But...the whole doctor's thing will absolutely come back and bite you in the butt. In the first place, they are not going to believe you since you've been trying hard to get home anyway. They'll immediately be suspicious of the coincidence.

And then...

They would have to pay nothing out on Workman's comp, because it would not be a work comp issue. Going out sick is one thing. Going out sick and claiming you were at the doctor's is quite another and would be covered by your standard insurance plan and not work comp. The company would also require a doctor's note/release indicating you were fit to drive and then when you went to the doctor AFTERWARDS to get that release, they would nail you to the wall on attempting to defraud the system.

I can see the benefit in that, but he would need to go the doctors FIRST, before claiming it. This is what I am trying to say. If he's going to use the excuse that he was at the doctor's, then he needs to be at the doctor's before he tells them. But I'm under the impression that he doesn't/didn't have that kind of time here.

Actually, they will request/require it. It is the carrier's responsibility to make sure the driver is released to drive. We're not talking about running to the doctor for a standard visit on your hometime. We're talking about having to tank a load or park the truck in order to see a doctor or go to the ER. That will require a release. And that doctor's visit better be BEFORE he tells the company that he went to the doctor.

I'm not at all unsympathetic to the driver. If things are as he has indicated, then he got royally, painfully, and utterly screwed. There is no excuse for it. But by the same token, it will do him no favors to compound the issue by adding to it. If he's in the clear, he needs to stay in the clear. The best advice I saw in this thread was seeing about getting the stuff faxed to him. If he tells his bank what the issue is, they will work with him, whether by fax or by resetting the appointment. Then the driver needs to take his leave of the company and go somewhere else and it becomes totally JB's loss.