Oh Deer

I have seen quite a few varieties of animals out here, both alive and (unfortunately) dead. The animal I see most often, believe it or not, is deer. I have seen at least one, dead or alive, in every state I've travelled thru.

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In Illinois, I was watching the grove of trees on the right side of the interstate, hoping to catch a glimpse of one thru the trees, when suddenly, there was one, just outside the tree line, in full view, eating from a low branch. In Minnesota, I was talking on the phone with my son when something off to the right caught my attention. It was a deer, bunny-hopping thru the long grass in the ditch. In Washington, two deer had just crossed the interstate. The doe was already disappearing into the tree line when the buck stopped and looked right at me as if to say, "whew. Just made it," then he, too, disappeared.

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I never drive thru Wyoming without seeing at least one antelope. In the summer, I see mostly small herds of doe and young ones, with the occasional buck standing solitary, watching over them. In the winter, the herd size grows phenomenally. I've seen herds numbering near a hundred. At the rest stop on Happy Jack Rd, which is placed at the highest point on I-80 (at an altitude of 8,000+ feet), there is a small museum-like display that explains that the small herds gather together into larger herds in the winter for protection - against the elements as well as the predators. Sometimes the antelope are sitting on the ground, and from a distance, they look like rocks. Usually they are grazing. Occasionally, I can see them running and frolicking about. Those are my favorite. Almost always, I can find them near a herd of cows or horses. Safety in numbers!

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Most of the states prefer to leave the dead carcasses on the side of the road for the carrion. I've seen all stages of decomposition, from freshly killed and still bloody to bloated and obviously full of gases to skeletal remains. Kansas, however, doesn't do that. In fact, it is very difficult to find any road kill in Kansas. My first time thru, I thought to myself, "either the animals in Kansas are way smarter than in any other state or Kansas has one helluva clean-up crew." One thing I have learned while driving a truck: if you can tell what the dead animal is on the side of the road because it's still in one piece, it was hit by a car. Animals hit by trucks are bloody, mangled, sometimes cut-in-half, messes. I always say a little prayer when I pass by a dead animal. Poor things.

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I always smile when I see an animal, no matter what it is. Wildlife is fascinating and beautiful and awe inspiring.  I hope to never lose my awe at seeing any of the wildlife out here, whether its antelope in Wyoming or the numerous soaring black birds or the tiny gophers popping out of their burrows to watch traffic or the chipmunks playing dodger running across the interstate, making me cringe and pray I don't run over them. I love seeing the wildlife. 

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And I'm happy to report, I haven't yet run over or hit any animal.

DOT Inspections

I can honestly say I have never had a DOT inspection.  I have had to present paperwork for the state of Wyoming, twice, but have never been pulled in for an inspection.  But I do know what they are, and what the Inspectors are looking for.

First of all, every truck driver is responsible for making sure that the truck they are driving and the trailer they are pulling are safe for road travel.  We have a checklist that we must follow every single day and complete what is known as a "Pre-Trip" and sign a Vehicle Inspection Report.  There are more than 100 things that we must ensure are in good working order, both on the exterior of the rig and under the hood.  The engine must be in good working order with the proper fluid levels.  All the lights must be working.  The brakes must be in good working condition and must comply with specifications such as the brake linings must be no smaller than 1/4" thick.  The tires must be in good condition, and the tread has to be a certain depth.  Hub oil cannot be leaking from the center of each tire.  All the lug nuts must be tight.  It's a really long list.  Suffice it to say, if a driver fails to complete a proper pre-trip and gets pulled into inspection, you can pretty well bet he's praying the DOT officer doesn't find something that will cause him to be put out of service.

When the vehicle is under inspection, so is all of the driver's paperwork, and that includes log books.  Because I am electronically logged, DOT officers know that I cannot violate my hours of service without someone being notified immediately.  However, there are still a lot of drivers running on paper logs, which can be falsified.  Sometimes, a driver may choose to run two log books, which is very illegal.  However, if he doesn't get caught, he'll do it.  Why two?? One keeps tracks of his hours exactly as he runs them for his company (probably for the paycheck) while the other one is kept a little neater and coincides with lawful driving habits.  Nine times out of ten, if a driver is utilizing two log books, it's because he is speeding through a state that lowers truck speeds (like California and Oregon, where the speed limit is 55 for trucks).  In addition to log books, there are permits that every driver must carry with him to run in specific states.  I have a book that I keep my company's permits in.  We must also carry the registration and insurance for the truck,  and every trailer must have its own registration and license plate.

DOT officers are officers of the law.  They have the ability to put truck drivers out of service, suspend licenses, and arrest drivers.  If a driver is put out of service, it basically means he cannot move the rig for the length of time he's been placed out of service, usually 24 hours.  Occasionally, the driver is only out of service until repairs are made on the rig. Once in a while, a driver is found with contraband in his truck, and he may immediately have his license suspended.  Truck driving is a no-tolerance profession.  While alcohol can be transported in a trailer, it is not allowed in a truck - ANYWHERE in a truck, and that includes luggage compartments, under bunks, or on the catwalk.  Neither are drugs allowed.  Period.  Even synthetic ones.  Unless a driver has a prescription for medication (and NOT marijuana), no drugs of any kind are allowed in a truck.  If a driver has his license suspended by DOT for any reason, chances are good he's lost his job.  Occasionally, an employer will give an employee a second chance, depending on the offense and the length of time the license has been suspended.

Because we are considered professional drivers, every accident in which we are involved is considered our fault. We, as truck drivers, have the responsibility to make sure accidents do not happen.  That's why the laws that govern us are so strict.  It's why you can drive for 12, 18, 24 hours straight if you want to, but we cannot drive more than 11 hours - and no more than 8 hours without a 30 minute break.  If you cause an accident because you're tired, you might hurt someone.  You might hurt yourself.  MIGHT.  If I cause an accident because I'm tired, someone WILL die.  The difference is 3,000 pounds versus 80,000 pounds.  I am driving a killing machine.  Which is why trucks drive 5 miles an hour (sometimes more) under the speed limit in the city.  It is why trucks have to slow way down when going around a curve or a corner (especially a tight curve).  But, I digress.  This is a subject for a later blog post.

What happens if a driver and/or a company follows all the rules and passes an inspection with flying colors?  The driver is given a sticker which he can put in his windshield so when he drives thru a weight station, he won't be pulled in for another inspection.  Those stickers are technically good for three months, but most DOT officers respect them for one year.  I've noticed that the larger companies that run electronic logs and whose trucks pass 99% of their inspection rarely get pulled in for inspections.  Which is why I haven't been inspected during the one and a half years that I've been out here on the road.  Knock on Wood I don't ever have to go through one.  But if I do, I know I will be able to go in with my head held high because I perform my pre-trip inspection every day, and I know that everything on my truck is in good working order.  Or, if it isn't, I'm getting it fixed.  Which is why I am sitting in a hotel, and not in my truck, waiting for a load.

Breaking Down (the truck, not the mind)

So what happens when the truck and/or the trailer breaks down?  As a company driver, the first thing I have to do is contact the company via OTR Support (which used to be called "Breakdown").  This department determines what, if any, repairs need to be made and where to send the truck and/or trailer.  If it's the trailer, chances are good they'll send the driver to the nearest TA, Bossellman, Petro or trailer repair shop.  If the driver is close to a terminal that has a trailer shop, he might be sent there.  It mostly depends on the hour and the day of the week. (If, for instance, it's a weekend at midnight, the terminal shops will be closed.) Trailers are an easy fix.  Not a lot of moving parts, so mostly the driver is at the mercy of the shop's schedule.  If he's lucky, the shop isn't busy and he's in and out, bippity boppity boop.  The most often reported problems on a trailer are marker lights (mandatory that they all work while the trailer is in motion) and the air brakes.  If there's a significant air leak, the trailer just won't move.  If it's not significant, but audible, the driver could be placed out of service if tapped for a DOT inspection.  (More about that later.)  Obviously, everything has to be in good working condition if the trailer is going to be mobile.


If, however, there's a problem with the truck, OTR Support has to determine what kind of problem it is and which shop would be better equipped to handle the repair.  Most of the time, the truck is sent to the nearest manufacturer's shop because all of our company trucks are so new they are still under warranty.  Occasionally, the truck will be sent to the engine's manufacturer's shop.  In my company's case, the engine is a Cummins, so all our trucks can be sent to Cummins.  I drive an International, so when they deem it is a warranty issue, I am sent to an International dealer's repair shop.  That is where my truck is today, and will be there until at least Monday (although the shop guy said the chances are good they'll have it fixed on Monday).  Because I'm a company driver, the company gives me what is called "breakdown pay" for every day that I'm not rolling and my truck is in the shop.  Because I worked on Friday (I delivered the last of my load on Friday morning), I may not get breakdown pay for Friday, even though the truck went into the shop that day.  It's not a lot of money, but something is better than nothing.  The company also pays for the hotel.  They do not, however, pay for food or transportation.  That's on me.  Owner-Operators incur all these expenses on their own.  After the free shuttle picked me up from the repair shop, we picked up another driver from the Cummins repair shop.  Turns out, he's an Owner-Op.  He told me he has to pay the $2400 shop fee for the repairs, and the $79.80/day hotel cost for the weekend.  This is why I am not an Owner-Op.  Also, he's not collecting breakdown pay.  As I said, it's not a lot (probably $60/day) but it's better than nothing.


Usually, I have to play this game: sit at the shop all day until they tell me that there's no chance they are going to get the truck done tonight.  Call the hotel for the shuttle, check in for one night.  Check out the next day around 11am, and take the shuttle back to the shop.  Repeat as many days as it takes the shop to fix the truck.  This is what happened to me when I was broke down in York, PA.  And I had my son with me and no free shuttle - I had to pay for the taxi ride to and from the hotel.  We ended up spending three days in York, but the shop wouldn't tell me that's how long it was going to take at the beginning.  This time, however, the shop was up-front with the truth.  They told me the chances were good the truck wouldn't be ready before Monday.  What's nice is I don't have to be tethered to the shop waiting for a verdict.  On this trip, I get to explore and see some of Albany.  I don't have the money to rent a car.  I'll be walking and/or taking the bus, so I'll more than likely be sticking with the downtown area.  But it's more than I usually get.  Because I don't get to take side trips, while breaking down is not my idea of a fun time, it is, essentially, the only time I get to see something other than the Interstate and a truck stop.  I will be taking advantage of that, at least.