ROUTE: Georgetown, KY to Lansing, MI: 411 miles (384 loaded + 27 deadhead)
Another short route, but that’s the nature of the beast. Better than sitting idle. This can be done in one day as the drive can be accomplished in six-seven hours. The issue is making sure one has sufficient hours to comply with DOT Regulations. I had only driven two-and-half hours that day so the Drive 11-hour clock was not going to be a problem but the 14-hour workday would be as my day started at 07:30 so technically I would be forced to shut down by 21:30.
The pickup was scheduled for 14:00 and I arrived at 13:00. This is an existing client and all their loads are drop-and-hook. When I arrived the load was not ready and that was a mixed-blessing as if I was Off-Duty for at least two hours then I could implement a Split, which stops the 14-hour clock and gives back those two hours to the working day. It’s complicated. I was Off-Duty for just over two-and-half hours which meant I could work until midnight.
I left the shipper at 15:30, so figure even with a little traffic I should arrive to the consignee by 22:00. The delivery was scheduled for the next day at 10:00 but they allow early delivery. I set off and reached Cincinnati around 17:30 to rush hour. There’s always traffic around Cincinnati at any time of the day. It was not bumper-to-bumper but quite slow. I was driving on the right lane, as is customary for trucks. I came upon an incoming ramp to the highway and a black pickup truck was trying to force himself into the highway traffic. I was keeping a close eye on him and suddenly I hear a loud BANG! Another truck, driving in the middle-lane side swiped my driver-side mirror and forced it forward, fortunately not breaking it off. The trucked did not stop and he was in a faster lane so quickly was out of my sight. I could not safely change lanes because my mirror was facing the wrong way. Our trucks are equipped with a Lane Departure Safety Feature so if I had drifted off to the middle-lane then a buzzing alarm would have been triggered. It was not.
I continued forward until I could pull over safely on the side of the road to snap the mirror back in place. Unfortunately, the mirror had been pushed forward with such force that I could not snap it back in place with my hands. I tried to use leverage using a strap but I could not snap it back. I called our breakdown group to report the incident and see if they had suggestions. I was told that without a mirror I could not advance and they would send someone tomorrow to fix it. I was parked in a precarious side of the road and not safe for an extended stay. There was a rest stop about 15 miles down the road and there I could get the assistance from another trucker and was sure that with two people we could snap it back, if not it was a safe place to shut down for the night. I still had the hood mirror so I was not completely blind to traffic to my left. I would drive below the speed limit with my flashers on. Breakdown approved the idea and asked to report later if I was able to fix the problem or if they would need to send help to the rest stop.
Fortunately, a couple of miles down the road I spotted a truck that was on the shoulder getting a tire fixed. I pulled over and with the help of the other trucker we managed to snap the mirror back. However, the incident delayed me for an hour plus the delays from the slow moving traffic.
I was getting tired but if I stopped for my 10-hour break I would be late for the appointment the next day. I decided to push on as I was not dozing off. I arrived at the consignee at 23:30, clocked in the On-Duty DOT Required time for the unload process.
My extended 14-hour clock ended at midnight but fortunately there was a truck stop nearby, about ten minutes away. Since now I was out of hours the DOT allows to use Personal Conveyance (PC) to drive to the nearest truck stop to find parking for the night. I arrived at 00:30. It was full and a bunch of trucks doing Creative Parking made it difficult to navigate the premises. I found a parking spot but could not back into it and went nose-first and partially blocked a bobtail next to me. Figure he would wake me if I needed to move but since I would be starting my day no earlier than 10:30 I figure other trucks would have left and he would be able to maneuver out of his spot.
My workday was seventeen hours that day. It happens. Trucking is not a nine-to-five job and one of the things I like about it.
BOOK REVIEW: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara (2022), NONFICTION – RATING (***)
The narrative is extremely egocentric, even the full title is over-the-top. The book reads more like a textbook on time management. Great food makes a great restaurant. Superb service and hospitality make it a grandiose experience. Not the other way around.
I thought it was going to be more of how Eleven Madison Park went from a good restaurant to a world renowned one. I expected to be more focused on the food and their unique approach to create a magnificent experience but the food was barely mentioned.
Even if I wanted to read a book about time management, which I did not, this one missed the spot by leaps-and-bounds. A good swing coach; be golf, tennis or baseball focusses on the least to get the most. This book has more sub-points than the Bible has verses!
Some will find it interesting, I did not. I did enjoy the few food references and anecdotes about Daniel Bolud which were in greater abundance than of his business partner, Daniel Humm.
