Hubby sent me a text message on Saturday. It said "14." Before I could come here to update the suicide bird count, he hit another one. 15.
We never knew that part of his trucking duties would be to thin out the bird population.
He had one particularly deadly week right before he came home for hometime during the summer. While he was home, we drove up to drop our son off at scout camp. On the way home a big black crow just flew into our windshield. It was the strangest thing. He could've flown over, our car is not that big, and yet he just kind of flew into the windshield and then rolled off the top of the car.
I picture that stupid bird everytime hubby sends me the updated number.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Today Show and CPAP rant
Ok, so I just finished the big long post about getting started when you use a CPAP. Since it was so long, I thought I'd save my rant for another post... and since I'm ranting... I'll share my rant about the Today show story the other day
CPAP
Ok so everyone wants drivers to drive safe. There are a ton of regulations out there to keep drivers from driving while tired... so why the big problem with CPAP machines? I think companies that refuse to hire drivers who use them, are creating a bigger problem. They are discouraging drivers from getting the help they need. Instead of getting treatment and getting a good night's rest. They are ignoring the signs and symptoms. How many drivers have you heard snoring in truck stops? Snoring is one of the biggest indications of sleep apnea.
Today Show
You can tell I'm a full on trucker's wife now!! I was so anygry and annoyed by the today show story the other day. The basic story is that someone is considering passing a law that trucks can't drive over 68 mph. Not a big deal for us, hubby's company has them regulated anyway...but that's not the part that annoyed me.
It was the part where they were talking about how many accidents involve a semi. They made it sound like all of the accidents were caused by semi's driving too fast. How many of those accidents were from four wheelers cutting off semi's? How many were from road conditions? I'm sure there are instances where speed was an issue, but not all of them. If you want to prevent accidents, you need to get the four wheelers to stop cutting off trucks, or whip around them......
Ok rants for today are done....
CPAP
Ok so everyone wants drivers to drive safe. There are a ton of regulations out there to keep drivers from driving while tired... so why the big problem with CPAP machines? I think companies that refuse to hire drivers who use them, are creating a bigger problem. They are discouraging drivers from getting the help they need. Instead of getting treatment and getting a good night's rest. They are ignoring the signs and symptoms. How many drivers have you heard snoring in truck stops? Snoring is one of the biggest indications of sleep apnea.
Today Show
You can tell I'm a full on trucker's wife now!! I was so anygry and annoyed by the today show story the other day. The basic story is that someone is considering passing a law that trucks can't drive over 68 mph. Not a big deal for us, hubby's company has them regulated anyway...but that's not the part that annoyed me.
It was the part where they were talking about how many accidents involve a semi. They made it sound like all of the accidents were caused by semi's driving too fast. How many of those accidents were from four wheelers cutting off semi's? How many were from road conditions? I'm sure there are instances where speed was an issue, but not all of them. If you want to prevent accidents, you need to get the four wheelers to stop cutting off trucks, or whip around them......
Ok rants for today are done....
CPAP and Company #1
Little did we know, but one of our biggest hurdles in starting this journey was the fact that hubby uses a cpap machine. Boy did I feel guilty when I realized it might keep him from getting a job!! The only reason he had the testing done and got the machine was because I couldn't stand his snoring anymore!!! I mean all I wanted was a little sleep now and then. Sheesh.
Well hubby went off to orientation with company number one. Truthfully the entire experience with this company was absolutely horrible!! The hotel room was a dive with graffitti inside the drawers and the lampshades and patched holes in the walls. The company treated them like cattle and kept changing their story along the way. It was a prime example of all the bad things you hear about orientation.
Our biggest issue was that hubby passed everything with flying colors. We just had a couple of medical issues to clear up. Issues that he told them about before he went to orientation. He brought the paperwork with him. We were prepared.... Well the doc that did the physical was a real jerk. He asked what setting the cpap was on, was annoyed that hubby didn't have the exact dosage of his medication memorized and was just an overall jerk.
At the end of the week the company said that all they needed was a release from his doctors. Thus began the endless phone calls. I called the doctors, told them what we needed, they faxed it, then the company would say it wasn't good enough. Then they'd tell us what else it had to say. It was absolutely ridiculous. In hindsight, it's pretty clear that they never intended to hire hubby, but instead of telling us that, they made us jump through hoops for two weeks!!
Bottom line - the company wanted the doctors to write releases that stated there were absolutely no restrictions. Doctors don't want to write something like that because they don't want to get sued. So here we were, stuck in the middle. We knew hubby could do the job. His doctor knew he was going to school and pursuing it, but it became a paperwork nightmare.
Company number 1 required hubby to quit his current job to go to orientation. So here we were. He was unemployed, we had no medical benefits and now we weren't sure if he'd get a job anywhere.
We started over at square 1. We called companies. We called safety departments. We asked specific questions about what would be required. We talked to the doctors.
Finally we settled on SRT. Their safety department said that he needed a sleep test every year and that was it. The doctor wrote him a prescription for a sleep test, we paid $500 for the test and had the results faxed to SRT while hubby was in orientation.
That was it. Simple. Easy. They didn't change their story. They didn't make ridiculous requests. Of course he was armed with everything we thought we would possibly need, but they didn't even ask for some of it. Since he travels into Canada, we did have to get his doctor to sign something, listing all of his prescriptions, but that was it. (Most of the prescriptions are for asthma, which was never an issue, just means he takes lots of stuff.)
So here's the scoop.
Yes, you can get a job if you use a CPAP machine.
The prevailing train of thought appears to be that you need to get a sleep test each year.
*We're coming up on his one year anniversary so the doctor has already requested it and hubby will be taking his test in a couple of weeks....Thank goodness he's on my insurance now. We won't be spending the $500 this year.
Well hubby went off to orientation with company number one. Truthfully the entire experience with this company was absolutely horrible!! The hotel room was a dive with graffitti inside the drawers and the lampshades and patched holes in the walls. The company treated them like cattle and kept changing their story along the way. It was a prime example of all the bad things you hear about orientation.
Our biggest issue was that hubby passed everything with flying colors. We just had a couple of medical issues to clear up. Issues that he told them about before he went to orientation. He brought the paperwork with him. We were prepared.... Well the doc that did the physical was a real jerk. He asked what setting the cpap was on, was annoyed that hubby didn't have the exact dosage of his medication memorized and was just an overall jerk.
At the end of the week the company said that all they needed was a release from his doctors. Thus began the endless phone calls. I called the doctors, told them what we needed, they faxed it, then the company would say it wasn't good enough. Then they'd tell us what else it had to say. It was absolutely ridiculous. In hindsight, it's pretty clear that they never intended to hire hubby, but instead of telling us that, they made us jump through hoops for two weeks!!
Bottom line - the company wanted the doctors to write releases that stated there were absolutely no restrictions. Doctors don't want to write something like that because they don't want to get sued. So here we were, stuck in the middle. We knew hubby could do the job. His doctor knew he was going to school and pursuing it, but it became a paperwork nightmare.
Company number 1 required hubby to quit his current job to go to orientation. So here we were. He was unemployed, we had no medical benefits and now we weren't sure if he'd get a job anywhere.
We started over at square 1. We called companies. We called safety departments. We asked specific questions about what would be required. We talked to the doctors.
Finally we settled on SRT. Their safety department said that he needed a sleep test every year and that was it. The doctor wrote him a prescription for a sleep test, we paid $500 for the test and had the results faxed to SRT while hubby was in orientation.
That was it. Simple. Easy. They didn't change their story. They didn't make ridiculous requests. Of course he was armed with everything we thought we would possibly need, but they didn't even ask for some of it. Since he travels into Canada, we did have to get his doctor to sign something, listing all of his prescriptions, but that was it. (Most of the prescriptions are for asthma, which was never an issue, just means he takes lots of stuff.)
So here's the scoop.
Yes, you can get a job if you use a CPAP machine.
The prevailing train of thought appears to be that you need to get a sleep test each year.
*We're coming up on his one year anniversary so the doctor has already requested it and hubby will be taking his test in a couple of weeks....Thank goodness he's on my insurance now. We won't be spending the $500 this year.
The Details
All you have to do is check a few trucking forums and you'll see the same questions over and over again. There's a lot to learn when you get started in this industry and everyone has a different opinion. What works for some drivers, doesn't work for other drivers.
Hubby and I are going to try and go through a bit of the details on our experience and then add links to the side of the blog for future visitors.
Please leave us comments and questions. They might help us decide what to write about next.
Hubby and I are going to try and go through a bit of the details on our experience and then add links to the side of the blog for future visitors.
Please leave us comments and questions. They might help us decide what to write about next.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Sleep is highly overated
The longest day of my trucking career is finally over. Yesterday I finally got rid of the last of the load that just would not die. I returned to the same truck stop I had been at for the last three days and my parking space was still there! I call it my space because even though I had been there for three days I had been in and out several times each time returning to find the same space empty and waiting for me. I wasn't there long this time though. As soon as I back in, the all too familiar beep of the QualComm summoned my attention. One of my old dispatchers asking me if I could repower a load for him. As I'm checking the map against my log book to see if I have enough hours available to cover the distance required, in the time required, I hear another beep... He assigned the load to me! Well thanks for waiting a whole three minutes before you made up my mind for me. This did NOT make me happy. We are under a forced dispatch at SRT and once a load is assigned to you it's almost impossible to get out of it. So rather than make a lot of waves, I basically took one for the team... Let's hope they remember this when I need a favor!
Edited by the wife to add...
Hubby was tired and exhausted, started this post and fell asleep. He re-powered the load and got it there on time. His logbook had plenty of hours because of the "load that would not die" and all the sitting around he did, but he had to drive through the night to get the new load delivered....something he's not overly fond of doing.
He slept all day yesterday and again last night his old dispatcher asked him to repower another load into Florida (from Georgia). So he's on his way, but the dispatcher said he "owes him big time." Hubby's hoping for a nice 3000 mile run. Re-powering loads for another driver means a lot of waiting around and very few miles. He's been hanging out in the East too long, he needs a nice long load to the West coast!
Edited by the wife to add...
Hubby was tired and exhausted, started this post and fell asleep. He re-powered the load and got it there on time. His logbook had plenty of hours because of the "load that would not die" and all the sitting around he did, but he had to drive through the night to get the new load delivered....something he's not overly fond of doing.
He slept all day yesterday and again last night his old dispatcher asked him to repower another load into Florida (from Georgia). So he's on his way, but the dispatcher said he "owes him big time." Hubby's hoping for a nice 3000 mile run. Re-powering loads for another driver means a lot of waiting around and very few miles. He's been hanging out in the East too long, he needs a nice long load to the West coast!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
My First Post and The Load That Would Not Die
Well here goes nothing. My first post ever on a blog. Never really had a desire to share my life over the internet, but what the heck. Well, to bring you up to speed on the whole accident thing... The next day after I had made my drop I went to a repair facility my company uses quite regularly, judging on the amount of our trailers they had there, and had the mechanics crawl all over, through and especially under my truck and trailer. There were a quite a few clean spots on the frame, axles, brake chambers and just about everything on the bottom of the truck from where debris had struck and knocked the dirt off, but no real damage. A clean bill of health and off to the next pick up. It wasn't till the next day that I noticed my catwalk was gone. Just gone. I noticed during my pre-trip that morning that something was not right, but I couldn't put my finger on it until later in the day when I picked up a hazmat load. As I was placing one of the placards in the holder on the front of the trailer I went to set the rest of them down on the catwalk to free up my hands, when it suddenly hit me. That bent, twisted piece of metal that slightly resembled a cat walk; the one I had to step over on my way to rescue my fellow trucker, was MY catwalk. It probably got knocked out by something I ran over, but at the time, with all the other debris all over the place, I never even considered it could be from my truck! Oh well just have to be very careful when I climb up to check the reefer unit until I can get it replaced.
Onto today. Today's fiasco... Yesterday I had a delivery to one of the world's largest retail chain distribution centers. Despite my best efforts, I arrived 53 minutes late. Normally this wouldn't be a problem as it is their policy that you may arrive up to one hour before or after your scheduled appointment time. With seven minutes to spare in that precious window, I thought I made it. WRONG! I check in at the guard shack only to be told they won't accept me. Quoting their policy back to the guard didn't persuade him a bit either. But, being the nice guy that he was, he placed a call to the central receiving office on speaker phone so I could here them say it for my self.
Guard: "Can you still take a two thirty?"
C.R. clerk " No. He's too late. He'll have to come back tomorrow."
Guard hangs up, now talking to me, "See I told ya."
Yeah so much for that one hour policy! Oh well. Guess you can't argue with the people who make the rules. If you do, and they see you're right, they'll just change them to suit their needs, not yours. So I headed back to the truck stop a few miles away to wait it out. I notified my company and they're not the least bit surprised. Turns out this particular D.C. has a reputation of this so just make sure I'm at least half an hour early tomorrow. I tell them no problem. I'm only ten miles or so away. I'll be there with bells on. So today I leave the truck stop 45 minutes before my appointment and arrive at the D.C. exactly half an hour early as promised. I check in again...
Me to guard dripping with sarcasm I'll soon regret "Hope I'm not too early. I have a two fifteen" handing my paperwork to the guard who takes it, looks it over, types in my appointment number, and says "you're not supposed to be here til tomorrow." Now it's his turn with the sarcasm. "Yeah I guess that's too early" as he turns the monitor around for me to see for my self... CRUD!!! He's not messing with me. It really does say tomorrow. Oh well. guess I'll try this again tomorrow. Back to the truck stop to lick my wounds from that sarcasm sword. Which, by the way, has a double edge and if your not careful when you use it, it will cut you, not your opponent.
Onto today. Today's fiasco... Yesterday I had a delivery to one of the world's largest retail chain distribution centers. Despite my best efforts, I arrived 53 minutes late. Normally this wouldn't be a problem as it is their policy that you may arrive up to one hour before or after your scheduled appointment time. With seven minutes to spare in that precious window, I thought I made it. WRONG! I check in at the guard shack only to be told they won't accept me. Quoting their policy back to the guard didn't persuade him a bit either. But, being the nice guy that he was, he placed a call to the central receiving office on speaker phone so I could here them say it for my self.
Guard: "Can you still take a two thirty?"
C.R. clerk " No. He's too late. He'll have to come back tomorrow."
Guard hangs up, now talking to me, "See I told ya."
Yeah so much for that one hour policy! Oh well. Guess you can't argue with the people who make the rules. If you do, and they see you're right, they'll just change them to suit their needs, not yours. So I headed back to the truck stop a few miles away to wait it out. I notified my company and they're not the least bit surprised. Turns out this particular D.C. has a reputation of this so just make sure I'm at least half an hour early tomorrow. I tell them no problem. I'm only ten miles or so away. I'll be there with bells on. So today I leave the truck stop 45 minutes before my appointment and arrive at the D.C. exactly half an hour early as promised. I check in again...
Me to guard dripping with sarcasm I'll soon regret "Hope I'm not too early. I have a two fifteen" handing my paperwork to the guard who takes it, looks it over, types in my appointment number, and says "you're not supposed to be here til tomorrow." Now it's his turn with the sarcasm. "Yeah I guess that's too early" as he turns the monitor around for me to see for my self... CRUD!!! He's not messing with me. It really does say tomorrow. Oh well. guess I'll try this again tomorrow. Back to the truck stop to lick my wounds from that sarcasm sword. Which, by the way, has a double edge and if your not careful when you use it, it will cut you, not your opponent.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
My Favorite Phone Calls
Ok, so my husband isn't the most outgoing person in the world. He's a self-proclaimed loner. It's one of the reasons that he thought a life on the road would be good for him. He doesn't have a huge need to have people around. With that being said, one of the most surprising things about him since he hit the road, is his ability to talk your ear off on the phone.
I have learned so much about the industry from these phone calls. I can explain logbook rules in great detail. I know which truck stops he likes and why. I know how long he sits and waits to be loaded/unloaded. I know how many birds have committed suicide by flying into the truck (13). Heck, I even know how his good friend and fellow trucker, Harvie, is doing and where he's going.
It's become a bit of a joke around our house. We love to hear from him, but just because he's bored and alone on the road, doesn't mean we can sit and chat. We know that if we hear my cell phone ring in the other room, there's no need to get up. He'll either call the house or he'll call Josh. I particularly laugh when he calls Josh. He'll look at the phone, see it's Dad, and say "thanks Mom." If it's a particularly eventful day, he'll call me and tell me the half hour long story and then call Josh and tell him too. Recently, when Josh asked him "what's up with the Happy Friday, Happy Tuesday, text messages," I found out he sends us the same text messages too. Gee.. and I thought those sweet messages were just for me.
Ok, so we give him a hard time about it, but I am truly grateful for MOST of his phone calls.
Last night I got one of the phone calls that I don't like to get. The ones that outline near misses, traffic mishaps and tempts of fate.
Last night he was right behind a huge accident. For some unknown reason the truck in front of him plowed into another truck that was hauling little trucks/tractors. The truck in front of him actually rode up on top of the other trucks and them came crashing back down. As it came down pieces and parts went everywhere. Luckily hubby was far enough back that he could avoid the tractor and trailer, but he had to drive over road debris instead.
Then, he got out and helped the trapped trucker out of his cab.
Now, if he would stop there, I could be all proud of him. He used to be an EMT and he is the "goto" guy in an emergency. I love him for it, but that little personality characteristic also means that he puts himself in harms way.
I've talked to him a few times since the accident and I keep getting more details... like how close to the edge of the road, his own truck stopped, the fact that the other tractor was only on two wheels when he climbed in to help the other driver, the spilling diesel fuel, the scrape on his leg from slipping on said fuel.
It's hard enough knowing he's out there on the road all the time. I really don't need all the bitter details about how close he comes to death.
So today hubby is in Dallas, TX. He dropped off his load and is on his way to a mechanic to get the truck checked out. He and the cops visually checked it out last night after the accident, but with all the pieces of debris he had to drive over, he and the company decided it would be a good idea to make sure something wasn't damaged in all the fun.
I have learned so much about the industry from these phone calls. I can explain logbook rules in great detail. I know which truck stops he likes and why. I know how long he sits and waits to be loaded/unloaded. I know how many birds have committed suicide by flying into the truck (13). Heck, I even know how his good friend and fellow trucker, Harvie, is doing and where he's going.
It's become a bit of a joke around our house. We love to hear from him, but just because he's bored and alone on the road, doesn't mean we can sit and chat. We know that if we hear my cell phone ring in the other room, there's no need to get up. He'll either call the house or he'll call Josh. I particularly laugh when he calls Josh. He'll look at the phone, see it's Dad, and say "thanks Mom." If it's a particularly eventful day, he'll call me and tell me the half hour long story and then call Josh and tell him too. Recently, when Josh asked him "what's up with the Happy Friday, Happy Tuesday, text messages," I found out he sends us the same text messages too. Gee.. and I thought those sweet messages were just for me.
Ok, so we give him a hard time about it, but I am truly grateful for MOST of his phone calls.
Last night I got one of the phone calls that I don't like to get. The ones that outline near misses, traffic mishaps and tempts of fate.
Last night he was right behind a huge accident. For some unknown reason the truck in front of him plowed into another truck that was hauling little trucks/tractors. The truck in front of him actually rode up on top of the other trucks and them came crashing back down. As it came down pieces and parts went everywhere. Luckily hubby was far enough back that he could avoid the tractor and trailer, but he had to drive over road debris instead.
Then, he got out and helped the trapped trucker out of his cab.
Now, if he would stop there, I could be all proud of him. He used to be an EMT and he is the "goto" guy in an emergency. I love him for it, but that little personality characteristic also means that he puts himself in harms way.
I've talked to him a few times since the accident and I keep getting more details... like how close to the edge of the road, his own truck stopped, the fact that the other tractor was only on two wheels when he climbed in to help the other driver, the spilling diesel fuel, the scrape on his leg from slipping on said fuel.
It's hard enough knowing he's out there on the road all the time. I really don't need all the bitter details about how close he comes to death.
So today hubby is in Dallas, TX. He dropped off his load and is on his way to a mechanic to get the truck checked out. He and the cops visually checked it out last night after the accident, but with all the pieces of debris he had to drive over, he and the company decided it would be a good idea to make sure something wasn't damaged in all the fun.
Monday, March 5, 2007
A Beginning
I'm a truckers wife?
Ok, so when my husband first approached me with this idea, I wasn't so excited. I knew very little about trucking and what I did know was based on stereotypes that didn't paint a very good picture. I kind of thought it was a passing fancy. I figured if I just let him do his research, he'd decide it wasn't for him.
I read the bb's and blogs he told me about and everytime I saw something negative, I'd ask him if he'd thought about it. I wasn't trying to discourage him.... I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going into this with some fantasy in his head.
Well he started driving in June 2006 and we've hit a few bumps along the road, but he's still loving it, so it looks like we might be in for the long haul....
When we were doing our research we loved reading blogs of other drivers. It was fun to get a peek into their lives. Hubby liked to see where they traveled to. I liked to see how they organized their truck, how they paid their bills and what kind of food they could cook in their truck.
Now it's our turn. We want to share what we've learned along the way. Maybe it will help other families who are contemplating this lifestyle.
Hubby has a laptop and will check in and add pictures of his adventures from the road, and I'll share the news from the home front.
Ok, so when my husband first approached me with this idea, I wasn't so excited. I knew very little about trucking and what I did know was based on stereotypes that didn't paint a very good picture. I kind of thought it was a passing fancy. I figured if I just let him do his research, he'd decide it wasn't for him.
I read the bb's and blogs he told me about and everytime I saw something negative, I'd ask him if he'd thought about it. I wasn't trying to discourage him.... I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going into this with some fantasy in his head.
Well he started driving in June 2006 and we've hit a few bumps along the road, but he's still loving it, so it looks like we might be in for the long haul....
When we were doing our research we loved reading blogs of other drivers. It was fun to get a peek into their lives. Hubby liked to see where they traveled to. I liked to see how they organized their truck, how they paid their bills and what kind of food they could cook in their truck.
Now it's our turn. We want to share what we've learned along the way. Maybe it will help other families who are contemplating this lifestyle.
Hubby has a laptop and will check in and add pictures of his adventures from the road, and I'll share the news from the home front.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)