3 months probation period in feeders

[hani]

my sup promsed me a 5 ton run when I go back to package should I stick with the 5 ton and just forget about reapplying for feeders next at least I know I will work morning what would you choose feeders vs 5 ton
thanks

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

my sup promsed me a 5 ton run when I go back to package should I stick with the 5 ton and just forget about reapplying for feeders next at least I know I will work morning what would you choose feeders vs 5 ton
thanks

rule 1............All sups lie . . Rule 2...........All sups lie. . rule 3............please refer to rules 1 and 2!

 

[Covemastah]

Hani The Feeder lifestyle is a hard one,,,its not all just sitting back playing tunes and cruising as it appears to be to most (not all ) of the other employees!
Unfortunately you had a small accident, thankfully it was another tractor on our property and not at a cpu or worse yet ,the highway! Dracula gave you some good advice ,and I will tell you that you need to loose the package car mentality to be successful in feeders. There is NO small accident out here ,and if there is for the grace of God,it was like yours,you walked away and no one was hurt...
There is bigger pay in feeders which comes with bigger responsibly !
As you may have found out in your short time, your lifestyle is completely turned up side down !
your family life, your sleeping habits, your eating habits, all will effect your attitude and your head !!It takes time to adjust.
You must know how to handle the Equipment, because you got your license and they qualified you!
However ...you need to slow down and think, You probably will have to wait a spell to re qualify ,but during this time just think it over long and hard if you can make these changes!
The best advice I can give you, is that if you want to be out here, make sure you develop a sleep pattern and stay with it.
Don't go home and be superman around the house and have a lack of sleep. Effects your judgement,driving skills and causes anxiety over a period of time!!
Take your time backing at all times and be aware of your surroundings...
Best of luck to you !!

 

[pickup]

Gee, I am not a "real truck driver", but even I know that you should scan the area you are backing in to before starting the back.

I was involved in a hit while parked a month or so ago. I was legally parked making a delivery at our local college. A tractor trailer was trying to back on to the loading dock next to where I was parked and misjudged the clearance, hitting the left side of my hood. There was a metal railing between me and the dock ramp and had he not hit me he most surely would have hit the railing.

I was not charged with an accident yet still had to do all 3 parts of the Tier 1 Safety Assessment----easiest 20 minutes of pay I ever made.

Okay, my response is not to start a conflict with you but just to point something out that you might not be aware of .
Let's assume this driver wanted to back into bay 153 , bay 152 had a tractor hooked up to a trailer. Driver came past bay 151 , bay 152, and then scanned bay 153 and surrounding area. okay, bay 153 is empty, tractor there on 152 , I need to be careful, he thought. Once he started backing it in, he loses sight of the right (passenger)side of the trailer as the front of the trailer is blocking his line of sight. That side is where that tractor is. Can't see what's going on there and due to his inexperience and wishful thinking, he hoped for the best or assumed the best was happening as he tried to get it in.

Now Ups doesn't emphasize G.O.A.L., Get Out And Look but he should have done that. Or pulled up, if space allowed so he could straighten up a bit and be able to use that right , passenger side mirror as he tried to back in again.

Backing up is the most difficult thing to do when it comes to tractor trailer driving, in my opinion. 53 foot trailers track differently than 36 foot pups. You're simply not driving the same vehicle all the time as you do with a package car. Parameters change all day as you change combinations.

He's not the first guy to back into a tractor. If the tractor were an old international with a week to go before going to the junk pile, that's a better scenario than backing into a new tractor, in management's eyes.. The first case is easier to overlook than the second. But I don't even know if this applies, so enough speculation about that.

Where I can speculate with more confidence is this: it is now casual peak driver hiring time. Seasonal drivers are seasonal but there are also way more seasoned than guys who just came in from package into feeders, and also generally cheaper and more easily pushed around.

By not overlooking this on property accident, management just got rid of a top rate rookie feeder driver and replaced him with an experienced low rate driver.

 

[Covemastah]

Well put Pickup !!!!

 

[pickup]

Well put Pickup !!!!

aww shucks.

 

[mike1646]

Wow, four years and already able to go to feeders. In my building at least 25 years to get there.

 

[hani]

thanks guys much appreciated

 

[Covemastah]

Go and sin no more !!!!!