What Makes A Good Driver?

          Several months ago, I made a remark in a post that trucking isn’t what it used to be.  While there have been some good changes, like improvements in technology, there have also been some bad changes.  If you talk to older drivers, they will tell you that it’s just not like it used to be. 

          I have seen an overwhelming trend that is not exclusive to trucking, but in society as a whole.  What I’m talking about is a general lack of integrity and the loss of taking pride in a job well done.

          I’m a good driver.  I know I’m a good driver.  I don’t say that with conceit but with confidence.  I can say that because I pay attention to detail and I always do my best to act with integrity.  I also live by the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Society seems to have twisted the Golden Rule into: do unto others before they do unto you.

          I was overpaid this week.  It wasn’t by a lot, but none the less I was paid for work I hadn’t done.  When I first noticed it, I thought “they’ll catch it.”  It bothered me to leave it up to them to catch it.  I’m one of about 500; they may or may not catch it.  That doesn’t matter.  What matters is I caught the mistake.  Had the mistake gone the other way, where I’d done work that I hadn’t been paid for I would have brought it to their attention immediately.  It was only right that I bring this mistake to their attention.  So, I did.

          I’m not sharing this so you can give me an “atta girl” or think highly of me.  I share this because this is part of what makes me, me.  If we want the world to be a better place, then each of us – individually - must be the change.  People are what makes Freymiller a great place to work.  I’m one of those people, we all are.  We have to be what we want Freymiller to be.

Here Comes 2017

          I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Aside from a mild case of food poisoning, mine was uneventful.

          As the year winds down and we start looking towards a new year, a funny thing happens in a lot of people’s minds.  I’m talking about New Year’s Resolutions.  I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.  In fact, the last one I made (and the only one I’ve ever successfully executed) was to never make another New Year’s Resolution.

          I used to be like most people.  I would wake up on New Year’s Day and tell myself “this year I’m going to quit smoking, lose weight and exercise more!”  Yeah, right.  I never did.  The fact of the matter is I’m not going to quit smoking until I’m ready.  I’m not going to lose weight until I change my attitude about food.  I do exercise more now than I used to, but not because of a New Years’ Resolution.  I exercise more now because I have other goals that require me to be in better shape.

          I gave up on New Year’s Resolutions mostly because I came to realize that any day I wake up alive, I have an opportunity for change.  I don’t have to wait until Monday, the 1^st of the month, the 1^st of the year or any other significant date to change.  I can change TODAY if I decide that’s what I want to do.

          Would I like to be able to look back and say “2017 was the year I …?”  Of course, but I also would like to have been able to say that about 2016, 2015, 2014…

          Are you making any New Year’s resolutions?  It’s okay if you are.  I won’t judge you.  In fact, I will do my best to encourage you to tackle them with gusto.

I Hate Cold Weather!

          I hate cold weather.  I really hate cold weather.  I really, really hate cold weather!  Okay, maybe it’s not cold weather that I hate because I do enjoy snow.  What I really hate is being cold.

          I have a chronic condition called Costochondritis. Costowho? You ask?  Costo (for short) is inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs.  It’s extremely painful when it flares up and there is nothing the doctors can do about it.  I have found a good liquid vitamin that helps keep it under control.  It flares up when I tense up.  I tense up when I’m stressed, cold or under exertion like heavy lifting.

          When it’s cold I look like the younger brother in The Christmas Story who can’t move because of all the layers.  My top half looks twice the size of my bottom half, all in an effort to keep from flaring up. 

          In all seriousness, though… are you ready for the cold weather?  Ready or not, it’s here.  Please take some time to make sure you have what you need in case you get stranded somewhere.  As long as my APU runs I could survive in this truck for almost a week if it was necessary.  I know our storage is limited, but this really is important.  I’m not going to bore you with a list, you know what you need.  I’m just asking you to take the time to make sure you have it.

The Purpose Driven Life

          Several days ago, Don Freymiller sent out a fleet message to announce that Freymiller had procured a copy of the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren for every driver.  I can’t tell you how excited I was to see that message.

          Rick Warren is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA.  Saddleback is also the birthplace of the Celebrate Recovery program, a Christian 12-step program that has completely changed my life.

          “The Purpose Driven Life” was another life-changer.  I was in the process of reading this book when I started working here in January 2012.  If you’ve ever felt like your presence on this planet is random or accidental, I would highly recommend this book.  Not only did this book help me to understand that yes, I am here for a reason; it helped me to figure out what that reason is.

          Even if you are not a Christian, I would still recommend reading this book.  I have studied philosophies that are contrary to my Christian beliefs and still walked away with a new perspective because I look at alternative beliefs and ask “can any of this apply to my life and how does it fit in with my beliefs?”  (The Secret was a great exercise in learning how to do this.)

          This book is comprised of 40 mini chapters that introduce you to new ideas and end with questions that challenge you to look closer at your own life.  Love it, love it, love it!  What makes it even better is if you buddy up with someone and work through this book together, discussing your answers at the end of each chapter.  I have asked another driver to do this with me and he said he would.  I look forward to peeling back another layer of myself and hearing the perspective of someone new.

          I’ve heard it said that small minded people talk about people, average minded people talk about things, but your big thinkers discuss IDEAS.

          I am a huge fan of personal development so I’m really looking forward to reading this book again.

          Again, I encourage you; if you’re a Freymiller driver, to get up to the company store ASAP and get your copy.  It doesn’t cost you a dime to pick it up.  It only costs you time to read it but you have so much to gain.

Healthy Living On The Road

         It’s no great secret that truck drivers face some unique health challenges.  It seems like the more I get to know people, the more I hear about Type II diabetes, high blood pressure and CPAP machines.  It doesn’t take a lot of consideration to figure out why.  As a collective, we have gotten quite lazy.  I see more and more trucks parked on curbs at truck stops because the drivers are too lazy to go park in a legal parking place because that is farther from the building than they’re willing to walk.  I was walking across a customer parking lot to a shipping office once when a driver told me he would drive up there, he wouldn’t walk that far.  I kept quiet, but I was thinking “that’s why you’re shaped like a barrel and I’m not.”  I don’t mean to be so harsh, but collectively we’re doing this to ourselves.  No one is doing it to us.

It doesn’t help that truck stops are doing away with traditional sit down restaurants and replacing them with fast food.  Fast food is another problem, it’s insanely unhealthy.   You can get a burger on the dollar menu, but a salad can cost up to $7.  When I do stop at a truck stop with a sit-down restaurant, I am hesitant to go in because 1. I don’t like to call attention to the fact that I’m a woman by myself out here, and 2. The food is so overpriced it’s silly.  I spent $13 today on an omelet, 2 links of sausage and a glass of tea.  The food industry has made healthy food choices almost cost-prohibitive.  Aside from eating out of our trucks more, there isn’t much we can do about the food situation.  I personally tend to eat from the kids’ menu often, because not only are the prepared foods generally unhealthy, but portion control has gotten completely out of control in this country. 

So, what do we do?  I want to be healthy.  I try to be proactive.  The TA/Petro chain has a fitness room at many of their locations across the country.  I went into one and found a driver sitting in there watching TV because he didn’t want to watch what was on in the Drivers’ Lounge.  He left when I got on the elliptical.  I have a pair of rollerblades in the truck but with the way many drivers are racing through the truck stop parking lots, that can be scary.  As much as I do to try to be healthy, I know I’m not doing enough.  Society has gotten into the habit of making more excuses than effort.  The fact is, we must do something.  We’re committing slow suicide.  I don’t want to be one of the drivers that is found dead from a heart attack between the seats.

I’m always open to new ideas.  What are you all doing to try to be healthier?

Mt Shasta

          Is that not about the most beautiful scene you’ve ever seen in your whole, entire life?  I’m about 30 miles from the California/Oregon state line on I-5 tonight and this is the view from my office/efficiency apartment.  This picture would make an awesome jigsaw puzzle!

          It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been up this way.  Freymiller’s freight lanes are changing, growing.  If you would have told me 6 months ago that I would be heading up to Portland out of Los Angeles I would have laughed you right out of the truck.  I expected to load going back east yesterday, but instead I’m going north.  How cool is that?

          Another cool aspect about this load… I get to see a woman I trained back in 2013 who has since gotten a local driving job so she could be closer to her family.  I’m looking forward to that visit.  I haven’t seen her in about 2.5 years.

          Little piece of useless trivia for you… it’s almost as far North to South in California as it is East to West in Texas.  797 miles up I-5, 879 miles across I-10.  There, you learned something today!  

Time management? Me Management!

                I’m disgusted with myself this week.  I pride myself on being detail-oriented.  It makes me a better driver; not better than anyone else, just better than I used to be.  It never fails though; every time I go thinking I’m better than I am, God shows me the error of my ways.

                I picked up a multi-stop load last Thursday in California that finaled out in Illinois on Monday.  I thought I had enough time to make it but I miscalculated.  I thought I would start picking up hours Sunday night at midnight but I didn’t start picking up hours until Monday night.  I was 4 hours away from the last stop when I realized I only had 3 hours left on my 70.  I sent a message in to dispatch and thankfully there was another driver coming south who could swap out with me in time so that the appointment could still be made.  After the swap was done, I sent in another message apologizing for the screw up.  Clyde didn’t sound angry with me.  In fact, when I first spoke with him, he laughed at me.  I think it was because I was being so hard on myself and because this isn’t the type of thing I do very often.  I’m pretty sure this is only the 3^rd time I’ve done something like this and the other times were early in my Freymiller career when I was still trying to figure out the HOS rules that had changed since my last driving job.

                I know exactly what I did wrong.  While I tried to blame the fact that I had routed myself to the 1^st stop so I didn’t have the exact calculations to the final and then I tried to blame the fact that I’d had the cruise set at 63… facts are facts.  What really happened is I rushed and assumed.  I rushed through the calculations and assumed I would be fine.  Rushing and assuming almost always gets me in trouble.

                Trust me, no one knows better than I that I am not perfect.  I’ve never striven for perfection but I do strive for excellence.  This week, I was definitely less than excellent.  I cannot manage time.  I can only manage the way I behave in any given amount of time.  I think it’s still safe to say I haven’t arrived yet.