1. DEAL WITH THE DETENTION ISSUE BY FORCING SHIPPERS/RECEIVERS TO PAY FOR EXCESS LOADING/UNLOADING TIME. Since drivers are paid by the mile and not by the hour, they aren’t compensated for the time they spend sitting at a loading dock. Every haul should include a maximum window of time to unload a truck at the loading dock, and the shipper/receiver should be forced to pay a penalty to the trucking firm if it takes longer than that. The trucking firm should also pay the driver for this extra unproductive time.
2. ADD FLEXIBILITY TO THE HOURS OF SERVICE RULES. This is one area that has gotten much worse since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has mandated electronic logging devices for commercial vehicles. There ought to be a whole bunch of exceptions to these rules. Driving to find a place to park your truck for your mandatory 10-hour rest period shouldn’t be considered a violation, for example. And you should not be tagged with a violation if you run out of hours at a loading dock and the shipper/receiver won’t let you stay on the property after your truck has been unloaded.
Absolutely.
Pull in At noon, back up to the dock. Union dock help gone to lunch. You can’t unload or Union raises hell. They show up you offer to help to get to your next load. They tell you to eff off. Finally unloaded and miss your load home. Wait a day, dead head 300 miles (your fuel) and you get a load 350 miles from your home.
You want to be a truck driver? Put on your big boy pants pussies. Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves. Wussies.
As to the 2nd point...you are allowed to PC to find a safe place to park. Just ensure you put a note in explaining why you are in PC with a load.