On day six of their trip, a Vice President of Human Resources, Bert Johnson and Professional Driver Frank Merrill drive from southern Georgia to West Memphis, Ark., and drop off a 22,000-pound load. The extra weight forces Frank to downshift going up hills and to watch his speed going down them. Bert begins to look forward to the ride home.

June 14, 2013

Got up with the rooster call, a little after 6 a.m. ... the alarm actually went off twice ... went in and brushed my teeth and used the facilities. Got coffee for Frank and me. When I came out Frank was doing his pre-trip. We looked at the map to determine if we could go around Atlanta on a different route, but the options are not good ... we’ll have to take our chances with Atlanta traffic. Looked at Birmingham, Ala., and how to pick up Interstate 78. Frank has an ISX engine and prior to this trip, with light loads not exceeding 14,000 pounds, we did not have to downshift.

On this load of 22,000 pounds we had to downshift to make it up a hill ... and not a major hill. Frank almost has a heart attack when a plane flies overhead and he sees the shadow on the ground coming at him ... scared of his own shadow. We talked about accident prevention and accountability. Frank had a good suggestion to share with the Safety Department. The Atlanta bypass was awesome ... no problems ... took us about 30 minutes to get around it. Made a pit stop at the Alabama Welcome Center ... just beat six school buses full of kids and adults. Back on the road again. Stopped to go to the restroom and take a quick break ... back on the road.

We have had plenty of discussion about how drivers must maintain control of their vehicle at all times. Over speeds are a big deal ... the driver has technically has lost control of the vehicle. I have observed Frank using the engine brake and/or the engine fan to reduce the speed on a downhill slope. Out of West Memphis, Interstate 65 is closed but ops hasn't changed the practical mile plan to account for that. In Olive Garden just south of Memphis on our way to the customer.

Arrived at customer at 3:27 p.m. I noticed a Schneider trailer that has a sticker on the inside of the trailer, "DRIVER is this trailer CLEAN for our next customer ROAD READY for the next driver?" We continue to hear complaints from drivers that the last driver didn't check the lights, it was dirty, tires had issues, etc. Just dropped our load and picked up an empty trailer. On our way to West Memphis for the night. Arrived West Memphis, Ark., dropped our empty trailer, parked, went inside to local to get our assignment for the a.m. ... for the ride home. We went to Popeye's (I have not had Popeye's in a long time) for dinner and came back and took a shower. Frank did laundry. Sat out at the picnic tables and had conversations with drivers ... specifically John and his wife (a new student), Frank and Aaron. Went into the terminal and introduced myself to Clark ... he spoke about when he worked for MS Carriers years ago, where every driver had to get 2,800 miles per week and if they didn't get those miles, the fleet manager had to write a report why. It is about accountability. He also talked about there are a lot of smart people around and that they should be listened to.

We drove 451 miles today in seven hours and 51 minutes. Played some solitaire and went to sleep. I am going home tomorrow.