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Monday, April 11, 2005

A Shifting Load and the Pee Screen
Mr. J (night dispatch) called up Sunday evening for a load assignment. I'd be taking two drops--one to Racine, WI and one to the greater Chicago, IL area.

On the way back, a driver on I-294 did an unwise move in front of me causing me to apply the brakes rather hard. That caused the freight that I was hauling back to the warehouse to move from the back of the trailer to the front of the trailer (in a very short amount of time!). Usually, I load any freight going back to the warehouse in the front of the trailer to prevent such occurrences from happening. However, I decided to leave the freight near the back of the trailer for two reasons: 1) I noticed other drivers kept the freight in the back of the trailer when returning freight to the warehouse and 2) with more weight in the back of the trailer, the overall ride was smoother in the cab area. Fortunately, nothing was damaged when the freight shifted forward. I'll have to think twice about loading and keeping freight in the back of the trailer unless I have a securement device in place. (Note to self: get a load securement device tomorrow!)

After being unloaded, I was the "lucky" recipient to have a random drug test done. Off I went to the clinic and did the pee-in-the-cup routine. Back at the warehouse, I discovered that I was an extra driver for the second day-in-a-row. I'm sure I'll be driving somewhere tomorrow--I just don't know where yet! Hopefully, I'll get my load assignment before falling asleep. That way I won't be woken out of a sound sleep. In any event, I should know by 6:00 AM tomorrow where I'll be heading to for the day.

miles driven = 231

PostScript: Dispatch called and I'll be delivering to 3-locations in Illinois early tomorrow morning.

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