AMBIENT TEMPERATURE SENSORS

We are taking a day off in Indianapolis. I've been thoroughly enjoying our compliance with hours-of-service trucking laws. By the time I begin driving again, I will have had ample rest, nutrition, & leisure. I chose to stay in the truck again, at the OC, while my partner stayed in a motel. The most exciting thing I did today was to take the company car, with a couple of other guys, to Walmart & a Chinese restaurant. I enjoyed talking shop with several other drivers today. Some of them were newbies – they enjoyed my perspective from 10 years of experience. I certainly have developed a wide variety of opinions on how to thrive in the trucking world.

Some of my fellow drivers are struggling to maintain a positive attitude as our company is eliminating our ability to idle our tractors. To save money on fuel, upper management has decided to install ambient temperature sensors on all company trucks. Whenever outside temperatures are between 20° and 85°, our trucks will automatically shut off, when parked, after four minutes. My fellow drivers, especially the solo drivers, have legitimate reasons to be upset. In cooler temperatures, the batteries drain very quickly, eliminating interior lights after just a few hours. My partner, for example, is currently using a flashlight to see in the bunk. Those who have a 12V refrigerator and and other electrical equipment, such as CPAP machines, will suffer most. For necessary warmth, we have auxiliary heaters, but they malfunction & don't work sometimes. Will drivers really be expected to sleep in temperatures as low as 20° if they can't idle their tractors for warmth? Anyone who would advise these drivers to simply stay in a motel doesn't understand that such accommodations are frequently inaccessible. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out. At least one of my friends has decided to look for another place to work & I've heard several other drivers voice the same intention. It would be my position to make the best of it & wait for a compromise to come about.

In other news, my dad & brother returned home – to Springfield, from Shawnee. Dad said me a picture of a gas station's price for unleaded – $3.04. Wow.