CELL PHONE LOADS

We had two back-to-back cellphone loads this past week. The first one originated from Fort Worth, Texas. The second one originated from Chicago, Illinois.

If you've been a reader of my blog for any length of time, you probably read about our procedures & adventures on these kinds of loads. It's kind of an honor, actually, to be selected to pull these kinds of loads. A team has to have proven themselves trustworthy & have a excellent service record. They do not tolerate mistakes on these kinds of loads. We are required to abide by strenuous procedures, including driving nonstop for 250 miles from the shipper & 250 miles nonstop prior to the consignee. One driver has to stay in the truck at any given time. We have to message and sometimes call in every time we stop and start the truck, (depending on which customer we are servicing). There are several other procedures which we have to abide by, but these are the most noteworthy among them.

On our load from Fort Worth, we were selected to be followed by an armed escort for the first 200 miles. Freightwatch & US Security are contracted to interview drivers & provide en route security for as many of these high-value loads as possible. Many drivers don't enjoy being followed, as it feels something like a road test - where every decision they make is being finely scrutinized. My only objection is having to follow their arbitrarily-chosen routes to the Interstate freeway. I have to get my turning directions via my rearview mirrors. After we are well-underway, it's their responsibility to keep up with me. It'd they can't keep track of a big orange trailer, there's something wrong with them.

In Chicago, several of us team drivers had to wait in a security cage while our trailers were being loaded. This was an actual cage. The security escorts for this customer were much more intense than usual. They asked deeply-probing questions & maintained lengthy conversations to get a handle on which team would be the most likely to break protocol. Ours was the only team not selected for the extra eyes. Yay. Everyone was required to count the freight loaded in their trailer. This included a trip through a security door & a sensitive metal detector. I had to make several trips through, shedding an article of clothing each time. Humiliating.

We got on the road much later than planned-for. I took the Indiana & Ohio turnpikes to get the extra speed required to make on-time delivery to Philadelphia.