SPEEDY IN GEORGIA

Before I went to bed last night, I made sure my phone was set on Eastern time zone as I set my alarm.  While I slept, my phone reverted back to the Central time zone – causing me to wake up an hour later than I had planned. When I realized what had happened, I got around and ready in a hurry! I drove every bit of the 70 mph speed limit, until heavy traffic slowed me down near the Atlanta metroplex. I arrived at my delivery destination of Newnan, Georgia within half an hour of my promised delivery time. I generally prefer to show up more than an hour early. It was a fairly simple drop and hook. Every customer should be as easy as this one was.

   I picked up my next load in Atlanta, near the OC. It was a heavy load, so I went to the Pilot Travel Center to scale it out before I began my trip. It was slightly lopsided, but legal. Seeing how I needed a 30 minute break to comply with the new HOS law, I packed a bag with fresh clothes and got my free shower while I was there. 

   Feeling clean and rejuvenated, I began my trip and didn't stop until I was north of Nashville, just a few miles into Kentucky. I fueled up the truck and parked it for the night. Sure, I could have simply waited to pump diesel into my truck while performing pretrip inspection in the morning, but I like to have as much done as possible before I go to bed.

   With my 12 volt oven, I heated up some canned chili and vegetables for dinner. Once that was eaten and cleaned up, I went into McDonald's to enjoy some cookies and coffee.

    A new friend called me this evening to unload his troubles. With three months of experience driving a big truck, he had his first minor accident. Turning sharply right, the left side of his trailer hooked onto a gate, causing significant damage to it. He reported it to our company's accident department and will soon be going through the unfortunate remedial training process. He said he did feel a lot better about the situation after talking it through with me.