Last week we were traveling on I-80
through Nebraska when the road conditions became icy. We received a message
from our company's weather department telling us to shut down at a safe location
due to dangerous driving conditions. We ended up being shut down for over a day
before we were given the all-clear to roll again.
I was asked by someone if winter shutdowns are the worst part about being an OTR driver.
For me, the answer is a resounding"No way!"In fact, I'm grateful for and take comfort in the fact that our company values drivers' safety over getting the load there on time - "No matter what, so man up and just get it there!"
So what, you may ask, do I struggle with the most about OTR driving? For me personally, I can struggle when customers cancel loads that we have been given a preplan for (I.e. our next load).
I'm a planner. I love making and becoming attached to even the most mundane of future plans. "Right, we'll deliver to Nashville on Friday around noonish. We'll then stop at such and such a WalMart to buy the week's food. We'll then go have a shower at the T.A. on the way to our next pick up in Atlanta and maybe stop at Denny's too for a treat meal and maybe I'll order..." You get the idea.
I will literally spend hours planning this stuff while I'm driving!
Then out of the blue BAM! We get a message telling us that our next load has cancelled. My plans are flushed down the proverbial toilet just like that.
This kind of thing used to really upset me. What about our shower? Our food shopping? Denny's? IT'S SO UNFAIR!
These cancellations however are part of the nature of being a truck driver. Customers cancel. I understand that, of course I do. But knowing that doesn't make it any easier for me when these things do inevitably happen.
But here's what I'm starting to discover. When loads cancel and plans are no more, something good can usually happen as a result. Here's an example of what happened last week.
We were due to deliver in Chicago and immediately head for pick up in Milwaukee for a load to Nashville and after we delivered, we would then have over half a day to do what we wanted. However, while driving east through Iowa, I got a message saying that the Milwaukee load had cancelled. We received a new load picking up the next day in Decatur IL (about 140 miles from Chicago).
Not exactly thrilled, I brooded and grumbled to myself a little. However, here are the good things that happened as a result that would not have happened had the load not cancelled:
1. I was able to have a long, peaceful night's sleep in a non-moving truck at the Petro in Monee, IL.
2. We had a voucher for a free dessert at Iron Skillet and Richie went in and came back to the truck with a gigantic round brownie with a cookie in the middle complete with 2 scoops of ice cream. It was enough to be a generous dessert for each of us - and for free!
3. When I woke up the next morning and went into the Petro for a shower, the shower room I was given was massive!
4. On the way to the pick up, we stopped at a WalMart in Kankakee IL. It was super easy for me to get in and out of and the store had stuff I'd never seen at other WalMarts. I was well impressed and pleased to add this new finding to our list of great trucker friendly WalMarts.
I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I'm no longer bothered when loads cancel. No, if our next load cancelled now, I would probably experience some distress.
However, I am starting to trust that by recognizing and acknowledging the good things that can potentially happen as a result of a seemingly negative event, over time, the struggle can lessen more and more.
I know my struggles with loads cancelling certainly has lessened a lot, and I mean a LOT!
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