West Memphis, AR

DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 4:00 p.m. CDT

Well, things aren't going as swimmingly as I'd have liked, at least in regards to my truck's issues. I got up yesterday morning, drove to (5 hours) and made my delivery (which took 2 hours) in Brownsville, TN. While I was waiting for my trailer to get unloaded, I called in to Breakdown to set up an appointment to get my Qualcomm repaired at the West Memphis terminal. Because I was about out of hours, I was heading to WM to sit out a 34-hour break, so that was a natural time to get the work done. However, Breakdown informed me that the WM shop didn't have any appointments available, but I could walk in and see if they could fit me in. Besides, a Qualcomm fix should be an expedited repair.

Once the delivery was complete, I drove the hour or so back to the terminal. After parking, I checked in with the shop. Long story short, since my truck is also due for maintenance, they won't fix the Qualcomm until I bring it in for the regular maintenance. And I need an appointment for that. And I can't ever get an appointment 'cuz Dispatch keeps me either too busy or routed away from the terminals or, when I am headed to a terminal, they have no appointments available. The exception, of course, was last week when I did have an appointment here, but a delay at a shipper made me miss the appointment. Anyway, it looks like I'll be heading back to work early tomorrow (Thursday) still without a working communication device. I'll have to resort to calling in on my cell phone, and that can mean some long delays on hold. I'm also hoping nothing happens where I'll needed to call in someplace where my phone service isn't available. But I think I'm obsessing on the point. Time to move on.

Last night after arriving and getting shunned by the shop, I was too, er, steamed to do anything on my laptop (blogging, poker), so I just sat in the drivers' lounge and watched TV. (Well, after I had dined at a nearby Mexican restaurant--a tasty Chicken Fajita Burrito.) I went to bed around 10:00.

This morning I woke up--purely unintentionally--at 4:00, and I just knew I was awake for good. So, since I had some dirty laundry accumulating after 3 weeks on the road, I brought it inside to wash it in the free machines they have here. Go figure that the machines would be available at 4:00 a.m. Anyway, clothes all clean now.

Since finishing my laundry, I've been playing single-table sit-n-go poker tournaments online (all no-limit Texas Hold 'Em). I played 9 of 'em and cashed in 5 (2 third places, 2 seconds, and 1 win), so I'm up a little bit (a whole $2.70) for the day. Always a plus. After winning the last one (finally!), it was time for a break to blog and get some dinner. So here's my report. Once I post it, I'll have to make myself decide what's for dinner. I'll probably just heat something up from my larder; I just need to decide what I'm in the mood for.

Now let me address reader dennis the accompanist's questions, "So what happens at a weigh station? Do you drive on through, or do you have to stop? What happens if something is wrong with the truck weight?"

As trucks drive through the weigh station's ramp, they cross the scales. Some states have full-length scales that we have to stop on, others have pads that weigh each axle as it crosses in motion. Still others have "preliminary" weigh-in-motion pads that check the weight before getting to the "real" scales. If the weight is OK there, the driver is directed to the bypass lane (always preferred) instead of across the scales at the scale house.

If any of the truck's axles or tandems is overweight, the driver is directed to the station's parking area, and instructed to come inside with his/her paperwork (bills of lading, log book, truck & trailer registrations, driver's license and medical form). Then the fun part--the nice officer writes up a ticket for the driver. Yes, I got a ticket (and fine) once when I picked up a loaded trailer with tandems that were stuck and I couldn't move them to get the load in balance. Besides, the load was a bit lighter so I didn't think it'd be a problem. On-the-job training, as it were.

Sometimes--especially when hauling a Hazmat load--the officers at the weigh station decide to pull you around to inspect the truck and trailer. That's more rigmarole, and I've had an inspection take 2 hours. If they find violations, they write 'em up and can put the truck out of service (you can't move it 'til the cited problems get fixed) or advise you to get 'em fixed promptly. The citation goes in to the company. The driver may or may not get a ticket, depending on the violations involved.

So that's a nutshell explanation of the weigh station experience. Usually it's just a slight irritation of having to interrupt a good, steady roll down the road. Incidentally, it seems that states are more vigilant on the weight issues the further south you go. The weigh stations in the more northern states are frequently (if not usually) closed, while they're almost always open in the south. (Not Texas, though--they're hardly ever open.) You'd thing the opposite, that the northern states with the frequent freeze-thaw cycles making the roads more fragile would be more vigilant about overweight trucks. Go figure.

Thanks for taking a look at today's report. I hope I'm being informative and entertaining on this site. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.