| Currently, the majority of larger companies choose to pay Shortest
Miles based on the Household Carriers Guide (sometimes referred to as
the Household Movers Guide), or a similar application, rather than
paying Practical Miles based on the P.C. Miler program, and many
companies claim this is the rate they have to pay because it is the rate
the shippers pay them. Whether I believe this is true or not doesn't
matter, but if it is true, then it's time companies quit accepting the
shortest mile, Household Carries Guide rate to haul freight and start
charging companies the practical miles their trucks run to reach
the consignee.
Anyone who has run under the Household
Carriers Guide or similar application knows you will easily run an
additional 10% more miles than you will be paid for, and in some cases,
as much as 20% more.
When you also take into consideration that the shortest route may
save you 50 or 100 miles, it may also take you an extra 8 hours or
longer to make your destination depending on where you are going from
and to. Even at 50 m.p.h., an extra 100 miles is only two hours of
driving time, and as far as fuel consumption,
two hours of
interstate driving uses less fuel than two hours of stop and go driving,
and a LOT LESS FUEL than 4, 6, or 8 hours of stop and go driving!
I've compared runs based on Household Carrier Shortest miles and P.C.
Miler Practical miles, and even running the suggested, shortest
route possible, I can guarantee the numbers I've just quoted
aren't exaggerations. I have NEVER been able to reach a
consignee within the miles the Household Movers Guide says I can, but I
have easily been within 5 or 10 miles of what P.C. Miler Practical miles
says the distance is.
If you aren't sure why there is such a difference in Household
Carriers shortest miles and P.C. Miler Practical miles, the easiest way
to explain it is to use an example.
If you are sitting on the far east side of Dallas TX and going to the
far west side of Fort Worth TX, P.C. Miler Practical miles will pay you
from the zip code you are sitting it to the zip code you are going to.
Household Carriers Guide shortest miles will pay you from the most
westernmost edge of Dallas to the easternmost edge of Fort Worth. This
can be half the miles you actually run in this scenario.
Another example is Chicago IL. If you are sitting on the southernmost
tip of the city of Chicago and have to drive to the northernmost tip of
Chicago, you get paid zero miles since the Household Carriers Guide does
not pay you from zip code to zip code, but from the extreme edge of one
city to the extreme edge of the next city you are traveling through.
Since you did not leave the city of Chicago, according to the Household
Carriers Guide, you did not drive any miles, so you don't get paid for
the move.
In other words, you don't get paid to drive through the cities on
your route.
OK, since most of you already know about the Household Carriers Guide
shortest miles verses the P.C. Miler Practical miles, and I've given a
short explanation for those that aren't familiar with it, now it's time
to ask the question:
WHY ARE WE LETTING COMPANIES CHEAT US OUT OF THE MILES WE
DRIVE?
I don't feel there's much need for a discussion on whether or not we
should demand every company, shipper, consignee, broker or anyone else
be allowed to pay based on the Household Movers Guide.
ALL loads
should be paid based on P.C. Miler Practical Miles.
Whether you are an owner operator, a company driver, or a lease
operator, being paid less miles than you can possibly complete a run in
is nothing short of having money stolen from you.
If there is one point I would be willing to shut down on in a
heartbeat, it's this one.
There is NO justification for anyone to pay a driver less miles than
it is necessary to reach the consignee.
Like I said, if the large or small trucking companies are agreeing to
haul freight at the Household Movers Guide shortest miles rate, then
they are doing business in a very poor manner. I say it's time to throw
the Household Movers Guide away and DEMAND all freight, and all
drivers, are paid using the P.C. Miler Practical Miles, and to prevent
anyone from attempting to buy out or coerce P.C. Miler from changing
their miles, we DEMAND that the miles reflected in the current
edition be the one that is LOCKED in for at least the next 20 years.
(Please don't be so naive that you have to write in and say it isn't
possible for anyone to buy out or coerce P.C. Miler. When it comes to
manipulation for a profit, if you have enough money, anything is
possible).
Paid Hub Miles:
I'm not an advocate of paid hub miles because I've altered my route
many times at my choice to go to a particular truck stop I prefer, to
visit a friend that lives close to the route I am driving, or to avoid
congestion in a big city during rush hour, and I wouldn't try to charge
a company for me driving the extra miles, nor do I want us to end up in
a situation where we CAN'T
alter our route in any way if we choose to do so, but if you have any
reason why we shouldn't be getting paid for the actual practical miles
necessary to reach the consignee on every load, I'd be very interested
in hearing it.
Altering your route:
OK, while we're on this subject, I will address an issue some drivers
have brought up. Some companies tell drivers they cannot leave the
consignee until they are dispatched on a load, or if the consignee will
not let them stay on the property, they are to find a shopping center,
an abandoned parking lot, or a wide shoulder to park on until they are
dispatched on a load.
I do know this happens, because I had a company try that with me
about ten years ago. Although I laughed at them and told them what truck
stop I was going to deadhead to, and I told them if they preferred I'd
deadhead home and clean out their truck instead (which I did not long
afterwards anyway), I realize every driver may not be willing to do
this.
Because this situation still exists apparently, I feel it would be
perfectly acceptable for all drivers, including owner operators, to
support the company drivers in this situation and demand that once a
truck is empty, if the company has not dispatched the driver on a load,
the company MUST dispatch the driver to the nearest truck stop
that is still in business (none of this 'go to the old abandoned truck
stop or convenient store eight miles up the road that no longer has
toilets or other facilities available'). |
