2 docks were open, and as soon as I finished filling out the form for the lift driver, I was going to back into one of them. My trailer doors were open and my tandems were slid; i.e., there could be no misunderstanding that I was ready to get loaded. Suddenly, a Knight Transportation truck whizzed past and took one of the docks. Seconds later, another one did the same thing. What was going on? Why were they breaking in line?
Interjection: My opinion of Knight is that it's a "fresh meat" company. Swift, Werner, and Schneider are in the same category. They're happy to get all the trainees and less experienced drivers they can, because they can more easily exploit those drivers. Less pay; less home time; preplanning them into next month; pushing them beyond the point of exhaustion for extended periods of time; etc., ... all of which is called "paying your dues" if you want to get enough experience to move on to a good driving job.
Having said that, a lot of these drivers could care less about following rules or etiquette. A lot of them are simply unaware.... After I'd put on my long pants, hard hat, and safety glasses, none of which the Knight drivers wore, I went inside and asked them, "Y'all don't load here often, do you?" They were young men, nice enough when they said, "No, why?" I said, "Because you broke in front of me." One of them said, "Well, we're on a tight schedule, you know."
That's what did it for me. I was absolutely livid! My eyes got big and I said, "You think I'm not?!" Then the other one, a bald, fat young man in shorts, started saying things that were sort-of pertinent, but missing the mark of the argument, and that's when it happened: I called them a few choice curse words, and walked towards the lift driver to flag him down. The lift driver said, "The Knight trucks have priority over everybody else here."
Maybe they did have priority, but did that mean they didn't have to follow any of GA Pacific's safety rules either? Frankly, I think the rules (hard hat, glasses, long pants, etc,) are silly, and whether or not you have to comply depends on the lift driver. Some lift drivers don't care and some won't load you until you're properly dressed. A lot of companies have rules similar to GA Pacific's, and to save time, most drivers try to do what the company asks before they get to the docks.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I apologized to the first driver and explained why I reacted they way I did. I was still mad, but something about the whole situation just didn't seem right - like these young drivers didn't have a clue as to what they'd done to offend me. The fat one in shorts even helped me sweep out my trailer.
As it turns out (according to the lift driver,) the Knight drivers have to meet a ship in Panama City FL, so they're given loading priority. The lift driver said it wasn't the first time there'd been arguments about the Knight drivers jumping in line, and we agreed that everyone else should be made aware of Knight's situation - and why they seem to have so little regard for all the other drivers waiting to be loaded.
As I was checking out, I made an appeal to the ladies in the guard shack (contracted security workers) and filed a statement. A GA Pacific representative came out to talk to me as I was writing the statement, and I explained what happened. I told him that if I'd (and other drivers) only known.... I said, "It's like meeting a plane with air mail - we all understand that ...." And I told him I'd cussed the drivers - something I never, ever do - simply because of the lack of communication, and it had been so unnecessary.
I felt better about it after another AMX driver and the lift driver said they would'ave cussed the Knights too, but still .... When it was all over, I felt like I'd been beaten. I haven't been that justifiably upset in ages.
And that's my story of how I fought the knights.
