Trucking for the Red Cross

Over the last couple of days, Walter hasn't gotten dispatched, which means he's not earning. Dispatch says they're going to get their rigs out of harm's way before they focus on paying loads again.

He finally got dispatched, but for only 150 miles, a tiny bit for a long-haul driver. His first reaction was irritation. Then he saw he was making a delivery for the Red Cross - and said, Okay, no problem.

The delivery location, in Montgomery AL, was so hard to find they ended up getting a police escort. Seems it was easier for the cops to guide them in than to explain where the Red Cross location was.

No one was there last night to take the delivery. The doors were open and the lights on, nobody home.

This morning they were. But they want the drivers to drop the trailers there, which is not in that particular shipping contract. Once dropped, those trailers would be lost forever, between hurricane winds and the general disorganization that's a natural part of disaster relief efforts.

Walter counted 37 trailers in the parking lot just now. He's finally getting unloaded - but by hand. He has 22 pallets for them.

Last night, he listened on his CB to 8 drivers trying to make relief deliveries into the Superdome. At the time there was little or no food for the refugees, except for what they brought with them.

The truckers got about 40 miles away and couldn't get in any closer because the interstates were all one-way - leaving. They were hobnobbing about how to get in using secondary roads. He's not sure if they ever made it in. Someone did because they have MRE's there now.

Friday evening to Sunday a big fleet of trucks loaded with relief supplies sat waiting in Georgia, unsure which way to go. Waiting for the hurricane to get close enough to figure out where the supplies were needed. Sunday evening 50 trucks were still there.

These are only a few locations in the relief shipping efforts.