And Florida Throws A Curve Ball
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
My Florida oversize permit arrived this morning. I discovered that the state of Florida had thrown us a curve ball. Normally the permits specify daylight movement only, along with all of the other restrictions, as well as the route to be used. Well the Florida permit did all of this, but they added a second page.
It seems that I have to run the entire length of the state during daylight hours, but from Florida City (just South of Miami) to Key West must be run between the hours of 9:00PM and 5:00 am. WTF?
Oh, and they also require me to have an escort vehicle for that section as well.
Well that really threw a wrench into my plan. I was intending to deliver there at the Key West airport tomorrow afternoon around 5 or 6. So much for that. I'll have to plan it now so that I get to Florida City just about sunset, meet the escort, and then wait until 9:00PM to start the 3 hour drive to Key West.
I am going to have to be very careful with how I time all of this. Firstly, there is no truck stop in Florida City so we'll just have to meet at some intersection with a shoulder wide enough for me to pull off and wait. That will be part of the escort's job, to find such a spot for me. I also have to make sure it's timed in a way that I don't exceed the 14 hour maximum work day regulation or that could cause a bit of a problem with the DOT. It's going to take careful timing and maybe a bit of creative logging to make all of this work.
I spoke with the folks at the airport and since I am delivering to the fire station I can deliver at any time. They work 24/7. That's a lucky break. Some of them have only certain people who can receive equipment deliveries and they invariably only work during the day.
The only other hurdle I can foresee here is having a place to sleep after I make delivery around midnight tomorrow night. If for some homeland security bullshit reason I can just park there at the airport fire station and sleep I have no clue as to what I will do. Key West is not exactly a truck friendly city.
I'm spending the night tonight in Unadilla, GA. A nondescript little town. It used to have a sports bar right across the street from the truck stop but I noticed that it's now closed down. I doubt there's much of anything else in this little burg.
*edit* After running the miles and drive time I decided I needed to be 30 minutes closer to make it work so I drove down to Cordele, GA. I'll spend the night here. I don't mind as it's 30 minutes less driving tomorrow, and it's a bigger truck stop to boot.
It seems that I have to run the entire length of the state during daylight hours, but from Florida City (just South of Miami) to Key West must be run between the hours of 9:00PM and 5:00 am. WTF?
Oh, and they also require me to have an escort vehicle for that section as well.
Well that really threw a wrench into my plan. I was intending to deliver there at the Key West airport tomorrow afternoon around 5 or 6. So much for that. I'll have to plan it now so that I get to Florida City just about sunset, meet the escort, and then wait until 9:00PM to start the 3 hour drive to Key West.
I am going to have to be very careful with how I time all of this. Firstly, there is no truck stop in Florida City so we'll just have to meet at some intersection with a shoulder wide enough for me to pull off and wait. That will be part of the escort's job, to find such a spot for me. I also have to make sure it's timed in a way that I don't exceed the 14 hour maximum work day regulation or that could cause a bit of a problem with the DOT. It's going to take careful timing and maybe a bit of creative logging to make all of this work.
I spoke with the folks at the airport and since I am delivering to the fire station I can deliver at any time. They work 24/7. That's a lucky break. Some of them have only certain people who can receive equipment deliveries and they invariably only work during the day.
The only other hurdle I can foresee here is having a place to sleep after I make delivery around midnight tomorrow night. If for some homeland security bullshit reason I can just park there at the airport fire station and sleep I have no clue as to what I will do. Key West is not exactly a truck friendly city.
I'm spending the night tonight in Unadilla, GA. A nondescript little town. It used to have a sports bar right across the street from the truck stop but I noticed that it's now closed down. I doubt there's much of anything else in this little burg.
*edit* After running the miles and drive time I decided I needed to be 30 minutes closer to make it work so I drove down to Cordele, GA. I'll spend the night here. I don't mind as it's 30 minutes less driving tomorrow, and it's a bigger truck stop to boot.
