Don't the drivers keep logs?

[debold4215]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Sometimes Baltimore deserves the criticism it gets:


Baltimore City officials don't know how long it will take to clear snow - Baltimore Sun

Just sometimes ? I am beginning to believe that residents in Baltimore City are bringing problems on themselves. Maybe not all of them but a significant number of them.

[debold4215]

I saw something during the snow storm that I have never seen before in Baltimore. On Fredrick Ave one of the major roads in southwest Baltimore people were triple parked. The curb lane was of course snowed in and people had to dig themselves out like everyone else. The next lane, a travel, which was snow free, people just parked their cars there and went into their house. They didn't have to dig themselves out because there was no snow their. People also parked in the third lane, the turn lane. Now the cars are 3 lanes from the curb. They were not stranded there because the roads were clear. They just got out of their car s and left the there. People traveling west on Fredrick Ave had to go into the on coming traffic to get around them. One enters the county about three blocks west on Fredrick Ave and there was not a single car double or triple parked. What does that say about Baltimore City drivers ?

[BMoreJuice]

My neighborhood they did an okay job, although the side streets were not touched.

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

However it would be done. Keeping track of what's done isn't rocket science, whether the method is high tech or low tech.


You have a quadrant system with X trucks. How much got done in Quad A? And so on. But to say, as has been done in Baltimore City, Prince George's and, now, Montgomery that they have no idea what streets have been plowed is inexcusable.

I agree the big problem I see with the low tech solution is the difficulty in keeping up with the job and having updates posted in close to real time so the information is useful as well as the ability to 'pencil whip' the log by the driver and make it look like everything was done when it wasn't. Given the size of those operations (and ones like VDOT of SHA I could see how an automated system that tracked performance and made it available on a web site to improve 'transparancy' would be justified.

[steppinthrax]

Originally Posted by P47P47

Also, I saw one driver on TV mentioning that he'd had only 5 hours of sleep since Friday. I thought that there were limits on how much a person could drive without a break. I guess that doesn't apply to independent contractors.


"Call Mister Plow, that's the name. That name again is Mister Plow."

That's because some of these drivers are using this "snowmagaden" to make some quick cash. I imagine several of them made a few thousand in these few days.

They are not working against their will. They have a truck and a blade. They are connected to whoever or call whoever to volunteer cleanup. It boils down to if your the first person there and you are willing to never sleep.

In my area a guy just went from house to house "I will plow your driveway for $100 bucks". He must of made 500 bucks just in our cul-de-sac.

[steppinthrax]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

I agree the big problem I see with the low tech solution is the difficulty in keeping up with the job and having updates posted in close to real time so the information is useful as well as the ability to 'pencil whip' the log by the driver and make it look like everything was done when it wasn't. Given the size of those operations (and ones like VDOT of SHA I could see how an automated system that tracked performance and made it available on a web site to improve 'transparancy' would be justified.

It would be quite easy to implement a system that tracks drivers and roads plowed. There are Google Map APIs available that allow this type of tracking, your not reinventing the wheel... It's just a matter of getting all of them to use it!