What Can Practical Miles do for You?

by | Nov 25, 2014 | Driver News

See the difference between practical miles and household movers guide miles

By now, it is likely that you have heard about Practical Miles and how different they can be compared to the Household Movers Guide, which many carriers pay. Crete Carrier began paying Practical Route miles in October of 2005, and was one of the first carriers to adopt this pay scale.  But what does all of that even mean?

It is important to understand the difference between Practical Miles and Household Movers Guide, or Short Route as it is commonly referred to.

Practical Route Miles calculates mileage pay based on the shortest practical distance a truck can travel. This measurement is taken from the downtown post office box of the starting location and ends at the downtown post office box at the destination. According to Rand McNally, “The Practical Route” is the most time efficient method of driving. Practical Routes tend to be the more desirable route of travel.”

Household Movers Guide/Short Route calculates the mileage pay based on the shortest distance to get from the starting point city limit to the destination point city limit. Rand McNally defines Household Movers Guide as “the standard mileage guide that Shippers and Carriers use to negotiate rates for freight. It is the shortest legal highway mileage from two points, which an 80,000 pound combination unit may take. The calculation does not consider time as a factor, thus the route may take more driving time, but accomplish less miles.”

In the below table, you will see the difference between Practical Route and Household Movers Guide mileage pay. The routes listed are typical routes a driver is likely to drive with our company. As you can see, the extra miles really add up! On average, this driver would earn nearly 500 extra miles per month!

“Our drivers have been able to receive the benefit of being paid Practical Miles for over nine years now. And it is a great benefit because it essentially pays them for the miles they actually drive. Five percent more miles may not seem like a lot per trip, but when you add that to a week of work and then see the whole month, it is a very big difference,” says Richard Snyder, Director of Recruiting at Crete Carrier. “I am proud to tell our drivers that we pay Practical Miles.  When you add that to the top pay per mile, new equipment, and gold standard benefit package our drivers receive, it is a real winning combination.”

Practical Miles