When we reported last week on the crash that killed trucker Ewell Levy, it was noted that brake failure was likely the cause of the accident that saw the trucker trying desperately to keep from injuring anyone else before his rig crashed into an empty restaurant. Investigators now claim that mechanical failure was the cause of the crash, and the carrier was to blame.
It seems that no one familiar with Roby Trucking is surprised that one of its vehicles had a catastrophic mechanical failure. The California Highway Patrol has a stack of previous Roby Trucking violations that included problems with brakes, steering, and even a violation for a rig that was overloaded by 16,000lbs. Roby has so many violations in fact that the CHP was in the habit of inspecting their vehicles at least every 120 days.
A former Roby employee who used the name “Harvey” to talk with reporters says that in his 42 years in the business, this company comes in at the absolute worst.
Tina, a former office manager was quoted as saying that at Roby “it was about money. It was never about safety. It wasn’t about their drivers. It wasn’t about the public.” Unfortunately, it looks like that policy caught up with them and cost one of their driver’s his life.
Levy was hauling a double load of gravel through Pittsburg, California when his brakes failed. He blared his horn, flashed his lights, and did his best to maneuver around other people. He ended up colliding with three other vehicles before his rig smashed headlong into a vacant restaurant in a strip mall and burst into flames.
Next Story: Huge 193 Vehicle Pile-Up Investigation Finally Over
John Ciely says
What a shame. We have to refuse to drive unsafe trucks as drivers. Prayers for this man and his family.
Gordon A says
I think that today so many drivers are afraid to say anything other than it needs fixing and if not fixed continue to drive it. These drivers need the job to feed their family. Then this happens. This terrible incident will be all the motivation LEO’s need to harass truckers even tho they are not driving unsafe trucks. It seems to be the law to some LEO’s that if a ticket is not issued something is wrong. The company had a history of failed inspections and operating unsafe trucks. Still was running unsafe vehicles? What is wrong with this picture? I pray for his family. He tried to feed and support them and now he is no longer there to do so. So so very sad. Can we say criminal intent by the company leadership?
Jraulpilot says
May he rest in Peace…..and my condolences to the family. And to all fellow drivers out there; you have a POWERFUL tool to avoid or minimize this type of incidents; it is called PRE/TRIP…POST/TRIP..inspections.
Do Not be afraid to “write it up”……Best to do it before you leave the “Yard”, so it gets fixed…..If it happens on the road and you “discover” the irregularity……”Shut down” the Unit. It’s the “right thing to do”…you protect your Safety and the Safety of others. **REMEMBER……You are the Captain..!! (and your Dispatcher) WORKS FOR YOU..!!
Dave says
Amen!
Another caveat. There are more driving jobs than there are drivers, but then again I live in a city with tons of available driving jobs and hubs.
mike says
Doesn’t work that way , I heard driver’s told drive it or you ll get fired for refusing a load. By my old boss I was a supervisor. I wouldn’t do that to driver’s and was always in trouble for it.
Kris says
I agree with everybody saying “Don’t leave the yard until it’s fixed”. Here is the problem drivers have with that ultimatum. “It wont be fixed for two weeks” is the usual response and the driver loses miles, pay and possibly the job. When you live paycheck to paycheck that loss can be catastrophic, the employer makes it difficult for you to get another job and puts another driver in that seat the next day. The company should have been forced to maintain their trucks or face heavy fines, making it more profitable to run safe trucks. When the bottom line is profit the only recourse is to take the profit.
Rick Woodcox says
Checking trucks and taking chances is all part of the industry. I have in the past hauled over weight and unsafe equipment, while fitting my hours to make the job work for me. I don’t like hearing about anyone losing their life. When what could of been preventable because of an oversite of an inspector. I wonder if their might of been a under the table report.
Schlottmann says
If that company is so terrible, then why were they allowed to stay in business? Shouldn’t dot be as merciless on the owners as they are with drivers? I know a driver who smoked weed on his weekend, and then two weeks later got a ua. He lost his cdl for a year. I know it’s not the same thing, but it makes no sense. Drivers are supposed to be safe or else, but a company can run a truck business like that?
That One Guy says
The Feds give these rouge companies chance after chance to straighten up is why. The road side guy can write up violation after violation, but fmcsa is the only agency that has the authority to shut the company down.
Kai says
CR England is still in business even with their current practices.
Douglas Kirk says
Writing up defects on a pre or post trip report is fine, but it is never a guarantee that anything will be fixed. It won’t even cover your ass if you get caught driving a truck with safety issues. The regulations clearly state that if the vehicle is unsafe, it can’t be driven.
Al says
[Investigators now claim that mechanical failure was the cause of the crash, and the carrier was to blame.]
Carriers can only sustain great mechanical negligence with the full knowledge and permission of their drivers. If you crash a mechanically unsound rig, it’s your fault. If you die in that crash, it is by your own hand.
Eileen Franklin says
Most of the drivers at National Carriers will not write up anything on their trailers. Their mechanics do not like when I come into the Irving yard because I always find something wrong with a trailer that I have picked up at one of the shipper. From the hole in the back of the trailer missing the metal rails which could have been a disaster for me if the shipment fell through the floor on to the highway. To both airbags totally deflated when I got it, back doors smashed on the inside. Here’s a good one a driver dropped a trailer on their Irving yard and didn’t tell the mechanics that the landing gear handle on the trailer was only held on by a U clip instead of a secure bolt and nut, so when you crank the handle the pin drops out every time you turn it upside down. Nice secure equipment. However, I do like National Carriers but they need to pay more attention to their equipment and if a driver doesn’t write up a defective trailer, then that driver needs to be written up.
Leo says
Paying the bills verses taking a life.
I’m not going to drive if its not safe! Last week I told my company I’m staying home until you can put me in a safe truck, or fix mine. I never had to make a stand like that, but I’m glad I did.
Tim says
Probably wouldn’t do any good,but I remember back in the late 70’s Yellow Freight was the same way. I remember this,because the “Yellow wives” were picketing at Yellow’s Barstow terminal. It caught Overdrives attention. They ran a story in their magazine about the concern the wives had for their husbands safety with Yellow’s equipment. Maybe it’s time for people to picket this company. Nobody wants to be put in the spotlight. Everybody will bird dog them.
Bo says
Hogwash. all trucks today have what we call spring brakes. when air pressure is lost the spring takes over and locks the brakes down. So all he had to do was pull the red and yellow knobs to shut this thing down. Unless this truck’s brake linings were complete gone and he was driving at a high rate of speed there is no way. If it has no brake linings then this company needs to be shut down.
larry Giglio says
Hello. In these situations, the driver notices the brakes going, and prays the hill is not too long, or he/she will have a clear passage to coast it out. My question is: at the moment a driver pumps on the brakes and notices there’s not enough resistance- if they were to turn the engine off, would it improve their chances for survival; or worsen them? RIP
johnr says
You cant turn the engine off. You need it to slow down via jake and downshift. (Plus without engine u have no power steering which would likely make things worse.) if it were me i might have tried the parking brake(s), but I’m thinking those peobably wouldnt have grabbed either since by then all brakes were probably fried. And for all i know the driver did try that. Really a shame yet another driver trying to make an honest buck dies for a company more interested in a dishonest buck.
Tim says
How did the line from that song go? “One life for ten,has always been,a diesel drivers code”.
JCASA says
Drum sounding, not correct, need to do a actuation of slack adjuster, top shoe less than
1/16 from drum at cam end. (air psi at 100 or more).. If slack and brake rod move more
than one inch. Time for out of service.
edwin R Rosales says
i work for union company for 12 years and they always take care of the trucks, but the problem, is when you work for a non union company, you have all kind of problems, and all kind of irresponsability, of the owners
mike says
I was a supervisor at Estes . Go figure his first name is robey. I was always complaining about the same things there . I actually went as far as filing dot and OSHA complaints against the company. I was concerned there that when they wanted people terminated that sabotage was being performed on the equipment at times. When I called to complain to HR . I was told mind my own business it did not concern me. I was told by the district manager to let equipment run that was classic o.o.s criteria. Now I am out of a job. But some good came out of it. I would not recommend that company to anyone for gainful employment. I went to the job center when they ask where I was employed I said estes. The representative there told me (you don’t need to say any more) with a disgusted look on his face then walked away. That actually made my day ! No need to explain. Just the name of the company does it all.
Toad says
Mr. Levy should be acknowledged for his heroic efforts to minimize injury to others in his final seconds of life.
It’s about time that accountability start at the top. If the CHP files are as credible as it sounds then it’s the owners of Roby Trucking that should be brought up on at least involuntary manslaughter charges for the driver and reckless endangerment for the other citizens.
Of course drivers are supposed to check thing, and they do, but the yoke of mouths to feed and bills to pay falls heaviest on them. A business owner has their rates and taxes and so much more availible to them to assist them in operating a safe and profitable business plan. So the gamble of deliberately being lax in maintaining a safe fleet of vehicles simply to gain higher personal profits should carry the highest penalties our laws can throw at them.
Anthony Thomas says
Just to add something in here: A driver trying to make an honest buck did not do his due diligence and inspect his vehicle for issues prior to driving it at highway speeds. The company may have neglected to fix an issue, sure. At that point the driver could have refused to drive the truck and not jeopardize his life or the motoring public. There are plenty of recourses for a driver terminated for not driving the truck and none involve his own death or risking killing someone else. Just a thought.
Anthony says
Thats the problem there are lots of companies out there with this type of problem but there is no one for the drivers to go to without getting fired or ticketed
Billy says
I worked for a rental company as a Service Tech/ Mechanic. At a training class on DOT regs we were told we wen to Ford F250s to avoid DOT HOS. Well the Ford F250 HD has a factory spec GVW of 10,000 on the money. But then the fun begins. You run under the 100 mile exemption so no log book and your under 10.001 lbs. But here is where it gets fun under the 100 mile rule you can only drive during a 12 hour work day and no log required, if you go past the 12 hours and need to drive your still exempt due to the weight. but now at say 13 hours from punch in time you need to tow a trailer that put your combined weight over the 10,0001 you need to run a log book and then it puts you into a Hours of Service rule. So you punch in at 7 AM get off at 5 PM then at 10 PM they call on you to tow a 6000 heater to a rental customer where you may be there for 3 hours or more then return with a heater you replaced. WHERES THE 10 Hour Break at? It puts you at driving way beyond the 14 hour window! Missing inoperative break away devices. missing tail lights/inoperative lights the list goes on.
FMCSA has the complaint. OSHA has filed a Whistle blower complaint on my behalf and currently I am unemployed. Do as your told by the GREEN RENTAL COMPANY that seeks green backs not safety.
Infosaur says
Seems pretty obvious that the CHP was negligent in not launching an investigation into this company.
In fact there’s nothing in this story to indicate that OSHA is currently investigating Robey Trucking or FMCSA is padlocking their doors.
Because it’s not an election year.