Who Pays The Ticket?

**DaltonR121** · 06.12.2012

So I'll get right to the point. The company I work for believes that if you get a ticket of ANY sort, that you should have to pay it. I don't mind paying a ticket that is a direct result of my actions such as speeding or a log book violation but another driver got a ticket for a slack being out of adjustment and they fired him for not signing a paper that gave them permission to take 400 dollars out of his check for this ticket. I firmly believe that I am not an owner/operator and I shouldn't have to pay for the company's faulty equipment. If you refuse to use the equipment because of something you find in your Pretrip, truck drivers are a dime a dozen. If you refuse to drive it, someone else will. Is there a law somewhere about who is obligated to pay tickets?

**sevenmph** · 06.12.2012

A slack adjuster is part of the pre trip. Any company, or DOT officer is going to say the driver should have caught it on pre trip.

**RAGE 18** · 06.12.2012

My company does not let me adjust brakes on the equipment. I have to call someone to do it. But I must say proper PM's from the company avoid many headaches. So to your friend...he is better off and so would you from this company if they cant properly PM their equipment for you guys I'd be running somewhere else.

**DaltonR121** · 06.12.2012

I agree a slack should have been caught in the Pretrip but I know a trailer I pull, I've written up that the slacks are bad on it for months so it could go out of adjustment as soon as I pull off the lot. I don't feel I should have to pay a ticket when it's not my truck. I baby the truck and do all I can to keep it in the best possible condition but I can't force them to spend the money to help me. I don't quite have the experience to go anywhere else is my major reason for not leaving. And I'm also a fan of having a relatively new Kenworth. And the fact that I pull flatbed hah. What I am doing to try to cover my butt is MAKE SURE I am writing it on my logs so I can show that I've been telling the company repeatedly. But I was just trying to find a law of some sort that states that the driver is not obligated to pay a faulty equipment DOT ticket so the company can't screw me.

**marmonman** · 06.13.2012

So just how do you tell if a slack adjuster is out of adjustment on your pre trip? All I can tell by looking at it is if is all there and not broken or missing .

I dang sure can't put on the brake and run back and measure the travel before it backs off ....... but I am getting old so you young whipper snappers may be better at that than I am ......Just sayin........

**aiwiron** · 06.13.2012

Before all the automatic this and that the driver should have at least checked the travel and adjusted it, with the auto slack adjusters it is a maintenance issue.

Perhaps the company did him a favor?

**CondoCruiser** · 06.13.2012

This is a topic of debate. Any driver that gets a fine as a direct result of their negligence ought to man up and pay the ticket. From the legal side, if a ticket is made out to the company, they are responsible. Just like what happened, they will pull you in a back room and try to get you to sign a promissory note. Don't sign and your employment will end one way or another.

When I got that Pawtucket bridge fine for $5000, I was the 4th driver from the company to get one. All the other drivers quit. I paid the ticket which was knocked in half. I tried to get the company to accept 50% responsibility since they routed me that way but it didn't fly. But they forced me to sign an agreement or lose my job.

By law, any driver can not be coerced into signing a promissory note. I could go back and sue, but I'm not going there.

**revelation1911** · 06.13.2012

Originally Posted by CondoCruiser

This is a topic of debate. Any driver that gets a fine as a direct result of their negligence ought to man up and pay the ticket. From the legal side, if a ticket is made out to the company, they are responsible. Just like what happened, they will pull you in a back room and try to get you to sign a promissory note. Don't sign and your employment will end one way or another.

When I got that Pawtucket bridge fine for $5000, I was the 4th driver from the company to get one. All the other drivers quit. I paid the ticket which was knocked in half. I tried to get the company to accept 50% responsibility since they routed me that way but it didn't fly. But they forced me to sign an agreement or lose my job.

By law, any driver can not be coerced into signing a promissory note. I could go back and sue, but I'm not going there.

I was through there yesterday. I'm glad I never met the 18 ton mark.
The bridge is fully open now
http://www.ri.gov/DOT/press/view.php?id=16353
I don't think I'd been a gracious about paying the fine.
The company would've had to help out on it.
And if I was terminated due to it, they'd paid some more.

**revelation1911** · 06.13.2012

Originally Posted by sevenmph

A slack adjuster is part of the pre trip. Any company, or DOT officer is going to say the driver should have caught it on pre trip.

Total lack of knowledge on your part. According to dot regs. you have to be qualified to inspect brakes and do any work on them.
Theres a piece of paper a carrier is supposed to have in his files signed and showing who can work on brakes, including adjusting them.
I have both in my files and didn't know I needed them till I was informed some years back at new entrant audit.
99% of air brake equipent on road now has self adjusting slack adjusters and theres no way to tell if adjustment is needed
unless you have pointers insstalled or you release brakes, apply them and measure. So prestrip will only tel if they are there.
So it's BS that a driver can tell only indication would be more than normal air required for application or a loss of braking effect.
400.00 dollars sounds like a company fine and is rather high most are in the 50-100 range.
I wouldn't pay a equipment one unless it's something I could have known.
Being a carrier HOS for drivers would be the higher fines.
I was a class A and know for fact driver isn't going to know if his brakes are 1 inch travel or 2 on one wheel, maybe the whole unit.

**aiwiron** · 06.13.2012

Originally Posted by revelation1911

Total lack of knowledge on your part. According to dot regs. you have to be qualified to inspect brakes and do any work on them.
Theres a piece of paper a carrier is supposed to have in his files signed and showing who can work on brakes, including adjusting them.
I have both in my files and didn't know I needed them till I was informed some years back at new entrant audit.
99% of air brake equipent on road now has self adjusting slack adjusters and theres no way to tell if adjustment is needed
unless you have pointers insstalled or you release brakes, apply them and measure. So prestrip will only tel if they are there.
So it's BS that a driver can tell only indication would be more than normal air required for application or a loss of braking effect.
400.00 dollars sounds like a company fine and is rather high most are in the 50-100 range.
I wouldn't pay a equipment one unless it's something I could have known.
Being a carrier HOS for drivers would be the higher fines.
I was a class A and know for fact driver isn't going to know if his brakes are 1 inch travel or 2 on one wheel, maybe the whole unit.

Unsure where you find the driver needs to be certified to check brakes but if your brakes are out of travel or have issues it is part of the pre trip/post trip inspection required by the driver, a driver does not need certification to inspect and report any safety problems.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-secu...ta/part396.htm

If you click on the link I provided here is a part of what dispels the erroneous information you stated.

Quote:

Inspector qualification

Motor carriers must ensure that persons performing annual inspections are qualified. Inspectors must:

understand the inspection standards of Part 393 and Appendix G

be able to identify defective components
have knowledge and proficiency in methods, procedures, and tools.

Inspector training or experience

Inspectors may have gained experience or training by:

completing a State or Federal training program, or earning a State or Canadian Province qualifying certificate in commercial motor vehicle safety inspections

a combination of other training or experience totaling at least a year.

So by the requirements stated I should be qualified with experience, but auto slack adjusters are not in my to do list so I decline to even touch them.