Considering applying with Millis

Discussion in 'Millis' started by WI Cupcake, Dec 7, 2013.

  1. WI Cupcake

    WI Cupcake Light Load Member

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    I'm still pretty wet behind the ears still (3 months), but I feel I need to make a change and move away from the mega carrier I work for. No preventables thus far, no tickets, no violations, and On-time is fair. Miles have been brutally low, and weekend loads have been so bad I wonder 'why bother'.

    I want to get in with a good outfit that values its employees, and shows it in more than just lip service: good equipment, decent pay, good miles, time at home. Is Millis this sort of company? Would I have a shot at getting hired with my limited experience? Is there a sign-on bonus?

    And just how bad is the drivecam thing?
     
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  3. twistedsmoke

    twistedsmoke Light Load Member

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    Nov 23, 2013
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    I just applied for Millis, but I have been reading up on them for months now. I can honestly say I haven't heard one bad thing from them. As I understand it, to be accepted by Millis you have to either 1) have at least 1 year verifiable otr experience or 2) go through their cdl training school. As for the cams, I cannot elaborate on that. Maybe one of the current drivers could chime in on that. Hope this helps and good luck!
     
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  4. stevenneill

    stevenneill Medium Load Member

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    You are correct on the hiring requirements, either 1 yr, or attend their school. There is a rather extensive thread on the Millis subforum on the cams. Many drivers have already expressed their opinion concerning them, and overwhelmingly it is not positive. Its a touchy subject and many drivers do not like them and that is understandable as having it is going to force you to do the right thing all the time. I met with Dan Millis and he spent a lot of time explaining what the cameras can and can not do, why they are being installed, how they are intended to be used and what effect they have already had. Of course he gave the company line and Dan is likeable, so its hard to talk to him and see anything in a negative way. The biggest VOICED concern is that there is an inward facing camera that watches the driver and that drivers believe, or are concerned, that this camera can be remotely viewed by the company at will. The other VOICED concern is that the camera views thier private living space and that they now feel they have no privacy. The unvoiced concern, but the one that always seems to permeate the thread is that if the camera can view me all the time, and if a critical event is so easy to trigger maybe the camera is going to catch me doing something I shouldn't be doing and I'm gonna be tasked with it. When a critical event offurs, the camera sends a recording out of the previous 15 seconds, and the following 15 seconds, for a 30 second video, not a 12 seconds clip like most people say...I've seen one of the clips it sends out. The company has sent a list of triggers they want to know about. Sudden stops, not completely stopping at a stop sign, ect. But there are other things they want the company to look for if a trigger occurs and they want these flagged also, such as not wearing a seat belt, or using your phone for ANY reason while driving. According to Dan it is the camera company that views the clips, not Millis, and the camera company only flags video according to the list of criteria that Millis has set up. If a video gets flagged, it gets forwarded to Safety and from there it is determined what, if anything, to do about it. Usually some additional training. According to dan, during the first month they did no training at all, they just reviewed the flagged videos to see what was happening. After the first month they began bringing drivers in for discussions concerning thier driving habits, in the second month flagging videos dropped by 40%. In the time since they implemented the program one driver was terminated for continued use of his cell phone. Millis does not even want drivers using a hands free device. The reason is liability and lawyers. If you are involved in an accident they will subpeona your phone records, including messages, phone, internet uses, or apps. If it is shown that you used your phone just prior to, or during an accident the company can not fight liability. Chances are you will be terminated. If you are caught on phone repeatedly, you will be suspended, you will have to attend safety retraining, and if caught again you will be terminated. Any other questions I MIGHT be able to answer based on my meeting with Dan...NOT personal experience, otherwise the thread on Dash Cams is extensive.
     
  5. PowderBlue

    PowderBlue Light Load Member

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    In a system that "cant be remotely viewed at will" Im really curious how they catch drivers with bluetooth or seatbelts off during a non critical even? Guys get messages about bluetooth phone use and seatbelts when no other infraction has occurred. .. only explanation for that is constant monitoring.Ps love this companyPss regretfully leaving once they put one in my truck
     
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  6. WI Cupcake

    WI Cupcake Light Load Member

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    It's this sort of big brother-ing that concerns me. How many trucks have the cams currently? Is it going fleet wide, or is it just those who consistently screw up and have events? If I don't trust my employer or they don't trust me, then I don't think that can work. I can understand it as a training aide or punishment for chronic offenders, but to automatically saddle everyone with it...

    I saw the thread and I had to ask the real scoop, because you get a dozen people in a fair sized company squakin about an issue, it might seem bigger than it really is. Thanks for the insight.
     
  7. stevenneill

    stevenneill Medium Load Member

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    I asked Dan thst question. He explained that the sensor is free floating and extremely sensitive. It can be activated by hitting a rough road. At that point it sends a 30 second clip because it is a critical event. Even if there is no infraction. That clip is viewed...do lets say you hit a rough patch but by you are doing nothing wrong. However you are talking on your bluetooth or not wearing a seatbelt. The video gets flagged for no seatbelt or cell phone. You get nessaged even though there was no other infraction. They are not remote viewing...but you create over 100 critical events a day in just normal driving. Every start and stop creates a critical event. So most video gets deleted and you never even know a critical event occured...and if you never do anything wrong you never will. However if you are on a phone it gets flagged. No seat belt...it gets flagged. In the left lane of a three lane highway...it gets flagged.
     
  8. stevenneill

    stevenneill Medium Load Member

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    It is going fleet wide. They started with 100 cams. They are installing 100 now. All 2009 trucks will be replaced by early summer with 2014 models. All of those will have cameras and scanners. By the end of 2014 they intend to have all trucks with cameras.
     
  9. stevenneill

    stevenneill Medium Load Member

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    The issue is liability. And new DOT regulations that will affect carrier fines.
     
  10. stevenneill

    stevenneill Medium Load Member

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    Let me add that the term "Critical Event" is not defined as anything you did wrong, a critical event is anything that triggers the sensors. The sensor is free floating, so anything that causes the sensor to change direction is a critical event. Making a sharp turn, even when done slowly creates a critical event. Coming to a stop, slowing down, starting from a stop, , quick stops, bumpy roads, potholes, exceeding 70 MPH. I saw the clips that Dan gets and he is making his routes doing safety meetings now. All of you will see what I saw and get the opportunity to question it. The info they get are two 30 second side by side clips. One showing the road, one showing the driver. There is also info showing engine speed, road speed, and whether you were on the accelorator at the time of the event and if so, to what percentage the accelerator was engaged. I saw the start page. Dan logs into the account. On that page are a list of drivers with a bar scale that shows how many critical events they have flagged. Dan can then choose a driver and choose a clip to review. No where on that control panel does it give him an option to remotely access a camera. He only gains access to flagged video. There is a set criteria for what gets flagged, so the company that maintains the camera has a set list from each carrier concerning what to look for. Lets say, you come to a complete stop, then make a left turn. Coming to a complete stope creates a critical event, starting from a stop creates a critical event and making the left turn creates a critical event, so you now have 1.5 minutes of video being sent out for three consecutive critical events. If you roll through the stop instead of stopping completely, that video will get flagged. If you stop completely, it wont. If you are not wearing your seat belt, the video will get flagged. If you are wearing your seat belt, it won't. If you are talking, texting, or using an app on your phone the video will get flagged, if you are not then it won't. You could potentially get flagged for all three, cell phone usage, not stopping completely, and no seatbelt, but if everything you do is correct, then the video will not get flagged at all. The monitoring company will see that there is nothing wrong, the video gets deleted and no one, including you, are aware a critical event ever occured.

    Exceeding 70 MPH... A driver in our safety meeting was upset because he was flagged for driving at 70MPH...before anyone comments, the trucks are governed at 66 MPH, however, on a downhill grade they can exceed that.. At 70MPH the truck's sensor got flagged because it is tied into engine speed and road speed as well. In this driver's case, he claims that he did not exceed 70 MPH but that he reached 70MPH in a 70 zone. Dan informed him that he would review the clip and if the driver did not exceed 70 MPH in a posted 70 zone and got messaged for it that he would talk to the driver's safety guy because there was no infraction. However, if the clip shows that he did exceed 70 MPH then the driver was in the wrong.
     
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  11. stevenneill

    stevenneill Medium Load Member

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    I'm not trying to Hijack this tread, and I know there is already a thread on this, but Please let me comment one more time. Truckers, like any regulated job get into a pattern based on regulations and what they reasonably can or can not do, and anything that changes that is met with resistance. No one likes to be interfered with. Many of you are great at your jobs, you have never cost the company money and so having the cameras installed comes as an invasion, a sense of "They don't trust me", it seems like a slap in the face, an un needed and unwanted intrusion into your life, your privacy, and your space. And they understand that. You see it in black and white...ie. they don't trust me, I have no privacy, They are out to get me doing something wrong. They see it as they had to settle for a LOT of money because a driver was watching video on a laptop when he killed someone in New York. They see a truckline getting sued for millions because of a 100 vehicle accident in Texas. And most importantly Millis Transfer currently has a very good CSA score and they want to keep it that way. Fines and lawsuits can cost millions over time, and with the precedent already set in the death caused by a Millis Transfer driver this kind of response is not only expected, but they would be remiss in NOT doing it. Many drivers develope bad habits without even realizing it. They lose track of the road, and don't pay attention. Cell phone usage is one of the leading causes in accidents in america, and yet all of us...myself included, continue to check their phone when driving. So far everyone has been lucky...but Millis is trying to stop another fatal preventable accident BEFORE it occurs. Sometimes the only way to enforce good habits is to ENFORCE them. I understand the company's stance here. In the event that you have a preventable accident, the lawyers are going to get your cell phone records. They will no what number you called, texted, or recieved a call/text from, how long you were on the phone, and/or what apps you used prior to the accident, and if they find anything, Millis is to blame. You will lose your job but they will lose a ton of money. Just a few accidents like that where they have to pay out millions in damages and they will be out of business, so if they can't make sure you don't use a cell phone without a camera they will do it with one. If you get cited for not wearing a seat belt, it is not only you who gets fined, it is also the carrier, so to avoid those fines, they now have to insure, by camera, that you are wearing one. You may never have even started a truck without a seat belt on, but unfortunately enough drivers do that now its become an issue for everyone. Its not about them trusting you or not trusting you, it is about the fact that the liability is so high now that they can not afford to take a chance. They MUST show that they have done EVERYTHING to insure they have the safest drivers. many of you have said you will quit if they place one in your cab, and certainly I can understand that, but sooner or later this is going to become the standard. What then? Instead, why don't you place it on a trial period and if, as you believe, it becomes too much for you then by all means, walk and find another carrier, but if it is like Dan says, and it is not an invasion of your privacy but only there to insure safety, then perhaps its not as bad as you think.

    I know I am not speaking from having a cam in my cab, I know that I am simply repeating what I was told, but I have given this a LOT of thought and I do not believe this is there to entrap or harm you as a driver. I am willing to work with it.
     
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