Warning, this will be somewhat long, I feel I should try to do it justice and explain most of the factors. (you have been warned)

Ok I'm a single father of 3. caught my wife with another man when I was otr. divorce took 2 years (My atty hosed me bad) I'm shelling out 900 mo in child support to only get my kids 4 days a month. I came off the road to fight for more time with the kids.

first local job only paid 12.5 per hour pulling oversized, which obviously wasn't paying the bills, so I left that and went to hauling trash with a large company. More hours, more money etc. I've been there about 1.5 years.

when you start there (as with most companies) you get stuck in the crap trucks. I was no exception, to add to that everytime the truck I was in broke, my supervisor ALWAYS labled me a truck breaker, jokingly or not and it stuck. so all the mechanics joined in... (keep in mind, in my time otr and pulling oversized local I NEVER had any truck problems outside of 3 flats)

continuing on... I did my time, got a decent truck (2000 mack vs the 95 international I was driving) and from day one wrote the brakes up as weak, parking brake would not hold on inclines etc, they would adjust the brakes and it'd be ok for a few days, then right back to being weak. well I was just without it cause it took them just shy of a month to put a clutch in it (when I got it, they were aware it was on it's way out) finially got it back, and after having to have them fix things they didn't do right during the clutch job (pto was left 1/2 unhooked, clutch cable broke) I'm back to writing the brakes up. again, all they did was adjust them and send it back to me as ok.

well monday, I pick up a rock box (20 yard container full of bricks and such) 16.8tons and I had to wiggle and twist to get on the box and get it picked up, get underway and get stopped by a train, set the park brakes, train clears, release the brakes and get underway, about 2 blocks down low air light comes on, electronic malfunction light comes on and I slow to a crawl and call the shop on the radio giving them a heads up I'm bringing it in to get checked. (I was within a mile from the yard)

Apparently the rear axle's brakes decided to hang, by the time I got back to the yard they were just short of on fire. (now here's where I did wrong by not checking it closer, what I saw in the mirrors looked like rock dust, yes I know i'm a freaking idiot, I took responsibility for that with them tho) The shop is claiming that the brakes were brand new, (which makes me wonder why they weren't holding) and that they can't find anything that would cause the rear axle's brakes to bind up.

SOOOOOOOOOOO. I get suspended for 3 days. the shop wanted me fired, my boss being the saint he is, put it to me like something like this 'Your a career guy, you volunteer for extra work, you do good work, you do your job, I'm not going to fire you. but I have to do something.' (funny, that makes me wonder why I've never gotten employee of the month cause they seem to pass that around easily) instead of suspending me for gross negligence (sp?) he put it under misconduct, which will look better in my file. at anyrate...

Does this seem off to anyone else? 3 days off is going to kill me finiancially, as it's taking ever single dollar I make to pay bills and child support, and don't get me wrong I'm happy to not be fired but dayum... to add insult to injury, nothing is going to be done to anyone in the shop over me writing the brakes up repeatedly and only adjustments getting done (i'm wondering if they even ever troubleshot the slack adjusters)

How would you combat this? Is it worth going back there?

what kills me is I love the work, I like most of the people I work with, and most importantly, it pays enough to pay the bills and child support (barely tho) which is better than what I was doing OTR. I guess I should explain, I've gone up about 10k working here vs when I was OTR.

Am I just completely off here???

I don't think you're "off" at all. As a driver you have a responsibility to let maintenance know when something is wrong, which you did. It is then up to the mechanics to fix it. I don't see anything you could have done differently except perhaps refusing to drive the truck at all, and from the sounds of things, this company wouldn't have reacted very well had you done that. You might have ended up in an even worse position than you are in now.

However, short of commiserating, I can't help you in any way. I suppose you could talk to a lawyer, but I doubt it would do much good.

I wonder what they would have done if you were stopped for a D.O.T inspection? And put out of service? My guess is they didn't 'fire' you because you went through the proper procedure of writing up the brake issues. If they would've fired you, you would be able file a complaint against them, using your copies of the write ups.
The company i drive for takes care of all equipment issues. If we receive a ticket, they pay for it. But, as they always say, "It is the drivers responsibility..."
Just keep working hard, and stay on top of it all. Keep writing up equipment issues and saving your copies.
And, enjoy your kids!! They are top priority #1!

Sorry to say MISCONDUCT is not a good thing for your file because if he does end up firing you the term itself will make you ineligible for unemployment and you will have to appeal the employer's protest.
If you logged all the unsafe things of the truck/s then you maybe able to find a Defense Lawyer versed in truckers laws and each notation is going to be in your favor. Also concerning Misconduct it may make it hard for you do go to a different trucking company.
Since you have a problem with money maybe you can go back to family court and have the child support payments modified (if you and your ex is on go terms, if not it still is something you might try...you never know unless you try).
It sounds that you work in construction of some type so how can you know that is was something wrong with the brakes unless you were on black top. Does the shop have any evidence that the brakes were new?
Did you have a chance to check the thickness of the pads?
Like most drivers who really enjoy doing the job I know it is upsetting not to be driving.
If this company still lets you work, cover yourself two ways if the trucks are not up to safety standards...Log each and every incident and get a digital camera and double your chance if you need evidence of the company's MISCONDUCT and unsafe practices.
Wish you the best of LUCK

Yeah, been there done that once, got a day off over refusing to drive a truck with unsafe brakes.

Its been my experience to always adjust the brakes myself after having the shop adjust them just to have the brakes out of adjustment even after having new brakes put on. I adjust the brakes according to dot specs and never have any trouble unless a slack adjuster is bad which i have found a couple times, or the s cam isnt put in right which can cause brakes not to stay set, i had this happen on a L9000 ford which had a bad slack adjuster on one side and the other side the s cam wasnt right, after having both fixed and new brakes i didnt have any trouble with the brakes after that. good luck with your truck and employer.

I am sorry to hear about all of you troubles, if it makes you feel any better, I caught my husband in a simaler situation, with the factory ##### homewrecker!!!! I came real close to getting arrested that night, a 7 year itch. So I know how that feels, and it could not suck more!!! If it where me, I would stay at that job, if you are happy, with the work, and the people and your making enough to cover your bills. I would just lump the 3 days and move on from there.It is very hard to find a job, that your happy at today!! I wish you the best of luck and hope that things get better for you. I hope you win the battle to see your kids more!!!!



Only American truck crazy girl Because only American will do!!!!!!!

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Similar boat. Except I have one 12-year-old daughter and I pay $780 a month. My $18.50 an hour copier tech job ain’t cutting it. My outgo is higher than my income and there’s no staying in front of the eight ball. Long irregular hours (no overtime in this biz) make getting a second job nearly impossible. I already do side-work on the weekends when I don’t have my kid.

The reason I’m getting into OTR is to cut my overhead and try get out of this ever-widening financial hole. Less bills means more money. If I can bank what I would be paying for rent, in a couple of years I’ll have a decent pile sacked away.

It’s a huge change with some major sacrifices. I’m hoping and praying that I’m doing the right thing. For better or worse – I leave for Millis on September 2nd.

mechanics covering their butt boss covering his.... its life...

did ya leave they yellow button pulled and not notice cuz the brakes were weak????

under the bridge now.... take your lumps and keep on trucking...

next time when they don't fix the brakes after a couple of shots at it...

call the dot and arrange an inspection... they will write it up so it gets fixed properly and you won't be in trouble as long as you keep it to yourself that you called them.

the dot is often seen as the diaper... they got their place and are very useful if you know how to play nice.

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Though your argument is very clever, I don't think it will lead to the results you desire. gandhi

I ran into a very similar situation with my last local employer. When I braked the truck would dart to the left. I must have had that thing in the shop 12 times. I would test it in the yard then they would adjust it and I would take it out only to have it screw up again. I finally refused to drive it. So I voluntarily was off of work for half a week while they fixed it. When I got back took it out and it started acting up again. I called the boss and told him that he would need to call a wrecker because I was pulling it over and not driving it. Told me if I did that I would be fired. So I explained to him that I was at a chicken coupe and had the DOT officer standing right next to me who heard what he had just said. The next day I got a new truck. Dont let these companies push you around. Because if GOD forbid you hurt or kill someone they will pretend like they never knew you.