Am I responsible for damaged cargo? Securing? Inspecting?

Never. Ever take a hazmat load without checking the load for securement, blocking. The Bol matches what is on the trailer. Haz fines are very $$$

 

if you have these issues too often you are:
-working for the wrong company

-hauling for the wrong shipper

-drive too fast around curves.

-or all of the above

 

From my experience a lot of those pre loaded trailer you never see are drop and hook and on established accounts meaning they do it all the time. Dog food is a good example, heavy loads but constant, low sitting cargo. Eggs same way, easy runs.

 

Beware of opening the door to close to the dock, Things like wine,they may be double stacked, will fall out when you open the door, leave enough room to get out of the way.

 

sometimes ...YES

sometimes....NO

depends on who loaded the trailer.

are you allowed to be on the dock, and watch?

if so, then YOU can take the time to tell the loader, something is not right, and to fix it. or at the very least, you can strap it, or secure it

did you pick up a pre-loaded and sealed trailer?

if so, then mostly NO.

if YOU loaded that trailer, either box by box, or pallet by pallet, then YOU are 1000% responsible for how it got loaded.



but if it was not sealed, you can look inside, make a call to your company if there is something wrong, BEFORE you leave that property

 

I always make sure they understand they’ll be signing the BOL “seal intact” if there’s a chance of discrepancies on product count. Some loads are just one big mess. It’s up to them, if they don’t want to physically watch me break the seal. Damage claims are pretty rare. Any damaged or refused items usually gets worked out between Shipper and Receiver. They accept it, or I leave with it. Free to keep, donate, or throw in trash. Just can’t sell it. Shipper doesn’t want their refused product to end up on someone’s store shelf. For Liability reasons. Donated food, I always get a receipt. Never had an actual Freight Claim. 1832 Loads in 16 yrs. Like to keep it that way.

 

Why are the air bags in the floor they obviously weren’t between the pallets

 

For a live load, in 99% of cases, you will be asked to pull forward in order to close your doors. At that time, you can always jump up on your DOT bumper and climb up in order to take a look at your load. That's IF the warehouse does not allow you on the dock itself. Just be prepared with boots, hardhat, safety glasses, safety vest, and long sleeves in case they require them in order to enter their dock area.

In 1% of cases, the docks can be set up to open, load you, then close and lock the doors while sitting in the dock. In those few cases, you won't be able to inspect anything.

The basic rule here is this- if you're able to check on your load, with or without dock access, then you should. Unless the load is preloaded and power only, and even still in those cases, brokers, shippers and receivers, and thus, your own company, will look to blame the driver for anything and everything that goes wrong with a load.

When it comes to drivers, there seem to be very few rules, codes, or laws that protect us from blame when it comes to load damage, shortage, shift, etc. As for financial responsibility, then that's a different story and will depend on any contract signed or company policies.

Most loads will go smoothly- there's no need to stand there at the dock watching them load you; it's a good idea to ask the forklift driver him/herself if straps or load bars are recommended/needed; assess the load and its positioning for yourself to determine that as well; and most forklift drivers have loaded if not hundreds, then thousands of trailers just like yours. The shippers/receivers are well-aware of what is normal for damage and/or shortage and they're not all out to cheat carriers or get drivers in a bind over that.

Over time you'll get a feel for what is being loaded, its weight, and how it is packaged and palletized to determine whether straps or bars are needed, regardless of what the shipper or your dispatch says.

Until then, ask lots of questions at shippers and receivers, even if it makes you look like a rookie. Strap or bar everything, twice. And take pictures of your strapped and barred loads with your smart phone. Like I said before, as long as you keep all your wheels on the ground and don't get any tickets- it's hard for a carrier to rightfully blame a driver with snapshots of well-secured load [unless you make a habit of damaging/shifting loads].