Is this legal?

What a lot seem to think.

 

You got lucky. Economy (and trucking) are bad right now. Tighten up, driver.

 

Dam oak trees , always in the way .

 

He is gone guys, time to move on

 

Your comment caused me to remember one of my favorite songs. I am old enough to have watched this song performed live before that horrible night in Mississippi!

 

So, back 20 years ago when I was the guy doing overnight road service for a fleet, I had a driver call in from a shop at a certain truckstop in OK to get a 'flat trailer tire' fixed. Called the shop, talked to the mechanic on duty, and he said the trailer has 2 flat tires, bent rims, bent axle. In short, the driver hit something HARD. I knew the truckstop she was at, and also knew the truckstop across the road as well. Checked on my company computer software, and it seems she had JUST filled up over there. I also remembered the DEEP drainage ditches of this place along the entrance...

So, I called the fuel desk, and asked if this driver had just left there, and if it left with 2 flat tires and damage. He told me they were looking for her, as she had completely run over one of their entrance/exit signs and the concrete protector as she drover her trailer axles down the ditch while turning out of the lot. I told the guy where she was, and he said he had already called the troopers about the accident.

Got back in touch with the driver and told her what I'd found, and said that I would first have to create an accident report and have the police conduct the investigation and safety to do their investigation before any work could be done. So, she asked me "Why do you have to call safety? I didn't hit any car or truck.."

 

I was sitting in the breakroom that Operations people used one day when the VP of Safety walked in and refilled his coffee mug. I know the guy and said hello, he was so deep in thought he did not notice me sitting there. Once I spoke up he stopped and said hello Moose how are you? I was almost finished with some paperwork and was about to get it all scanned. Once I finished I walked into Safety knocked on his door and asked to come in. At the time the company would not give you Logbooks or Transflo scan sheets until you went over logs in Safety to go over logs. While he was looking at my logs he told me about an issue that was happening somewhere in PA involving a driver who had just put several thousand people out of power and I later learned destroyed Telephone and TV cable connections too. Was not on a public right-of-way but was following GPS and yanked some lines down. One thing about that day that stands out in my mind was his request asking me to reconsider being a Trainer. My reply can be best summed up -------

 

that bad huh . i saw a u tube vid where a trainer just left the student at loves , said he woke up in the night and student was sitting in passenger seat spun around facing him just stared at him while sleeping . Freaked him out pitched out his #### that morn while student was getting coffee n left .

 

Back around 2008 we had a company terminal in OKC. I stopped to get a free shower, log books, you know things like that then I went to the shop to get a few replacement spair trailer lights. And I see a 2008 freightliner with about 1/4 of the bumper mangled, broken headlight and finder ripped up and sciff marks on tire and lugnuts...? I looked at the service guy and said "looks like someone was poll dancing" he said no the driver said he hit a DEER... I looked back at the truck and said "dam I didn't know DEER bled SAFETY YELLOW". Everyone busted out laughing.. the service guy said will that's his story and he's sticking to it..

Next morning (about 9hr later) he was all packed waiting for the van to take him to the gray dog to go home and still telling everyone that would listen they fired him for hitting a deer..!

 

I think I would have done the same thing.