Wal Mart cell phone policy

Now you are getting into the facts of the story. A jackknife accident is serious and not on the same level as hitting a yellow post at a store. You originally stated the roads were also slick, so the question of speed too fast for conditions comes to mind. Since you drove those roads so frequently, you would know the road conditions for this area.

I know the area you are in quite well. From 2001-2004, I ran a dedicated run between just West of Sacramento to Milwaukee. Running I-80 from Donner Pass all the way to Milwaukee was not nice in the winter, especially across Wyoming with the strong winds. At present, I am in the Houston area. I am originally from the Boston area, so winter driving is something I have seen a lot of, which led me to move down South!

 

One Walmart driver I talked to said you would be immediately termination if you were caught with such phone. I do not work for Walmart and have not personally seen their policy.

 

Hopefully your extensive service and safety will triumph.

 

Since when does a co have a legal right without court order to search your private cell phone records?

 

When you sign an acknowledgment of the policy as a condition of employment.

 

Our company has same policy no cell phones at all. I dont see the big deal. It is a safety thing for me.

 

I worked for Walmart for 7 years. They fired me for following an operating procedure they told me was ok. When they want to get rid of you the will bend the rules or interpret them in their favor.

 

A jackknife is serious but not grounds for termination. Preventability, as you know, will be determined thru the Accident review committee. And if a driver does not get the result he thinks he deserves he can go to the quarterly accident review, as you know. I was not on the phone at the time of the accident. As a result of the accident you have to do a drug screen, alcohol screen, and phone records search. When I got home that night I went to the Verizon website and downloaded my cell records , text and voice, to give to my safety mgr the next day. I did not notice that the records went back to the first of the month. On the first of the month, October, also the first day of the policy being implemented, I had returned a single digit text message to my daughter. When they discovered that, it went from accident investigation to Distracted Driver Policy violation, which is a terminable offence. I made an incredibly stupid mistake Tom. After 23 years of dedicated, accident and incident free service I was terminated as a result of this policy and this policy only. Harsh? You bet. I have spent more time fiddling with the qualcom to deliver a voice message properly than it ever took me to send that text. I agree with the policy but think some leniency needs to be put in. I would have taken a month off without pay and loss of safety bonus if it meant I could keep my job. Had I been on the phone or texting when I jackknifed, see ya! No problem with that! Hope this thread will drive home to those reading that texting and driving are not being tolerated, nor should they be. I made a mistake and my life is forever changed.

 

PS. I will NEVER do this again. That goes without saying.

 

Gizmo, I do not feel you should have been termed based on what was discovered on your phone records since it was not a factor in the accident. It really comes down to whether or not the accident is ruled preventable. You were the only one on the scene of the accident that knows what was going on prior to and at the time of the jackknife. Focus on those details for now. If weather was a factor, then get as much data about the weather and road conditions as possible. The National Weather Service and Wyoming Highway Patrol will have data that may back up your claim. A few years ago while I was a driver supervisor at UPS Freight, one of my drivers was involved in a serious jackknife accident North of Houston. I argued in front of the UPS safety dept how the tires on this truck were not specced to handle traveling in heavy rain, along with the poor drainage of water failing off the overpass onto the stretch of road my driver was on played a big factor in the loss of control. That accident was ruled non-preventable based on the data I supplied to the UPS safety dept. That is why I suggest you do the same and obtain weather and road conditions data as well, if not already done. I hope it all works out for you. A mistake where no one was killed or injured should never outweigh all the good years of service you did have. I wish you well and hope the investigation works out in your favor.