My driver ran out of fuel

If you are worried about him trashing the truck because he suspects he's about to be fired, just find a load that delivers or picks up within a couple hours of your location. Then take a driver with you and go to the location and replace the driver when he shows up. Calmly explain you are having to let him go and help him clean out the truck and bring him and his stuff back to your yard. Pay him all he is owed and send him on his way.
Unless you send info to Hireright, there will be no notation on his DAC. They will only have his employment history from what they can glean from those who send in info.
When his next employer calls to verify, you are under no obligation to say why he left, only that he worked there for the specified period.

 

Are you yourself an owner operator or a business owner?

 

Give him a break the first time, if it happens again...let him have it.

 

I wouldn't fire an otherwise good driver for that. In fact it happened to me once (sort of) when I parked on the shoulder and the list uncovered the driver side fuel pickup. I called a taxi to take me to buy some fuel cans and some fuel. I'm pretty sure its not legal to dock his pay for that either.

No, he would lose his weekly $50 bonus for not being stupid and that would be all.

 

Ive never owned a small fleet. I've never hired a driver. But I was a general contractor. Do you (not Rank) know how difficult it is to hire a solid driver? Forget about lawyers and what he might do to the truck. See, that's a Beancounter mentality. I am referring to a big investment to a small fleet. One solid driver is the equivalent of 4 average drivers.

How can one driver do the work of 4?

Every thing you do as an owner operator/fleet operator he does too. He's prompt. He's good to customers. He's professional. He's taking a huge load off you because you don't have to hold his hand. He's you, the company owners best representation. Free advertisement for your company. Good PR. What's the dollar value on a driver like that? You guys (not Rank) are sweating a $300 loss, I'm looking at making a million. Do you know how rare a solid driver is? If this driver had one goof, firing him wouldn't even cross my mind. That's the bottomfeeder Beancounter mega trucking company mentality.

 

WoW!!! :smt103

Now there's a different perspective
and food for thought.

ThanX TripleSix.

 

You just won the internet. Congrats! Great comment!! 😂

 

Lol... I've been there. I was working out in Rankin, Tx one night (hauling water) i called my driver up that night and asked if he could cover the next day, he said yeah. I even had my dad drive him out here to me in the morning so he could take over. Long story short, I knew the truck needed fuel soon, but the nearest fill up was over an hour away and we needed to work. (Truck had enough fuel to keep working, but not to make it home) I told him to keep working here and I would return in the afternoon to fuel him up (support truck) he said ok... Around 9 pm i get a call: "hey man the truck ran of fuel!" Me: where are you? Him: "a well i was headed back already and it turned off" ... I don't recall telling him to come home at night.. He was supposed to work 12 hours and I was going out there to take him food and fuel so he could keep going, then I was going to take over again. Well no, genius came home own his own and got stranded on the road..

 

Just give them a weekly bonus. Of they dont screw up they get the bonus. Since it's a bonus you can "dock" them. Make it s separate line on the pay stub. You'd be surprised how much they appreciate that $50.