Sign of the times?

Discussion in 'Trucking Accidents' started by 201, May 15, 2022.

  1. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,172
    22,656
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    This post is 2 fold, and since "accidents" are popular, try and follw me here. In my small Colorado town, we have a Safeway food store, right in the middle of town, not easy for deliveries. Okay, yesterday, I was downtown, I noticed a Safeway trailer being pulled by a CR England truck. More on that in a second. The downtown, an well known art district, was very busy, no place for a semi, and this guy was trying to make a left turn( undivided to undivided)People weren't letting him turn, and he was blocking traffic and getting upset. He pulled up as far as he could, on an left angle, and backed up jack knifing the unit, to make the turn. I've done that many times. With his trailer axles all the way up, he would have made it, but failed to take into account the rear trailer "swing", and took the front end off of a van parked on the corner. It was heart breaking to watch, to say the least.
    Now, my 2nd thing, why was a Cr England truck ( non-union) pulling a Safeway trailer( union) in the 1st place? Is that cool? I mean, I don't ever recall seeing that, is the union that lax, that they will take a non-union company to haul their trailers? And a poor one at that? Really? What's next, Swift pulling a Buster Brown wagon, and don't say it's been done.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

    16,119
    90,138
    Dec 18, 2011
    South GA
    0
    It's called substitute service and it's in the contract.
    I see sub service carriers pulling YRC trailers all the time
     
  4. rbrtwbstr

    rbrtwbstr Road Train Member

    3,202
    7,075
    Jul 11, 2012
    in the bush somewhere
    0
    Could it be that the Union driver's simply didn't wanna pull that load, because they may have to actually work a bit?
     
  5. Dale thompson

    Dale thompson Road Train Member

    4,586
    35,025
    Nov 20, 2013
    commerce twp,mi
    0
    Mercer pulls buster brown stuff every day.
     
  6. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,172
    22,656
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    Apparently, Safeway has the same trouble getting drivers, and for the record, a union grocery store driver only touches the steering wheel of their truck, a highly sought after job in my day, and you mean to tell me nobody is going for that either? What does a transport driver make today, $40/hr with benefits? It shows to go, it doesn't matter what kind of money is offered, nobody wants to do that job anymore.
    To be clear, this is NOT a "union" post, while I have 1.5 years vested in the Teamsters somewhere, I couldn't care less, I'm not a union man, but it shows not much is sacred anymore.
     
  7. rbrtwbstr

    rbrtwbstr Road Train Member

    3,202
    7,075
    Jul 11, 2012
    in the bush somewhere
    0
    I think it's very telling of the times when UPS in our area is paying over $40/hr at top rate and still can't find driver's.

    Heck the warehouses around here are paying $25/hr to goof off and can't get help. Seems that working from home is the new 'in' thing.

    Same with OTR work. Realistically, why would anyone wanna live in a truck, deal with truckstops, and all the rest of the fun of OTR work, for just a bit more (maybe) than a local guy, who goes home everyday?

    The company I'm with, we always had people stopping and asking if we are hiring. Boss had a stack of applicants on his desk. Now? We can't seem to find good help.

    I think after the COVID mess, lots of people have stopped and re-evaluated their work/life balance and realized there's more to life than work. I feel it's similar to the weeks after 9/11.
    @201 I wasnt looking to ruffle any feathers with the union bashing. That's just a hobby of mine, and all in fun. I've nothing against unions though.
     
    Another Canadian driver and 201 Thank this.
  8. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,172
    22,656
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    Thanks pal, I just didn't want the staff to think this was a union thread, it's not. You know, years ago, and I don't advocate the shenanigans we did, but trucking was fun, it really was. I spent 35 years in the industry because it wasn't so stuffy, had good friends that weren't any better off than anyone else, we were able to make our own decisions, something this computer has done away with. I agree, without the "fun", it's really a crummy job. We as a country, are finally "paying" for all these rules. I felt really bad for that England driver, he really wasn't doing anything wrong. Safeway has no business using 53 footers making deliveries to a store built in 1947 in the middle of town with a driver unfamiliar with that store. I'm sure many company drivers knew a better way to get in there, I'm sure he was going off of GPS, but it's somehow easier to deal with the mishaps than to insist on good drivers today.:dontknow:
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2022
  9. Another Canadian driver

    Another Canadian driver Road Train Member

    1,181
    4,261
    Nov 14, 2021
    ALBERTA
    0
    The driver has no excuse for hitting that van.
    Preventable at fault occurrence.
    GOAL is everyone's best strategy.
    Easy to implement.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2022
    Concorde and 201 Thank this.
  10. rbrtwbstr

    rbrtwbstr Road Train Member

    3,202
    7,075
    Jul 11, 2012
    in the bush somewhere
    0
    Just the other day I said the same thing. I was talking to my Dad, who loves to get wound up over politics. And, to be honest, I'm usually happy to wind him up. It's quite comical. But anyway, I was telling him my thoughts on the speed limiter mandate they're considering. It seems to me that those in charge, whether it's the gooberment, ATA, or whoever else I can't think of, hates life so much that they'd rather make everyone else just as miserable.

    Some love to say it's for the 'Greater Good'.

    Great! Sounds awesome, put me in a box with 18 wheels, bells and alarms that go off everytime you fart crooked, a black box telling you when to drive, sleep and whatever else. Oh and to add to the misery, you'll be going the same slow speed of 62 MPH as all those other imbeciles in front of you. But hurry up and deliver the toilet paper!!!!!

    I see it with some posters on this very forum, too. You can tell they've been indoctrinated with this lunacy, and support it! And they'll tell you when you protest "Its for the greater good, you should be thankful there's someone looking out for the masses"

    How's all this working out anyway? We see on TV all the time someone protesting something they feel some way about. Most times I see this and think "what an angry, bored person". I feel bad for them because they don't know any better. But they think because their life sucks, yours should as well.

    As I said, it seems those in charge want to eliminate any sort of potential to have any fun of any kind.

    I better stop now, before I really get rolling...gotta get ready to head to work anyway
     
  11. JC1971

    JC1971 Road Train Member

    2,370
    8,079
    Jul 29, 2013
    L.A.
    0
    I can usually find the best way in with Google satellite maps. Sometimes it isn't easy to figure out.
     
    Numb, 201 and Another Canadian driver Thank this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.