Odd that a truck driver is responsible for finding sabotage but a pilot isn't

Discussion in 'Trucker Legal Advice' started by drivingmissdaisy, Oct 24, 2023.

  1. RockinChair

    RockinChair Road Train Member

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    Before driving it after any period of time when you did not drive the vehicle, hence the need to do a walk-around and check your fifth wheel prior to getting back in the cab.

    You may conduct a pre-trip inspection, you may choose to take the word of someone else who has inspected the vehicle, or you may choose not to inspect the vehicle and just hope that nobody messed with it. But if anything goes wrong, they (management, law enforcement, lawyers, the jury, & the public) will consider you negligent because you chose not to inspect the vehicle before driving.
     
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  3. VictoriousUnicorn

    VictoriousUnicorn Bobtail Member

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    You have to conduct a pre trip inspection every single day and complete the DVIR at the end
     
  4. drivingmissdaisy

    drivingmissdaisy Road Train Member

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    No, you don't. You only must complete a form if you find an issue that needs to be addressed.
     
  5. aussiejosh

    aussiejosh Road Train Member

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    As an experienced pilot I'm sure your aware of a pre -flight check would you just assume that the aircraft was good to fly just because the previous time you flew everything was ok? Same deal with a truck just cause everything went great the previous day does not mean its good to go, and the time you choose to not do a check will be the day something happens, I know as this happened to me once I usually always do a pre- start, although this day I was not doing a long run I had to unload about 1 mile down the road so didn't bother with a pre-start check. After unloading was instructed to drive up to Ft Collins to the Budweiser factory to pick up a load of beer going back to Tennessee after loading I went over the scales, noticed I was overweight on the back proceeded to slide the axles while in the process noticed the passenger side tyres looked a little low, checked them sure enough had two flat tires. Drove up to the next exit and pulled up at a gas station and called the maintenance supervisor who organized a tire fitter to come out. Discovered someone had deliberately let down my tires obviously had upset someone on the highway. Bottom line is regardless of who is the culprit as a driver your responsible for making sure your truck is good to drive, I usually get into the habit of before pulling forward of just applying the trailer brakes, and backing up this would lock the 5th wheel back in if someone has done the unthinkable. I do this two or three times before moving off the parking area. It also insures your brakes are working too.
     
  6. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

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    Why do you want to argue that daily pre-trip inspections are not a requirement? 396.13 is the regulation. It's actually your job (speaking from a common sense standpoint) and also in the regulations to look over the truck at least 3 times every day "pre-trip", during the trip, and also "post-trip".
     
  7. Gearjammin' Penguin

    Gearjammin' Penguin "Ride Fast-Truck Safe"

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    You have to perform the inspection, but you no longer have to fill out the DVIR if there are no defects found.
     
  8. drivingmissdaisy

    drivingmissdaisy Road Train Member

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    Because the regulations only state that you must be satisfied about the condition of the vehicle. It doesn't say, as I have stated before, how that satisfaction must be realized or WHO can do it. I'm not arguing with anyone or anything, I'm stating EXACTLY what the regulations state. I can't help it that they wrote the rules in such an ambiguous way.

    Since it doesn't matter if you did a pre trip or not, if you hit anyone with your truck they're coming after you. Having done a pre trip won't get you out of anything. I've never seen a single case where the truck driver was found innocent because he did a pre trip.

    The whole point of this thread was not to argue about pre trips on trucks, it was about how airplane pilots are not responsible for finding sabotage to an airplane but if a truck driver drops his trailer because someone yanked his 5th wheel, he DOES get blamed. That is absolutely insane to me.
     
  9. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

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    There's nothing ambiguous about it. You're just one of these guys that likes to try and split hairs. The only way to be satisfied the truck is in safe operating condition is to check it. I think it's insane you would drive a truck and think it ok to leave it to chance that your kingpin is locked when it could kill somebody else if it dropped all because of you didn't check it.
     
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  10. drivingmissdaisy

    drivingmissdaisy Road Train Member

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    But if you read previous replies in this thread, I pointed out that you could easily have checked it and it STILL be dropped IF IT IS SABATOAGED. Meaning you do your full pre trip, you go inside, take a leak, hop in your truck and drop your trailer because someone yanked your kingpin while you were pissing. My point is doing a pre trip doesn't guarantee you'll catch sabotage just like not doing one doesn't guarantee you will have problems.

    You could do a pretrip and climb in the truck and catch a 20 minute cat nap. Or crash out for a 30 minute break and never leave the truck. Take off and the same thing happen. Pretrips aren't some magic catch all and end all to someone wanting to harm you and your truck. And saying "But I DID do a pretrip!!" doesn't seem to change anyone's mind on here. If you dropped your trailer, you obviously didn't. THAT COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG.

    This thread got off topic. The topic is not should you do a pretrip or should you be responsible for dropping your trailer if you don't pre trip. It's about SABATOGE and how pilots are not held responsible for crashes deemed to be caused by someone intentionally damaging or altering their aircraft. But truck drivers ARE held responsible for any bad outcome caused by someone damaging or altering their truck and they not catching it before something bad happens. It's insane. And I still feel that way. Since most people on here are NOT also pilots, they have no experience with the FAA or with FAA rules and regs. I've been around planes since I was 18 when I took my first introductory flight for 20 dollars with a coupon in the back of a Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 owners manual. I'm much more comfortable at an airport than a truck stop.

    Things have changed post 9-11 and most airports now have fences all the way around and are secured with gates and such so GETTING TO a plane to mess with it is much harder, but that doesn't change the point of why I made this thread. If anything the ease at which someone could yank a kingpin without the drivers knowledge should ABSOLVE him of dropped trailers if he can prove he did a pre trip. Because dropping a trailer isn't a sign that he didn't do one. I know whenever I take off I like to creep up and slam the johnson bar down to make sure everything is still attached and ok but there have been times I was in a hurry and forgot. I had no reason to think the kingpin was disconnected, I hadn't even gotten out of the truck since I stopped.

    The fact that the first reply to this thread was not on topic at all, but was asking me to prove I'm really a pilot, as if I would lie about that. If I wanted to lie about something I would come up with something better than being a pilot. That shows me people aren't interested in discussing the topic but trying to call me a liar.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2024
  11. Kyle G.

    Kyle G. Road Train Member

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    How often does this actually happen, where a plane crashes due to sabotage, and the pilot is excused of all responsibility?
     
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