Illness on the road

Some companies will do what it takes to make sure you are ok others dont give a ####. I just ended up in the er in Indiana and I never heard from my boss until I made it to the yard yesterday. They are gonna fight the work comp claim and just took my truck after telling me they would leave it at the truck stop near my house. My boss never called my wife back and noone gave a crap about me.. Get used to it the load comes first and the truck second, you are a replaceable asset to most of these bungholes called companies.

 

Cold reality is there going to first take the load of you, it's called repowering the load. After that it really does not matter to much. Past that is anyones guess. If its you they your probably going to call the shots till they get you to a terminal, then its back in there court. If your a student the truck is going to roll if your sick or not. Your trainer will probably just use your hours.

Its a good question, but I'm afraid how the trucking world will handle it will not be the same as the rest of the world.

 

sad thing is many drivers keep going just for that fact -no one cares and they will take your truck away.

 

I can speak to the driver illness. My experience is there is no load worth a driver's life...or anybody else's who may be around the truck. I caught the Swine Flu last year. I was down for three days, but I had just delivered the load when I got the first "Oh, crap, I have to lie down right now" symptoms. I made it to a truck stop five miles away and no further. Barely had enough strength to walk the dog and make the bathroom inside myself. It took a good three weeks before I was 100% again, but the company just checked on me in the mornings via QC...except the second day when I couldn't reach it. They called me on the phone.

Had I been under a running load, it would have been transferred to another truck. Since I was in no condition to even move the truck, the other driver would have had to unhook both trailers and move both trucks around.

Regarding a rider, that depends entirely on the company. If your rider is so ill as to need to go to a hospital, you may have to deliver your load and return when it is done. Having a rider on the truck is optional. Having a driver is mandatory.

 

I ran into a lady SWIFT driver on Nevada Highway 6 headed up Emigrant Pass. This gal was barely moving had to talk her into stopping, then got her follow me over the pass and down to Bishop, CA, as your coming into Bishop headed south there is a shopping center with a large parking lot Albertson's I think right at 6 # 395. Anyway she was running a fever 103 degrees. Checked in with the store manager told him she was parked off to the side out of the way. Anyhow her worry was about the load, then the truck. Left her with Gatoraid, Pedalite, water, chicken soup, and crackers.

There was a local sheriff crusing the lot and I let him know also. I had a load to Bakersfield with a reload back to Fallon, told her I'd be in the area tomorrow in about 24 hours.

Stop back to check on her the next day she had already let, called SWIFT with the truck #, and they said they had repowered her load in Mojave, and she was headed for Lancaster Community Hospital.

Don't know what happened to her, but bottom line its drivers that will come thru for you when you need it. When you see a truck on the side in a unusual place and you call " Hey, NB Skateboard you ok" and theres not an answer thats the one to check on. The one that really needs the help may not be able to answer, and it might be you hearing the request and unable to get to the mic to ask for help.

Driver die out here alone all the time. It is very common. If you run a regular route pay attention to tractor's that have been there more they a day out in the middle of nowhere.

The next in the balance maybe one of us, you just never know.

 

You know it PJ Scarecrow and lighthouse helped me when I was down in Indiana. The hospital er was releasing me I was 15 miles from my truck and my company abandoned me. My wife lil bit had gotten ahold of crow and he picked me up and lighthouse got a bed ready for me at their home. I can never thank them enough for that

 

So what happened to your truck?

And are you still there?

 

Well after leaving Crow and Lighthouse's home I spent Sunday and sunday night sleeping in my truck at the Haubstadt pilot. They had another driver pick up my trailer drop the load and bring the trailer back. on Monday I drove myself home to Wisconsin without the use of my left arm. I could barely lift it up. It took me 9 hours to get from I64 exit 25 in Indiana to Columbus Wisconsin. I normally make the drive in 7. On Tuesday I saw my doctor here in Wisconsin....no real diagnosis....just recommended PT to see if there is permanent damage to arm etc... I still havent heard from my boss. Wednesday we cleaned my truck out. Still no word from hq. Thursday I go up to the office and pick up my check and give them my restrictions they put up a stink about work comp I look at the boss daughter in law and tell her to do whatever you want I never had these problems before and I know what we're gonna find out. I run into the owner he finally asks me what happened. I tell him he asks where is the truck I tell him it's 5 minutes from my house and safe, I turned in the keys and my fuel card because I cant drive till the 19 th of july at the earliest. He said no problem we'll leave it there. Today they called asking where it was and came and picked it up. They made another driver call me, no balls and no class at all. I'm not fired but I am definitely looking for a new ride

 

Don't back down on the work comp issue.

They will do anything to avoid paying.

Another company is never problem. Just hope your luck improves.