Truck Drivers Delivering Unknow Product

Industry standard policies and "laws" are two different things.

If you get pulled into customs and drugs are found INSIDE the trailer, it may be difficult to "prove" that you didn't know, but given that the trailer was sealed with hopefully some sort of company-identifiable seal, you would at least have some sort of defense.

Of course, somebody that really wanted to hide some drugs in your load would most certainly do it in a way that you would never find even if given the chance to inspect it before it's sealed shut.

I think this is a weak argument at best. I can see the arguments for knowing how the freight is loaded, if it's top heavy, likely to shift, etc. The chances of contraband being found in a sealed trailer hauled out of a reputable place are slim. The bottom line is that yes, I think the driver should be able to inspect the load before they take off with it, but if the load has no special handling requirements, the driver has no reason to know what's inside.

 

If my son or daughter made me afraid and gave me the heebeegebies sometimes, I would toss em out on the street in a heart beat. Kidding aside, it would be nice to see inside some trailers/containers to see "how" they are loaded and secured (or not) but as far as worrying about drugs or a bomb or something of that nature well............how easy would it be for anyone of us to tell if there was something like that in our load of dogfood/computers/toilet paper etc? As long as the trailer is not sealed by you and the number is recorded on the bills it's pretty cut and dry

 

Hey,"FAK" just goes with hauling dry vans. If it really bothers you haul flatbed so you can see everything on the trailer (like I do).

 

never unplacarded

 

no it didnt really matter...the military made sure your load was secured..airbags used to keep from moveing..boards nailed to the floor to keep from sliding....all that really mattered was what it weighed...

and it would have been no value to me to see the load cuz no matter what it was if I MESSED UP somewhere I was just as dead and so were the 10 surrounding miles....BOOM...you would never feel it...
just a new big hole in the highway...
also used to haul alot of Austin Powder (TNT,DYNAMITE) to storage bunkers...same senerio. just as dead didnt matter if it was looked at. in fact most of the time I would drop triailer at shipper wait in drivers room...they would pickup trailer load it bring it back sealed...then I would hook back too it....

 

all explosive military loads i hauled--i was there for the loading--un less it was a preloaded trailer--but yes they do a fantastic job of securment--but always a driver had to be there to sign bills as one copy went on last pallet with extra seal
but for company loads-i hate it when they are sealed cause they do such a crappy job--no load locks --no straps--and when anything happens --the blame goes on the driver

 

If this should happen, then you had better have a shipper's seal on the load with your paperwork indicating that the load is sealed before leaving the shipper. This will go a long ways towards convincing the coppers that you have no way of knowing what you are hauling.

OTOH, if your seal is a generic kind bought at a truck stop, and your paperwork does not indicate that a seal was placed on the load prior to leaving the shipper, or there is a different number on the seal, then you will have a problem.

I agree that it is nice to get a look at the load before you hook to it, or at least haul it. But it really isn't necessary, depending on what you are hauling.

If your biggest concern is drugs, (or people) maybe you are hauling some loads you shouldn't be hauling. I know if you are a company driver, you won't have much choice, but if you are an O/O you have all the choice in the world.

Just a bit defensive here aren't you? Why??????????????????