Stay away from ROEHL!!

Speaking specifically about Roehl for whom I drove for 2 years and have a number of problems with: I never had "battles" with the maintenance department. If something needed fixing on the road it got fixed. If I explained the problem and they thought it could wait till I got back and I was on the fence then I waited. If they told me it could wait and I didn't think so then they told me where to go and get it fixed. It's all about your attitude when you call and not being an idiot about minor things. "My top clearance light on the trailer is burned out, thats a DOT violation and I don't have to move the trailer till its fixed" is a good way to run yourself right into 1,000 mile weeks on a consistent basis.

 

Your temporary fixes may have been fine before CSA 2010 but all the fixes you mentioned could now get points against you and the carrier .
Most carriers would now prefer paying road service over risking being assessed CSA points and many would terminate a driver for getting points for operating after performing a patch job that resulted in a violation .

 

Good comment. They were not right for me and after 2 years I moved on. They are not the best nor the worst out there.

 

I will disagree with you on one point. No company can "force a driver to move a truck". This is entirely up to the driver and he/she is in total control on the road. If the driver feels it is unsafe then park the darn thing. If the company takes retribution then you need to find a new company. Period.

 

Yup, I'm well aware of CSA2010. As I said this was a judgement call of mine. Mine. I was not forced to do so. If the company fired me for it then I would take the termination and move on. The point is that the call was mine and I was pointing this out.

 

I understand . We also have the 14 hour clock and e-logs factoring in when trying to decide how to deal with various defects .

 

yeah, e-logs are a pain in the you-know-where. A few years ago I realized that they were most likely coming down the pike for everyone and started running my paperlog like it was an e-log to get used to it. Works fine for me although I've stretched it a little at times and squeezed out hours a few more but mostly have not had a problem with it. Log it like you do it and be firm with it.

I'm not taking issue with anyone here just making sure drivers realize that no-one and no company can "force you to drive defective equipment". I laugh when I here this from someone. Use some common sense and make the distinction between a burned out license plate light and a wheel seal. Both are DOT violations but only one would be a good reason to refuse to move a trailer. be safe out there.

 

I was unfortunately one of the victims of the driver cam. Bear in mind , combined tenures with Roehl added up to 10 yrs. Also bear in mind no traffic accidents in that time. Only one delivery had to be resheduled to to my error during my tenures. Also in the last 6 yrs before the cam was installed in March I was never reprimanded for hard braking are hard turning to which the computer in the truck has the ability to record the same data. Did have a incident at a customer in January of this year. A minor scrape on a front fender in '09 at a another customer. Before that you have to back to Nov of 2000 with another co. Since the cam was put in I started to get into trouble on braking. Not saying that I was totally blameless here but it eventually led to my decision to resign. They gave me an ultimatum that if i screwed up in a 3 month period that I would be let go. I might have made it through the period but the cam was gonna remain in the truck regardless so that was the last straw for me. If your going to work for Roehl try to get something in writing that they want ever put in a webcam(Good Luck). The webcam was the most demeaning experience I've ever been through. Not only can it film you it can record your voice also. They say that footage will only be viewed by your superiors when you brake or turn to hard but your taking their word on that. I'm convinced with the braking events that I was called on that I would have never heard from them if it wasn't for the webcam. Roehl is a good company but the webcam is not needed when the computer can record that data without filming and humiliating you . GOOD LUCK

 

I would imagine the intent of the web cam is to show drivers how their actions and attitudes can effect their driving habits. I have mixed feelings about this. Could it help? Maybe, however I highly doubt any company is going to make the investment in and individual to change a behavior. Dispatchers, and I used to be one, do not and will not have the skills to address behavioral issues.