Royal Express

I've been w/ them for 3 weeks come wednesday.............sleep or miles which do I chose, isn't it illegal to log more than 14 hours and less than 10 off? HA

 

wondering what the heck I got into.....Miles or sleep, can't have both I guess

 

Smartway is a horrible company not only do they lie and try and get you to cheat but they also have rubber checks... All there employees checks are bouncing!!!! My husband has worked there for 3 weeks now just got his first paycheck and the office staff straight out told him that it would bounce and that not even the issuing bank would cash it. Not only is it a bad check but they didn't even pay him for his first 2 loads! He's quitting today since we are forking out all this money and not getting any back in return. Also his first day out in the truck on Dec 13th he was pulled into the Anderson Scales and Red Tagged for a kinked hose, which he fixed with a set of hoses that we had here at home, so he could get back on the road!

 

This company is terrible. One of their drivers killed my son in 2008. He was trying to get to the yard in Modesto and turned in front of my son's motorcycle even though he said he saw him coming, my son had no chance to stop, and then the driver drug him under his wheel for 200 yards because he wanted to get his trailer out of the intersection. Come to find out the driver didn't even have a current legal medical card, but the company lied to the attorney's and said they were relocating out of state and would file bankruptcy if we tried to get more than the insurance would allow for his 3 little girls. That was almost 5 years ago and they are still on the road, using different names, and I'm pretty sure they still have that yard in Modesto....LIARS!!

 

Oh yes, remember that accident on I10.. was terminal manager in fontana at time....truck was reall a piece of junk afterwards...and yes all their drivers are pushed to cheat on books....most their Fresno dispatchers dont know anything about trucking, even thought they profess to. the saftey dept is a joke. ya the kids name as owner but the Dad (Paul) still runs the Show, probaly in kids name to keep the law suits of him.

 

I worked for smartway for a little over 4 years they just about killed me with the illegal running I had to do my friend had a stroke bcuz of lack of sleep and he was just a local guy.......I dont know how many times I had to work my log to get a load there on time and if you didnt they would screw you over by screwing with your pay....taking money off your fuel card giving it to another driver so you couldnt get fuel then you got stuck sitting bcuz they had no money for you to fuel.......they would cut your miles and just have you running phoenix to los angeles after sitting lord knows how long waiting for your load.......I quit bcuz I'm a driver I want to drive I want to get paid I want to be able to fuel when I roll into a truck stop and cash my check without it being made of rubber and bouncing everywhere...... at this company it dont happen I dont know how many times I rolled in to get fuel and couldn't and had to sit anywhere from 2 hours to 24 hours just to fuel bcuz there was no money or sit and wait to pay a lumper bcuz they had no money and try to cash my check and couldn't........Paul has lost his authority to run in cali to he bought a place in phoenix and is using that as his home terminal and another one up in washington but running out of fresno then he lost his authority in arizona and went back to fresno but still uses phoenix and washington on his trucks......Larry is no longer in the safety office I heard he was doing the tow truck now.......Phil is no longer there they fired him along with Brent........I know they have down sized the company I hear drivers talking about they got new trucks but I highly doubt that I still see the trucks they had when I was there but no longer running the petes I had one and they took them off the road and auctioned them off if they have new trucks they are not new they are used pieces of crap.....as DOT goes YES! I had alot of problems with the scales and just being pulled over to check paperwork and having the truck inspected lucky for me they never recognized my fake log book........they will kill you out there they dont care about you they just care about the load and $$$$$$......I would not send anybody here not even my worst enemy!!!!

 

that lady that hit the fedx truck at I-10 and hwy 60 was a friend of mine and yes she fell asleep at the wheel bcuz she had been up for 3 days killing herself bcuz of that company.....as I did but I tell them to kiss my ##### if they want the load there they can come deliver it themselves I'm a single mom I dont plan on going home to my daughter in a pine box and dont plan on sending anyone else home in a pine box either over them.......

 

What a shame. I drove for them from 92-01 and never had the problems Im reading about now. I have seen them declining over the years but had no idea it was that bad. Had some great times when I worked there. We ran hard but werent forced to cheat. I guess all good things eventually come to an end. Sad.

 

Running illegal is a slippery slope, once you start doing it for the company they'll expect it more often.