Why is it that when the truck breaks they always think it is the driver fault?

We've all seen it before. A driver is taking off from a dead stop, dumps the clutch and puts the throttle to the floor in 4 th gear. Truck shutters hard, chassis twists, truck lurches forward instantly to redline. Driver switches up and over on the high side of the tranny rolling through a parking lot. He hits a crater sized pothole and almost drags the fuel tanks. Next driver in, gets in eases through the gears, and the driveshaft falls out. Or it eats a set of steers in 3 months.

Or, the company beancounters figure that they can save loads of money if they schedule PM services for every 30000 miles. Oil viscosity is ancient history. Oil filter collapsed, you are running half the oil pressure that you normally do. Fuel filter is clogged. Tires are wearing real funny and the kingpins are gone again. Driveshaft yokes are petrified. Guess beancounters never learned what the PM in PM service means.

 

That's about the truth of it right there. Our shop was taken over by one and the problems started rising soon after. Somehow they don't get that spending less money up front saves you more money in the long run. Road service, tow bills and outside shops aren't cheap.

 

We have one guy..he started 18 months ago in a previously trouble free '05. Ist week the front rear diff let go as he was backing into a parking spot (coincidence I think to myself). 2nd week the trans went out as he approached the stop sign at the bottom of the hill (trying to downshift without the clutch I think to myself). 3rd week he takes the nose off a 379 when he leaves his parking place....now I KNOW that's driver error. LOL. Then a little while after thta he picked up 10 violations from a DOT cop in PA...yes TEN in one inspection. #### cop had to use two pages.

17 months later he's been mechanically OK except for a blown trailer tire (no pre trip I suppose), and another trailer tire he put back in the yard with steel belts hanging out (no post trip). He broke the mirror too but he paid for that himself (didn't tell me about it).

Never said anything to him but now he gets $50/month if he doesn't break anything. $50 for every clean DOT inspection and $.02/mile for being accident free in 12 months.

I happen to believe that most things can be caught before they let go if you look and listen. I think he was just the run and gun type before here and I'm trying to get the message across that we need to be more careful and hurrying up doesn't cut it.

 

Were you driving in the storm with the power divider on?

 

Aint you learned yet!!! Your a Truck driver....everything is your FAULT!!!! )) Happy Trails. 10-4

 

That's it in a nutshell now days! EVERYTHING gets blamed on the driver!

 

When it comes to drivelines, usually you will feel a vibration, but not always. It is rare for a driveline to do that without any warning, but I have seen it happen, and I knew based on the man who was driving the truck that in that instance, it just gave out. How often do you get under your truck and check? How often do you grease? In this business there's a lot of situations like this, and the only way to avoid them is to do things like crawling under your truck, actually taking your time to do a thorough inspection of all that you can, and by learning from the older generation. This means putting your own time into something that you dont own and it's time you wont get paid for, but it will be worth it. My advice: find some mentors who will school you about your equipment. Ask the same questions to multiple people who you trust. And...never let the air pressure in your tires be low when you're broke down. One thing i've seen that isn't a fair barometer but is somewhat accurate is that if guys stay up on their tires, they're usually staying up on other things, too.

In the end, you absolutely have to become a mechanic to some extent if you plan on driving for a long time. And the information that you can get from the guys who have been there, done that, it is absolutely priceless.

 

100% correct TX.

The driver is the captain of that ship and nobody is there to look over his/her shoulder and check every little thing. There is *almost* NEVER a mechanical breakdown that just happens out of the blue. the truck will give you a warning but it's up to the stupid humans (drivers and owners) to pay attention and fix the dang thing.

I had to laugh about your tire pressure comment. We've had drivers around here that have 3-4 blow outs a year and claim it's not their fault. Give me a break. I've haven't blown a tire in 7 years but I sure as heck have found alot of flat ones that would have blown if I didn't check them.

Had a guy quit one time because I refused to pay him for the 7 hours he waited to get an axle seal fixed because the DOT put him OOS. He said he did a full pre-trip before he left our yard but I know he did no pre trip at all because I watched him throw his cooler in and go.

Have also found no oil on dipsticks, no free play in clutches, air leaks galore, air tanks full of water, leaky axle seals and the list goes on.

Not saying the OP is at fault, just agreeing with your assessment that the driver has alot of control over the situation. If the company won't fix the truck then the driver can't be blamed.