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

My guess is that the former employees who just didn't care about their company-provided vehicle ruined it for those (like you) who actually DO take care of the company's property.

When I still worked in the corporate world, I was issued a company truck from my work. I took care of it - washed it once a week, took it for its regular maintenance trips, etc. Why? Well, it didn't belong to me for one and two, not only was it a rolling billboard for the company, but what reflection would it have on me if it were tore up & dirty?

Unfortunately, there will always be people in this world who just don't give a d**n about anything or anybody other than themselves. It's the whole "me mentality". I'm sorry you're getting blamed for some other person's ignorance & disrespect. I would be very thorough in my documentation with written reports & date-stamped pictures to CYA (cover your .... well, you know).

 

I'm in my 3rd truck with my company. I hated to give up my Cummins ISX but the DPF started giving headaches again and the bosses decided to retire it to regional duty. Understandable considering when the DPF took a crap last time I was up in Buffalo, NY and the bill for the repair, motel and daycab truck rental topped $8000.

No blame was heaved at me. Unfortunately my truck and its sisters that were equipped with the first generation of DPF systems have all suffered the same fate. Mine was the last of them to be used as a road truck.

 

I beg to disagree, the driver has full control when the company or owner doesn't fix the vehicle. He does not have to' nor should he' drive it. He is the one to sign the pretrip certifying that it is ready to go.

 

I'm not talking about safety violations. Say for example your alternator is only reading 12.5V when last week it was 14. So you get stranded at 02:00 in a bad spot and nobody will fix it roadside so you need to get a tow and then the load is late....stuff like that is what I'm talking about. The driver should see stuff like that and report it to me so I can get it fixed before it costs me and him money.

 

Come, come now. How many times has that happened to you really? When it happens multiple times a year to the same driver and I know he doesn't check them before he leaves the yard, you and I both know it's a driver problem. He should be checking his tires and wheels at least 3-4 times a day. Pre, post and during breaks.

And there's more to checking tires than air pressure. Gotta stick your head in there and look for tread coming apart, funny wear pattern etc etc.

Last summer I thumped them before I left the yard empty. Drove 90 miles and got loaded. Checked them again and lo and behold I had a flat on an inside dual. 80 deg out so it would have blown for sure.

 

Again, when the driver signs the inspection report, he accepts responsibility. The report states"I detedct the followingdefects or deficienciesin this motor vehicle as would be likely to affectthe safety of its operation orresult in its mechanical breakdown." An alternator that is charging on the low side certainly meets that criteria.

 

No it doesn't. You are going to refuse to drive your truck because the alternator went from 14 to 12.5 in a week? Come on be serious. Deliver the load and get it looked at but don't drive it 'till it drops and blame the truck.

 

I would and I expect any of my drivers to do the same. They can use another truck until this gets repaired. An electronic engine requires 9.5 volts for the ECM to be operable, according to my mechanic.
I believe in preventing breakdowns and not having drivers sitting beside the road.

 

i dont agree with the air pressure in the tires view; but i am throwing it out there that, if you get into a situation where they want to place blame on you, for ignorant dispatchers who suddenly become truck know it all's, the only thing they usually know how to do when looking at a truck is to slap a guage on the tire and its one area where ive seen unfair blame placed on a driver and have heard of it happening- we wound up purchasing a compressor to keep at our yard (we dont have a shop, but we have somewhat better than just a place to park) once it got to the point that putting air in tires was something that curiously became harder and harder to do on the road.

there's a guy who drives here...run and gun type...very polite, nice, but not a smart man. i wouldn't have hired him to do what we do...he got put OOS in CA a couple years back...pulled into the scales...with two flat tires...on the tractor. now, with him, personally, i check his truck myself for two reasons: he doesn't understand enough to know what to look for and is scared to report even a minor issue, and we're all brothers and we all need keepers.