Werner CSA Score, very bad.

1 in 15 has an accident?? And how many drivers are there at Werner, maybe 3,500 ..... so that's 233 accidents a year by Werner drivers. Now given their CSA and crash rating, I do believe you are off. I would say more like 1 in 8.

 

A bad csa score starts with the company and ends with the driver.Both are to blame.Companies hire whoever as long as they pass their insurance.Then drivers add to their already high csa score by not doing a pretrip,speeding and speeding thru constructing zones,not having any respect for the law,signs, the motoring public and themselves.Companies would be pleased as punch if drivers had a near perfect safety rating but in this biz that's impossible so companies take what they can get.Yes my company has a not so good safety rating but do you really think that's their fault?No it is not.Its all the drivers fault.Im going on 2 yrs with this company and I haven't received 1 point.I've had officers pull me over to check my logs do inspections ect.Its not just my company either not just Werner,all these companies let too much slide on what happens.With starter companies you only have to have so many hrs behind the wheel and then you get qualified.Many of the new drivers need far more hrs.As long as companies operate this way,they are never going to find top notch drivers and frankly I really think they do not care.But the reason they don't care is because finding drivers with near perfect records is like finding a needle in a haystack.Alot of times officers just like picking on drivers so will find anything to add to the drivers csa score.But why just keep adding to your score.Why don't you all start setting a good example for the trucking industry so FMCSA will leave us alone.Every morning I read the QUALCOMM just to see who receives the idiot driver of the day award and its unbelievable what these drivers do and think they can get away with it.Companies cannot babysit the drivers otherwise they would have a lower csa score.The SAFETY STARTS WITH YOU.

 

There has to be a balance between running 100% compliant and operating a business. While the two aren't mutually exclusive, there are going to times when one is not the other. At that point in time you calculate the risk vs reward. Most companies are concern about the financials first and foremost, however if they have a disregard for safety it will come back to haunt them. If a company put a truck in the shop, on the road, every time a driver stated something was wrong they'd go out of business, some issues have to wait until maintenance can be performed at a company shop. Likewise, if a driver left home late and runs out of hours 30 minutes short of the consignee, it's not unrealistic to ask them to deliver the load. The fault for the late load lies with the driver (in my example) so the violation to ensure on time delivery also lies with the driver. I'd say for the most part both of these issues are acceptable unless it becomes a pattern, then it's time for change.

 

I see what you're saying about some things have to wait till it gets back to their shop and fully understand that and agree with that IF its not dot reportable.My last company gave me back road routes till it got back to their shop and yes safety came back and haunted them,they are no longer operating.Of course money is their main concern and companies could make a lot more then what they are now with the help of drivers by keeping up on their equipment maybe having the shop at the company go over it when they get to the terminal.Then maybe they would be less likely to have any problems which would cause downtime and have to hurry up and get that load picked up or delivered which causes either no pretripping or a 5 minute lazy pretrip.Drivers should always be of top of everything from how many hrs it takes to get loads delivered how many hrs left. and above all COMMUNICATION.Dispatchers appreciate that.So I do agree with you you when you said the fault of late loads starts with the driver and really theres no reason for it.Thats what trip planning is for.Mnay times I would get home on a fri with a load to be delivered on a mon and it had some miles,yes I had to cut my hometime short but sometimes you have to sacrifice your hometime for lds if you wanna keep your job.

 

Werner has almost 10,000 drivers... And the 1:15 rate was from a CBT that was made before their efforts started. WWerner is doing much better even since I have been with them... And I came back after seeing how insanely arrogant a lot of companies are. Werner may be average, but they sure don't let people scream at drivers or threaten them like I saw at several orientations...


Since I'm a lone wolf type, and this is my life...I much prefer to be comfortable over being paid to be someone's punching bag. Werner does some dense things, but they aren't malicious like many companies...

Im fine with my big blue cascadia and my relaxed dispatcher... I looked but was really turned off by some of the insane rules at other companies.

 

I see what you are saying, but Werner begs us to be compliant, the problem comes from driver culture and drivers who simply are in denial...they think it's a trick or something... They get paranoid that dispatch will take it out on them. Lately our equipment has been a lot better since drivers started doing post trips. 2 years ago, I got 16 bad trailers in a row...yes 16 bad trailers in a row. Two years later, I get a bad one a few times a month now.

Im not saying Werner is the best, but they are a safe backup if you need to get put of a company like cr England, Crst, covenant, or us Xpress. Especially if you can get dedicated. Werner dedicated is great because of the hand picked dispatchers. The 48 state Accounts are the ones people complain about, but dispatchers have to start somewhere... I'm on a 48 and mine is cool, but he can't give us the attention drivers get on dedicated...he has twice the drivers.

 

Their CSA score is in line with many other things I know and have heard about the company. As for your job: I'd be concerned about that with Werner for reasons other than their CSA score, not only because of it.

 

Some have better experiences with Werner (and any other company) than others. It's all in your D.M., and other things as well. I was a punching bag for them, and when I would not take it, I was set up for failure. There were many things they did with me that were unethical. They soured my attitude on purpose. They won by getting rid of me to make room for another hire, and (what I will hammer on until doomsday) more subsidy dollars for hiring.

I've seen people rooked over by Werner even worse than I was. I've seen others very happy with the company. Every company has to have SOME happy people to not have a completely bad rep. How many are going to go to a company who has NO happy people, and with a reputation of losing or terminating everyone before they even have a year? Every company has to have some million milers.

It's a game of chance. It's just more so with some companies than others.

 

Too often everything is put on the driver. All the risk and sacrifice. The thing I demanded if I were to log line 1 just because the truck is not moving is I do as I please and go where I want. My thing is not going back into the sleeper. If I could not leave, I was on line 4 and doing enroute inspections and cleaning the truck.

I was okay with the many anomalies with this industry, but being restricted when on MY TIME and NOT BEING PAID went too far. I know the common and basic "I'll be ###### if I'm gonna burn my hours waiting at a shipper or con" attitude drivers have, and that's fine for them. I'm not a sheeple, and I will not do something just because the majority does. I'll be ###### if I'm going to allow someone to tell me I can not leave the truck or property when on line 1 and not being paid. OFF DUTY IS MY TIME. I drive the truck all day or all night. I live in the truck. I want to get away from it and the job when on MY TIME. Otherwise, I am on line 4. The problem of hours is the problem of the planners. Enough is sacrificed by those who drive OTR. I won't sacrifice MY TIME.

Read the regs and employee labor rights. There are really no ambiguities. I was within my rights to log as I did. The company has no right to enforce UNWRITTEN policies to the point a driver is set up for failure. Want me to follow a policy? I want that policy in writing, and spelled out properly without the double-speak and sidestepping often seen in some policies, on a company letterhead and endorsed by a company official. In other words, give it to me in writing that I am to log line 1 even if I am not permitted to leave and pursue activities of my own choosing. That's not a legal policy, and the company can be sued for that, which is why the policy of logging line 1 is not spelled out in writing the way many companies pretty much demand you to do.

That's where the trouble lay for me with Werner (or any other company who tells me to log line 1 just because the truck is not moving regardless of whether or not can do as I please). Next thing you know, they will want to tell you what to do and where to be on your home time!

The more you give and sacrifice, the more they want. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

As for trucks being down: If mine was fixed the first time, it would not have been down 15 days out of 40, and at 3 different terminals. I would not have been the 'low man on the totem pole' I was told I was, and made out to be the one responsible for it. My attitude was further soured with things like that.

Don't even get me started with the "you're idling your truck excessively" when I was not idling at all. I saw I was being set up and primed for termination like many others have been. I no longer cared.

 

This is sooo true. Like I always say, Werner 48 state is terrible, but their dedicated routes are excellent. Its all about the quality of people you work with.

I did almost 2 years with dedicated, and I have been on 48 for a few weeks, more problems in 48 in a few days than 2 years dedicated. Im not joking, I have an entire list flowing onto its second page. Trying to send me to another continent, giving me three addresses 20 miles apart, somewhere around a 200 square mile area, and trying to say drivers havent had issues. The problem is that their own automatic message stated we have had issues with drivers getting lost... and not to use the GPS. The place turned out to be closed... so I couldnt even call them.

But dedicated was awesome... really was. 48 is the devil. Stay away from it at all costs. It doesnt even matter if you get a cool dispatcher, because the load planners are regional and they treat everyone like crap. God forbid you piss one of them off... they retaliate like children.