Gray's Transportation

The "accident" Mr. Gray mentioned wasn't an accident really. It wasn't at a truck stop, it was at a pick up. My husband was parked, again waiting for a load that didn't exist yet, on a night that the weather service had issued a Black Ice Warning. While he was parked, another truck slid into his tractor, knocking his left mirror off. He did what he was supposed to do and it was not his fault and not reportable, so I hadn't felt the need to mention it. He's not lost any points or anything from it?

I am not a trucker, I am the wife of one, so if I misspeak or don't get something quite right, I do apologize. From what I know, you have 14 hours of 'on duty' time, whether driving or waiting, before you must stop for your 10 hour, per DOT requirements, right? This is what would always happen to him with Gray's. They'd send him to loads that he'd sit waiting sometimes 8 or more hours for, and then he's out of time for 'on duty' and would have to sit there for his 10 hour. If you never had that happen to you, count your blessings you're with a better company than he was with. My husband would never try to 'beat the clock' or risk running illegal, because that's just him.

 

I explained the 'accident' above. As far as the 'tow', let me be more clear on that. The shop wasn't going to be able to get to fixing the mirror on his truck for some time, so they throw him in a different truck. This one had well over a million miles on it, no APU, and its mirrors were literally zip-tied on. When he pulled home to stop for his 36 hour home time, he treated the fuel and sent in his reefer temp. Then the truck died. He couldn't get it restarted. It was -28 that day. He tried several times to get a hold of both 'Mr. Gray', maintenance, dispatch...anyone, with no luck. He managed to get a QualCom truck break down message to go through before it stopped working too. He finally got a call on his cell phone from dispatch telling him it would be 8-10 hours before maintenance could get to him. He called me to pick him up and actually ended up having to go to the hospital later that day. He sat in that broke down truck in frigid temps for over an hour trying to reach someone. It was several hours later that 'Mr. Gray' finally called ME to ask about the load. He didn't ask about my husband, or how he was (he was still in the hospital at the time, I had gone out for a smoke when he called me), he simply wanted to know where 'his truck' was so he could send a driver to get the load. Mind you, this 'load' wasn't to be delivered for another 2 days at this time, yet it was his only real concern. He talks about how they care about their drivers safety. When I tell him my husband's in the hospital, not only does he really not care, but he only repeatedly asked me the exact location of HIS TRUCK and LOAD. I gave him the information he wanted, he thanked me and hung up. What a caring company. The truck stop (actually the gas station near our home where he'd always stopped for home time) is less than a mile from our home, and even after he's home from the hospital my husband insisted on going up there every hour to check the truck. It was well over 12 hours by the time they had come to get it. Had my husband sat there, in those temps with no APU and not being able to run the truck, he would have DIED. The 'tow' they speak of was them needing to tow the broken down thing away to get it repaired. My husband is by no means looking for a 'free pass' or 'second chance' as he's done nothing wrong. He's completely open and honest about what DID happen.

 

I don't think so...he knows how I worry and had there been a more serious thing I like to believe I'd have known. Although, the reciever was right across from the Flying J..maybe (I'm hoping) they're the same thing? I do know that nothing shows on his record and he's got no lost points, but you make a valid point.

 

Not to mention, it was 1) his scheduled home time anyway, and 2) he sat for an hour to reach someone, then told it would be 8-10 hours for maintenance so then yes called me to pick him up to come home after knowing it would be so long, and 3) the little gas station was already closed anyway because it was bad weather (tiny, tiny town we live in has 166 people and it's the ONLY store for miles), and late in the evening, so he couldn't have gone inside anyway.

 

As to this, please read again, as I stated we didn't learn ANYTHING about this company until AFTER he was in and started having issues. That's when I started searching and found this site, where I lurked and read for awhile before joining. Had he (or I for that matter) known any of this beforehand, he never would have signed on with them in the first place.