Do Load Shifts go on your DAC report?

Discussion in 'Flatbed Trucking Forum' started by 8-j, Jan 26, 2014.

  1. snowwy

    snowwy Road Train Member

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    nothing is too tall for straps. it's better then paying for a wrecker.

    one thing to keep in mind. is to run straps opposite direction. instead of same direction. that'll help keep the load still.
     
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  3. MJ1657

    MJ1657 Road Train Member

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  4. 8-j

    8-j Light Load Member

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    The forklift people showed up this morning. We just had to take most of the load all the way off and put it back on. It was too tangled and shifted to just push back on. I think they were here for 3, or maybe 4 hours. The guy at road service didn't sound too happy.

    Well, at least it's over. I should have gut wrapped. Really it was impractical because the bundles were all different lengths and the trailer was preloaded so I couldn't throw them while it was being loaded, but at least I could have thrown a strap over the front bundles. (That was the side that shifted.)

    The pallet the bottom bundle fell off of was moved outward when we reloaded it, so now it can't slip off again. It was a very smooth metal sheeting. I tried pushing the bundle right after we set it back on the pallet and it slid easily like a toboggan until we put the next two pallets on top of it.

    As a driver I know I'm always 100% at fault no matter what, but at least I can take some consolation knowing at least it was a complicated load. Or rather, at least I wasn't defeated by an ordinary easy load.



    That's very ironic for us. When I first saw the shift, I (may have, but am not admitting to having...) pulled immediately off the first off ramp from the highway and onto the off ramp's shoulder. The safe and right thing to do would probably be to have stayed there, but I (may have, but am not admitting to having...) decided to drive to the nearby Walmart anyway.

    If I had indeed stopped at that off ramp (which I am not admitting to having done) and stayed..... odds are I'd have gotten that citation. But because I (may have been, but am not admitting to having been) willing to endanger the public by moving an unsafe shifted load 3 more miles, I am rewarded for my trouble by being citation free.
     
  5. KW Cajun

    KW Cajun Road Train Member

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    Have you seriously considered a position in politics? ;)
    (I'm aware why you stated it that way)
     
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  6. catalinaflyer

    catalinaflyer Road Train Member

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    Eligible For Rehire is one of the things they report (Can't remember the others, been too many years) but that's a BIG RED FLAG to prospective employers, especially companies worth working for. I know at the company where I used to work on the other side of the fence (in operations) that a "Not Eligible For Rehire" was almost a certain "Not Eligible To Work Here" either.

    And yes, your DAC follows you whether your a driver, lease purchaser, owner-operator or whatever. The only way your DAC doesn't follow is if you get your own authority and become the trucking company. Which I guess it could still follow you if you wanted to report yourself.
     
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  7. spyder7723

    spyder7723 Road Train Member

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    8J, can I offer a word of advice? Unless you want to end up behind bars, do not ever cut corners on load securement. If something comes lose on your truck you can be held criminally liable. More than one driver gave the state ten or more years because they lost a load on the highway and cost someone their life. That is one area you never ever skimp on. You make the fork lift operator wait until you get it belly strapped. If he doesn't want to explain to him you can't take the load. They will always back down if you stand firm.Edit: just saw you mention it was pre loaded. In that case you get them to fix it right, don't let a shipper or dispatch push you into risking peeps lives, and your freedom.
     
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  8. 8-j

    8-j Light Load Member

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    Now that I'm unloaded and I have a chance to think about it, it seems to me that my cdl is basicaly worthless to me now. I won't be able to get a job anywhere else and this job sucks. I was only doing it to get exprience and build a resume.

    I see now that the problem I didn't see was that there was no dunnage between the sheets of metal the bales were sitting on and the bales. So the bale that was hanging off the edge was just about guaranteed to slide off given enough time and some g forces. I'm the driver. I was supposed to see that, and I didn't.

    I wonder how far I'd get trying to contest it? Either that or I guess its time to start loking for another line of work.
     
  9. spyder7723

    spyder7723 Road Train Member

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    Pick your chin up kid. This ain't the end. They might not fire you, and if they do someone else will hire you. Seriously the absolute worst case scenario is they fire you and you gotta drive for some sucky mega carrier for a year. Get one year of no incidents, safe driving in and nobody will care about this one incident when you err a wet behind the ears rookie.
     
  10. 8-j

    8-j Light Load Member

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    I'm not worried they'll fire me. I'm worried they'll make it sound as bad as possible so I have nowhere else to go. It's a handy driver retention tool.

    But I don't want to stay here for that long. I'm a flat bed driver who gets paid about the same as reefer and dryvan drivers. The only reason to be here is to build a resume. A year to cancel one day's catastrophe feels like a losing game. And then what if it happens again? The company that loaded me is a major customer that constantly loads their trailers like that. I'd have to start refusing a lot of loads if I want to go a full year clean here.
     
  11. MJ1657

    MJ1657 Road Train Member

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    Your cdl is to valuable to risk it on shippers that do not load correctly.
     
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