need advice on company demanding drivers drive in unsafe conditions ASAP

When does his load deliver in NJ and what city? Perhaps he can sit it out, but as it is he is very illegal without his mirror also.

Husband drove from Pauls Valley, below OKC last night, left before 19:00 (7pm), so he could beat some of that. Load p/u was at Joplin, MO. He had misty rain and wind, the wipers kept freezing up, the roads then were ok.

Joplin now has snow and he is on his way to Springfield, MO.

And it is a good idea to have places in mind along the route in case he has to duck for cover further down the road. Indiana was supposed to be getting 6" of snow at least this time around.

I use www.findfuelstops.com. It will give you an idea of truckstops along the way. It doesn't have all the branded names. Also TA's offer reserved parking at most stations that cost you anywhere from $11-$14, sometimes it comes in handy in a pinch. Their number # 855-847-7275 you can call and reserve it over the phone.

 

How he is being paid is illegal to start with, most likely. And it sounds like everything else is downhill from there. Heaven forbid that he would get hurt on the job, as there is probably not even workman's comp, as there should be.

 

As to the driver paying the deductible. If they were hit by another vehicle, they are not at fault and the other vehicle's insurance will pay the repairs. There is no deductible in this situation.
If the company still tries to charge for the deductible, time to attorney up, because that is plain out THEFT from the employee.

 

Not true! If they are operating a vehicle known to be not in compliance (mirror is required safety equipment, in working order) and get in an accident ("at fault" or not), they will be considered "at fault" since they shouldn't have been operating the known defective equipment! Plus they are required by regulation to complete a DVIR (Drivers Vehicle Inspection Report) every day (shift). This DVIR would document the date the mirror was known to be defective!

 

What day and time are insisting he be there?

 

Have your husband call the company owner and ask him if he's willing to share a jail cell if a fatal wreck is caused by lack of a mirror or weather.
if the owner says "NO" then your husband knows what to do!

 

I'll respond to this first. It is against the law for an employer to charge, or deduct money from an employees paycheck for anything other than taxes and court ordered judgements without the written consent of the driver. I hope he didn't sign away his rights. Did he? No employee is to be held financially responsible for any losses the company has. They have insurance for this purpose. The employers recourse is to let the employee go, but they are also legally responsible for getting the employee back to the place they were hired first. Just as the driver can be charged with the return of an abandoned vehicle, the employer can be charged with the abandonment of the driver. It goes both ways.

As far as driving in unsafe conditions or with an unsafe vehicle, he needs to remember one thing. The driver is the one who is ultimately responsible for the safe "operation" of the vehicle. The key word here is operation. In short, the vehicle will not operate without the driver to make it operate. If he is involved in a serious accident causing death, he may well be locked up for years in a jail far from home. His boss will be sued, but your husband will be screwed.
I have a friend that is a state trooper in Pa. He told me a while back that if he is investigating an accident resulting in death, and he finds any reason to believe the other driver may be at fault, he is required to charge the offending driver with involuntary manslaughter, and let the district attorney figure it out. That way the driver won't be let out on a little bond so they can disappear.
And lastly, if he were to bi in an accident that kills or severely injures somebody else, he has to live with that on his conscience for life. It would be hard enough to live with yourself if you killed somebody and it wasn't your fault, let alone if it was.
Tell him to use his camera phone and take many pictures of the damage and the road conditions so he has proof, and not to drive the truck. Period. He will get another job.

 

Tell them to trying to have that recorded and when they fired them then they will sue the company easy and move on to a different company. More money