update on investigation of fedex/bus accident in orland,ca

We don't KNOW he's fatigued, we're just going to assume he was, so we can use it in the stats when we try to revise the HOS rules AGAIN,,,

~government

 

i question sometimes just how useful the NTSB really is... 13 months and all they can come up with is " he crossed the median, we dont know why though"

 

If the Freight drivers body wasn't so badly burned perhaps we would know more, possibly a medical condition. there's only so much they can do

 

I will put this out there.


The Fed-ex driver was one of us, a class A commercial vehicle operator.

Its an accident that happened, unfortunately lives were lost.
What if this was your dad,brother,father,cousin, neighbor or best friend.

I realize Fed-Ex has a piss-poor driving record. Weather warm or cold weather.

Keep your wits about you don't drive your truck like a 4 wheeler. Keep your cb on. Get your act together, younger drivers be on defense not offense driving.
Shut up about fantom secret loads you hauled or navy seals you were among.
Bust your butt and get your job done and safely.

"Getting off soapbox and my rant"
@Hurst @PackRatTDI

 

I think Fedex Ground is the outfit that is giving Fedex the lousy reputation They will hire anyone with a Pulse and their record shows it. Fedex Freight for miles driven and units operated does not have a bad record.

 

Sad, many of today's truck drivers tears to pieces other truck drivers who are in an accident that they know nothing about. They sure are not like yesterdays truck drivers, giving them the benefit of doubt, that it was a real accident.

I imagine in the future some of them that do this will be in an accident their self and they will defend their self even if at fault while talking bad at their accusers, even though they've been accusers.

 

Have to wonder how management is about pushing these drivers to meet unrealistic demands, just like jbh does. These Mega's do not like drivers that say no to working when they are tired. It's not so much the drivers themselves but the pressure management puts on them. I don't know what fedex corporate culture is like it would be good to hear a FedEx driver chime in on this

 

I used to be a terminal manager for FedEx Freight, and this is what I know.......

1. The cut times and arrive times are not unrealistic at all.........frankly, they're generous (I believe they're based on 50 mph in trucks that will do 62+)
2. The majority of drivers also work the dock at the hubs......depending on available hours and length of run. They may turn down dock work, but that means sitting for 4-5 hours without getting paid.....and at $25+/- per hour, that's a lot of money to walk away from every night.
3. The majority of my guys burned their 70 in 5 days.......rolling in Saturday morning with mere minutes to spare.
4. The majority of drivers (linehaul) work at night.....a 7pm to 7am is about on par.
5. Since they work at night, it means they 'sleep' during the day. An average driver will tell you he gets about 4-5 hours of sleep per day.......some get less because they're running errands, mowing the grass ans whatnot. I have known drivers who did not sleep at all......they'll go to the hub and catch a 2-3 hour nap.

So, what you end up with, as I highly suspect based on 10 years with FXF, is a driver who has burned most of his 70 in the preceding 4.5 days, has gotten a total of about 20-25 hours of sleep in that period of time and is just trying to make it back to the terminal.........and simply falls asleep. (remember, this was Saturday morning).

Honestly, despite the fact that I hate FedEx, it's really not their fault from a policies and procedures standpoint. They have a very good safety program and take safety very, very seriously. It's the drivers who won't or can't sleep during the day and it absolutely fries them. Every month or quarter or whatever, they have a magazine that comes out about the company (as many companies do). And like many companies, they post the pictures of folks have their 5, 10, 15, etc. year anniversary. You can with nearly 100% accuracy pick out the linehaul guys without having to read the caption.......it's just that bad

 

I understand that because fedex is a unique company with a lot of pressure to deliver, re: overnight and 2 day, you simply can not say no to a customer because, well, your truck driver delivering the ltl load was 'tired'. But in the name of safety, if fedex is so 'committed' have they tried to mitigate and reduce the likelihood of fatique especially around 130 am to 330am (which is the worst time to drive)?

For example, you were a terminal mgr, and your driver calls to say "hey i need a nap" what would your response be?

I have seen some of the long haul drivers at Ts's and man, do they look exhausted, especially the team drivers...

 

doesn't / didn't work that way......drivers would pull over and take a nap. If they were late getting in, they'd lie and say they were stuck in traffic or something. Nothing would be done about it unless it became excessive.

What a lot of people don't get, is that it's not the company pushing these guys; they're pushing themselves because they think it's a game and the first one back wins.

As to the nexus of your question, if a driver called and said he was too tired to drive that night, you'd say, 'stay at home'. There might be some kind of written or verbal warning the next day, but, again, as long as it wasn't a habit, it would be no big deal.