Company tricks driver.

You didn't answer my question.

 

He was referring to your notion of responsibility not your story. Maybe if you could have comprehended what was he was saying this would be clear.

 

The simple answer, YOU, the person who made the mistake, should be liable for the deductible, regardless of the amount. Make a payment plan with the employer.

Are you suggesting that the driver go without pay to cover the deductible, or because there is no other truck for them to drive?

BTW, are you aware that in almost every state, by common law, you employer can fire you for the damage you caused, and keep your final paycheck. Long discussion on a local consumer advocate show about this earlier in the week, there are thousands of court cases nationwide upholding this.

 

Then it is the drivers responsibility to take every step to protect themselves. I have a cellphone with a camera, and an accident kit in the truck with a camera as well. Anything I hook to, regardless of the hour of day, as a responsible driver, gets going over. Damage is noted, either in writing and/or with a picture, noting the unit number and time of day.

 

I'll take your word for it I don't see how that is relevant to the trucking conversation we are having. Regardless that employer will probably be paying unemployment.

My scenario is that there isn't another truck.

Let's take your story about the broken window. What if say the football had gone through the window and fell into the fireplace and caused sparks which set the house on fire. Would your father have paid to rebuild the man's house? Of course not, so your level of responsibility has a limit.

See you and the other guy are big into responsibility but you just leave the company out of it. Where is there responsibility to train, to thoroughly vet applicants? I mean how are you okay with them passing the buck straight to you? What about workers comp? If you get injured on the job should you be liable for the medical bills, the missed work? If you say no then doesn't that fly in the face of responsibility?

See, it doesn't make sense. It's all anecdotal, what is responsible and what's not.

 

It doesn't if you drive a van. You don't inspect the top and I highly doubt you climb underneath and check every square inch either. So that statement is false.

 

To add on to this, what if there is damage and you take a picture and they don't believe you? What if they say you backed it into something and then said you were lying and that you didnt discover it that way? How does a driver protect himself then? Is it outrageous? Of course, but what you want to do is open that door. You want to place more power in the hands of the already powerful. Why? For God's sake how does this help?

 

Depends, was it simple negligence, was it willful negligence? Years ago, one of my friends got nailed for solicitation of a prostitute. He was driving a company car at the time. He was arrested and released on bail. City of Denver has a rule, they can seize and impound vehicles of those arrested for solicitation, they don't have to return the vehicle until you are found innocent. If you are convicted, they can seek to keep the vehicle as a public nuisance and resell it. In his case, that was what happened, the they had audio and video of him soliciting an undercover cop. The afternoon that he was released from jail on bond, his company fired him. They kept his final paycheck, told him that it would be released to him once the car was returned to them. Four months later, he was convicted, the City applied for title to the car as a public nuisance. The employer had to fight the City in court to keep it from happening. In the end, the company got the car back, but his final check didn't begin to cover the employers expenses related to the return of the car and sued him for the loss, they prevailed.

 

Apples and oranges.

First, if you are fired "for cause" after your own negligence or willful attempts to get fired, you can be denied unemployment.

Second, if the employer can show that you were acting irresponsibly or negligently, they can fight you on that workers comp claim, too...potentially leaving you up a creek with no job in addition to the medical bills.

And with the "broken window" example, the neighbor whom had his window broken likely discussed the matter with his other neighbors in the community...in other words, other neighbors were warned about you throwing balls too close to houses to keep an eye on you. If that ball landed in the fireplace and burned down the house, that neighbor could sue the kid's parents to cover their loss. More likely than not, the neighbor's insurance company would cover the claim to quickly satisfy the needs of their customer and then turn the lawyers loose on the kid's legal guardians to recoop the money paid out on the claim.

The company's responsibility to train and properly vet applicants during the hiring process happens when 3rd parties are involved. You crash into a bus load of kids, and the company will be sued as a result...and if they have relaxed their standards without upping their training or in any way appear negligent at the corporate level, their liability just went WAY up in the wreck. For minor stuff like property-only incidents...tear the front bumper off on a guard rail while backing into a dock...the company holds the ####### who wrecked the truck responsible. Pay for the damages or seek employment elsewhere. Don't want to be put in that situation? Pay attention to what you're doing and don't tear #### up! It really isn't all that difficult...it is what we SHOULD all be doing as "professional" drivers.

 

Considering that even the slightest damage to a container will result in the railroad billing us for the damage, I check every container for the ground up. It is assumed by the railroad that I cannot reasonably be expected to see damage above 10'. Every container that we take into or out of the railroad is inspected with a camera system that views all sides, the roof, the tires (it records the rolling tire on high speed film), the chassis. Any damage is noted by the system, when we return the container, the process is repeated. Any new damage is noted, and we are billed accordingly. As a result, I am required to inspect the container myself before heading to the camera (out gate), it is assumed that I cannot reasonably be able to see above the 10' point, nor can I see the roof. However, if the container is an empty, I am required (it's part of my job) to check the inside of the container, and that means climbing in, loosely closing the door, and looking for obvious holes, water leaks (especially if it's already raining). Common sense, if this is an empty that I am taking out of the ramp, and I find holes, I don't take it out. If it's an empty I pickup at a customer and am returning, I am required to do the same. Any visible light, from the outside in, I have to take a picture of, note on my paperwork the location of the hole, and let my dispatcher know so they can write it down on the dispatch card for that load. If the damage is something that obviously happened at the customer (forklift puncture), we will bill the broker for the damage, because we will be billed by the railroad. If the damage is something that was caused by the railroad (roof and floor punctures caused by the packers) the railroad will cover. If the damage is of an unknown cause, and occurred while the container was out the gate, the railroad will bill the trucking company.

BTW, if a company refuses to pay the bill from the railroad for damages, you lose your interchange privileges for a minimum of 1 yr, and up to lifetime, thus, putting you out of business. BTW, as a driver, if accidently damage rail equipment, I can be banned for life from the railroad, and be sued by them for the cost of repair, they can bypass my employer altogether.