Are all companies like this one?

No. For example FedEx takes no chances with weather.

 

Only you as the driver know what the road conditions are at any moment in time. If its not safe, don't drive. Skill level does play into some circumstances, but high winds make no difference......skill level wont help you there.

 

You are the captain of the ship. If you dont feel safe you dont drive. If they attempt to force you then you report them to the FMCSA and usaullly find a new company.

 

Not all companies are like that but they also don't want you to make it a habit of stopping too much either.for example solid ice stop and wait till the road get clear same with blizzard conditions.only you know if it's too bad for you to drive not your company.if you feel unsafe then park it and don't let dispatch intimidate you.companies say safety is their number one priority on their websites to look good for FMCSA but in reality money comes first and safety comes after you deliver loads.

 

You have to be firm with them, but nice. If possible get the communications through qualcomm or text messaging. Remind them that they are "telling you to run in very dangerous conditions that will put innocent lives at risk. As a professional you cant, in good conscious, keep driving and are shutting down for the night." These companies arent stupid. To the contrary they prey on the weak and stupid. When you come at them like i described 9 out of 10 times you dont even have to quit or report them, they will read between the lines and back off of you.

 

When a driver feels it's unsafe they'll call another driver and go by his word.they think well this driver isn't having problems why are you.my dispatcher did that with me at kb.I told her I don't consider driving 20 mph on a 55 mph hwyway good driving weather and I'm not going to run out of hrs to get your precious load delivered.It would have taken the minimum six hrs to do a 180 mile round trip and had four hrs left.It was snowing real heavy and many steep hills.people wanna drive in crap more power to them but this lady won't.if I can't keep a nice steady pace while driving it's time to call it a day.

 

I agree with many of the comments already stated above... Only you know both the weather conditions and your skill/comfort level.

If you don't make a habit of "crying wolf" a good company should take your word for it... But if you are shutting down for every drop of rain, well, then that's a totally different story.

What impressed me with my company was when they said "if chains are required, then we expect you to pull over" and "a delayed load is better than no load" ... They still expect us to meet deadlines but on the occasion of bad weather, they will encourage but don't push.

So, no, not all companies are like yours.

 

I don't know what you're talking about driver I look out my window and it's sunny and clear

Hammer down!

 

Something I figured out awhile back is using a few key words when communicating with the company. Remember that (with most companies at least) your call in is probably recorded and of course Qualcomm traffic is kept onhand as well. Using any variation of the word "safety" or "unsafe" will generally get their attention. While saying "there's too much ice on the road" or "this weather is getting nasty" could give them an opening to push you "the roads are unsafe" or "I don't think it's safe to continue" gives little room for interpretation.

I used to have that problem with Swift. It's one of the MANY reasons I'm no longer there. With my current employer if I call and tell them the weather's bad they usually tell me to shut down rather than risk losing the truck or the freight to a wreck.