what can a driver do if his boss says drive a truck that will not pass a dot inspection

Nothing. A driver holds the final responsibility as to the equipment he drives, and is held completely liable for any problems.

In other parts of the world, the shipper/loader/employer can share this liability.

In North America, it is not so.

You refuse to work? You are most likely fired.

Understand that the trucking industry contravenes EVERY labor law known to man...

You have more protection working at Subway.

 

That's your call; you did the pre-trip inspection and wrote up the discrepancies, then chose to drive the truck. If you didn't write up the discrepancies, you didn't do your job. Your boss will hang you out to dry. Do you think the boss will tell the authorities he knew all along the truck needs work, but told you to drive it anyway?
Change companies.

 

A commercial driver's license is valued over $2 - $3 million dollars over a driver's career. Why would you risk that running defective equipment.... just asking.

 

Tell him to F off...

 

One little word. No.

You are the lawful agent of the company and as such you certify the truck is safe to operate. If you detect defects and cannot say this thing is safe to operate, DO NOT get in that thing and take off. Write a pretrip inspection report, turn into shop boss. Set up a number or something to call when that truck is fixed.

Go away and get settled, it will be a while.

If anyone gives a hard time to you repeat the word no. And show a copy of that Pre trip inspection report.

If you are fired... document everything and keep the pretrip reports plus the green book that shows chapter and verse that makes YOU the responsible and liable for equiptment problems found in Pre trips to your unemployment office. Write down date, time to minute, name names who said what, when did etc.

In my later years I had absolutely no trouble saying the rig is busted find a shop and fix it. They scream about the destroyed appointment and delivery sometimes a tow. Let em scream.

However in my early days, they will threaten to scourage you, burn your family and other unspeakable things to find the one button that makes you jump into the rig and take off, defects and all. This is where most tenderfooted newbies fail. And pay and pay and pay when DOT gets ahold of them. While the same company person sweet gravy talks the law into who me threats? haha.. not here. We are a law abiding company etc.

That is all I have to say. If the equiptment is so bad and falling apart everywhere you look in a company yard, go home. Find another job with a better company. Employers cannot build a history on something you never did do on your first day in POS truck carriers inc? Did you?

 

The truck won't pass a DOT inspection? What exactly is wrong with it?
If it's just a marker light or something minor that you can fix yourself try to get it legal.
If it's a safety item...brakes, tires, suspension, frame...don't pull it until it's fixed.

 

stop on a scale an have it DOT inspected

 

You'd be amazed by all the times I've had a driver tell me i needed to send a service truck out to fix a marker light before he could move. And not even dot required lights, but the extra chicken lights under the bumper or under the cab.

I'd explain how it wasn't a safety issue and to get moving but if that didn't work me and another would hop in the pick up and head to his location and his employment would end right there on the spot. Find your own way home.