$1900 Tow Bill

The only time I've ever dinged a driver was when he cost us about $6,000. I told him he could pay the $2,200 for overweight and log and inspection violations, or we would and he could find another job. It was just pure carelessness and laziness on his part; he picked up the loaded trailer parked next to the scale in the yard, didn’t do a proper pre-trip or DVIR.

And even though the rest of the expense (placard and equipment violations and getting another truck to divide the load) would have been caught by him if he had done a proper pre-trip inspection, we ate the cost. I didn’t feel sorry for him either as he was making $10,000+ per month at the time.

I've heard an education can be expensive.

ETA: I've had other drivers rack up similar bills. All were paid by us; some drivers were retained, some weren't.

 

I rule this preventable. I see tiretracks from previous successful right turns into the jobsite on the left of the stranded rig.

Bill that driver. Even I know enough not to put that trailer there the way he did it.

Good securement though. Migatates a really dangerous situation that could have evolved really badly from such a bone headed screw up by the driver. I think that pavement is about 30 feet wide and solid, looks to be plenty of packed gravel to turn onto seems like 10 acres to do it without getting stuck or in trouble.

I bet bone head driver just turned the tractor just like you would make a turn with the car with no understanding whatsover about that trailer physics etc.

 

How many times you thinking they’ll write the tow bill off instead of the driver?

“Write off” comes right off the bottom line.

 

I don't think they will write this off, this assumes they are self insured. No claim no problem to premiums. It is totally a incident because the tow truck had to come out. I don't know if they called out more mobile cranes to unload that flatbed before actually recovering it from that ditch.

 

You know what a tax write off is, an expense, and that's a stupid expense, I'd fire him anyway there'd be no way he'd keep his job.

 

It's like there's some sort of shame for swinging wide and using one's mirrors.

 

He was probably on Elogs and was really really really tired.

 

I destroyed the axle of a mail cart for Black and Decker trying a door and being off by half a inch. That was about a thousand in damage. They dismissed me on the spot. It was not too long before I did not bother listing them or anyone else before them as a employer in trucking history in those days. It was a important month because I went to trucking school in Haven Street offices shortly after. I had by then quite enough of the office politics that consumed the offices and people within that Black and Decker tool company.

 

Also some damage to the back of a nice trailer.