Give me your opinion

Exactly that's the way it used to be now thanks to government and extreme micromanagement you're barely allowed to think for yourself anymore

 

It runs much deeper than that though. Our culture has been destroyed from the inside by a certain type of cancer.

 

I'm not saying that you're right or wrong, because I DO agree with you...to a point. I'm all for looking out for my fellow driver. But, I am obligated to the Man that gave me a job to do a good job for him.

What if you were a company driver and you saw a fellow company driver selling fuel? Not as valuable as a high value load, but if it didn't have value, he wouldn't be selling. Does it affect you and others? Absolutely.

"But Six, this is different. There's nothing to say that anything was wrong with this trailer. The driver left it parked."

But how would you know for sure? I've found trailers left on truckstop lots. I've called in and asked if the trailers were missing. One had been sold, and the buyer didnt remove the name and number. One was missing for 3 years, one missing for 6 months. If I had saw that trailer sitting in a truckstop lot, UNLOCKED, and no truck in the shop, I would call and see if the trailer was missing. If it was not missing, I wouldn't say anything else. I wouldn't volunteer any info about whether or not it had a kingpin lock. If I was asked if it had a kingpin lock, I would be obligated to tell them the truth.

"But Six, kingpin locks will not stop cargo theft."

It will stop the low level thieves.

I pull high end freight. If my truck needed to go to the shop, that trailer would have been there too. There is absolutely NO EFFIN WAY anyone would ever see my trailer with a load on it, dropped on a parkinglot. The only time I would ever drop a loaded trailer would be because the load is too big to fit through the fuel island. And when I do that, I leave a pilot car in front of the trailer.

I understand OP's view. I do understand yours. But I do not see things as drivers, vs the company. I am obligated to bring that A Game for the company. If I see a driver doing wrong, I will step up to that driver. If he's cool, the company will never know. If he's a bonehead, they will definitely know.

 

I definitely have too much.

 

People are right about a kingpin lock not stopping a determined thief, but somebody cutting a kingpin lock off where there are people around, draws a lot of attention.

Without a kingpin lock, all a thief has to do is back under the trailer and go. Onlookers wouldn’t think anything of it, thinking the trailer belonged to the driver. You see somebody under a trailer cutting off a kingpin lock is going to cause people to notice.

I had a friend who used to be in trucking that had all his glad hands reversed on his trailers. He claimed it was to deter theft. I used to borrow his trailers from time to time, you always had to remember that his air lines were backwards or you weren’t going anywhere.

 

Unless it's a load with hazmat STF UP....it's not your load. You won't lose money or face penalties for it being stolen.....

I'd leave it be...if the guy/gal happens to come back then let them know....but don't rather on em..never know what they could be going thru

 

We have trackers on all of our trailers, we drop them at a truck stop every now and then, no locks, occasionally someone other than us screws up and grabs one, Xtra Lease units. We get them back. We will find you and the trailer. Not on our top ten list.

 

I can pick a kingpin "lock" in seconds just like most Master locks. They're a joke. Beating gladhand locks are just a matter of unscrewing them. Seriously. Just take the whole thing off and put another lockless one on.

 

I understand your point as well as the OP's point. I was just raised in a totally different world that feels the exact opposite as ya'll do.

 

I have honestly looked at this from both sides of the coin. I get it. But I just don't see it. Something in me can't. If I drop a trailer to go to the local Big Wong for a carton of Gen Tso's chicken the last thing I need is puss in boots, dudley Doo right, looking to put a feather in his cap, wanna be Dick Tracy putting his nose in my business. All I wanted was some white rice with Duck sauce man!
Personally I would have kinged and locked the trailer, but that's me. I mind my own business and don't actively look for trouble. In return trouble seldom finds me. Small fleet owners may disagree. I get it. You should pick from a better crop. Snitching is not part of a job description I would ever hire on too. Ever.