my USXpress experience

No. It's just like an automobile. The air brake system is totally separate and not electronically tied in to the transmission.
You can leave it in drive and pull against the brake.

 

it sucks that it happened but if that's your first accident then you should be able to find another job its not a dot recordable no damage so u should be ok i guess now you know to check your truck because at the end of the day its your responsibility no one else anything happens all people see and hear is you were driving good luck and be safe

 

A Wheel chock is not desigine to stop a rolling truck it's made to stop it from starting to roll. also if you were at the dock loading why did you not have both tractor and trailer brakes set? Sorry your fault unless the trailer brakes were also faulty

 

I worked for USX from 98 to 2004 and it seems they have not changed their ways very much. Yes a truck should be in the proper working order before it is issued. But that is not how this company works for some of it's new hires.

When I started with them I was given a list of trucks at their tunnel hill facility to go over and all where damaged except one. That was the one a dirt bag had and the one I spent a day cleaning before seating because at least it was not all banged up like the rest. USX seats drivers in a truck and then lets them spend the next few days or weeks taking it around to get it fixed. If the driver does not report a issue with the truck then there is no issue.

Having said that all you have to do to check the parking break is set the brake give a little fuel and see if it holds. If the the trailer and tractor have the breaks set at the dock with a chalk in front of the tire you won't have a forklift driver hanging out the back. How do I know this? well I have loaded thousands of trailers and not one time did I have my truck roll enough to have a forklift driver hanging out the back. Even had a forklift driver blow 2 of my trailer tires coming in to fast with a heavy pallet.

In the OP's own words they continued to operate a truck they knew to be defective or they did not do pre and post trips. And pointing out that no one was hurt so no harm no foul does not cut it. Driving a truck is dangerous , but so is loading them when you have people behind the wheel who are reactive and not proactive when it comes to safety.

And when your at the dock you set the tractor breaks and the trailer breaks. Heck I even slide my tandems back when getting heavy pallets loaded. I had to chuckle when the person said they did not set their trailer breaks at the dock because the button said not for parking

 

No matter how you slice it the OP was at fault. Had they done a proper pre-trip they would have caught the fact that there were no parking brakes. It doesn't suprise me that they are trying their best to put the problem off on the company. I have met very few drivers that are willing too take responsablility for their actions or lack of.

 

"Onelikeseabass"...ERRR Excuse me, but the words "not for parking" is found on the "Trolly Bar" "Johnson Handle" or "Trailer Brake Handle" as they're called but NOT ON THE RED KNOB also known as the Trailer Brake! It IS used for parking! Go look at your knobs again! Why do you think BOTH knobs pop out when you get low air or why does it pop out when you pull the tractor knob out? Just because the manufacturer of the truck wanted to just to mess with us? What do you think the thing is doing when dropped? Rolling down the road? HMMMM? It's called DROPPED/PARKED! You need to go back to that school that ripped you off and either pay attenation to the instructor or get your money back from some really bad information taught you! Also not all trucks come with the "trolley handle" as it's ordered when the truck is speced out! Cheap companies or Volvo was notorious for that at spec time!

As for a fork lift hitting a trailer hard enough to knock it over a chock! He must have been going pretty darn fast with a heavy pallet as Newtons Law of physics is at work here and the lift just can't move that much weight! I've been doing this for 32 years and NEVER had a forklift hit me or a dropped trailer so hard that he moved the unit OVER a chock! Against the thing yes but then the chock starts to do what it was made for, Stopping the trailer from moving! If he did then ALL of the parking brakes were bad! Either on a dropped trl or as a whole unit!

As for NOT using the trailer brakes while parked at a dock I have to ask WHY??? if at any time they need to be used is at loading and unloading! Yes, I know when you set the brakes the trailer will creep but that can be remedied by ...releasing the brakes to let the trl air back up and then setting the brakes again. Safety is the key word here! 5 sets of parking brakes are better than just 1 or 2! Count the brakes on your next PTI. I know you know how to tell what parking brakes look like. If not, The BIG air chamber found on the trailer and AT LEAST 1 axle of the tractor have parking brakes! Some companies are so cheap that they only put 1 set on the tractor!

Now a quick lesson on how to inspect those brakes. You are a TEAM! Why do you need that pretty trolley handle on the dash to do a PTI! One of you sit in that drivers seat while the other walks the path around the truck. Look at the brakes, yell AIR and whoever is sitting in the seat hits the brakes putting about 30 pounds of pressure on the brakes. Then yell release and you will see how far the rods travel. To much travel or more than 1 1/2 inches it's time to adjust those brakes! It's also easier to see which brake lights on the truck and trailer are working!

Now, do you know how to adjust "self adjusting brakes?"

NO WRENCHES ARE NEEDED!

Unless you are a mechanic, DO NOT touch self adjusting brakes! Different manufactures adjust differently when installed on the axle.

The way to adjust them and you should do this, #1 when you get a new truck and #2 when ever you hook to a trailer.

The adjustment is actually very easy!... Hook to the trailer, roll forward just a little bit and apply AT LEAST 30 pounds of air pressure and stop, do this 3 of 4 times going forward then do it in reverse 3 or 4 times and you WILL feel the brakes go into adjustment! You will also see if the Low Air Warning Horn works! Something I don't see very many drivers do on their PTI! And NO you will NOT wear out your brakes or drums as some drivers will argue with you about! You're NOT creating enough heat to effect the drums or pads! Self adjusting brakes are designed to adjust while the system is in motion and using the braking system correctly is what makes them work! This means that when driving you will be adjusting those brakes when you come to a stop! FORGET that stupid "trolley handle!" Yes a lot of O/O's use it to save their brakes on the tractor but the bad thing is they aren't getting the proper adjustment on their tractor brakes! When you come to a stop and are at about 1-2 MPH put 30 pounds of pressure on the brakes with the foot peddle, release roll forward a little (a couple of INCHES) and do it again and even a third time! If you have been doing just highway driving with little brake usage and you only stop a few times a day doing this once a day is OK, BUT if doing city and mountain driving several times a day will keep those brakes adjusted! Just remember they ONLY adjust when 30+ pounds of air pressure is applied! A note about brake checking at DOT inspections! NEVER apply more than 30 pounds when Mr DOT yells AIR! If your brakes are close to being "out of adjustment" they really will be because to much air pressure pushes the rods harder and makes them measure out of adjustment! Go light on that foot pressure at DOT time!

Now to the OP! Find that mechanic that told you the brakes were in such sad shape! See if he will sign a letter saying that those brakes were bad and GET a copy of the bill and have a notary stamp them! Send them to DAC with a letter of rebuttal and fill out the rebuttal form on line at Hirerights website! (that's what DAC is going under for a name this year!) Also send it to that bottom feeder you were hired on with and in the letter you wrote to accompany it tell them that this is PROOF that it wasn't all your fault, no one was hurt and the fork lift driver isn't suing them unless they don't fix your DAC report and if they don't you're going to contact the forklift driver and give him a copy of the repair bill and suggest that he sue the crud out of USX! I bet that DAC will get fixed pretty fast!

BUT the next truck you get in please do a better PTI! Or ask to look at the trucks repair history with the company! Or get a mechanic at your new home to check the brakes!

Good luck
Rollover

 

if you have a cdl you are required to know how air brakes operate .... how in the h-ll did you get a cdl?????????????????????

 

oh and it's called a hand valve and it's only for the trailer brakes it's called a hand valve because u use your hand to activate it .... a trolly is a bus in san francisco

 

A proper pre-trip was done. but what part of the internal workings can you see in a pretrip? According to a diesel mechanic, there was no way you can visually see a frozen slack adjuster, or broken springs inside a brake chamber unless you crawl under the truck, and pull a plug to see inside the brake chamber. Let me know driver, how many times you do that?? all i can say, is that my cdl or air brake endorcement states I visually inspect the break workings, which was done.

 

If the trailer was in the door, did you not check first to see if it was being loaded or done loaded? if it was still being loaded did you have permission to back up under the trailer?

Checking in with the customer should have been done first before simply backing up under the trailer... a Chock would have been a clue....

If the trailer was being loaded and you were in front, but not under it, then when the forklift operator hit the trailer hard, you would have not been at fault since you were not attached.