need help load abandonment!

Words for a wanna be to heed...if money is the hold up... save it up...the time it takes to do that will help to do your research, and find out if the transportation thing is what you REALLY want......RHM...your sig line says it all.....good one!

 

First off, you DID make a rash decision if you are in the situation you describe now. And if you wanted to make "informed decisions" you should have done your research BEFORE you got here. As for insight, you said it yourself, "make the most informed decision". The only way to do that is to actually look up FACTS not OPINIONS.

 

If somebody can save up cash for a CDL mill they are better off where they are than they will be trucking .

 

This thread actually ended up having some good advice in it...

 

RickG....I meant save the money up to pay for your own training either at...

1.) a community college/tech school

2.)a private school

my 1st choice would be a CC/tech school, but thats me...things are different now , much different than it was when you and I learned...I don't even think there were trucking schools back then (early 70's) I know that some of the older frieght-haulers would train you, but they were rare too. Most drivers then learned by working on the farm or in the military , or had someone teach them on their truck....IMO those days were lots better too.

 

Otter: first this is abandonment as he was hired to be part of the company and is under FMCSA drug/alcohol testing and HOS regulations. He is assigned to a trainer which both are assigned to a tractor and/or a trailer which is (in this case) under power (dispatch). Using the definition of the word abandonment will get you as far as that CB radio signal gets ya in West Memphis, AR at 10pm. Please do not continue to confuse the new driver here. Are you an attorney that is willing to (pro bono)...look that up if you don't know what that means...defend and see out a long and costly legal fight with his current employer? Most likely no so please quit giving out poor legal and/or industry advise.

Thank you.

 

I really don't think that anyone here thinks that he is an overly indebted slave that has to stay at this company in some horrible conditions for the next 5 years.

But, at least in IMO, he signed up to be hired and trained, the company did have to spend some time and money checking him out, and make the needed steps to put him in a truck with a trainer, they did their part.

Now unless he is in a real piece of crap truck (unsafe), or the trainer is just unbearable (chain smoking fool), or trying to play hide the pickle with him (QB sneak up the middle), I really don't see the issue with staying on till his training is up just because somebody "told him" that the grass was greener on the other side.

As I said, it is a learning curve, he will learn what to look for in the future, right now, he doesn't have a clue.



Stan

 

I think many will be of the opinion Otter's advice is better than your advice to stick it and continue to be exploited . Do you actually have any idea how many trainees abandon trucks ? They are a large part of the OTR carrier 100+% turnover . I'd wager there are more that more of the drivers that stick it out fail than those that abandon early and go on to better carriers .
Do you work for a bottom feeder that gives Hire Right a priority in hiring ? Better carriers don't consider it at all .

 

Kind of where I came from, people here want to paint it like slave labor and it's not that, it's low pay for low experience really. You have more options going to a school and you will make more probably if you choose the right company but it's not the only route. It's called fortitude, tomorrow is a new day and after one year accident free you can almost pick your carrier.


EDIT - but don't sign a lease

 

While it may not technically be "abandonment" that pesky little detail sure as heck won't stop certain companies from reporting it as such. Yes, he will have recourse and yes he can possibly get it cleared up but it is still a pain. You know as well as any other driver when a company tosses a negative on your DAC the onus is ALWAYS on the driver to prove otherwise. In other words, guilty until proven innocent.

Contact your safety director and tell him you need off that truck asap and another trainer. Simply report a conflict of interest with no chance of conciliation. Problem solved.