Not again....

Ten four on that brother !!!!!! I was asked by a couple wrecker drivers why you paying for this out your own pocket ??? So it never happened that's why. Carriers are not there to help you they are there to make a profit. I drove for Werner for about 2 months , they seemed down right giddy in all the ways and all the times they could #### drivers and #### them hard. And oh did we mention we are a $billion dollar carrier ? We can screw you in ways you can't even imagine !!! They made a very big point of telling you if you get stuck somewhere it WILL be considered an ACCIDENT not an incident !! I heard Marten is like that also.

 

I was detoured once on the Florida panhandle, trying to get into Georgia.

The detour they'd set up went into a residential neighborhood. There was no way I was making those turns, so I went to the end which was a T that dead-ended on both sides.

Swung left, backed down the T a bit then swung left again to head back the way I came in.

Pancaked their stop sign getting out, but I refused to ditch the truck. Lol.

 

Deemed by whom? In this case, sure, but it seems a little slanted if the carrier gets to unilaterally decide that the driver should foot the bill... if you sent me somewhere crappy, in crappy conditions, and I got stuck, sure... that was preventable... you could have not sent me there!

 

You will be presented with the bill or it WILL be deducted from your pay. As far as the should not be sent there it wont wash. It's apparent trucks can get to the plant for the plant is there. Just a matter of getting to it.

It's something of a observation from me when I drove older trucks they did not get stuck too much. Other than the walking beam mack milk truck, but farmer has tractor or team of horses to get it moving again because we play in boulders or mud pretty deep anyhow. Today's trucks cannot even handle a little incline without getting stuck and then spin. It's crappy. Which is one of the reasons I loved that old FLD 120 so much. All the computer it ever had was either in the qualcomm or on the ECM box to run just the engine. Nothing else. Everything was manual on it and it did have the first generation ABS too. But it was not that impressive compared to say the century. I spent so much time on ice with that thing. (Both classes) but she did not get stuck. Much.

Im not here to argue sent me there or here or timbucktu. If there is a facility that takes 18 wheelers somewhere and you get stuck two blocks from it... don't come here complaining (Too much...) a bad day now and then does happen, which is why I handed over cash now and then direct to the tow man, even getting stuck once on bobtail in home on bad ground. That cost 200 before we got loaded. But FFE did not hear about it. And those tracks are still there almost 20 years to the day to shake up anyone trying to mow grass a certain way. =)

 

Driver discretion.
Rule #1 - YOU are always at fault.
Rule #2 - See Rule #1.

 

Given that this is the rule, carrier response should be limited to termination. You don't make the dishwasher pay for broken glasses; if you're not satisfied with his performance, you fire him. He doesn't make enough to bear the burden of liability for the assets of the restaurant, so it violates labor law to attempt to withhold his earnings in this manner. It violates labor law which the Department of Labor eagerly enforces...

Carriers already have plenty of tools at their disposal, to punish drivers. We should have at least the wage protection that is afforded to illegal aliens who wash dishes at Denny's...

 

After careful consideration of your post... Employment is "At will"

You need to take it up with Congress to change the law and have it removed so that its no longer "At will" anywhere in the trucking industry.

 

In fairness; many drivers entering - and leaving - the industry, do not feel that they are afforded the opportunity to do so, "at will", as it stands. For too many, truck driving has become a career choice of last option, and both entry into and exit from the industry are controlled by economic forces that they feel are outside the scope of practical influence, by the driver.

If you find yourself doubtful of, or unsympathetic to this position, then consider the high rate of early turnover, and the average age of new CDL license holders. We're not seeing young people growing up wanting to be truck drivers; we're seeing older people who have been unsuccessful in other fields (or immigrants who lack language skills, training, credentials or resources to do anything else) turning to truck driving out of desperation. This creates an atmosphere that is ripe for exploitation - few people are easier to exploit that the desperate.

Maybe the senile, or the stupid, but let's face it; the mentally-impaired, are, in practice, almost indistinguishable from the desperate.

And, as with asking the Labor Department for help enforcing existing labor law on behalf of truckers; being referred to your local legislator is not a timely and effective solution to any problem. You might as well suggest that people kiss their masters' boots, and lap up whatever poo drops out of their shorts. We just had a major change in governmental representation, that was predicated largely on foreign policy, job insecurity and Obamacare, and we have not yet seen significant changes in any of these areas.

"Go talk to your Congressman" is, sadly, not a meaningful solution to anything.