Qualcomm & The Law

When I drove, I often wondered how I could get hard copies of my Q-comm records if I ever needed such records. How would one do this? I see the address for DAC all over the place here, but nary a post tells me where I can send a request for Q-Comm records. I know Q-comm is based in San Diego. That's it.

I also wondered (and still wonder) if there are any right-to-privacy laws being violated when it comes to Q-comm units in trucks. Probably not, but I'd still like to talk to a lawyer about it.

Luckily, I never needed to actually retrieve Q-comm records while a driver, as I never had such a beef with the Q-comm outfits I worked for. If my company wanted me to drive illegally, I simply told them "no". If that wasn't good enough, I would have walked. Surprisingly, I never had to walk because of saying NO. I had to sit a couple of times as "punishment" when I said that magic word, but usually I never sat long.

Making a driver sit as punishment shouldn't bother one. If a driver gets angry because his company is treating him like an unruly school kid when he sticks up for himself, the company wins. Their objective is to change your behavior, and the best way to do that is to make you believe it is YOUR fault when you encounter problems on the road. When my companies made me sit as punishment for some supposed offense (and rarely did they do it), I laughed it off and did the offending action again as soon as I got the chance. If my company wanted me to be in Phoenix overnight (a 12+ hour trek from Salt Lake), I'd take 'er slow and be late on purpose if I'd been "punished" recently for not pulling some illegal stunt for them. That fired a shot across their bow and they quit doing the punishment thing real quick. I had legal recourse in those cases (the 10-hour rule was in effect in those days), and my company knew it. Two can play the stupid games if it has to come to that, absolutely.

If a company tries to teach you a lesson, just turn the tables. Make yourself the teacher and teach your company a lesson instead, the lesson that you don't get screwed with and you don't put up with games. You still live in a free country (it's not really free), and with the supposed driver shortage (there isn't a shortage), you the driver have the upper hand in the "classroom".

 

You'll need a lawyer to get these records, unless you work for a company that is willing to fork them over by request.

Many of these communications are kept locally on your company server for up to 6 months. Especially, those to and from the truck. Depending on the company, they may use QC servers for gps tracking storage if they lack the space on their systems to do it. GPS "pings" to the truck occur at an interval set by your company. It could be every 5 minutes, it could be twice a day.

I ran into this situation a couple of years ago, with a personal insurance claim. The insurance company wanted proof of my location for a 3 day period.

It seems, that being a truck driver implies you have access to the needed equipment to empty your house out...therefore might actually rob yourself, and file false claim.

 

Leave it to the powers that be to put a red tape Jersey wall in your path when you want to gain access to your records. That's intentional, of course. No, you will not be allowed to empower yourself. You are to be kept powerless, both politically and economically.

Are those insurers idiots? It sounds like it. The idea that a driver is going to drive his own rig to his house, load up his belongings, and then file a theft claim is absurd. Well, I guess he COULD pull it off, IF he pays his neighbors (witnesses) to keep their traps shut about it.

 

Yes I know it's an old thread. It contains some really good info that alota folks could learn from. And yes, alota is a real word !! Just ask Larry.........

 

Actually Qualcomm keeps ALL records in their servers. How long I can't honestly say but any attorney can subpoena (?) them and they have to release them especially when there is a law suit involved.

Taking pictures of the screen might not do much good as now anyone can say they were altered and you'd have to get a freaking digital forensic expert to verify they were not altered. You got to love Photo Shop!

As for the company keeping logs for 6 months, I sure hope you are keeping yours forever as they are what you use for filing your per diem! You should keep them in your tax files at home and contrary to popular belief do not trash them after 7 years. The IRS can come after you 7 or as many years later for an audit! I have ALL my tax files back to 1974 when I got my first job at 16!

As for having more than 8 days in your log book, BIG DEAL if DOT looks at them. They are SUPPOSED to be accurate so whats the deal? If they are legal then there is no problem. What PO's ME off is these morons who have to fold over the days 8 and older and you're standing in line while the DOT officer is unfolding each page because he's looking for where the driver was coloring in the book! PLEASE, quit wasting MY time because you think you're being smart thinking he won't unfold those pages!