Rigged!

Who do you think put that message on ELD? 99% of the time it's the DM, the same guy who told me to report to the testing facility. When I see a message on ELD with "load info" I turn the key in the ignition and I go get the load, and given the other information I had, or lack thereof--no authorization to take test, can't sign in to take test, no callback from DM--under those circumstances I know I made the right choice, and besides all that, most importantly, I know I was NOT on drugs or alcohol, and isn't that what's most important? Now, would I make the same choice again, knowing now what I did not know then about DOT drug and alcohol policy? No, but under the circumstances, Western Express should have allowed me to reschedule the test instead of firing me and then unilaterally flagging me in the Clearinghouse. (As I say in my expose', immediately after DM fired me I scheduled my own comprehensive DOT drug and alcohol test, which I took and passed.) So again, I was NOT on drugs or alcohol, and under the circumstances, I did nothing wrong, and I will prevail.

 

At that point I had had that truck for about six months, new permit book, no drug test forms, so no, I did not think to look in the permit book for the forms that day, but I do know what was in it. No test forms.

 

No forms in "post-accident" kit. I was not issued a post- accident kit. All I was issued was a firs-aid kit and a box of triangles, no test forms in either of these.

 

Dissemination of FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Compliance policy "educational materials" is the company's responsibility. That is clearly stated in CFR. I received no such materials from Western Express, and there was certainly no discussion of them, neither in orientation, OTR training, nor in ELD bulletins. Nothing. Again, throughout the entire process, from CDL-A testing, CDL-A school, company orientation, to being out on the road in my own assigned vehicle, the only education I ever received was DON'T DO DRUGS. Check. and DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL. Check. Now, again, I know how drug and alcohol testing at testing facilities is supposed to work: Report to testing facility, sign in, take a seat and wait to be called, not report to testing facility, not be permitted to sign in, can't get authorization, no callback from DM, new "load info" on ELD, presumably from DM. So I'm probably not going to convince you of my innocence, but I AM innocent.

 

Re: RTD/SAP, I am a so-called "SAP grad." Even though I was NOT on drugs or alcohol, to get my trucking career back I had to go through this ridiculous program. Got RTD Letter. Nowhere in it does it say I "refused" a drug test. That's because I did NOT refuse. (I wanted to take the test.) What the RTD Letter says is that I was flagged for "failure to remain at a drug testing facility," which, due to circumstances beyond my control, was not my fault. Now, don't misunderstand me, I understand why FMCSA created the D&A Clearinghouse: because one truck accident--as particularly devastating as they are--is one too many. I get that. But think about it, here's this government agency, FMCSA, completely inaccessible and unresponsive, a bunch of suits sitting around in some office building in Washington DC or Baltimore, MD, who have never even touched the inside of a truck, making decisions that govern the livelihoods of real truckers, without any regard for their lives. Not on drugs or alcohol? Too bad. Now we're going to make you go through this RTD program, everyone's going to think you're some kind of druggie loser, and no one's going to hire you. Good luck in your next career.

 

Re: pre-trip, I'm actually one of the few truckers I know of who ever even bothered doing a pre-trip inspection. In fact, as one trainer I had told me, "Pre-trip? It's (the truck) running. Let's go. But I did them, and post- trip inspections, too, and I did them thoroughly, truck and trailer. Maybe that's why Western Express decided to stick it to me with a flag in Clearinghouse, because I complained too much about their crappy equipment. Too much down time.