Road Unworthy

I have a personal thing about driving a truck with an OOS defect(including driver). If I know of a problem and the company says they will not fix it, I stop at the nearest scale a tell the officer of the situation, get an inspection and OOS order. At that point they have no choice. I will not drive a ratty vehicle and will not bend the rules either. As a friend used to tell me, "There's no percentage in it."

 

You're absolutely right. And I believe that's also how these companys look at it too.

 

Personally?
I don't give a rat's patootie what the company says. If the truck has an OOS defect, it isn't moving until it's repaired. When it all boils down, IF I get caught....OR someone is injured; it rests on my shoulders.
Something I am not willing to risk.

 

Who makes the calls?
YOU: the driver does.
I learned this trick a few years ago. It gets the attention of the Company REAL QUICK.
If they refuse to repair a OOS violation again, you pull the trailer to the nearest Scale House, walk in and tell THEM your company refuses to fix defects and ask for an inspection. When the company gets FINED for equipment violations and has a valuable load placed OOS at a Scale House till it is repaired, they will think twice about refusing to get defects fixed.

Get a digital camera (if you don't have one), and take pics of the message sent over the Qualcom and their reply.

 

I have encountered defects on my truck but when i told the company they sent me in for repairs...because its better to get repairs taken care before you get inspected....you never know when the DOT will pull you over for inspection...it happened to me in Iowa but I passed with "flying colors"....but I was sweatin bullets for a while....

 

You won't drive it, someone else will. You lose your job.

You get stopped and fined, it's ALL on you. The company NEVER takes the fall.

It sucks but that's the way it is around here.

The only thing that matters is $$$$$.

Sad, isn't it? Sigh....

 

No way. The company may try and do that crap, but realistically, they can't fire you for something like that. And like Roadkill already said, if there is a problem the company won't fix, just go to the nearest coop and park. Ask for an inspection (and explain what's going on) and the violations on the trailer will be the company's responsibility. When the company asks what happened, you (the driver) just play it like you got pulled in for a random inspect. Trailer will get fixed, and you keep rolling.

I find this a bit amusing, because I used to drive for Covenant, and I NEVER had a problem getting a trailer repaired, despite their horrible (and rightfully earned) reputation.

 

ROFL!!! What color is the sky in your world? They CAN and DO fire people for such things all the time, they just disguise it with other words and excuses.

I've seen it happen so many times I can't even begin to count. That is the way it is. You are nobody. They have all the power. You complain, you're fired. No ifs, ands, buts or maybes.

Sure, you can take them to court for unjust dismissal but who's out all the money? You. Who usually has the fancy lawyers and the money to win? They do.

Sorry, but it happens ALL THE TIME and it's WRONG and there's NOTHING the average joe truck driver can do about it.

 

Well, I will agree with you that they (trucking cos.) have the power to fire drivers, cut their miles, DAC their drivers, etc. But if it's my arse in the seat, then that Piece-O-#### trailer can sit there. And if they fire me for that , and disguise it with other reasons, then so be it. That's not a company I want to work for anyways.

If I do my job right, and keep my nose clean, then being fired by some ####ball company is not a big deal; I can be driving again soon enough.

And I do understand your point MiniPins, but sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand.

And BTW, the sky in SouthEast MI is kinda gray and overcast, temp's around 32 deg F.
(just FYI)

 

LOL!!! It's sunny here and a lovely -4 C with lots of sparkly snow everywhere.

And, yes, I know you have to draw the line BUT for inexperienced drivers, it's hard to find a good job so, for the first few years out there, you do what you gotta do to keep your job.

If you have almost no OTR experience, you're not nearly as likely to blatantly disregard what they tell you to do, unfortunately, and there's MANY of them out there and they're preyed upon constantly. That's how those sleazy companies survive.

Heck, we quit with two weeks' notice and, halfway through that two weeks, they came up with some bull crap excuse and fired Mike. Pfft!!!!! How's that for slimy, sleazy and childish?

He already had another job but wasn't about to say, "Here, I'm here early 'cause I got fired" so we've been without a paycheque going on four weeks now.

At the end of this week, we get a cheque for ONE WEEK's pay (they hold back two weeks plus the "fired" week). Sigh. Sometimes life just sucks but who has the money to go to court and hire lawyers and fight? Not us So they won, kinda sorta.

Thankfully this company is awesome and hopefully we're set for many years to come.