Stay Away From Usx!!!

I'm more concerned about drivers who run 100% compliant, than the ones who fudge 15-30 minutes here or there.

A driver who sits all day, then runs all night, is compliant. And equally, if not more dangerous than the driver who fudged 15 minutes to make his appointment, because he needed a nap.

The law is written in favor of companies, and in no way lends support to drivers unless they are out of "legal" driving time. As of this moment, the 14 hour rule is the only rule that protects the driver. Even that protection, is limited.

If you are of the opinion that a driver can nap while waiting for a load. Try it sometime, right after you get up from a full 8 hour sleep period.

 

Your concern might have some validity to it. The thing is what the law says not what you or I want. The driver who is running compliant and gets into an accident and someone is hurt will come out fine. The driver who is over for any time on hours and gets into an accident will pay greatly. I choose to run compliant even though I don't agree with these new HOS rules. It's the law I am protecting myself legally so that I don't have to worry about being sued or maybe going to jail. Besides I don't like giving money to the DOT on any terms.

 

Speak to my friend, who lost 5 trucks and his home. When a drunk driver crossed the median and hit his "legal" driver. The only surviving "drunk" passenger, bled him dry.

It doesn't matter whether you are legal or not, when the lawyers show up. But if it helps you sleep at night....go for it.

 

Any driver who is treated the way Southernraven describes is because they allow themselves to be treated that way.

Even tho I am an O/O and call my own shots I have never allowed any company to intimidate me to the point that I will go without a meal and a shower. I get respect because I demand respect.

Trucking companies everywhere are clamoring for good drivers. If one treats you like a subhuman tell them to get bent and hire on with another.

So if you are treated like scum its your own fault and you get no sympathy from me. Demand respect. Your story is highly suspect to me.

 

Gee! I didn't know that Jerry Moyes had purchased CFI/Conwaqy.

 

The overriding moral to every single story in these gripefests is simply this; Avoid the big truckload carriers! If you have to get trained by one, suck it up and do it but, don't expect to be treated anything like a human beyond that.

 

It's amazing what believing you deserve respect can and will do for your career........

Very good advice from someone with experience.............

 

Many thanks to ALL of you that run compliant. The damage that you state that you could do by over exceeding hours is very well taken.

In January of 1995, my mother was hit head on by a pickup truck and rear ended by a semi tractor trailer simultaneously on a two lane state highway. The coroner ruled that both impacts were so severe he was unable to determine which collision killed her. For any driver that wishes to make that extra mile when he or she shouldn't, stop for two minutes and paint a picture of what the accident scene looked like. It wasn't pretty.

On behalf of all of those families, including your own, that depend on you driving compliant and getting there and back safely, I offer my personal thanks. It's very heartwarming to hear that you take this part of your job so seriously and I for one am proud to be amongst such responsible professionals.

 

Unfortunately, too many have the "it will never happen to me" idea. Fatigue is dangerous no matter what you drive. I was in the restroom at the Hopi Travel Center (exit 292 in AZ) and overheard I guy who was driving a UHaul bragging that he had been on the road for 16 hours. The tragic side of that happened to a truck driver about 20 miles west of our town. He had a trailer ABS problem and was a good 30 yards off the side of the interstate right where the onramp came into the road. A UHaul driver coming from California fell asleep at the wheel and hit the trailer so hard it knocked it off the fifth wheel and into the back of the tractor. Everything above the front tires on the UHaul was stripped off and pushed into the cargo area, it was not a pretty sight. Of course both occupants of the UHaul were killed instantly.

Running over hours is inexcusable. Why drivers feel it is their responsibility to make up for the failure of the shipper to do their job on time I will never understand? Even in JIT hauling, wait times at shippers will never get in line with where they should be if drivers keep picking up the slack. If the shipper loaded late, the receiver needs to know that and be given a reasonable new delivery time based on the original allotted time to get the load there. In other words, 5 hours later getting loaded means the load will be delivered 5 hours later. When drivers begin to push this to the max and refuse to violate HOS rules, the receivers will finally get the picture and charge the shipper for the delays.

You see, it is the driver that will have to live with what happens. And you can drive for 10 years and never have anything happen. Then there is that one time, and it is something you will live with the rest of your life. There is no load or trucking company worth that.

 

Sorry to hear that about your mother Billy. That's a horrible thing to have to deal with.