Stop Work Authority Program ( Card )

If you believe the truck is unsafe then you call your company. If they order you to drive, then you call the local DOT folks and have them come out. Explain what is going on. Tell them that you believe the truck is unsafe and your company is ordering you to drive. You will not be ticketed as you have refused to drive. The company will then be informed you have refused to drive. What happens next is that the company will hopefully, fire you. If they do, you are on your way to owning the company.

Never do anything that puts yourself or the public in danger. The Courts have ruled on this issue many time.s

 

Alright guy, let's skip all the Bill of Rights, lunchcounter lawyer talk, and any other BS that you've heard along the way. Straight up Man Talk:

If the truck is dangerous to drive, DONT DRIVE THE TRUCK. PERIOD.

"But Six, what if they threaten me with my job?"

If I had a truck that I thought was too dangerous to drive, and some office jock wanted to have a conversation about it, instead of fixing the truck, I'M OUT. Gone. We are NOT having any discussions about the truck and my job if I deem it unsafe. Dont worry about me, I'm out. If you are an experienced driver with a clean record, you can have a hundred job offers in an hour. So, why are you trying to hang on to a crappy job?

One more thing...before the truck becomes dangerous to drive, it will be completely unreliable. Meaning, your money will suffer cuz you're sitting in the shop all the time. If a company cant keep it's trucks maintained, they're about to go under. So jump ship while the band is still playing.

 

It is illegal for any carrier to require or compel you to drive unsafe equipment.
You have the absolute authority to stop work, and to not continue until the equipment is safe to operate.
Any retaliation will result in a nice lawsuit for you.
It's in the FMCSA I just do not have the references.

 

They tell us here if we have a problem, tell our terminal manager/maintenance guy, or terminal small so no maintenance guy do it falls to TM, don’t put it on road, stop work and call, if they won’t fix, call corporate and you’ll get a service truck

 

You just need one of those cards saying you are under direct orders of the president and nobody will stand in your way

 

Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA)
49 U.S.C. §31105


Copy the above and do a Google search. That is the law that covers you.

 

Come up with a sick truck and or trailer on your pretrip? It's NOT going anywhere today NOT WITH me or spouse. Nope. It's a shop issue when they get the Pretrip defects list.

Come get me if you have it all fixed and that pretrip signed and I'll check the work. If i am not already in the haunting the shop watching you fixits fix the problems.

Fire me? that's a golden ticket whoo hoo. Threaten me? That too. Stack is on the list. I will not be bullied into taking sick truck or trailer onto the road. Im just the driver, equiptment problems I find that requires fixing has to be fixed. Period.

Several times Ive been essentially gotten rid of by retaliation in other ways but this was something that does not go over well with a company that shows signs of refusal to fix it. A couple of times Ive had the truckstop fix it and present the shop boss with the invoice that requires fixing along with a a signed and mechanic counter signed pretrip defect report for the day. Alot of yelling but they pay it. They have to or the truck does not leave the property (Shop at truckstop ruling, not my choice)

Ive taken way too many trucks with defects out in my younger days. Enough is enough. If the owners wont care to spend a dollar to fix something pretty important then I think to look for another employer.

 

You should go to the NCCDB - National Consumer Complaint Database and report any harassment and or coercisesion to the FMCSA.

 

You should go to the NCCDB - National Consumer Complaint Database and report any harassment and or coercisesion to the FMCSA.