The Decline Of Crete Carrier

We rarely had problems with Crete's equipment. There were times we'd find a flat that needed to be replaced. But nothing major.

Some of Crete's older trailers had landing gears that were kind of hard to turn.

 

Thanks Pine,
That's what I thought. I've never seen bad Crete equipment. Landing gear goes without saying, it's sometimes the nature of the beast.

 

Couple of items that need to be addressed, not only in your post, but in "luvtheroad"'s post as well...

First, I'm not dredging up the Lake Butler incident. The NTSB report wasn't released until August of last year, and was just recently posted on the NTSB website for all to read. Considering the culture and climate regarding the way drivers are treated in the aftermath of this accident, it's a very valid topic to discuss.

Secondly, I'm a firm believer that every department in an organization has a specific function to perform to contribute to the success of the organization. The purpose of the Payroll Department is to ensure that the employees are paid. The purpose of the Billing Department is to make sure that the customers are billed, and payment received, for the work performed. Human Resources, Fleets, Maintenance, IT Services, etc... all have specific functions to perform.

The purpose of the Safety Department isn't to make the life of the driver miserable, it is to ensure that the company operates within the DOT rules and regulations.

When the Federal DOT audits Crete in the aftermath of the accident, what do they find? They find a company where drivers are not being drug-tested at the 50% rate required. They find a company where 34% of all logbook are falsified. They find a company that obviously has serious problems in the Safety Department. DOT threatens to revoke their satisifactory safety rating, and the only way Crete can stop the DOT from doing that is to enter into an agreement with the DOT to basically do anything and everything the DOT requires.

Assuming that you also drive for Crete, ask yourself this question -- was anyone in the Safety Department removed, replaced, reassigned, relieved of command, retired, or asked to resign in the aftermath of this post-accident investigation?

According to the NTSB report -- "Qualcomm communication data show that the driver was asked to make three round trips on this route or at least two and a half runs, thus pressuring the driver to the outer limits of the State regulation. Furthermore, the Qualcomm data show the location of the truck and should have alerted Crete that the driver was making more trips than would have been allowable."

The driver of the vehicle involved received seven years in prison as a result of his actions. What about the people that didn't monitor his actions? What about the people who pushed him to run that hard? What about the people who jeopardized the company's ability to function by operating such a poorly-run department? Did anything happen to them?

The NTSB report on the Florida is available on the Internet, free of charge. If this software would allow me to post a hyperlink, I'd be more than happy to link to it - but I can't. But trust me, it's out there, all you need to do is a little digging.

Read it, read the synopsis of the accident, and the conclusions drawn by the NTSB as to the probable cause of the accident. Draw your own conclusions as to the actions taken by management in the immediate aftermath of the accident, and the post-accident DOT investigation.

Personally -- I think some heads should have rolled.

I think some heads should have rolled in the aftermath of the pet policy debacle of last spring. It doesn't surprise me that nothing happened at the corporate level in the aftermath of Lake Butler.

It's sad, but not surprising...

 

If as stated he was asked to do a run that pushed against the limits but did not violate the limits I don't think heads should roll. I don't think a company should have to babysit us, i.e. watch to make sure we are not violating the rules. So no heads should roll. I think Crete makes it pretty clear that when you are assigned a load you, the professional driver, are to analyze whether you can legally complete the task before accepting the load then complete the task legally. There are times when dispatch doesn't realize how many hours I have worked that day, as we report hours worked the previous day (preferably at the start of the day), and I have had to let them know I could not legally accept that load offer and the reason I could not.

 

Crete was the best company I ever drove for. But I've always noticed a lot of denial among all truck drivers about their logs. People say they don't lie, but when you get down to the nitty gritty, they actually do. It gets to the point where it just becomes a default to say you're in the sleeper when really you might be going in to get your bills or check the loading process. Or else you stop for a 15 minute break and don't log it so you can clip off time at the end of the day. There are so many examples. If people had to log 100% literal and legal for just one single day, the whole industry would be shut down. I worked for three of the major companies and drove over 12K/month and played these games constantly. Yet not once did I get punished - even after I got a log book ticket. There is something very perverted about what really goes on and people turn a blind eye to. At JB hunt once I did a huge amount of miles. When I was passing through my home terminal, my dispatcher called me in and said I was on an "exceptions" list. I still don't know what that means, but nothing every happened as far as punishment.

 

There is a big difference between what u describe and more serious log book cheating. I've seen drivers drop trips, or back log after fueling so it looks like they've had 10 off just prior to fueling.

Ever heard of the California restart? Amazes me how many companies have drop yards in Lake Havasu and Quartzite, AZ.

 

True there is room for a small amount of cheating, but nothing that would amount to much financial gain, therefore little motivation to do so. . We had a guy on one of our dedicated fleets that would only show 30 minutes to drive from the Walmart DC in Bartlesville, Ok to Tulsa, Ok. There was one store on the North side of town that you could drive to in 30 minutes. Because he refused to put the address and only put down Tulsa, Ok Crete safety log audits would have to assume downtown Tulsa and he was near losing his job due to the safety points against him. Last I knew he changed employment. He was cheating on his logs and showing 30 minutes for any store in Tulsa including those on the South side of town so he deserved what he got. . We can't get away with shaving time off the end of the day when we stopped for a break earlier in the day, doesn't work, Safety log audit will ding you points in your next random log audit. They also check speed from point A to point B so shaving time there is also difficult. We are required to show 15 min for check in and/or drop and 15 min checkout and/or drop. . I know of one guy that does his drop/hook in 20 minutes or less which could be rounded down to 15min legally but gets upset because company policy requires him to show 30 min for it do he notates forced to illegally show more time than it took. too funny.... The truth is there are time when everything goes right and you can do that drop/hook in 20 minutes and there are times when it takes 40 minutes. Trouble sliding tandems, long wait for paperwork, etc. etc. so 30 minutes is pretty reasonable. About the only place there is to cheat is to show sleeper when you are required to be on the dock. Since you get paid to do any loading or unloading work there is no need for that and in fact the load/unloading work form you send in probably flags safety to check your log for line 4 time, I don't know. Personally if they require me to be on the dock, even just to watch them load or more truthfully they want to see me so they know I wont pull away from the dock I have them sign the loading/unloading form and send it in, because I feel if we can't be in our sleeper or in the drivers lounge, reading a book, plinking the computer keyboard, or listening to a radio show, we should be paid for our time there. If I am required to watch them load/unload it is logged on line 4.. . So, yes there is room to cheat a little bit here or there in less than 8 minute increments if location is verified it just isn't worth it. . . log it as you do it. . I am still of the belief that Crete safety, or any company, should not be in a position of having to babysit and verify everything on the log. but that would require all drivers out here to be honest and professionally responsible in their logging practices.

 

Yes Crete/Shaffer will fall under.. With Tonn Ostegard at the helm, its only a matter of time..
Mr Acklie, is a very considerate man, I met him once and he was very nice and ask if everything was going ok with us.. I am not a driver hubby is , but i used to drive a long time ago..
At that time, yes things were fine, we had all the miles that we would want, now, they are gone and the newbies are the one in the money..
That's how he treats his faithful drivers to the company, low balls their miles get them to quit and then if you have any left after this recession and Tonn's rules, you get whats left of your 401k and profit sharing plan. In this economy, you would think that he would want to help his older drivers loyal drivers if they needed money in a hurry, BUT NO,, his drivers are out there slaving away for him, risking their lives on a daily basis,

 

Just an update on my friend.... He is on his 3rd week at Crete. He said when he took that job he just want's to run and make money and don't care when he gets home. .... After being gone for 3 weeks I think he's about to go nuts. Yes he's making money and nearly 100% drop and hook. I think he live loaded near Dallas yesterday for the first time. He got shut down once because he was over his 70 hours. He said he is just going to work 8.75 hours a day that way it wont happen again. His only complaints is the 62mph, the quailcom, and not being home. He is averaging 2900 miles per week and very little wait time. Sounds like they might be a decent company for a single person. He asked me how do the folks on this web site run. He is just trying to figure out whats the best way. Do you log 8.75 hours a day or run 11 hours and do the 34 hour restart. Or stick a bucket over the satelite and run like you want to. His ball n chain is buying him a laptop this week by the way.

 

I personally like to run as hard as I can to get to the 70 hour rule so I can relax, catch up on my rest, laundry, and truck tidying. However there is a natural digression over 3-4 weeks to the 8.75 hour a day average........... It all comes down to how he wants to run, but he needs to change his thinking on the 70 hour rule. It is not a punishment shutting you down. You have made your money , now it's time to relax, read a book, surf the web, watch TV or DVD's. You will burn yourself out if all you do is work, work, work the 70 hour rule allows you time for you................Don't you think the company is going to question why your qualcom is malfunctioning so much of the time. Not a good move, ......(off the record) at least reserve it for emergencies (back on the record) .........As far as getting home, he can anticipate getting 1 day of hometime for each 6 worked and should be able to get home about once a month for 4 +/- 1 day for hometime. First he sets a date and time, then he calls his terminal manager10-14 days before requested time, then he sends in a msg 15 after being dispatched on each load to remind the next dispatcher, in the area he will get his next load, that this is the goal we are working on it to get me home on this date. ...............(off the record) then you pray a lot....LOL(back on the record) ................contact your terminal manager if you are having difficulty getting home.