To drive or not to drive!

Based on several emails I have got over the last couple of days I need to modify something. In general you can't hold the previous driver responsible for flat tires. There are so many tires out there with slow leaks hooked into that continuous air system that a lot of trailers have. A couple of days just sitting and their flat or way down. Another thing is a broken light lens. If a trailer sits long enough somebody is going to strike it.

 

Took my empty trailer in to a shipper to exchange for a loaded trailer. Hazmat load again, and two of the four tandem pins would not engage. The were the rearmost pins and the rails were bent way out of shape is why they wouldn't go in. Very rusted and looked like it had happened a long time ago and probably been hauled several loads with just the two pins engaged. Looked like someone had left the pull handle out and highway speeds and hit the brakes sending the tandems all the way to slam back into the ICC bumper and bent the rails.

Company said take trailer to TA , they cannot fix it and do a 10 hour break. Return to shipper next AM, they have to work my in for a transload to another trailer and the load is special loaded so they have to completely unloaded it and reload it inthe same order etc, another almost all day affair because the previous driver or drivers did not car to alert the company their trailer was defective.

 

Most companies are fully aware of the situation with their trailers. It is just cheaper for them for you to waste your time fixing the trailer. And, if you cannot fix it, your time is free dragging that trailer to the nearest truck stop to get it fixed. Don't forget if your drive for cpm, your time is free; a service truck costs per mile + by the hour + the repair. The ticket is almost always out of your pocket and most companies have a long ways to go before an equipment violation effects their CSA or insurance. That is the major reason that crap doesn't get fixed; the 'other driver' is just a scapegoat for the companies in-action.

 

I'm sorry but based on personal experience this is not the case. It is not in the carriers best interest to have problem trailers all over the place. This one reason most of the carriers do daily yard checks.

 

It's true about the tires slow leaks. But "if a trailer sits long enough..," what's up with that? Nogales drop lot? Swift yard? TAP or PFJ lot?

 

Run a repair shop some time and you will find that it is the carrier that often looks the other way when it comes to repairs. Blame the driver, or blame the 'other driver', is almost always the course of action for many carriers. They will give mouth service to 'safety' but in the end if the day, if they can blame a driver they will do that instead, since it is always cheaper.

 

As a driver your responsible for making sure the vehicle is road worthy the moment you go out on the highway and something happens as a result of a defective vehicle or trailer you will be held accountable. So no don't drive until its been fixed.

 

Toomany, what you say is often the case. I believe they will do anything to get more miles on the equipment. More loads means more money, let's face it. But - we're the professionals and the people in the office hear a lot of stuff from drivers. Myself, if it's not legal or not safe, I will try to fix problems right there. If that doesn't work, I'll make the call.

 

Poor choice of words on my part. At the time I wrote that I was trying to do several things at once. What I was trying to say is the longer a trailer sits the bigger the chance it will get hit.

 

In general that was not the case with my last carrier. I was asked many times by my FM to go to places all over the country and pickup a trailer and take it to a trailer shop. I turned many trailers in and had trailer repair companies call me and ask where a trailer was because my FM gave them my cell number. Yes I believe that there is a lot of apathy out there among the carriers in regard to this. These trailers are not producing revenue and get put on the back burner. I understand that, But it still don't relieve a driver of their responsibility to turn in a bad trailer and it has been my experience way too many don't.



Edited to add something very important before someone tries to catch me contradicting myself. The part about picking a trailer up was in every case but 2 was taking a reefer unit to thermal king to get fixed. The other 2 were tires that were slick or had bad places on them and I only carried them a few miles to a shop. Not really smart on my part but my FM was in a bind and against my better judgement I did it. My FM was a jam up good guy that had pulled my fat out of the fire many times, and he was the only person I would EVER do such for.