To you Fleet/Driver Managers here..

I wouldn't even go to safety next, find out who the direct supervisor of your DM is. If they are unwilling to help set things straight, go to his supervisor. If no luck there you can try safety. But I'd suggest looking for a new company, lets face it if they are going to push you past your HOS and management doesn't care that means they don't have a culture of safety. Taking it to the safety department may start some change, but it takes a long time to change a culture.

 

Night dispatch where I worked was there for emergencies. They weren't there to help you figure out where your next load was coming from, they weren't there to help you with directions. This was all stuff that should have been handled before your DM left for the day. If the weekend supervisor told them to relay a load, they relay the load. They don't go to bat for the drivers because it honestly wasn't their job.

 

That about sums it up......except at Celadon they had a set of dispatchers that worked four on four off so the drivers that were with them had TWO dispatchers.....I heard alot of complaints about that from drivers......one dispatcher got along with them and the other didn't so there was some obvious friction there.....also these were the guys and gals on weekends for the most part so they dealt loads out to their drivers first and then gave us the scraps....at least it seemed that way at the time

 

I have a macro on my truck computer that sends an email directly to the owner of my company. I have not used it but I have talked to drivers who have and they say he responds and takes action if needed. He even called one driver I talked to to discuss the issue.

I think it is very important to remember that your FM is a human being. Try to build a relationship and if you can't get along, get a new FM.

 

To sum up this thread in better words, you better hope that they treat you like everybody else, at least. The reason being there are TONS of ways for those employing the DRIVER to pork the DRIVER over and say at the end of the day "DID I DO THAT?" That avatar is the driver in face of the angel. Angels aren't always what they're portrayed to be.

 

One Dispatcher at my last company was FIRED for having the attitude that if it did not involve a problem in the office it was not HIS JOB. Here is the Incident that cost him his Job. I devolped Epilepsy in Nevada from the aftereffects of a Car Accident my now Ex wife fought me for contorl and got the truck stopped in a construction zone and prevented one HELL of an accident. She grabbed the Qualcomm and screamed I need an Ambulance for my husband our Location NOW. Dispatcher sent back NOT MY JOB YOU GET ONE YOURSELF. Nevada State Police by then showed up saw that called the Dispatcher on the phone he Refused to answer it. The State trooper had called for an Ambulance already when he saw the Trouble I was in.

The Tropper finally got ahold of the Shop calling the Breakdown line and asked them for the OWNERS phone Number. The Trooper called the Owner of the Company and UNLOADED on him about the IDIOT he had as a Dispatcher and his attitude. When the owner found out that one of his best drivers was out of action forever he went into action no questions asked.

My boss to this day I respect repaid my parents for all the gas they burned coming out to get me their motel rooms food everything. He covered the Entire Hosptial bill that the insurance did not cover and also paid me like I did deliver the last load I had on. He then paid for my moving expenses to move out of my apartment back to where my parents lived.

Here is how stand up this man was when we had a co-worker die that everyone in the office loved he shut the company down for a day and flew as many drivers as possible back for the funeral then flew them back afterwards. He paid for their motels and Mine even though I was not with the company our food EVERYTHING that was a funeral expense. Why because that is the way he was.

 

Sounds like your dispatcher sucked, did they always suck, or did they get worse over time? I'm just curious. If they sucked the whole time did you try to get a new dispatcher or pretty much just ignore them and do the job?

 

It's simple, dispatchers get pushed by their superiors (planners) to move loads. A lot of dispatchers get commission too. Planner get pushed by their superiors to move loads and push dispatchers to push drivers. The more loads ran the more money a company makes! Drivers can be easily replaced if they don't want to do it or can't. If you are being illegally pushed by your DM then you go to safety. Then plan on switching DM's. If not then plan on switching companies.

 

At the company that I worked for if you went directly to safety they would refer you back to your DM's manager. They'd listen to your complaint and assure you something will be done about it, but it's really going to rest in the hands of your DM and his direct supervisors.
Try talking to the DM directly, maybe it's a simple misunderstanding. There are a large number of DM's that don't understand the HOS. At another company I interviewed at the DM's aren't even expected to know the HOS. Try to work on the communication, but if you are actually being punished for keeping it legal it's best to split.

 

This right here? This is foolishness.