Trainer started running illegal

Any lawyer building a case for a lawsuit will tell the client to clam up. And besides, when you're starting out you can't rock the boat too much. He's new, probably spent a lot of money going to school or is risking a lot in a training program that requires you to stay with the company for a specific period of time or forfeit a certain large amount of money. So for all practical purposes, his employer has him by the short and curlies. Get fired or quit now and his choices are very limited.

 

Yep.... yep.... yep.... and uuhhhhhh yep.

Tighten up Cypher..... it'll be over soon. Before long, it will all be a bad memory, but an excellent example of "How not to be". You'll be fine.... roll with it and it will be something to share with future newbies

 

I'm baffled by some of the advice on here.

you have no clout with the company because you're a trainee? I doubt if you would have any more clout with the company if you had worked for them for 40 years.

don't say anything unless your life is in danger? if the "trainer" is driving illegal (ie. tired,) your life IS in danger. and everyone else on the highway.

if the trainer is caught running illegal it's HIS ### only? really? if he plows into a bus full of "school" children, kills all of them, and they go over your records, he will be charged with murder. and how do you know they won't charge the co driver (AKA "trainee") with being an accessory? he was right there in the truck while his co driver broke the law, and he did nothing to try and stop it.

whatever happened to doing what was right? and calling people out who aren't doing what is right/legal? anyone who does that today is a "whiner." shame on you people for such idiotic/destructive advice. you people equate complainers with being a vag. I say the people who watch the law being broken and do nothing about it are the true #######.

 

I don't think he's a whiner, if i implied that, then i apologize for it, but most "trainers" with these companies are the same way from my experience, so even if you complain about it you will likely end up dealing with the same crap and extending your period of unhappiness.

Personally, I think it's crap. My "Trainer" was the same way, when i began training i made it a point to do the exact opposite, i made the same amount each week with a trainee than i would running myself as a solo driver because i actually did things the right way and took the time to show them things.. However I can't say that i saw the same from other trainers that I've dealt with.

I find it slightly hard to believe that you have never broken a law in your life, Just because he's running over his hours doesn't mean he's going to kill himself and his trainee, if the trainee who is actually in that situation and can judge a little better than we can that it's gotten to that point then YES he needs to do something about it, I think that's what the previous poster was trying to say, anyway.

Companies in retrospect are crappy to deal with in situations like this, you have a driver who has probably been safe up to this point who is training another driver, as a previous poster said lot's of dispatchers, safety people, etc. have never driven a big truck, or been trained.. They generally speaking, have no idea what it's like out there on the road, if the trainer suspects that this guy is going to get him into some type of trouble, there is really no telling what he would do.. He could potentially kick him out of the truck and or get him fired.. I don't know what the company is so I'm not sure on their policies, with TMC i was able to get a new trainer but i decided to stick with it and get it out of the way, at the time i did think that my trainer was a dick, and to be quite frank i still do, but after being out on my own for a while i really started to read between the lines and understand why he did some of the things that he did, they weren't necessarily as unsafe as i thought they were, it was more my feelings kicking in than any actual logic on the matters that bothered me. Just because it's legal or illegal, doesn't make it right or wrong in my opinion, Just becuase he's driving illegal doesn't mean that he's driving tired, the people making the laws live behind a desk, not in the real world, that's just my opinion though, and it isn't worth much! =P

As far as a trainee being charged for anything, Eh... I'd have to see it happen to believe it, I doubt it ever would, but you do have a valid point if you want to be that paranoid about it... Maybe I'm just too laid back and tend to just go with the flow, I just know that doing something about it, even if it does happen to work out to his advantage may not be worth all the time and effort.

 

Chief -

Not sure where you got the interpretation of what I said, and moreso how you came to conclusions you did, but I think you missed completely.

If you run 1 minute past your 11 hours, you are technically illegal. Doesn't mean that you are a danger to others, but you are illegal. Being as Cypher is being somewhat vague about all of this, the true "danger" as not been clearly exposed. Hence my statement "If you feel like you are in danger". And yes, if someone is doing something that is dangerous to you or others, than by all means they should be reported.

Now I ask you to take a look at what is being said. Griffin, GA to Benton, IL is only 500 miles. Be it just under 8 hours on the clock. Let's account for traffic, fuel, and so forth. To be on the safe side of assumption, let's call it 9 hours. What part of driving 9 hours is illegal (unless of course he didn't get his 10 hour break)? Again, the situation is not clearly explained here.

Not sure what planet you work on, but a newly hired trainee REALLY has not had an opportunity to establish a relationship with "the powers that be". Therefore, it is ALSO safe to say that he would not have any clout (defined as pull; strong influence; muscle, esp. political power: a wealthy campaign contributor with clout at city hall. ) with the company.

As far as the part about being charged as a "co-conspirator" because he sat back and did nothing, that simply would not happen. First off, they would have to prove malice on the trainee's part (couldn't be done), then they would have to show that the trainee had an active role, be it letting the trainer use the trainee's logs, asking for the trainer to drive past the legal because the trainee didn't want to drive, and so forth. Obviously that is not the case here. You are being much more dramatic than accurate here.

And for the record, I ALWAYS make it a point to "do the right thing". It is clear that there is really not enough information to determine exactly what is happening. And that being said, I again reinforce my statement "if you REALLY feel your life is in danger, then I would contact the fleet manager or someone up the line". And I will also say that in an idealistic situation, if someone does wrong, they should be reported. But I need to clarify that in a realistic world, dealing with someone like this trainer, you could find yourself being kicked out on the side of the road in the worst part of town or the middle of nowhere. Then what do you do? And then it is your word against the trainer. Who do you think would have the "clout" then?

One last thing.... before you start accusing me of being an idiot or offering destructive advice, make sure you have a clear understanding of what I am saying. And to compare me to a female part of the human anatomy is humorous, at best. But you probably need to swing a little harder if you are going to hurt my feelings. Have you ever seen someone do an illegal lane change? How about exceeding the speed limit? Did you pick up the phone and call the highway patrol because you felt they might hit a mini-van full of kids? If not, I guess you have it pretty bad every 28 days too, huh?

 

Why is the trainer running illegal? If he has a student why can't he drive?

 

Yeah I agree, I think that in order to make a truly valid recommendation we'd need more information, you all have to admit that the OP is being extremely vague about what is happening, for all we know he has the HOS mixed up and the trainer isn't running illegal at all.

Not saying that I don't believe him, but it's hard to offer anything solid with what little information is being given.

 

I understand this, but he hasn't given out any personal information, they don't know him from another Joe out there who is, presumably going through the exact same issues. He hasn't even given a company name.

 

Again, very vague, but I am guessing Star

 

Have anything on you? For what? Since when can they do anything about your freedom of speech?

You are definitely paranoid, which leads me to believe in general that the severity of this situation probably isn't quite as bad as some people seem to think.