Unsafe Truck Drivers

With your college edjumication you should have known what type of response you would get by posting this in a trucker forum.

 

Valid point. Keep in mind the following relevant facts;

1) This UNSAFE TRUCKER thread was created by a member of your ranks

So I just got finished on a business trip in personal vehicle doing over 1,000 miles. And we in the trucking industry need to do some serious self-policing.

2) This post would not have existed if not for the childish reply from corporate,
"maybe we should report you for taking photos while driving"


3) I am attempting to detrmine what goes on "behind the scenes". Is it unrealistic to expect carriers to welcome input documenting driver behavior, which may prevent them from being slapped with a megabuck lawsuit someday.


I have been known to scrutinize members of law enforcement in the same manner but I avoid displaying the camera outside the car. In retrospect, the time I have devoted to exposing unprofessional cops is 100x that of truckers.

Once reported an off duty cop from Lynnwood IL (tooling around NWI) for speeding and rolling stop signs. His supervisor responded in the same manner as this recent trucker incident, with bizarre BS about the potential hazards of taking photographs while driving, while conveniently ignoring the focus of the complaint.

 

Just as many reckless drivers have been reported, along with a few cops, but we all know unless a cop witnesses the infraction there is no point. Not to mention the fact there is little chance of a dangerous driver being nailed unless there is a cop within a quarter mile radius.

On the other hand, common sense indicates ALL carriers should embrace irrefutable evidence
concerning potentially dangerous drivers. Am I overlooking something about the fallout of lawsuits arising from at-fault accidents?

It is not uncommon for the professionals to correctly condemn all the careless stooges behind the wheel of cars, pointing out how they dart and weave, while seemingly failing to realize their observations emphasize the hazards of tailgating 18 wheelers !!

HOW did that trucker on my arse expect to stop if a mindless motorist darted in front of my car, requiring me to lay on the brakes? My vehicle has fat Michelins, four wheel disc brakes and ABS. A semi going 40 to 45mph, 14 feet behind my bumper, has virtually no chance of stopping without impact.

Comprende?

 

I'm failing to understand why u care so much about this particular case. It seems to me anyways, that this is some personal vendetta of yours. As if u were trying to make the streets a safer place. If that's ure true purpose sir, then I will have to say that ure barking up the wrong tree man ... U want to make the streets a better place, let's require more education. Many ppl drive as if they were in the Indy 500 or something and See, road rage is contagious, even I get upset when a 4 wheeler cuts me off, but I don't go tailgate, but that doesn't mean that every 18 wheeler is gonna take the high road. That driver has probably a million safe miles, but maybe he was just having a bad day. Mind you, I've only been doing this less than a yr, but like with everything in life, u get tired of the same nonsense. I'll get behind u if u wanna start some sort of petition to make getting a regular license harder, but from what I've read u have more of an attitude of someone who wants to sue. Could it be perhaps that u were purposely going slow so that u can get a nice check? Even if u weren't, don't u think the company saw it this way? Of course they're gonna deny it. Bottom line was, he didn't hit u, to them that's all that matters.

 

lol

 

For the most part if it's any consolation if you report a driver many will reprimanded up to termination. It all depends on the company. The good out weighs the bad ones by far.

I get the impression a couple incidents and you have they are all like that mentality. We know what goes on out there just as much as you do. One purpose of this forum is info and how we all can be better drivers.

Every new person I've seen get in a truck for the first time comments "I didn't know it was like that". It's one of them things you have to walk that mile to understand. I guarantee if you rode in truck for a day your opinions would change. Perhaps a defensive driving course is in order?

 

It'd be nice if we had a telephone number to report the idiots in cars and pickups endangering the motoring public everyday. The police may respond if the incident is bad enough, but typically won't lift a finger and cannot charge the motorist without proof. For every unsafe douche bag in a truck there are 50 in cars and pickups.

 

Maybe your expectations of carrier representatives communication skills are set too high. If you know enough to be reporting dangerous truck drivers, you undoubtedly know how to look up a carrier profile on FMCSA (for equipment and driver count off their MCS-150) and find out their phone number probably rings the same guy behind the wheel and not an anonymous suit-clad manager in an office somewhere.

The reason folks get jammed up about photographers is that they are obviously gathering evidence. Which tends to imply you are either going to the police to report some sort of crime or planning a lawsuit. I don't think that way, but I get why others do. So my question, regardless of the incident, is: what are you trying to accomplish?

If you're truly only trying to alert the carrier to an unsafe driver, their response is irrelevant and you don't need to supply any evidence. You've made the call and they know about it now. Period. Now leave it alone. You've done your civic duty. Any further action suggests you're either out to get someone fired, prove something, or have some sort of vendetta. Not saying that is the case, but it points in that direction.

If you feel your life or someone else's is in danger, don't waste time trying to take pictures or call the carrier. Reach for your phone, not your camera, and dial 911. Fumbling with a camera or trying to be a hero will likely escalate things and make it more dangerous.

On the carrier side of things, this whole incident and the responses are a perfect case study in communications 101. If Grkow was truly just being a concerned citizen, all the carrier rep had to do is act very concerned, thank him for the report, and tell him a little about how his company endeavors to be a safe operation despite what was reported. That's it. Grkow would be satisfied that the report was acknowledged and appreciated, and the carrier could look into it however they see fit. The end.

Oddly, Mitt Romney's recent visit to London comes to mind. All he had to say was, "Mayor, you, your city, and country have pulled off an epic event. Knowing what my team went through with the Salt Lake City event, the world should know what an extraordinary undertaking this has been for you." Simple. Yet he had to be the smart guy expert with critical comments to try to elevate himself. What he forgot was: the visit wasn't all about him. The blowback on Mitt was what was epic, and as predictable a sure thing. Really smart people say and do dumb things all the time.

 

This is boring...