"We Care Werner Cares" REALLY????

I've never drove for Swift so tell me,why do you think Swift is better then Werner?To me a trucking company is a trucking company.Low miles,low pay.A very dangerous profession for the little pay the driver receives.I don't care where ya go,this industry has the most highest turnover rate.Why do you suppose that is?Werner is a bottom feeder starter company, nothing more nothing less.They get worse and worse every yr like every other company.This op stayed with Werner 2 long yrs which is a huge accpmplishment.I was with them 3 yrs.None of that time with them was a positive exp.But I knew with my little exp I wouldn't find better.Now here it is 12 yrs later and I cannot see where the industry has improved in the drivers favor.Every yr its getting worse and more and more compnies are having a tough time finding good qualified drivers except for bottom feeders.As long as you have a pulse,know your alphabet and can count to ten,youre as good as hired.Its really impossible to make a good living in this profession.

 

I did too.

 

How the hell is Swift any different?

I was at Swift and you could of changed the name of this post from Werner to Swift and it would have been just as true.

For example the tie rod part of the story. Fist time I heard that a tie rod fell off a Swift truck I thought it was a joke. Being a mechanic in prior jobs, I thought how could anybody, mechanic, let a tie rod wear out to the point of falling off. It is a constant inspection item. It requires constant maintence in the form of grease. It easy to see and super easy to inspect. It is dirt cheap and quick and easy to replace. How could that happen?

It does because these mega crap companies have found a scapegoat in the driver; In all cases it it easier to lie and blame the driver. There is always another driver in training.

In my first year alone I SAW three Swift trucks towed in my terminal with tie rods worn off to the point of falling off. Since I was OTR and therefore rarely in my home terminal, there might of been more in my terminal alone!

 

Patty, with your years of experience....why don't you try to get into a tanker job ? A lot of the drivers who drive tanker seem happy.

Or maybe move to a major trucking area.

 

to the op you should know how to do a proper pre and post-trip inspection, you are not forced to drive any equipment deemed unsafe for the road you are the captain you can place equipment out of service, you are lucky it was a guardrail and not a 4 wheeler and someone did not get killed, this is serious business out here, if the company says its fine you do not write it up, and you crash and someone gets hurt guess what? your at fault also. and if you are worried about them letting you go then screw em at least your record will be intact. just a word of advice do not take mechanical issues lightly especially when it comes to steering, and brakes

 

This is too anyone who is ordered to drive an unsafe vehicle or to do anything that they believe will put the general public in danger. That includes signing something that they believe to be false such as the OP story.

You have rights and responsibilities as a citizen of this great nation. One of those rights is to sue in court for redress of a grievance. You do not have to hire a lawyer, you may represent yourself. You may also hire, with the courts permission, a smart fellow trucker, who is in law school now, to take your case at a, shall we say 50-50 basis.

An accident cause by Defective Equipment is one of the golden ticket cases. As the bible says, GET THE TO A LAWYER. You can still file a lawsuit but do so before the time runs out. Your life and the lives of others was put in jeopardy and maybe in final jeopardy by a company seeking profits. The safety committee has one mission and that mission is to protect their CSA scores. I guarantee the legal staff did not review your case.

I posted a tread a while back about a friend of mine who was involved in a wreck while driving through a chicane. He cannot tell me how the case turned out because of a court order. I know he lives in a much nicer house and drives a brand new truck.

Stand up for you rights. If you don't then it isn't Werner's fault, it is your own.

Plus Werner gave me a really nice D-ring for my key chain. They didn't hire me but I still, after 9 years, know where my keys are.

 

I agree with everything you're saying as in this industry went to crap. Even when I started driving in 2006 it wasn't as bad because we still had the old HOS, E-logs were just coming out and there was no CSA and PSP reports. The reason I mentioned Swift is because we get all these newbies here wanting to drive and ask about (insert bottom feeder here) So between Swift and Werner I'd pick Swift as they seem to be better run and slightly more driver friendly. But yeah in the grand scheme of things they are both mega bottom feeders good only for getting experience.

 

I wanna stay local due to my dads failing health.Once this infection clears up and this depression maybe I'll be back to my old upbeat self.

 

WoW.....sounds like a brush with death to me ....i would sue their butts off

 

I have just a little advice to the newbies or the bottom line feeder drivers. If you suspect something wrong with you truck such as steering and you think that it is a safety related problem that you cannot not get help on. Do the worst thing that they cannot stand. You will take a CSA hit for it but go into weigh station and ask for a full inspection. They will oblige you. No problem..... Been there and done it... You may get a truck put out of service but you will get someones attention. Above all do not tell your company that you requested the inspection!!

Alan