What to do when driver abandons truck

first off i never said it is ok to steal dont know where you got that from was only using it as an example point is drivers can be very easily black balled but when a company does a driver wrong it is just business as usual for them no ever lasting effects for the company thats all i was saying never said it was ok to abandon truck however i have seen a company refuse to get driver back to yard when they wanted to quit yes im sure the company would rather have the equipment back but dispatcher does not care about the equipment and a lot of the things they do end up coming back to the driver anyway it isnt right for the company to screw the drivers out of there pay yet they do it all the time more times then not the driver will take the fall before the dispatcher. especially the larger companies where the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

 

I think that this guy had had enough and this was the final straw. None of us knows what other issues there were.
If you look at this scenario on its own, it doesn't make sense.
The owner got him hotel rooms and let him drive overnight.
However none of us knows what else was going on between them.
The guy came on here to ask for advice, and all he's been getting is #### from everyone and now you are all fighting and arguing amongst yourselves.
He probably has given up trying to get anything positive out of the forum and from now on he will just assume he's going to get screwed by his drivers.
Being a prick to your employees is a learned behavior after you get screwed over by one after another of them

 

I have felt for some time that there should be a better way to report on driver behavior. Drivers who sell fuel and steal from their employers should have the acts reported where other potential employers could see prior to hiring the driver. It should also be easier to file a more complete report where drivers who abuse their equipment or abandon it could have it permanently recorded on their record. It would be a way to warn other carriers as to what they could be facing if they hire a driver who has stolen or abandoned their equipment.

I see nothing wrong with drivers being able to report their personal experiences with carriers. Of course, I would expect that drivers who have been terminated or had issues to be first in line to file a report.

 

There certainly are some things a driver can do to deserve to be put out of the truck on the spot....failing a drug test, for example. As soon as the carrier receives a verified positive drug test result, §40.23 REQUIRES the immediate removal of the employee from safety-sensitive functions. In other words, if you make the choice to use controlled substances, you run the risk of being put out of the truck on short notice. It was your choice to use drugs, so don't cry about being stranded when you're caught.

If you're stealing from me, you'll be out of the truck the second I catch wind of it. Getting you home isn't my problem...and the only ride I'll be willing to arrange for you is going to have disco lights on the roof and a cage between you and the driver.

 

If the driver stole fuel or equipment, press charges. The conviction will show up during a criminal background check.

 

i'm curious about this getting a motel thing. and driving at nights when it's cooler. but motel during the day.

i mean, check in time is roughly 2 p.m. and checkout is roughly 11 a.m.. the next morning.

how does that help in keeping the driver cool and rested? when the obvious scenario is drive at night when it's cooler and sleep in a room during the day when it's hotter. but most of your motel stay is evening through the night.

 

I've never really had a problem checking into a room in the morning to take a 10 hour break...as long as there was a room available. When I would finish my 10 and go to check out, though, it caused some confusion....not many people check out of a room in the early evening. Usually, if you check in at 4 or 5 AM, you have the room through the following morning if you choose to stay that long. I've even had them delay my check-out time by an hour or two so that I could take the full 10.

Most of the motels I've stayed at have been rather accommodating...and the ones that weren't willing to work around what I needed in order to get a proper rest and be compliant with the HOS got to watch me walk out the door & across the street to their competitor.

 

Not every carrier does a criminal background check. It would be good to have another venue to report his behavior. It is not always easy to prove that a driver has stolen fuel in a court of law. However, it is one of the easiest thefts for the owner to catch. Without an eye witness or proof, you would not likely get a conviction. If a truck suddenly goes from 6 mpg to 3 you can pretty much guarantee that the driver is selling your fuel. Proving it is not necessarily so simple. There could be other factors such as someone else stealing the fuel. That is not as likely, but possible. And it does happen. I have had fuel stolen out of my trucks on at least 2 occasions, not including driver theft. Even equipment that has been stolen off the truck is not always easy to prove that the driver was involved. Sometimes, suspicion is all you have got. Filing criminal charges is something that more owners should pursue. It would certainly help reduce that type of criminal behavior.

 

Why would you need extra time in a motel to get your full 10 ????

 

criminal background checks only show when you've been arrested. pressing charges won't show up unless the guy gets arrested. and depending on the circumstances. might easily be expunged.

say for instance, the dui drugs i got back in 04. the charge was dismissed and never went to court and erased from my criminal after showing on record for a total of 90 days.

yes folks, it is possible to go to a bar, play a game of pool. leave the parking lot noticing full well a cop sitting there across the street. and getting arrested. since he called all the city, county, and state buddies as eyewitnesses only to find out i had no drinks. so i had to be high.