why i choose crst

Oh yeah I was in a hurry to answer this morning before I left and didnt completely look at this before I answered.
The reason why you are suddenly "unfired" is because it is illegal to fire a driver for refusing to haul an illegal load or refusing to drive during adverse weather conditions, or when the driver is ill or fatigued (sleepy). Whoever you talked to is a moron and is probably rubbing a sore butt that got chewed hard by someone who actually KNOWS the rules. If they actually admitted they fired you, you would be entitled to unemployment benefits, and they would be open to a lawsuit for illegal discharge. Ill give you some friendly advice because you are just starting out as a driver. Learn these few federal rules and you will run the truck- not the carrier. Politely quote the FMCSR to whoever is sending nasty q-coms or repeat on the phone. The carrier doesnt give a rats butt about your CDL and driving record. YOU have to be the one who takes care of those things.

FMCSR Rule §398.4 Driving of motor vehicles.

(a) Compliance required. Every motor carrier shall comply with the requirements of this part, shall instruct its officers, agents, representatives and drivers with respect thereto, and shall take such measures as are necessary to insure compliance therewith by such persons. All officers, agents, representatives, drivers, and employees of motor carriers directly concerned with the management, maintenance, operation, or driving of motor vehicles, shall comply with and be conversant with the requirements of this part.
(c) Driving while ill or fatigued. No driver shall drive or be required or permitted to drive a motor vehicle while his/her ability or alertness is so impaired through fatigue, illness, or any other cause as to make it unsafe for him/her to begin or continue to drive, except in case of grave emergency where the hazard to passengers would be increased by observance of this section and then only to the nearest point at which the safety of passengers is assured.
(f) Equipment and emergency devices. No motor vehicle shall be driven unless the driver thereof shall have satisfied himself/herself that the following parts, accessories, and emergency devices are in good working order; nor shall any driver fail to use or make use of such parts, accessories, and devices when and as needed:
Service brakes, including trailer brake connections.
Parking (hand) brake.
Steering mechanism.
Lighting devices and reflectors.
Tires.
Horn.
Windshield wiper or wipers.
Rear vision mirror or mirrors.
Coupling devices.
Fire extinguisher, at least one properly mounted.
Road warning devices, at least one red burning fusee and at least three flares (oil burning pot torches), red electric lanterns, or red emergency reflectors.
(g) Safe loading (1) Distribution and securing of load
No motor vehicle shall be driven nor shall any motor carrier permit or require any motor vehicle to be driven if it is so loaded, or if the load thereon is so improperly distributed or so inadequately secured, as to prevent its safe operation.

 

Thanks for the post. Yes I agree the reason they decided to not fire me was because they already knew I would be talking to a lawyer this week. In order to make sure my case (if it came to that) was solid I called in the other day to go thru the companies appeals process. Funny thing, now they cant find a record of me having been suspended. It seems the same weekend dispatch that did it, went back in and deleted all records. Problem was he spoke to too many people about it first, so everyone was very aware of it. There was no denying that it happened, just them saying I should forget it since there was no permanent record of it having happened. Meaning it was not going into my personel file. Sounds to me like they wanted to cover their butts. Loose all evidence and it never happened. I guess they think a simple delete means it cant be pulled at all. We all know if it becomes necessary those records are still in the system. Just have to dig a little deeper thats all.

I did find out that 2 days into my home time they supposedly fired all but 2 of our dispatchers. And they want us to believe they have the best in the business?? Honestly they should have fired those 2 as well. They said too many driver complaints had raised too many issues with them. So I guess we'll just wait and see what things look like next week.

But I will definately keep doing exactly what you said. With this company I will ask ONCE for repairs. Then I will simply shut it down until I get them. Being new I know I have a LOT to learn, and I fully intend to live long enough to learn all that I can.

Thanks again!

 

If CRST wants to get rid of you all they have to do is starve you out by not giving you any loads.

Getting paid by the mile is piece work and your hiring status is considered at will employment. Which mean neither you or the carrier has to give notice before separation and either can terminate employment without little reason. Large carriers keep detailed records of qualcomm communications, and the slightest hint of insubordination could be used to justify termination.

It is very easy to get unemployment benefits in most jurisdictions if the carrier fires you for anything less then negligence. Which is why some prefer to starve you out and piss you off enough to quit. As far as illegal firing goes you would probably lose a court case unless you could prove some sort of discrimination. A company could fire you legitimately for so many reasons it would not be worth it since OTR drivers are not covered under the fair labor standards act.

 

Your post is somewhat correct. Yes they can definately starve you out- alot of companies are guilty of this. But if you took care of your CDL and kept it CLEAN- you wont have any trouble getting another job. Now back to illegal firings- What most drivers dont know is that Federal Law trumps state and local laws. The Carrier MUST follow the Federal guidelines or you really do have recourse. A simple polite quote of whatever FMCSR you are being asked to break usually sends the dispatcher off with tail tucked between their legs. If you keep up with the true rules and regulations for the industry you are armed with knowledge and can navigate the system rather easily. The opposite is true if you dont know the rules and you dont follow them. You have NO recourse if you agree to haul an illegal load or drive a truck you know is not safe and an accident happens. "The carrier told me to" is not going to fly. Id rather be looking for another job than sitting in jail or being sued for injuring someone.

 

I think most drivers want to run legal. But in the arena of OTR driving that is almost a unattainable pipe dream for the majority of drivers. Sooner or later you will be forced to break the law or you will be jumping from company to company trying to keep your noble ideals intact.

I remember once being safe and shutting down a load due to high winds. So the company sent another driver to pu the load and sat me for 2 days till they gave me another load. That is the reality of OTR driving. If you won't do it, they will find someone else to do it and remind you what their real priority's are. Which is licking the boots of the customer most of the time.

 

Starving me out wont prove an easy task for them. I am under 8 month contract. And going in I knew the first year I would make very little money. So I spent a year before I left getting my financial issues in order. I am certainly not well off still, but I can survive the 8 months with little to no pay. Obviously I would rather not sit, but hey if they sit me the rest of my contract, thats fine too. I'll be mad, but I'll sit my contract out so they dont have a legal leg to stand on claming I breached that contract.

 

You still made the right choice Bigblue! There isn't a single load out there that is worth your life or someone elses, or even worth losing your cdl over. When I worked at CRST a team ignored wind advisories and the truck blew over and they fired both of them. As drivers we really do get hell both ways. In trouble for being late, or fired for wrecking the truck. The best that any driver can do is to leave early when you can, not play around in truck stops or oversleep and try to make your deliveries on time. Then when you do shut down for adverse conditions or equipment problems, you are credible and believable.

 

I worked for CRST Primier. I found them to be liars about virtually everything. Within a week of taking the job, they told me that they were not sure that they could get me home at all!!! I had two good dispatchers before getting a real joker who caused me to give two weeks notices after three weeks of his nonsense. Push, push, push, never mind the regs, my rest, my health, or anything else.

Regarding refusal to drive illegal. I guess that I have been lucky. In five years, I have never been fired for refusal to drive illegal. The key here is maintaining a professional attitude and style of communication. I am driving that truck and I am responsible. I pay the consequences for screwing up, NOT the dispatcher or the company. So.....I don't drive illegal but I am willing to kick butt otherwise and haul any legal and safe load they offer. Once they get this in their heads, the usually stop bothering me.
One more item, I usually don't ask dispatch, I politely tell them. i.e. I just finished delivering a load near one of our terminals. I need work on the truck. I tell dispatch that I am taking the truck in for service and I'll let them know when I am available. This approach limits the amount of crap they dish out.