A driver trainer for Werner Enterprises has been stabbed to death by his trainee. Ronald Ruiz, a 62 year-old industry veteran of 20 years was assigned to train Stanley Polk. From the very beginning, Ruiz had a bad feeling about him.
“He just said this trainee was different than the other trainees,” said one of Ruiz’s four daughters according to ABC25. “That there was just something off about this guy. I don’t know what he was all about but he really wanted him off the truck.”
Ruiz had complained to Werner that Polk was uncooperative and would often drive recklessly, but Werner told him to keep driving and wait until they got back to the Indianapolis terminal. Before they got there however, Polk attacked Ruiz at a rest stop, stabbing him multiple times in the chest and abdomen.
Polk then fled the scene sparking a massive manhunt that ended early the next morning when someone who had watched the local news reports recognized Polk’s description and called the police.
After the attack Ruiz was aided by other truckers at the rest area and then airlifted to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
According to his family, this was to be Ruiz’s last trainee. His granddaughter had just earned her CDL and Ruiz was planning to drive with her until his retirement in 2017.
Polk is being held on a $1 million bond and has been charged with first-degree murder.
“To know that my dad died alone in horror and alone is just,” another of Ruiz’s daughters said. “I hope, I hope that this man gets the maximum sentence because he could have walked away.”
Next Story: Judge Admits Speed Limiters Put Drivers “In Physical Danger” – Orders Them Anyway
Source: thetrucker, southbendtribune, kxxv, kwtx
Image: Sunshinecathedral
George Mayhew says
Why did Werner tell a 20 year veteran to just KEEP driving if he new this man was unsafe on the road. Because Werner put the load first I’d say their just as much to fault for Ruizs death. My other big question, what was Polks back ground was a background check done first before he was put on the road. As a 30 year driver my heart goes out to the Ruiz family.
Chuck says
Every driver/employee wants to believe the people they work with, the company they work for want the best for you. Mr. Ruiz was mistaken. I really feel for him as a victim to a horrendous crime and the family that will never completely recover from his death.
wallace wysong says
Werner is like that. My youngest daughter was hit by a car while I was on the road and they ask me if I could finish my trip.
Geo says
Hey I guess Werner doesn’t have to pay him any of the retirement benefits they owe him.
Seems kinda interesting now doesn’t it.
Dan says
Oh don’t worry his family will collect big cash from Werner. He warned them the guy was reckless and then gets killed. I hope that family sues.
Gino says
They will tie it up in the courts for 10 years. Then file bankruptcy thats what the bastards do.
Earl says
Werner won’t file bankruptcy, they’re too profitable and too big. I drove for Crete Carrier, a competitor of Werner and it was a much better company when I drove for them. This is a terrible occurrence and I feel for this family. I trained for many years and you encounter some really weird people.
David says
Gino, you are wrong about Werner. They will not tire it up in court. As they have already begun to take action in this case. They have fired Mr. Ruiz’s dispatcher for telling him to wait till he got to Indianapolis, and may have already payed all medical bills up to his death, and may even pay funeral costs. Especially now that C.L. Werner is back in the seat. I have had a dispatcher put over the qc to me “that bitch you call a grandmother is dead”. He put this over the qc before my mother could tell me over the phone. Since then that dispatcher was fired and black listed from any dispatch job ever again. Two weeks after his termination I was put on L.O.A. till I felt like returning by C.L. Werner him self. The only reason I know it was C.L. Werner is he himself came to my grandmother’s funeral and apologized in person for the actions of that dispatcher.
Mike says
You for real ?
Cynthia Nehls says
Well they would not let me off a load as my mom played dying then made me clean out my truck before releasing me to try to see her before she passed, terminal manager in Atlanta stood there while I got the call while I argued why I had to clean out the truck its all on Qualcomm messages they refused to let me go see her they dispatcher was horrendous. I never got a apology nothing I hate werner.
R Hughes says
Aman to that
David E Hanavan says
Werner paid for his funeral. And from what I understand paid the family what they were asking in court they settled out of court. The dispatcher was terminated for what he did. The dispatcher was in direct violation of the Werner policy.
Floyd says
This is exactly why I don’t train anymore, prayers out to the family of this driver
Deb says
You are very wrong, Werner did not settle out of court with the family!!!!!! They will not be held responsible, imagine that!!!
Anthony says
Since this happened in Texas he’ll get the maximum…DEATH!!
David says
I hope the judge gives the jerk the rope. May Mr. Ruiz rest in peace and sing along side the angels.
Anthony says
But that’s trucking companies for ya…Keep the wheels turning regardless to keep that money coming in…I hope the family rakes werner over the coals…Perhaps next time they’ll listen to their driver trainer and get the trainee off the truck…The trainers are the eyes and ears of the company on the road. They should have listened to him, and not been so greedy.
Cliff Downing says
Well considering Werner just got burned in court for they pay practices of their training program, it really isn’t a stretch for them to order the trainer to retain the trainee on the truck in this case. It does’t take a lot of effort to find online that Werner is burning a lot of money on legal battles, and one can bet that the family of Mr. Ruiz is getting the services of the law firm, Burn ’em and Run, to file a civil action against Werner. And this one might add to the judgements piling up against Werner. Yet more company money spent to protect the hierarchy instead of compensating drivers or protecting them.
jc says
It seems like Warner was named in a federal lawsuit on this site a few weeks ago over wages, or did I get the wrong carrier? Anyways it sounds like business as usual, ignore the experienced driver and continue to do what they feel is best for them.
J Carter says
If I was the family of this poor man, I would be dragging Werner into court by its hair. I would sue them for every penny it was possible to sue them for.
A 20-year veteran TELLS Werner that this trainee is a problem and wants him off the truck. Werner refuses, tells him to keep him with him until a certain terminal can be reached. There may have been a mitigating factor of ignorance on the part of Werner, but I cannot believe that they were not aware that something was going on. I can almost hear how those conversations went between Werner and Mr. Ruiz went. I was a driver trainer for several years, myself. I can almost bet you that Mr. Ruiz made a desperate plea with Werner to get this individual off of his truck. A plea, that is very much self evident at this point, that went ignored.
Werner is one of the lowest paying carriers in the industry. They make their earnings by leaning on the backs of their drivers. They hire those who are ignorant of the trucking industry and of what its actual earning potentials are, and are happy to wash them out when they wise up, all too eager to replace them with the next uninformed driver.
Our hearts are with the Ruiz family. But our fists are in the air at their backs. Go get Werner, bankrupt them if you can, for what they allowed to happen to your loved one. This sort of thing is absolutely inexcusable, and companies like Werner have been getting away with it for far too long. We hope you burn them for everything they’re worth.
phatkhat says
This is just so sad. My heart goes out to the family. And though money will not bring Mr. Ruiz back, I hope they sue the pants off of Werner. These bottom-feeder companies only care about their bottom line – never about the human beings that work for them.
Mark says
I have driven for 15 yrs, otr trucking is one of the s**ttiest jobs you can have. The driving part can really be good sometimes, but the trucking company, the shippers and receivers can really suck and make a truckers life hell. It takes a lot some times to keep from losing your temper, but you have to learn to control yourself. Trucking companies do not give a crap about drivers, no matter what that hiring ad you read says. The biggest bullshit lie I have ever seen is the sign on CCC trucking company trailers, you know, it goes like—the most important thing about this truck is sitting up front–well, that’s not exactly it, but if you drive you know what I am talking about. B-B-B-B-Bullllsh*t !!! It pisses me off every time I see it. A Schneider driver told me he was told not to idle, but to roll down his windows and put a screen in it when he was sitting/sleeping. Can you imagine sleeping in a truckstop with your windows down? That is how much you mean to them. God bless the driver who was killed, and I hope the scumbag killer, will not get the death penalty, I hope he will live to be 100yrs old sitting in a small prison cell, no tv, no computer, no phone, no friends. I wish him a long and miserable life in prison.
Spyder says
You hit the nail pretty much on the head Mark. Except the biggest lie on the side of a trailer is DTI’s “We Care”. Drug Transport Inc from Tucker Ga
Steven says
It’s not a lie. They do care. They just don’t say about what.
RickJPII says
Agree with you Mark. By the way, I drive for Schneider. I not that we can’t idle; is that if we idle, we lose performance bonus. My rebuttal to that is that Schneider’s core principle is “Safety first and always.” That starts with a properly rested driver and when it’s over 100F in the cab, no one can rest properly.! My DBL knows I’m going to idle and I don’t care about my performance bonus or the company’s opinion in that regard. All the dispatchers, DBLs, equipment planners and the like go home every day and sleep soundly in the summer in their air conditioned homes. Well I will, at least, do the latter.
The Perfesser says
The topic itself is not amusing. My prayers go out to the Ruiz family. With that out of the way, I DO find it amusing how Schneider used to call them STL’s for Service Team Leader. Everybody else called them Schneider Trained Liars. I guess word got back to Lofgren et.al., so they decided to change it to something where other drivers couldn’t tag Schneider in a pejorative way so easily.
Victoria says
Schneider I quit after driving 1.3 million safe miles. Won many awards for my safe driving including Driver of the Month.
Teaming in a truck that had been set so it would shut off after idling for a few minutes in any temperature above 55f would wake me the night driver within a few minutes.
Giving me a truck with on guard causing numerable hard brakings because it saw a shadow.
Having to interrupt my sleep to get a pm because it could no longer be done on a TAH since they shut down our home OC.
No pay raise for five years because I refused to work the insane amount of days per quarter to qualify for a bonus. No bonuses, no pay raise.
Don Schneider is rolling in his grave. I respected this man. He cared about his drivers. When he passed away everything changed.
I could see myself on the track to driver burnout and decided it was time to retire from the driving industry.
A FRIEND says
Really, I know that person and this wasn’t him t all.
Lance says
In my 40 years on the road I have heard nothing but complaining about Werner, C.R. England, and Swift. STAY AWAY FROM THESE COMPANIES! I’ll give you newbies a tip here – – Schneider isn’t too bad as an entry level company, after you have put in your required time for them to pay your tuition and sign-on bonus, save all the money you can, at least $10,000, get approved with Landstar, then buy a truck, nothing fancy to start, an older one, payments $1000 a month or less, and lease it on with them. Keep your driving record clean, because of drivers’ poor driving records, Landstar only hires 2% of all applicants. You will be your own dispatcher, off the load boards, you’ll need a laptop; when you want time off, you simply don’t book a load. Pretty much total freedom. Let me put it to you this way – – The first 20 years of my driving trucks, I was with 17 different companies; the last 20 years was all with Landstar. They do require you to have Hazmat certification. My daughter and stepson started with them last year as a team and are doing fine. You don’t need a trailer in the van division because then your are depriving yourself of drop and hooks. Flatbed you do better with your own trailer. Then they also have the step-deck, double-drop division etc. Anything you want with one company. They ALWAYS pay detention after 4 hours, some certain shippers is 2 hours. As far as I’m concerned, they are the ONLY company you should lease to as an OO. Everyone else is a screw job. They don’t care how old your truck is, but now, it has to have computer injection because of the stinking government and their e-log crap. And, that it is at least painted all one color, that is, no primer spots all over it and that it doesn’t look like a wreck. You know what I mean. I was with Inway in Rockford, IL., where I live, their number is 800-435-4373.
Tim says
After giving it some brief thought, I concur: those are the three large companies with the absolute worst reputations in the industry to drive for, with C.R. England possibly being fused to the very bottom of the barrel (if not actually forming it).
I started with Schneider tanker in 1994. They were (and yes, probably still are) a great company to get your CDL and first experience on the road with.
I’ve never owned my own truck but am taking your comment about Landstar very seriously. I’m planning to sell off some real estate in early 2016 and could easily buy a truck with the proceeds, if not outright then with a loan since my credit score is 800+. I don’t think it would be too difficult for me to learn all the extra things you need to know when you own your own equipment.
Even if I ended up making less money it might still be worth it, considering the continuing loss of freedoms that company drivers face in the near future.
Al says
Dont forget the 30% Landstar takes off the top and then figure your expenses from that.
Tim says
My choices of where to start and where to hire after that have always been based on driver recommendations. When I decided to enter the industry, I asked every truck driver I came across (the internet hadn’t quite gotten off the ground yet in summer 1994…is this just me, or is it not kind of hard to remember now exactly what that was like, not having an internet?)
Certain drivers who seemed especially credible to me spoke positively about Schneider, so that’s where I went. After Schneider, while I was doing an orientation with the Waggoner’s Trucking (a rather questionable car hauler that I should have asked more drivers about before deciding to attend orientation with, considering that I decided to quit before finishing it) a very credible driver in a CompuServe chat room (yay I was connected by 1995!) really talked up Marten. Three years later I went there and it turned out great (that was then, this is now…).
Anyways, the moral of the story is: ignore company propaganda and CONSULT WITH OTHER DRIVERS.
Spyder says
Yep!
Doug says
So…now, is Marten a bad company?
I always check on the company and its’ reviews via Glassdoor. Multiple bad reviews is one of the main reasons I didn’t go with Paschall.
Does anyone know of and can anyone recommend a good company for a trucker that’s been driving straight trucks since ’95 and now has a Class A endorsed for doubles/triples and tank. I’ve never had an accident (DOT reportable or otherwise) and I have a + 5 point balance on my license.
I’m in a Catch 22 situation…no one will hire me because I don’t have experience with a tractor trailer, yet I can’t get experience because no one will hire me without experience.
My wife’s handicapped (crutches all the time and wheelchair sometimes) and I’m not real comfortable leaving her alone for 10 to 14 days while I’m out, not to mention how long I’d be gone for orientation with some outfits. What I really need is something local to Manassas that would have me home nightly, anyone have ideas? Suggestions? I would have liked to have gotten on with Averitt
(they’re kinda local [Winchester]), but they require driving school graduates to be within six months of graduation and I’ve been out since January 2014.
John says
Really? A fellow driver was MURDERED and you are recruiting on this thread? WOW
John says
I would love to see the background check Werner did. I find it hard to believe he was a model citizen before this. I hope the family files a huge wrongful death lawsuit against them. They also have blood on their hands.
Charlie says
Elogs?? Really???
Al says
Nobody knows what the victim told Werner. All we have here is what he allegedly told his family. Werner is a bottom feeder,at best, yet a 20 yr vet continued to train for them?
David Nelson says
I have been with Werner 30 years. Was Trainer myself for 21 years. And had many many horriable students. If i was in Texas that guy would of went straight to closest terminal. No matter what Werner said i would of put him off my truck, just as i tell my drivers to do now.
James says
Every so called bad company has long term drivers who stay, get trrated good, and do very well monetarily. Just because he didn’t jump ship even with all his experience doesn’t hurt his credibility it actually helps it in my opinion. Shows he was a loyal worker and should have been treated with more respect.
Rambo1 says
R.I.P. Fellow Driver Ruiz, We will all miss you.
Cyn says
Isn’t Werner one of the companies advocating for safer trucking, electronic logs and such? When it really comes down to it I guess it’s all smoke and mirrors. And yes Werner should be held accountable for requiring Mr.Ruiz to stay in a unsafe situation. If the family reads this I want to offer condolences. But please note where safety is concerned OSHA can get
involved at no cost to the family. All truckers need to file lawsuits to right the wrongs the companies have been getting away with for years. Unfortunately the only way to get them to change is through their wallets.
BB says
My thoughts and prayers are with this Familey. No one deserves to die like this. Many posters here are correct. These companies only care for their bottom line. It just cost to much to put this murderer on a bus to get him to the next terminal where he would have been paired with another trainer who probably would have been killed also. As a student I was paired with another student after our trainers. Meth head, license suspended, no money, a total looser. I was afraid for my life when this guy refused to let have my turn driving AFTER 2 DAYS of him driving non stop. When we were stoped by the police and discovered his license was suspended the company still wouldn’t put him off the truck. I now run my own authority and would rather greet people at Walmart than go back to a company driver. I am sorry for your loss. God bless and sue Werner for all you can
Ed says
Werner, what a joke this company is, why do you or anyone work for these company’s? Most of you need to go back to college and get a real job, trucking has changed since I started in 1975. I now do Government Contracts with the GSA and make good money. Tell the trucking industry “good by” go back to college.
Disciple says
I had a situation with a trainee long ago. He was uncooperative and combative. He always wanted to fight about everything. We stopped at a TS that was also a bus station. I bought a bus ticket for a trip back to the terminal and left it along with all his stuff at the fuel desk. I asked them to give it to him when he got back from his shower. I also had complained to the company about this, their answer was “work it out,” so I did. I didn’t like living with the threat of violence everyday. The company just put him in another truck when he got back to the terminal. After they chewed me out for it, that was the last I heard of it. I thought they’d probably fire me, but they didn’t.
All these companies are the same, as long as a driver will drive at the rate they want to pay, they make money. It’s certainly a sobering story. Hopefully another trainer with a combative/uncooperative student will take heed, find the nearest bus/truck stop and do like I did so many years ago. Never take safety for granted, take action to protect your own safety and well being.
Duff says
Even though things don’t usually get this extreme, I’m not surprised. These large trucking companies are only interested in one thing – revenue! They are so desperate to fill the seats of their trucks they’ll disregard any obstical to do it. Trained for 2 1/2 years and quit when they went behind my back and upgraded a student I had failed. He was involved in 3 seperate preventable incidents and a insubordination charge in the first 3 months. This industry is a cesspool of lies, propaganda and corruption and it’s only going to get worse.
ced says
Really sad thts the reason I don’t and will not train
Linea says
I started with Swift & drove for them for 2 – 3 years until my husband decided we should go team for Interstate. Stupidest thing I ever did!! I had no problems with Swift whatsoever. I had a great DM & I enjoyed working there. They treated me very well. After the husband jumped the Interstate truck one day, I ended up working for Crete. One of the things that I learned early on & always adhered to was the concept of the driver being captain of her ship. No company could ever force me to continue driving if I felt unsafe. One time the dispatcher at Crete tried to coerce me to drive on an unsafe Interstate, telling me that lots of other trucks had gotten through just fine. I told him that I’d be happy to clean out my truck at that truck stop where I was waiting for the conditions to change & they could go find another driver to take the load. Strangely enough, they didn’t seem to want to do that. When conditions improved, I took off & in the first 2 miles, I saw at least 50 trucks jacknifed & all over both shoulders & the median; there were Crete trucks among them so the dispatcher either flat out lied to me or wasn’t in the know about the actual conditions. Nobody has a gun big enough to force me to do anything that doesn’t feel right to me. My heart goes out to Mr. Ruiz & his family & I’m glad that they caught his killer. I’m sorry that he felt that he had to keep going as he was told by dispatch. I do understand that not everyone is as bold as I am. RIP
me says
******** QUESTION TO DRIVERS: Under what circumstances would you drive 1,000 more miles with a co-driver who was driving recklessly, after you had decided that you needed out? ********
The following are the circumstances that I MAY consider trying to beat the safety odds. 1) I needed to arrive at the destination asap because an immediate family member had a life and death medical emergency in that vicinity and it was the best choice of transportation logistics to get there the soonest 2) Why I MAY consider trying to beat the odds, – something similar to 1 above, only a wedding or funeral for an
immediate family member.
I understand these could be considered very stupid, but that’s how I feel about it. If I had young children to parent and support my chance taking would be different.
Boss LAdy says
I would never. I have been driving for 12 years now and I run my truck. Anytime the company does not agree with it, they can come get their equipment. I have a perfect safety record and I will be in orientation with another company that following monday. Easy peasy. I only drive safe, there is no excuse for taking chances.
Anthony Cowens says
Unfortunately this tragedy is not the first time a driver & trainee have had a dispute on the road it happens every day. I had a dispute with my trainer at Stevens Transport on the road. I went as far as getting out the truck, calling Stevens and refusing to go another mile. Stevens immediately let me choose weather to stay or go. I chose to go, and the trainer was driving me to the bus stop and after thinking about my family & career I changed my mind and we both made a new agreement on ground rules. We eventually became friends. This incident went way too far, but I am surprised it has not happened before because of ego. So as a fellow truck driver I say to all of you this is a time when we need to stick together for once, instead of arguing on this website or on the cb or road and honor our fellow truck driver and
his family in this time of need. I have listed to veteran drivers talk & they all say that there was a time when drivers stuck together on the road, off time, and on the cb. Our industry allready has a bad reputation, so let’s not make it worse & use this terrible tragedy as a wake up call. God’s Blessings to the family. And words cannot express my sorrow. If you need anything don’t hesitate. Sincerely, Anthony
& Family.
Two Thermos says
A sad, terrible thing. Prayers for the poor family of this driver. Beyond that, I think any company with more than a couple hundred trucks is probably a bad idea. There’s small and mid-sized companies that are a bad idea, too. Basically, yeah, talk to drivers for any company you’re interested in before you commit. I see these mega-carrier trucks out there and I can’t imagine that life. I drove for a big one, for a while, that ran all teams. That was something like 25 years ago. After the experience of a couple of the team drivers they partnered me with, I quit and went to work running solo for a small outfit. Stayed with that small outfit for about 7 years, got out of it for a while, then went back into it about 11 years ago. Drove for a large mid-size company for about 5 years, but aside from that, I’ve generally stayed with small companies. What I strongly suggest for anybody trying to start out is just stay away from those biggees. Look around, for a while, and if you’re reasonably squared away, you should be able to find a gig. If you’re not reasonably squared away, i.e., clean and sober, with a good work ethic, and no serious priors, you’re not going to last very long, anyway. Or at best, you’re only going to manage to hire on with the bottom feeders and everybody out there, from other drivers to, especially, law enforcement, is going to see a big, glaring target on your back.
Infosaur says
If I think my partner/trainee/co-driver is a threat?
GET,,,
OFF,,,
MY,,,
TRUCK!
Dispatch has a problem? They can come fetch him.
You never see dispatchers/brokers stabbed by trainees do you?
Steven says
Drivers usually get them.
MovingForward says
God bless the family and friends of Mr. Ruiz, and I hope something good will come out of this terrible killing to improve the training system for our industry.
Michael powell says
First of all, Werner should be held financially responsible, then who ever made the decision to let the trainee stay on the truck be terminated and investigated to see if criminal charges be put on that person or persons.
Robert says
R.I.P. Prayer’s go out to the Family GOD Bless him
J Knowlton says
man, that’s horrible. I know a lot of trainers and trainees don’t get along but what a chicken s&@t coward this guy is. To pull out a knife on a 62 year old man? What a disease. I hope they fry him.
Wes Cory says
And THAT’S why I don’t train. Since this crime happened in Texas, I’m sure he’ll get, “the needle”. Texas don’t fool around with this type of a-hole.
Ahmad says
It sounds a stage story making act, let me be the investigator, judge, jury and executioner.
AJ says
First of all, prayers go out to Mr. Ruiz’s family.
I hope that Mr Ruiz did not only call in and complain about the trainee, I hope that he put the complaints in writing, by sending messages in on the Qualcomm or Peoplenet system, which ever system Werner has.
These starter companies don’t care about their trainers safety, all they want is #’s
The Raptor says
This is a call to all Professional Drivers: We need to find out the address for the President, CEO of Werner and send him letters protesting and demanding a response of what actions the company has taken to keep these kinds of incidents from ever happening again. Boycott Werner!
Sandy says
Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family. My boyfriend and I use to drive team, he still drives and I work from home. He just left a household goods company-moving company-they actually expected him to pick up workers to help him load or unload the trk, I told him under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will you have anyone you don’t know in that trk and if your company has a problem with that you just tell them to give me a call and I’ll be happy to have a chat with them. I hope the Ruiz family sues the crap out of Werner n I hope the guy who killed Mr Ruiz rots in hell.
Jerry says
Prime put a guy on my truck that was fresh out of the penitentiary for attempted murder in Maryland. Took me 3 weeks to get rid of him and he did everything including dumping piss all over my truck inside. Google him in Maryland court cases. First name Wyatt. It will come up. He was a hassle in jail too, and they put him on my truck with no heads up. If I was 64 years old, same thing could have happened to me. Trucking companies need to keep violent felons of the trucks, period. Werner needs to loose $100m plus in this.
Anthony says
Werner should be made an example of. God bless the Ruiz family.
Steve says
RIP Mr Ruiz
It’s a long way to the top and you made it…It’s sad you had to get
there the way you did…God Bless The Family.
Vickie Keener says
Werner has a major problem with hiring anyone out there that has a CDL. They also have a problem with making anyone that had a CDL for at least six months a trainer. While training with Werner, my trainer got so drunk that I had to sleep inside the truck stop. Upon waking him the next morning to tell him I want it off the truck I had to get in a truck with him completely naked and a truck trashed. This was after his fight the previous evening .
Vickie Keener says
My thoughts and prayers to the family
Ron says
Drivers… understand that YOU have the keys to the truck and if something is not right, don’t start it. The industry is begging for drivers and begging even harder for driver/trainers. If something isn’t right or doesn’t feel right, DON’T DO IT!. The company is not going to fire you. They may threaten you or give you grief over it but you have the last call on everything. If they try and force you into doing something, just tell them “No thanks and I quit.” You’ll have your pick of jobs the very next day but more than likely the company will back down and everything will be good again; might even get a raise to stay. So remember, YOU have the keys and that means YOU are the captain of the ship and YOU decide if something is not right. Please be safe out there….
lee sharpe says
I been on the road for 30 years driving for this company I’m at for over 21 years this craziness didn’t not happen out here the peoples trying to be a truck drivers coming from all walks of life and having a lot of problems coming with them.trainer’s out there get the company to pull more information on these peoples you train?
Harry Cruz says
Figures Werner was more concerned about their “investment ” (orientation, physical, drug screen ) costs more than listening to a veteran driver of theirs. Sad story my prayers to his family. I’m glad I’m not “training ” anymore.
kristina livesay says
This is sad..
It has always been hard for me to understand how two people who didnt know anything about each other (driver and trainee) could get in a truck with eachother. My late husband was my trainer with Werner, i trusted his driving skills and knowledge of the industry. Before i decided to work to get my CDL i rode with him for a year as a passenger and picked his brain about driving the truck, different situations etc. He was the best trainer i could have had. We drove team for 2 years before deciding to come off the road. He is no longer here on earth with me but i will always have the pride of me being a good driver, and the memories of all the things we have seen. So many take it for granted….
Could i see Werner doing what they did? hell yes! they are not about the safety of the driver but about the load!
keep safe everyone….pardon my typos lol
Christina says
As much as Werner tried to push me to train so glad I never did … the stories I heard and this one my god heart goes out fellow driver and his family … Glad I got out of OTR love my day-jammer .
Silverspur says
Everybody blames the student.
The student could have been defending himself against an abusive trainer and things got out of hand.
Deb says
BS! I sat in the courtroom and listened to all the gory details. No he was not defending himself. He stabbed the driver from behind in the back then over the shoulder. 12 times!!!! It was brutal.
Chad says
This is exactly why I carry a gun in my truck. I drive alone and don’t trust anyone any more. I used to live in a town where a terror attack happened. My son was on his way there. Thank God he got there after the attacker was killed. It’s coming to close to home.
JD says
To all you rookies glorifying and defending Werner enterprises.that company dont give a @$!× about the drivers.and will do or spend what ever it takes to get out of making their wrong right.i had a truck on over their and watched them push one of their company driver to continue driving to their thorton rd yard after he complained of chest pains as soon as he made it to the yard he slammed into the yellow poles at the pumps we pulled him out of the truck and immediately started CPR on him we had another driver to run into dispatch and have them to call 911 it took the 30 min to call for us finally terminal manager came out walked past us straight to the truck looking complaining about the damage to the truck and never not one time walking over to us with the driver.sadly to say mr.FRANK JONES. Died that day right their on the ground.i tryed for 2 years to find his family to inform them of what really happend.
john says
If trucking companies cared about you theyd let concealed carry holders have their guns in their trucks werner cheated meout of $500.00 after going thru training without a break scumbags their dispatchers are lowlifes
Jessica Flores says
Ok question.so a truck driver who served time in prison for stabbing two guys also lots of assaults and domestic violence against his wife
Also continuing messing up..and his boss just overlooks all of this cause he is his best Driver???