A Werner Enterprises truck driver following his GPS took out a bridge earlier this year. He drove his 30-ton truck over a 3-ton bridge, causing significant damage. Werner has now agreed to pay less than half of the initial estimate to repair the bridge.
On February 21st, the Werner driver, Dontie Huff, was driving on County Road 821 in Cullman County, Alabama. He followed his GPS onto the gravel road, took a sharp turn, and then crossed a small bridge built in the 1940s. The steel bent and the bridge dipped but stayed together for the most part. Initial estimates put the cost of repairs at around $500,000.
Cullman County attorney Chad Floyd had been trying to get Werner to agree to a settlement. While the amount of Werner’s first offer wasn’t made public, it fell well short of the expected costs. Negotiations broke down to the point where Floyd filed a lawsuit against both Werner and Huff a few weeks ago.
Cullman Today reports that Werner and the County have now agreed to a settlement where the company will pay $188,742 to repair the bridge.
Source: cullmansense, cullmantoday, cullmantoday
Tammy Moorer says
Always use your common sense. Never ever follow that GPS to the exact directions. When things don’t look right small Bridges under passes especially when it says make a quick right or left you know it is headed for disaster
John Lackland says
His GPS did not put him on that bridge. Isn’t it a bit telling that despite drivers always claiming they were following their GPS, no GPS companies ever end up getting sued?
Andrew H says
Those company routed Qualcomm GPS’s were a joke. I left Werner a few years ago, not too long after they put those Windows CE Qualcomms into the trucks. The first few months were interesting. Be driving along, the unit would give the blue screen of death and screw your logs, or dispatch loses sight of you and they’re blowing up your phone wondering where you are (even though you’re not supposed to be on your phone while driving, but dispatch never cared).
Remember…
WErner CAREs.
Michael says
Settlement? For what should be an obvious, preventable oopsie?? Either the county was asking way too much or there were no legible signs.
Mike says
Remember we are talking about a Werner driver it doesn’t matter if there are signs or not the guy would be bothered to read them.
R.J. says
Surprised the County didnt SEIZE the truck, and arrest the driver until all was settled.
Gary says
Shame on the driver but why should they get full reimbursement for a bridge that old? It probably needed replacement anyway. Imagine if a county highway worker ran a stop sign and totaled the Werner Truck. The county would not want to pay Werner what it cost to buy a brand new truck, especially if it had 600,000 miles on it.
C.W. says
Well said!
KAB says
Doesn’t matter how old the bridge is. He shouldn’t have driven over it. Pay attention to what you are doing and this stuff won’t happen. It might have been old and maybe needed some repair but apparently, it was in better shape than it is now that he drove over it.
Steve Hughart says
Leve it up to Werner that what you get when you put a inexperience steering wheel holder behind the wheel lmao
Staci Garrison says
It has absolutely nothing to do with experience as it does common sense.
Driver was given directions on the QC and chose not to follow them. So instead he used a fourwheeler nav device, which he never backed that up with Rand McNally.
No common sense what so ever, and a great possibility that he has lost a lot of grey matter as well.
I started out with Werner in the flatbed division in 2007. Ive never had an accident or a ticket.
Mike says
Steering wheel holder?! Who are you a Doctor? Lol hold on to your steering wheel mf we all start somewhere.
Charlie Krebs says
To the point! Exactly!!!!!!!!!
Derich J Simmons says
*leave. We all started somewhere, didn’t we? Unless you came out of your mamas womb wearing cowboy boots, a flannel shirt, smoking a Marlboro shifting gears. Unless that happaned….shut up, stupid.
Bigttrucking says
Werner…nuff said!
Mar says
Takes a special kind of stupid …………
Ho Jodi says
Everyone gotta start somewhere. Why now blaming Werner from having an inexperienced driver.
Muninn says
“Dontie Huff.” Sounds about right.
Iron Horse and Wooden Men says
You would think that the gravel or dirt road would be a given that you’re lost and not on a proper route…but they teach steering wheel holders to listen, to sit, to be such a good doggy!!!! No wonder why other countries are passing us in the world stage.
John White says
Everyone of us has gone over a weighted bridge, sometimes there’s no choice, feel bad for the driver put in that spot, I’m sure the company ruined his driving career, it’s not easy being a trucker.
R.J. says
I worked for a small company some years ago. I was ROUTED by the dispatcher (first mistake) that took me down an asphalt road to a gravel road (second mistake) in very rural southern Missouri.
A couple VERY sharp turns put me in front of the 10 TON (clearly marked)
bridge over a very wide but shallow river/creek.
No way to turn around except in a field, already planted and growing.
Farmers have it tough enough. I stayed on the road.
I was empty and drove over the bridge….it held. I was BLESSED that day.
I do my own routing. Company doesnt like it. I park the truck.
The company OWNS the truck. They dont own me.
Michael says
I’ve seen my company’s drivers routinely crossing a very long/narrow 6ton marked bridge and nary/ever think twice ’bout it! Any guesses how much rear tandems weigh-in at on a 64,000lb dump? (clue: steer axle usually around 14,000lbs) lol Am told *faster* (more bounce?) the better?
Brian Schroeder says
I woulda thunk WERNERS magic eldumb box woudda preventud all of this missahap. Gee-whizz……whoodathunk its?
Chuck says
I bet the bridge was trashed before he went across it and I bet a contract bid to build a bridge wouldn’t even come close to what they want.Should lock them up for fraud.
Myron Carthen, Sr. says
Well people even Rand McNally GPS will throw you a curveball, the trick is to keep your map handy at all times. I always check my map when going into small towns and very rural areas.
Old School trucker
DAN H LEPESKA says
I regularly cross Bridges with load limits well under 10 tons. I run loads to the oil field. I MUST follow precise turn by turn directions given by the oil company. They make deals with local government, which will let the oil company know which route is approved to get in and out of the drilling site.
Often I encounter low weight limits on country roads, both for Bridges and for roads, well before the “turn by turn” instructions kick in. In EVERY case I am at risk AND in every case the SIGN LETTING A TRUCKER KNOW THERE IS A RESTRICTION IS WELL AFTER YOU ARE COMMITTED TO THE TURN OR ROAD.
A few months ago I made a turn onto a county road, went THREE MILES before I encountered a sign that said a bridge had a weight limit of three tons. I ended up having to back up two miles on a NARROW winding road, stopping to GOAL countless times, before I managed a nine point backup turn in a rancher’s driveway.
I think the reason Werner paid so little is because the county was STUPID. If the county REALLY didn’t want a big truck on that bridge they should have put LARGE SIGNS warning truckers of the weight limit BEFORE they are committed to making the turn in the first place. That’s why the county is absorbing the majority of the cost. Pure stupid. Plain and simple.
moral1424 says
Yeah and Werner hasn’t agreed to pay its workers for their per diem, yet its appealing the law suit read the story here
http://swartz-legal.com/flsa-fairlaborstandarsact/wernerlawsuitperdiemflsa/
Daniel says
GPS is just a tool. It’s not supposed to be relied upon – you have to LOOK and READ signs..
Andy parker says
And use common sense
Paul W Burkett says
Thank you! Finally, somebody with an intelligent, thoughtful reply. I,ve met enough company drivers now hired by that don,t speak or i,m guessing read English to know, the highways a a dangerous place to be.
FL driver association says
I guess he was new. Werner hires many noobs. Most truckers know to never blindly follow GPS! If it tell you to turn down a street, and the street is narrow with residential units. That’s probably not the street you’re looking for.
Glenn says
Learn to read a map.
When im going to an unknown consignee & planning my route I cross reference Google Maps with Google Earth with Rand McNally map.
If it looks fishy, smells fishy, it probably is fishy.
Old school trucker 2
outback says
30 tons? Please, not that company.
Bad hair day says
I have 3 gps’ google earth and a rand McNally atlas. Gps’ show me routing google shows me where to enter business and rand McNally atlas shows me the way to go. Been out here 12 years and the atlas hasn’t let me down yet. Also found out if there is a problem with atlas all you gotta do is call a real English speaking person is glad to help you right then.
Mack says
GPS and automatic trannies made dumb people realize they too can drive a big truck. So there you go. Hold on to your hats. You’re in for a wild ride. At least until self driving trucks take over.
Dale says
Yet another crappy article By Truckers report Werner paid the full replacement cost of 188 thousand. The initial estimate of 500000 was just that a BS estimate. For you old school gods of trucking please tell me the name of a map that tells you the weight limit of every bridge on every Road. I’ve driven down houndreds of miles of gravel road to pick up loads of alfalfa, wheat and corn and grass seed. Oh and don’t forget the seven miles of gravel road 2 miles of dirt road to get to a manufacturer of explosives 42000 pounds worth.
Driver says
..as long as these companies have been servicing those customers,they KNOW the safest route in…but they are too damn cheap to route the driver,just give them the damn correct safest way in..instead they let the driver figure it out…using the GPS on 5he truck..the trucking company should always be held responsible for the directions in…ALWAYS
Driver says
Oh the free. Hours .we .give.for..the company..thats why trucking will always run a shortage of drivers,there are reasons the govt will not look at.obvious reasons. Start forcing the trucking company s to take care of their employees, the drivers,and you will see no vacancies at any company.
GARY says
3 TON BRIDGE, MY FORD PICKUP WEIGHS 7800LBS. For those of you that can’t calculate, that is almost 4 TONS.
John holt says
Werner/WE EMPLOY RETARDS NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
JhoeDhirt says
If the ” No Trucks/ 3 Ton Limit ” sign was posted 5 feet from the bridge, then NO – Werner nor the driver should be resposible.
Robert Smith says
As a Werner Driver, I find this laughable. Everybody knows that NaviGo is a joke.
I’ve been put on probation NUMEROUS times for following that piece of crap software…
NaviGo shows the SHORTEST ROUTE, not the safest, or fastest route.
I have been put in several dangerous instances (to Self, truck and property) because of that POS software. Even the Safety people tell you that it is unreliable and dangerous.
Since I bought a REAL trucker’s GPS, I haven’t had a single compromising instance…
The incident in this story was the result of:
A. Poor Trip Planning (could’ve/would’ve been avoided if the Driver had actually bothered to actually look at his Trucker’s Atlas)
B. Driver relied on NaviGo instead of common sense
C. Driver did not contact Shipper beforehand (which is recommend)
Not saying Werner is blameless (hey-they still use crappy software that was obsolete 10+ years ago) but in the end, there is no excuse for not taking a few extra minutes to use common sense, your Trucker’s Atlas and your phone.
If you have enough time to to put everybody else’s life in danger (I see Drivers yakking on the damned thing every day, instead of paying attention to the road), you have time to call the Receiver for the best/safest route…