greg334
Veteran Expediter
x06col
Sorry sir I am an owner, not a driver and don’t need to go to the DOT to justify my comments because I won’t force myself to drive in an unsafe vehicle. Be real. I got the ###### to make sure things are done right.
Maybe I didn’t put my thoughts in a form that would not be offensive to you to make my point but h*ll I am not a ‘perfect’ owner like some seem to be as much as I am no longer a good author. To me a lot of owners are cheap, very cheap and should not be in business but have been lucky in making money.
I do agree that many DOT personal are not warm and fuzzy people to deal with but really I can not see the fear that anyone would have when dealing with them unless the driver has something to hide if they are running legal – RIGHT?
I have seen a lot of cr*p where a contractor (in other industries also) who have been forced to do something unsafe because of their ignorance of the rules or no knowledge that they have the ability to say no without violating a contract.
I seen a lot of cr*p on the road that makes me feel there should be more inspections and more trucks taken off the road. I don’t mean that a truck that looks shabby but trucks that are obvious unsafe, broken or burned out lights, brake problems (barely can stop), hanging shocks, busted up fenders, no mud flaps, cracks in the windshield and so on. Some of these problems were on trucks from a few expediting companies, including the company I am contracted to. FYI my truck does not look like Phil’s truck, far from it but it is safe and just passed two inspections, one required and one just for fun.
This idea that a truck driver is a mechanic is ridiculous; thinking that everyone could do a road side/truck stop repair when they have no mechanical experience or can’t figure out the difference between a box wrench and a screwdriver is not right. I already had to deal with that when I employed people to drive cube trucks 20 years ago. I had to repair repairs and got sick of it. I stopped being cheap and stopped depending on an employee; I just got the thing fixed right with mechanics I trusted or did the work myself. I stressed safety with my employees then and I still stress safety today. Maybe it is my training and experience, maybe it is that I have been beaten up by lawyers about liabilities, maybe it is I am such a negative person that I look for problems first to make sure that nothing happens to others.
Unfortunately for some the CDL test is the only mechanical knowledge they get and getting a CDL does not mean that someone knows actually how to do a pre-trip/post-trip or even check the oil. The problems I think I see here is that a few expediters who are retired and have the RV mentality where they don’t have to or never had to do anything just let others worry about it. I have helped a few drivers who were not able to find a dip stick on a truck they have been driving for a while for God’s sake. What I mean is once the test is over and done with; it seems that some drivers forget everything.
My message was not clear so here I try again; if a driver has no other way to deal with an owner who demands driving an unsafe truck, get someone of an authority involved. I stand by my comment that it is far better to deal with an authority with a fine or a lecture then to be sick, hurt or dead.
Sorry sir I am an owner, not a driver and don’t need to go to the DOT to justify my comments because I won’t force myself to drive in an unsafe vehicle. Be real. I got the ###### to make sure things are done right.
Maybe I didn’t put my thoughts in a form that would not be offensive to you to make my point but h*ll I am not a ‘perfect’ owner like some seem to be as much as I am no longer a good author. To me a lot of owners are cheap, very cheap and should not be in business but have been lucky in making money.
I do agree that many DOT personal are not warm and fuzzy people to deal with but really I can not see the fear that anyone would have when dealing with them unless the driver has something to hide if they are running legal – RIGHT?
I have seen a lot of cr*p where a contractor (in other industries also) who have been forced to do something unsafe because of their ignorance of the rules or no knowledge that they have the ability to say no without violating a contract.
I seen a lot of cr*p on the road that makes me feel there should be more inspections and more trucks taken off the road. I don’t mean that a truck that looks shabby but trucks that are obvious unsafe, broken or burned out lights, brake problems (barely can stop), hanging shocks, busted up fenders, no mud flaps, cracks in the windshield and so on. Some of these problems were on trucks from a few expediting companies, including the company I am contracted to. FYI my truck does not look like Phil’s truck, far from it but it is safe and just passed two inspections, one required and one just for fun.
This idea that a truck driver is a mechanic is ridiculous; thinking that everyone could do a road side/truck stop repair when they have no mechanical experience or can’t figure out the difference between a box wrench and a screwdriver is not right. I already had to deal with that when I employed people to drive cube trucks 20 years ago. I had to repair repairs and got sick of it. I stopped being cheap and stopped depending on an employee; I just got the thing fixed right with mechanics I trusted or did the work myself. I stressed safety with my employees then and I still stress safety today. Maybe it is my training and experience, maybe it is that I have been beaten up by lawyers about liabilities, maybe it is I am such a negative person that I look for problems first to make sure that nothing happens to others.
Unfortunately for some the CDL test is the only mechanical knowledge they get and getting a CDL does not mean that someone knows actually how to do a pre-trip/post-trip or even check the oil. The problems I think I see here is that a few expediters who are retired and have the RV mentality where they don’t have to or never had to do anything just let others worry about it. I have helped a few drivers who were not able to find a dip stick on a truck they have been driving for a while for God’s sake. What I mean is once the test is over and done with; it seems that some drivers forget everything.
My message was not clear so here I try again; if a driver has no other way to deal with an owner who demands driving an unsafe truck, get someone of an authority involved. I stand by my comment that it is far better to deal with an authority with a fine or a lecture then to be sick, hurt or dead.
