I am p**sed off, literally!!!or maybe litterally!!!

[Turtle]

Turtle, your thesis is well written and on the surface makes sense. I have to stick to my original position though because some people in this world are too unstable to "speak to". Some would just as soon punch you in the nose as breathe for having the gall to "speak to" them in that kind gentle manner you suggest. Some would respond in some way or another and then watch you and do something to your vehicle when you go inside.

When you see other drivers, you kind of know which ones are in the mood to talk and which ones aren't. The ones that aren't in the mood, it's not a good idea to confront them, gentle or otherwise. We all need our space out here. But, if you first start a conversation with the usual small talk, you can quickly determine what they're all about. "Hi, how ya doin'? Ya been busy?" the usual stuff. If you get curt, one-word answers, and they obviously don't want to be bothered, they aren't likely to be receptive to much of anything, least of all a pee bottle favor. Pick your spots.

Now, if the guy's curtain happens to fall down and you see him inside with his bra on and call it in I'd say you are a tattle tale. If you are calling to report citizenship problems you are just being a responsible citizen as opposed to his bad citizen.

There's a fine line between tattling and being a good citizen in many cases. I think it's well defined in the KGB's Guide To Being a Good Citizen, though.

For the most part I mind my own business, expect others to do the same, live by the Golden Rule, and try not to judge too quickly. So far so good.

 

[dhalltoyo]

I have yet to ever meet the first person who was currently employed in the transportation industry ever tell me they had a Safety Director speak to them regarding an 800 "How's My Driving" complaint.

Conversely, I have had of "unemployed" drivers telling such stories, but I heard them via their co-workers who were glad that those drivers got the axe.

Nuff said?

 

[Turtle]

I have yet to ever meet the first person who was currently employed in the transportation industry ever tell me they had a Safety Director speak to them regarding an 800 "How's My Driving" complaint.

Well, you know one. Remember meeting me at the Expedite Expo?

I had someone call in on me once, back with Con-Way. Safety called juuuust to make sure. The caller said I was driving erratically, barely able to keep the van on the road, followed me for more than an hour before calling in, stating that I was speeding above 80 most of the time, and that obviously I was too drunk to drive.

Of course, I was doing nothing of the kind. Safety said people call in like that all the time, they have nothing better to do. Sometimes the complaints (and compliments) are valid, but not usually.

Next day I peeled the numbers off the back of the van.

 

[letzrockexpress]

I generally agree with Turtle on this. As I mentioned earlier I was about to approach the offender in Indy, it's just that I was really angry and it would have been a confrontation, likely a violent one. I have learned the hardway in my life that when you confront someone in anger, it usually turns into a bad scene. My nature is to jump in head first without thinking it through. Maybe the hard knocks finally made an impression and I have learned my lesson. Perhaps Miguy can understand that... I will probably notify the carrier. I told the "J " manager and just got a shrug.

 

[miguy1957]

I guess I dont understand why everyone is so up in arms about where someone dumps their pee. stepping in a pool of pee is better tha a big ole dog turd and stinks less......But no one is calling carriers on the dog people................Dont we have more to fret about than that ..................Maybe everyone is just spending to much time setting in parking lots with nothing better to do.................

 

[ATeam]

Cell phones with cameras built into them are increasingly common. I almost never use mine but as a result of this thread have decided to get a little better at it and quicker on the draw, so to speak. Calling in a report is one thing. Doing so with a picture is quite another.

Had I been there, I would like to think I would have captured a quick cell phone picture or video clip. With that, in hand, I would have had no problem reporting the act to Flying J management, the offenders carrier AND the police. I would also consider posting the photo or video clip online, probably on a hall of shame page of some sort.

This behavior is not only disgusting. It is a health hazard. It is illegal (public urination usually is, though dumping a container would be a crime of a different sort). It degrades the quality of the truck stop and the space for those who will next use it.

What bugs me most about it is the disrespect it communicates. Knights of the Road? A brotherhood of truckers? Yea, right. Here you go, driver, use this parking place after me, but before you do, let me pee in it first. It is hard to imagine a more disrespectful act.

Live and let live? Not in this case. An offender who leaves his or her urine in a parking lot used by others is not practing "live and let live" and is not worthy of the mutual respect and courtesy "live and let live" implies.

 

[Paul56]

I'm in agreement with the behavior being disgusting; however, to present some other information on exactly what is being dumped...

Urine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Urine excreted by healthy kidneys is sterile."

 

[barney]

I am willing to bet that if these people did this kind of thing at home, their wives would beat them half to death. My dog marks his terratory, maybe that is where they got the idea.

 

[LDB]

miguy, this is just the example under discussion but I'm speaking as a general philosophy. I find it somewhat disturbing or disappointing that anyone could minimize stepping in a pool of pee. I'll grant your statement it's not as bad as a pile of poo however that doesn't change it being undesirable.

Paul, while you are correct in that it emerges sterile, that condition doesn't last once it contacts and interacts with other substances. Additionally, that doesn't make it stink less or be less sticky, neither of which is appealing.

 

[cheri1122]

Urine is sterile, until it it exposed to air, which is simultaneous with exiting the body. At that point, it is both a biohazardous substance, and one of those 'bodily fluids' we'd all rather not be exposed to.
Maybe the friendly approach has worked for Turtle, but I personally would not want to risk it, even if I were capable of acting friendly towards someone whose behavior disgusts me.
Funny thing about dog poop - I've never run into any . Maybe dog owners are good citizens, because their dogs think they are?

 

[Suds43]

That's your word against theirs, and you'd lose. Calling into a carrier is dicey enough, as it's still your word against theirs. Anyone can make stuff up and call it in. The noting of a wrong truck number can have significant consequences for the other driver, especially when you post that information in a public forum. Unless you can prove it, you could be found guilty of libel, both to the driver and the carrier.

I'd have said something to the driver, actually. I have done that. I won't say anything if they at least dump it onto the grass (that's where all the other animals go), but they dump it onto the lot, and I see it, I speak up.

I won't get mad at them, to be confrontational (I mean, it's not like they have on a food stained shirt that barely covers their massive belly, or anything like that), but I'll suggest they at least dump it back off the lot somewhere in the grass.

Think of this.........the guy dumps his "bottle" in the grass......You walk your dog, not knowing that some total slob has just dumped his excriment there.....Your dog goes over and sniffs, licks, etc.........like all animals would..........He does this thing and ya'll get back in the truck/van, whatever. You dog now jumps up in your lap and starts licking your face!!
Doesn't sound so good having someone dump their urine in the grass now, does it....
It's hard to believe that someone would be to lazy to take care of their waste properly. I've actually watched a guy while we were sitting in Louisianna........he was about 20 ft. from the door!! Walks over to the bushes and starts peeing..........couldn't even wait until he was inside. He did this in broad daylight!!!!!!!! Didn't even try to hide what he was doing!!

Geeze, I"ll never understand why truckers have a bad reputation..........

 

[dieseldiva]

I guess I dont understand why everyone is so up in arms about where someone dumps their pee. stepping in a pool of pee is better tha a big ole dog turd and stinks less......But no one is calling carriers on the dog people................Dont we have more to fret about than that ..................Maybe everyone is just spending to much time setting in parking lots with nothing better to do.................

Just for the sake of argument, let's put a little "spin" on this story and see if you still feel the same.

You're standing at your window at home and notice a neighbor urinating on your sidewalk, the sidewalk that your children walk on every day on their way to school and back........right before they step into your living room....AKA your living SPACE. What is the difference in that and we drivers walking in the "pool of pee" as you call it and then getting in our vans/trucks......AKA our living SPACE??

 

[greg334]

Sorry even if it sterile, so what. It stinks, it is disgusting and it smells.

The smell alone is justification to complain. We are supposed to be professionals but as I have said many times, the trucking industry is one that many claim to be professionals but are a little above a pig in what they do.

The fact that regardless what the status is of this bodily fluid, the last time I checked human waste falls under one category, a hazard to humans. There are reasons why we have waste treatment plants, why we did away with outhouses that pollutes ground water and went to something like an engineered way of ridding our selves of waste through septic fields and such. There are further reasons why we have seen an increase in viruses and bacteria when people don't wash their hands after they urinate.

The one thing that really gets me is any justification not to react to it, a live and let live attitude. You can't just stand by with a fingers in your ears and blinders on and do nothing when you see this behavior because it is a reflection on your professionalism and you. We are supposed to live in a civil culture where we have come from p*ssing in the streets to using proper facilities to maintain a minimal decorum, respect for others and safety for all.

 

[miguy1957]

I cant believe all the people that are dumbfounded by things like this happening. Its a Truck stop with hundreds or thousands of people from all walks of life in and out of there daily. People have been doing it from the first time a truck stop opened. Everyone acts like its the first time that they have been at a truck stop. (That dont make it right) But its the nature of the beast. Like someone in a previous post said they told the manager and they just shrugged. So all the calling of carriers and telling the manager isnt going to stop it. So just find the best place to park your truck and live with it or move your truck somewhere else to park or just tell the guy hey dont dump that there, that would probly embarrass him and stop it quicker that trying to involve other partys. Clean truck parking lots is like saying Mcdonalds health food be for real ...........Wanting it to be so wont make it come true...........Remember your at a Truck stop not upscale Resturant..........

 

[LDB]

I'm not dumbfounded by the fact it happens. I am dumbfounded by anyone trivializing it based on location, number of people or any other factor. That's the same logic as "I didn't break my leg the last 87 times I jumped off the roof so I won't now.". That attitude and opinion suggests a possible need for introspection.

 

[miguy1957]

Im not trivalizing it , Its just a fact of life, things like that happen at a truck stop. People are just nasty beings. Getting upset about it only makes you unhappy. It would be nice if it didnt happen. All Im saying is why is everyone so upset over something that wont change?? You can make calls, tell managers and jump up and down and scream , then maybe ,maybe get rid of 1 guy but another will take his place. Thats just the way life is. All you can do is take care of yourself , You cant change the other guy no matter how hard you try.

 

[Jack_Berry]

here is another story, my first weekend at a truckstop. i watch the flatbed pull in and this elderly driver gets out and turns around and inspects his drives for maybe 45 sec to a minute. i am facing him and already know what is happening. then he takes his little doggie out of the cab and takes it to the grass behind my truck. he carries it back inside. later i see him in the ts and look at him and say....didn;t think you could make it this far that you wet your tires? he looked at me stunned that someone younger than hom would say something. i just kept going not wanting anything to escalate in the store.

why am i so pure? i always take my bottle into the bathroom and empty it and rinse it.

 

[Turtle]

Well, at least no one brought up the subject of urine therapy.

 

[dhalltoyo]

Here's one for you Jack.

I am fueling the van at the Flying J in Oak Grove, KY near Hopkinsville. It was about 9 am on a sunny morning.

While trying to be aware of my surroundings, I notice an older man fueling his conversion version on the adjacent side of the fuel island. He walks to the back of his van and opens the doors. I said out loud, "He must be getting something out of the back." In my mind, I thought, "Surely, he isn't going to...surely not!"

As I leaned back far enough, so that the pump no longer blocked my view, I could see him looking over his shoulder for incoming traffic. Yep, you guessed it! Right there at the pump he was urinating on the ground.

I yelled over at him, "HEY!" "What do you think you are doing?" Startled, he replied, "Uh, uh , uh well, I am taking this medication and it affects my bladder." I said, "OK, but we are within 50 feet of the building and you could surely make it that far as it took you 5 minutes to get out of the van and activate the pumps."

I said, "Don't ever let me see you do that again." "That's nasty." "Suppose I had my wife or daughter with me?" "Have you ever heard of indecent expose?" He hung his head and acknowledged the truth.

 

[Paul56]

Here's one for you Jack.

I am fueling the van at the Flying J in Oak Grove, KY near Hopkinsville. It was about 9 am on a sunny morning.

While trying to be aware of my surroundings, I notice an older man fueling his conversion version on the adjacent side of the fuel island. He walks to the back of his van and opens the doors. I said out loud, "He must be getting something out of the back." In my mind, I thought, "Surely, he isn't going to...surely not!"

As I leaned back far enough, so that the pump no longer blocked my view, I could see him looking over his shoulder for incoming traffic. Yep, you guessed it! Right there at the pump he was urinating on the ground.

I yelled over at him, "HEY!" "What do you think you are doing?" Startled, he replied, "Uh, uh , uh well, I am taking this medication and it affects my bladder." I said, "OK, but we are within 50 feet of the building and you could surely make it that far as it took you 5 minutes to get out of the van and activate the pumps."

I said, "Don't ever let me see you do that again." "That's nasty." "Suppose I had my wife or daughter with me?" "Have you ever heard of indecent expose?" He hung his head and acknowledged the truth.

There is a certain risk taken each time one comments on bad behavior... the risk being this person is a hot-head, headed in the same direction as you, and has taken a good visual look at your vehicle and you.

At the extreme one could end up getting shot and die over it... is it worth that risk?

Clearly we don't like obnoxious behavior, but there has to be a more appropriate manner to deal with these incidents that doesn't put one at risk.

I'm no chicken... but I"m also not going to seek out trouble either, because chances are it may just find me.