It never stops amazing me...

[Grizzly]

One of your units rolls into a customer to see this truck waiting to load. No door signs of any kind. No DOT numbers of any kind. Tandem axle but yet they put decals on saying under 10,000 pounds so they can try and avoid going through scales and having to log as required by law. Does anyone think after all that they are carrying proper insurance? So driver asks our customer if they are really going to load it...Yes they say, it is the customer (a major automotive manufacturer) who arranges and pays for the freight and gets their loads covered on a bid board. Does anyone ever stop and local at the cost associated with the risk of running illegal units like this and how they put their companies at risk and open themselves up to liability and wrongful hiring lawsuits? #insurance #expedite #load1 #loadone #illegal

Are customers part of the problem?

Scenario 1: Customer is paying for insured transport. Without digging through all the minutiae, this guy shows up. Customer should be irritated, they are receiving a service that is less than what they paid for.

Scenario 2: Customers have found cheaper alternatives & simply don't care.

 

[BigStickJr]

IF all the legit carriers would pull out of that customer for 30 days, maybe the shipper would realize the shady characters can’t cover them.
They need the legit people to carry their business.

 

[jelliott]

Well this was a case where they were a direct shipper of ours...but....some customers of theirs pay for and arrange their own transportation. This truck was that case. Major auto mfg who used a bid board to get this "carrier".

As far as politicians and the FMCSA I will continue to push on that. I was recently made chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association Advocacy Committee. So that involves a good bit of time with....politicians and the FMCSA! As well I continue to try and educate shippers and the industry as to the true risk and liability exposure here. In person visits, when I speak at conferences and places like linkedin etc.

 

[piper1]

Inside a logistics buyers mind....

"Blah blah blah blah LOW COST blah blah blah blah WILL MEET TARGET TO KEEP BOSS OFF MY BACK blah blah blah blah blah

Unfortunately that's the world we live in now.

As to the cosmetic disaster the pictured truck is....every major legal carrier has deplorable junk like this in their O/O fleet...every single one of them. The only difference cosmetically is decals. At my pickup yesterday there was a van there from another major carrier...a 14 month old PM. 1 BALD tire, 1 more that was down to the wear bars, the rear doors were so badly bent they barely shut, all sorts of body damage from unsecured freight hitting the walls, big chunk of the front bumper missing, lights burnt out, and... I doubt it had ever been washed (you could barely see the decals on the rear doors). Did the shipper care? Nope. Did they look for decals? Nope. Darn good chance at most shippers nowadays the company they call is very rarely what shows up (if they even have trucks to begin with).

I agree with John's disgust at these kind of units....but the industry has done this to itself....and that's sad.

But I have faith it can be better....John leading the charge certainly helps!

 

[coalminer]

This horse is far from dead so we need to keep up the beating (sorry PETA). My bet is most of the time when a shipper calls up their broker and give them the weight and dims they are quoted a large straight rate, but when they look at it they get a woody because they can get one of these little cubes to haul it. Cha ching, they made a boat load of money on that load.....

People want to blame the carriers, but I would suspect more of the blame should go to the shady brokers.

 

[BigStickJr]

John, sorry you have to hang with politicians, but glad you’re willing to do it.

We all thank you.

 

[jelliott]

I think you are correct the other issue is "bid boards". A big part of their "sale or value" to a customer is getting the best market price. So this induces them to allow carriers onto their boards that should never be there. The standards of days gone by to be an NLM carrier are gone.

 

[DollarSign]

Well this was a case where they were a direct shipper of ours...but....some customers of theirs pay for and arrange their own transportation. This truck was that case. Major auto mfg who used a bid board to get this "carrier".

As far as politicians and the FMCSA I will continue to push on that. I was recently made chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association Advocacy Committee. So that involves a good bit of time with....politicians and the FMCSA! As well I continue to try and educate shippers and the industry as to the true risk and liability exposure here. In person visits, when I speak at conferences and places like linkedin etc.

The United States has a President and the Trucking and Expediting industry has there's!

 

[Moot]

MEGA, make expediting great again.

 

[Moot]

There is an expedite company that runs mostly Sprinters. 9,990 GVWR is incorporated in their logo signage. Does MB make a SRW Sprinter with a 9,990 GVWR?

 

[BigStickJr]

There is an expedite company that runs mostly Sprinters. 9,990 GVWR is incorporated in their logo signage. Does MB make a SRW Sprinter with a 9,990 GVWR?

Poetic license ?

 

[xmudman]

A 3500 with the super single option grosses at 9990

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[DollarSign]

I think a MB 3500 super single is 10,140 GVWR.

 

[Grizzly]

The Sprinter Super Single Option



Straight from the horse's mouth ...
Wow that's a bunch of weight ...

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[ntimevan]

I think a MB 3500 super single is 10,140 GVWR.

Which is still Log Book out doing what we do ... of course I guess the thing to do is SLAP some 10,000 GVW stickers on the doors and haul away ..

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[jelliott]

Amazing the power of a set of decals to change the law.


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[ntimevan]

Amazing the power of a set of decals to change the law.


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Yes , that and some people still believe its fine to over load weight wise a sprinter with 8550 GVW with more than 3000 lbs. because there is no DOT Law against exceding GVW while still under 10,000 total pounds ..
Well , what about RECKLESS DRIVING ... Unsafe driving of motor vehicle. Improper insurance because of exceding legal GVW of suggested vans , so insurance technically is Void ...Unsafe Vehicle equipment (tires) carrying overweight Rating on tires and i am sure Smart State Troopers can find other laws broken by being overweight..

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[xmudman]

Mrs xmuddy here . Why would you do this to your equipment ? Only an idiot that likes repair bills and feeling every bump in the road does this.Ticket away troops these jerks make all of us look bad. Help us get them off the road.

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[Turtle]

Yes , that and some people still believe its fine to over load weight wise a sprinter with 8550 GVW with more than 3000 lbs. because there is no DOT Law against exceding GVW while still under 10,000 total pounds ..

I don't know anyone who believes that. In fact, most people actually believe there are laws on the books making it illegal to exceed the GVWR of an unregulated vehicle.

Personally, 2850 pounds of freight maxes me out, and 3000 is the absolute max I'm willing to go, and even at that it better pay really, really well, or be going to a place I really, really want to go, and not be through the mountains. I recently turned down a load of 3010 pounds. I'm the one who has to pay for things like suspension parts, axles, rear ends, brakes, drive shafts, wheel bearings and transmissions. Instead of trying to see how heavy I can run, I try to see how light I can run. Loads under 100 pounds? I'm your guy. An envelope? That's in my wheelhouse. The fuel economy between a 500 pound load and a 2500 pound load is staggering.

Incidentally, you can be overweight by any amount (within reason, and as long as the vehicle's components hold up) as long as you go slow enough. Not just from a safety standpoint, but from a wear and tear standpoint. Even at 100 pounds overweight, instead of 65-70 MPH, you should probably be going 50-55 MPH. Talk to those guys (and gals) who do the heavy hauling thing. They can give you a lot of tips that apply even to a car.

Well , what about RECKLESS DRIVING

Reckless driving is, in most states, the wanton or a willful disregard for the safety of persons or property, generally by violating the rules of the road (traffic laws), although only Virginia has a list of specific items that constitute reckless driving. Weight, incidentally, isn't mentioned in any state law regarding reckless driving. Even if you're overweight, you still have to do something reckless to be charged with reckless driving.

Improper insurance because of exceding legal GVW of suggested vans , so insurance technically is Void

Now you're just making stuff up, hoping someone will believe it. It's illegal to drive while intoxicated, but your liability insurance isn't void (technically, or otherwise, whatever that means) when you get behind the wheel while drunk. The word "Liability" in the insurance world can be interchanged with "being stupid." Insurance companies essentially provide us with coverage against doing something stupid. Damage to your own vehicle might not be covered if you're overweight, depending on the policy, but your liability insurance is still valid.

 

[VSprinter]

I don't know anyone who believes that. In fact, most people actually believe there are laws on the books making it illegal to exceed the GVWR of an unregulated vehicle.

Personally, 2850 pounds of freight maxes me out, and 3000 is the absolute max I'm willing to go, and even at that it better pay really, really well, or be going to a place I really, really want to go, and not be through the mountains. I recently turned down a load of 3010 pounds. I'm the one who has to pay for things like suspension parts, axles, rear ends, brakes, drive shafts, wheel bearings and transmissions. Instead of trying to see how heavy I can run, I try to see how light I can run. Loads under 100 pounds? I'm your guy. An envelope? That's in my wheelhouse. The fuel economy between a 500 pound load and a 2500 pound load is staggering.

Incidentally, you can be overweight by any amount (within reason, and as long as the vehicle's components hold up) as long as you go slow enough. Not just from a safety standpoint, but from a wear and tear standpoint. Even at 100 pounds overweight, instead of 65-70 MPH, you should probably be going 50-55 MPH. Talk to those guys (and gals) who do the heavy hauling thing. They can give you a lot of tips that apply even to a car.


Reckless driving is, in most states, the wanton or a willful disregard for the safety of persons or property, generally by violating the rules of the road (traffic laws), although only Virginia has a list of specific items that constitute reckless driving. Weight, incidentally, isn't mentioned in any state law regarding reckless driving. Even if you're overweight, you still have to do something reckless to be charged with reckless driving.


Now you're just making stuff up, hoping someone will believe it. It's illegal to drive while intoxicated, but your liability insurance isn't void (technically, or otherwise, whatever that means) when you get behind the wheel while drunk. The word "Liability" in the insurance world can be interchanged with "being stupid." Insurance companies essentially provide us with coverage against doing something stupid. Damage to your own vehicle might not be covered if you're overweight, depending on the policy, but your liability insurance is still valid.

Turtle wouldn't be Turtle if he didn't wrote that.

"Amazing Grace, half-decent rates..."