Murraycroexp
Veteran Expediter
You may ACTUALLY be Dr Suess!!!!
Trucks Not Moving From Pumps
- Thread starter ATeam
- Start date
Dieselgeddon
paullud
Veteran Expediter
I stopped at the Wytheville, VA TA to fuel today and they were all full so I waited for several minutes which cost me 15 minutes on my log book. I noticed that a few trucks were not fueling which isn't to unusual but one of the trucks had the driver sitting back with his door open so I tapped the horn and he pulled out from the pump slowly making a U-turn and parked behind me. After I fueled he pulled up and parked at the pump again blocking it. It was a Key Logistics truck which I am not sure if they use EOBR's but I have his truck number which I plan to shoot an email to the company to notify them. I'm not going to play those games, if you start reporting people now there is a chance it could be contained.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app
Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app
It might help but I know of a couple of motor carriers, and believe there are many more, in which the people who work in the safety department are not particularly enlightened or particularly concerned about safety.
Example 1: A driver I know was hired to head the safety department at a motor carrier. He knew safety and began teaching and enforcing it at this carrier. Drivers complained. The man was fired.
Example 2: A big-rig barrels up behind us, driving a four-wheeler at the time, on a Florida interstate. I was driving the speed limit at the time (70 mph). He flashes his headlights and comes within inches of the car's rear bumper; a bully wanting to intimidate me into changing lanes so he continue speeding.
I moved over and Diane got photos of the truck, the driver, truck number, etc. I called the carrier after hours and reached the night supervisor. With little description, he knew who the drivers of that truck were. He promised to look into it. No word came for several days so I called back and this time got the safety department head. She was unaware of the incident. More days passed and no word was received about anything being done, despite her promise to so advise me.
Example 3: Second-hand report from a safety person at a major motor carrier. He observes terrible behavior by a motor carrier's drivers where he lives and where the carrier is based. He calls it in every time to that carrier's safety department. He later learned that drivers there are advised to not let this man see you driving badly. For that carrier, it has nothing to do with safety. It has to do with not getting caught.
There are a lot of carriers out there and safety is not a priority with some of them, thought all will claim it is. Sad but true.
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moose
Veteran Expediter
if you have a decade or so to kill, try calling 1800-44-pride, and report unsafe driving.
if you make it through the hoops, you get the EO intelligent driver of the month award.
until then, i'm sorry to say 'i told you so', but i did. at the time i got the stick. @ the time i asked how you will react, but none of you professional truckers had any idea.
well i did. i have a plan, and in the few...very few times that i was stuck behind a rig, i have reacted exactly as pre-planed.
it is just like anything else driving, i treat this scenario as an HAZARD, and taking the necessary steps to prevent an hazard from becoming AN EMERGENCY.
i let truckers enjoy the benefits of a doubt & tend to think that truckers who park in front do not do so as a choice -they do so because they do not have a choice.
if i have a delay in traffic, i take it with my carrier, just like any other delay, no biggy. there is no load that worth going fisting for, having an fuel island fender bender, or risking my livelihood for.
as i wright those lines, am looking at the fuel island here at the Nashville TA, where a fuel pump is been replaced because a trucker flattened it down to the concrete trying to out maneuver a truck that was pulled infront of the fuel island!, as we say in trucking: 'this driver is not associated with us anymore'.
if you make it through the hoops, you get the EO intelligent driver of the month award.
until then, i'm sorry to say 'i told you so', but i did. at the time i got the stick. @ the time i asked how you will react, but none of you professional truckers had any idea.
well i did. i have a plan, and in the few...very few times that i was stuck behind a rig, i have reacted exactly as pre-planed.
it is just like anything else driving, i treat this scenario as an HAZARD, and taking the necessary steps to prevent an hazard from becoming AN EMERGENCY.
i let truckers enjoy the benefits of a doubt & tend to think that truckers who park in front do not do so as a choice -they do so because they do not have a choice.
if i have a delay in traffic, i take it with my carrier, just like any other delay, no biggy. there is no load that worth going fisting for, having an fuel island fender bender, or risking my livelihood for.
as i wright those lines, am looking at the fuel island here at the Nashville TA, where a fuel pump is been replaced because a trucker flattened it down to the concrete trying to out maneuver a truck that was pulled infront of the fuel island!, as we say in trucking: 'this driver is not associated with us anymore'.
when i was with fedexcc , at mall in syrcause ny parked at very back of mall and four cars block me in called mall and told them that i was block in and would they call police they said they couldn't
call one of my dad's cousins who was trooper commander for area , and told him i think i'm being hi jack and he had4 tow truck there in minutes had a load going to canada and charge them
with parking out of parking place , attempt hijacking stopping inter national trade plus towing bill
about 2,500 in fines
call one of my dad's cousins who was trooper commander for area , and told him i think i'm being hi jack and he had4 tow truck there in minutes had a load going to canada and charge them
with parking out of parking place , attempt hijacking stopping inter national trade plus towing bill
about 2,500 in fines
Geo: that's hilarious - wish it would work for the Parkers in the fuel lanes.
ATeam: I'll tell you why many safety directors don't get bent out of shape over phone calls reporting unsafe driving: it's because John Q Public makes bogus calls when they get annoyed by a truck. I've had it happen to me in Charlotte, NC, because the 4 wheelers either couldn't understand the meaning of "Trucks with 3 or more axles prohibited from left lane" or couldn't be bothered [or don't know how] to count axles - I have only two. I thought it was funny when dispatch called to say the civilian had called to report me for speeding and lane hopping, because it was the middle of rush hour: AS IF! right?
But there was nothing funny when a motorist called in California [same 3 axle rule] because the left lane was not going very fast, and he/she apparently thought it was me that was holding it up. Whatever the holdup, it was so far ahead I couldn't see it either, and I'd taken my exit before a CHP pulled me over due to a report of "speeding and weaving". I hadn't made the connection between the slow traffic & the call, and the CHP didn't know otherwise, so he gave me a field sobriety test, and I was really notamused.
In both cases, someone called because a truck was slowing them down, in their view, and they 'embellished' their report enough to get some attention paid to it, and I bet that happens more than we know. [I personally hope those folks get charged with making a fictitious report, because they did].
In your example #2, you were clearly not in the left lane when the truck "bullied" you into moving over, so why didn't you move over before he climbed up your tailpipe? If you couldn't, I'm pretty sure the truck driver could see that, so I'm wondering why it was necessary for him/her to "bully" you into doing what you're supposed to do anyway?
ATeam: I'll tell you why many safety directors don't get bent out of shape over phone calls reporting unsafe driving: it's because John Q Public makes bogus calls when they get annoyed by a truck. I've had it happen to me in Charlotte, NC, because the 4 wheelers either couldn't understand the meaning of "Trucks with 3 or more axles prohibited from left lane" or couldn't be bothered [or don't know how] to count axles - I have only two. I thought it was funny when dispatch called to say the civilian had called to report me for speeding and lane hopping, because it was the middle of rush hour: AS IF! right?
But there was nothing funny when a motorist called in California [same 3 axle rule] because the left lane was not going very fast, and he/she apparently thought it was me that was holding it up. Whatever the holdup, it was so far ahead I couldn't see it either, and I'd taken my exit before a CHP pulled me over due to a report of "speeding and weaving". I hadn't made the connection between the slow traffic & the call, and the CHP didn't know otherwise, so he gave me a field sobriety test, and I was really notamused.
In both cases, someone called because a truck was slowing them down, in their view, and they 'embellished' their report enough to get some attention paid to it, and I bet that happens more than we know. [I personally hope those folks get charged with making a fictitious report, because they did].
In your example #2, you were clearly not in the left lane when the truck "bullied" you into moving over, so why didn't you move over before he climbed up your tailpipe? If you couldn't, I'm pretty sure the truck driver could see that, so I'm wondering why it was necessary for him/her to "bully" you into doing what you're supposed to do anyway?
bubblehead
Veteran Expediter
Geo: that's hilarious - wish it would work for the Parkers in the fuel lanes.
ATeam: I'll tell you why many safety directors don't get bent out of shape over phone calls reporting unsafe driving: it's because John Q Public makes bogus calls when they get annoyed by a truck. I've had it happen to me in Charlotte, NC, because the 4 wheelers either couldn't understand the meaning of "Trucks with 3 or more axles prohibited from left lane" or couldn't be bothered [or don't know how] to count axles - I have only two. I thought it was funny when dispatch called to say the civilian had called to report me for speeding and lane hopping, because it was the middle of rush hour: AS IF! right?
But there was nothing funny when a motorist called in California [same 3 axle rule] because the left lane was not going very fast, and he/she apparently thought it was me that was holding it up. Whatever the holdup, it was so far ahead I couldn't see it either, and I'd taken my exit before a CHP pulled me over due to a report of "speeding and weaving". I hadn't made the connection between the slow traffic & the call, and the CHP didn't know otherwise, so he gave me a field sobriety test, and I was really notamused.
In both cases, someone called because a truck was slowing them down, in their view, and they 'embellished' their report enough to get some attention paid to it, and I bet that happens more than we know. [I personally hope those folks get charged with making a fictitious report, because they did].
In your example #2, you were clearly not in the left lane when the truck "bullied" you into moving over, so why didn't you move over before he climbed up your tailpipe? If you couldn't, I'm pretty sure the truck driver could see that, so I'm wondering why it was necessary for him/her to "bully" you into doing what you're supposed to do anyway?
Ok I can't let this one go. Cherri, your AVATAR is the 'Road Runner'...you know, beep beep. speed, weave
AMonger
Veteran Expediter
Example 4:
A young, naive driver working his first trucking job goes into a company terminal after hours to talk to safety because he doesn't feel he's making what he should and wants to know how to fix that. He tells the safety guy he wants to remain anonymous.
Upon hearing the situation, safety dude asks, "Have you been working your logs properly?" (Translation for the uninitiated: Have you been lying on your logs to maximize your driving time?)
"Uh, well, no..."
"What terminal are you out of?"
"Kansas City."
"What? You run out of Kansas City and they didn't teach you how to work your logs?" (Translation: fudge your logs to gain extra driving time)
"Isn't that logbook falsification?"
There's a moment of silence as the safety dude realizes he may have just stepped in it. He's got a guy in front of him who he doesn't recognize and who hasn't identified himself, asking him questions, his answers to which may incriminate him.
Safety dude gets up, comes around the desk, reaches out his hand to shake, takes the driver by the hand and guides him out of the office quite hurriedly.
"You're doing a fine job. Keep doing it just the way you're doing it."
That young, naive driver was me, many years ago. Yes, that was safety telling me to falsify, and that my own terminal safety would teach me how.
Falsification is part of the business like it or not....it is ingrained in the business....I am surprised you guys even think of it as an issue....
Yes. That is absolutely true. But it is also true that some motor carriers hire dullards to work in their safety departments, and at least one carrier I know of actually fired a newly hired safety director when he tried to bring the company into compliance. In many cases, I believe, the problem is not with the safety department itself. It is with the company leadership that resists the letter and spirit of transportation safety laws.
That does not mean that we should blindly accept every law that comes along (recent HOS changes being but one example). I'm talking about the companies that encourage their drivers to cheat and that turn a blind eye drivers who ignore or fail to uphold even the most basic safety practices.
In your example #2, you were clearly not in the left lane when the truck "bullied" you into moving over, so why didn't you move over before he climbed up your tailpipe? If you couldn't, I'm pretty sure the truck driver could see that, so I'm wondering why it was necessary for him/her to "bully" you into doing what you're supposed to do anyway?
This was on I-95 in Florida, speed limit 70 mph. I was in the left lane in traffic that was heavy but moving mostly at the speed limit. Driving a four-wheeler, I had moved into the left lane to pass a slower moving car in the right lane. While in the left lane, driving 70 mph, the truck came barreling upon me, doing well over 70 mph. It happened quickly and he immediately began his bullying behavior. The speeding, tailgating and aggressive driving (and driving without a seat belt) is on him. I was doing nothing wrong.
That's a disappointment, OVM. I thought you held us in higher regard than that.
purgoose10
Veteran Expediter
Unsafe and rude drivers? Call safety department? That the great thing about recorders. Records everything going on front and side of truck. Want to complain? Pull the smart card, download to your computer and send the video to the safety department. They can judge for themselves. Have them on my 3 tractors. As far as fueling well it's bad. It's nothing more than rudeness as previously stated.
Maybe as a reminder make up some printed sheets of paper with "If not moved in 5 minutes vehicle subject to tow." Stick it to the driver door when he's not looking and watch the reaction from a distance. Maybe they'll think about it.
I think Wendy Parkers story about the new breed of drivers, sloppy foul mouth, rude. The new generation. Actually it's not only the truck driver, it's the general publics new way of life. America is killing itself.
Maybe as a reminder make up some printed sheets of paper with "If not moved in 5 minutes vehicle subject to tow." Stick it to the driver door when he's not looking and watch the reaction from a distance. Maybe they'll think about it.
I think Wendy Parkers story about the new breed of drivers, sloppy foul mouth, rude. The new generation. Actually it's not only the truck driver, it's the general publics new way of life. America is killing itself.
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Is the industry.... not you .... You are really a very insignificant part of a huge mega Industry
You are Really a newbie to this business raised and pampered and trained the FedEx way If you came through the 50s and 60s you know exactly what I'm talking about
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moose
Veteran Expediter
yes you did, sorry.
you did not go to a reputably CDL driving school.
if you would've, you would've spent a day or 2 in class learning how to recognized aggressive driving, how to prevent an escalation of a bad situation, how to properly behaved around aggressive drivers, how to protect your livelihood,{or livelibumper in this case} and how to recognize an hazard and prevent a hazard from becoming an emergency.
we have all experienced aggressive driving out there, the ones that are well prepared have an exit plan before an event take place, the ones that not will ended up in jail for 8 to 12 years.
{ and yes there are more then a few Expediters here: }
watchmytruck - YouTube
Jury Convicts Chickamauga Man Of Ridge Cut Road Rage Incident - 05/14/2013 - Chattanoogan.com
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paullud
Veteran Expediter
It is still a part of the business but to a much smaller degree, the real renegade drivers are few and far between.
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Thanks for the videos. It's a sad situations for both sides. People do the unthinkables when the road rage striked. I Agreed about the defensive driving...it's better and safer in these situations. Hec, sometime it's best leave it to the karma.
purgoose10
Veteran Expediter
I understand the one about the jury but the guy that's riding around filming trucks following to close tells me he has more of a problem than truckers do. One day there will be a film titled
"Watch my fist." He's asking for road rage. End up like the guy who was filming guys in Chattanooga Tn. and shot into his cab. I think he went to jail. Ya know it might be the same guy.
"Watch my fist." He's asking for road rage. End up like the guy who was filming guys in Chattanooga Tn. and shot into his cab. I think he went to jail. Ya know it might be the same guy.