Warning Bad Driver!

[mjmsprt40]

Semi-blind post, in response to some posts on the first page of this thread:

If it comes down to having a tracking device in my van, I have no trouble with that-- with this caveat. We both understand that when I have your customer's freight on my van, it's your dime and your dance floor. You're paying me to get the freight to the destination in the most efficient way I can. I don't mind being tracked for that purpose. Once the freight is delivered and you have the POD, I become at liberty until you need me again, and we both understand that constant nannying of an empty van driver isn't going to do either of us any good.

Of course, if I'm driving a company van, owned by you but driven by me, then of course you are paying the whole bit so you need to know where your vehicle is.

Anyway, that's how I feel about tracking devices. No problem when I'm on "Company time", big problem if I'm on my own dime.

Special note: I understand that even when I'm not currently hauling, you do need some idea of where your available vehicles are when a customer calls in an order. Still, when I'm on "my own dime" I appreciate a little slack.

 

[cheri1122]

First, I actually believe your story about the guy disappearing with your freight for 18 hours and abandoning it. There is hardly no driver or contractor out here with character bad enough to do that.


IMO, you deserve to have your business 'permanently red flagged' too, for the second sentence. Not only does it completely contradict the first sentence, it does so with atrociously bad grammar and an apparent belief that no driver has ever abandoned freight.

.Freight abandonment, however, is the violation here and that is where your communication should stop about this for now; at least until you get a court judgment. Whatever you do don't get involved in a counter-suit because of some privacy issue with your applicants' information and alluding to possible drug use.

Blizzard can do as he sees fit, but I wouldn't accept legal advice from anyone who believes that Blizzard has violated the driver's privacy rights in any way whatsoever - at least on this forum.
And that's not even counting the sigline that does little to convey a professional impression, and a lot that says otherwise. Just sayin.

Sorry, I've already permanently red-flagged your business myself for that and for using adjectives to describe the driver at this point with improper timing.

Next, you say that you just spent $50 on a background check while all the while you were charging contractors a $25 fee for your business expense of a background check for signing on with your carrier. This just leaves me speechless.

You're assuming facts not in evidence: ie, that the $25 charge was for nothing, when it may have been for a $25 background check, whereas a $50 check is more extensive, but unnecessary for every applicant.
I sincerely hope you're not a lawyer, cause you don't seem to grasp the facts too well.

The bottom line is that although I hope you win the suit if you are right, I also believe that the alleged perp should print everything off of here and take to court.

OTOH, if you ARE a lawyer, I sincerely hope the alleged perp hires you to represent him. Do you use that sigline on your business card, too? Just wondering.

 

[outandbout]

One thing for sure is that if I was a lawyer and the guy was willing to hire me, he would definitely lose his case in court having my representation.

OTOH, I hope that he does lose and the reason I know is because of what I am.

You can't do sumpin' to somebody for being just what they are. OK, I'll add just one little asterisk to my tagline then.

 

[AMonger]

If it comes down to having a tracking device in my van, I have no trouble with that-- with this caveat. We both understand that when I have your customer's freight on my van, it's your dime and your dance floor. You're paying me to get the freight to the destination in the most efficient way I can. I don't mind being tracked for that purpose. Once the freight is delivered and you have the POD, I become at liberty until you need me again, and we both understand that constant nannying of an empty van driver isn't going to do either of us any good.

That's why I objected to Macropoint. I had no control over it. It was nothing I could turn off or uninstall from my vehicle or my phone. I had nothing but the company's assurances that when I punched in to stop tracking me for X hours, that I wasn't being tracked. You might be aware, private companies have very little regard for individual privacy; the chairmen of major companies have made public statements about privacy being for shifty, dishonest people.
I ran for LRT for a time, and I had just gotten a good load, and was told that now I needed to call this number to be tracked. It was the first I'd heard of it. I knew nothing about the company, how they'd treat my data, what their public reputation was in regard to privacy, and the freight had just been put on my van so I had no time to even look into the matter. That was one thing that ****ed me off about John; it was just "Surprise!" and I was expected to go along.
The only redeeming factor was that going without the constant check calls was convenient. But again, once the load was done, I had no way to know Macropoint wasn't still tracking me. I would have felt better if it was a phone app that I could uninstall when I wanted.

 

[outandbout]

One thing for sure is that if I was a lawyer and the guy was willing to hire me, he would definitely lose his case in court having my representation.

OTOH, I hope that he does lose and the reason I know is because of what I am.

You can't do sumpin' to somebody for being just what they are. OK, I'll add just one little asterisk to my tagline then.

Further to this:

My only issue with a carrier charging for the background check instead of being silent and just doing it behind the scenes is that the contractor should have the same right to background check the carrier' personnel. What would a company owner say when the contractor asks for reimbursement of this expense? That's why I keep it silent!

You already know why I know.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Semi-blind post, in response to some posts on the first page of this thread:

If it comes down to having a tracking device in my van, I have no trouble with that-- with this caveat. We both understand that when I have your customer's freight on my van, it's your dime and your dance floor. You're paying me to get the freight to the destination in the most efficient way I can. I don't mind being tracked for that purpose. Once the freight is delivered and you have the POD, I become at liberty until you need me again, and we both understand that constant nannying of an empty van driver isn't going to do either of us any good.

Of course, if I'm driving a company van, owned by you but driven by me, then of course you are paying the whole bit so you need to know where your vehicle is.

Anyway, that's how I feel about tracking devices. No problem when I'm on "Company time", big problem if I'm on my own dime.

Special note: I understand that even when I'm not currently hauling, you do need some idea of where your available vehicles are when a customer calls in an order. Still, when I'm on "my own dime" I appreciate a little slack.

I've gotten many a load over my time, a customer with access, calls my carrier and says..."hey I see you have a unit 5 miles away, is it ready to roll right now? I don't want to waste time by putting it on a load board".......
and that was on my dime time.....so do I mind they see me?....heck no it is a money maker....that is one of the reasons to have it and pay for it self....

 

[mjmsprt40]

I've gotten many a load over my time, a customer with access, calls my carrier and says..."hey I see you have a unit 5 miles away, is it ready to roll right now? I don't want to waste time by putting it on a load board".......
and that was on my dime time.....so do I mind they see me?....heck no it is a money maker....that is one of the reasons to have it and pay for it self....

It's a bit less of an issue with me because I run out and back anyway. The only variable is that I might take the "short" way home instead of the "fast" way home. Usually, I check in a few times on the way back, too--- not that it ever matters since they never have anything on the back-haul. So, when I get back I'm somewhere near home. Now, for those of you who are on the road for three months at a time there's a bit of difference. Even then, there's time I just don't want the boss peeking over my shoulder.

 

[cheri1122]

This one's for Blizzard, under the heading 'it could always be worse'

Texan demands DEA pay for damage from drug sting - Houston Chronicle

 

[BigCat]

First, I actually believe your story about the guy disappearing with your freight for 18 hours and abandoning it. It is awful that someone would represent their company, self, and fellow drivers in such a manner. Luckily for us expediters, people that behave like this are not rampantly amongst us. Most every driver and contractor out here is of good enough character to be trusted with the customers' freight. Freight abandonment, however, is the violation here and that is where your communication should stop about this for now; at least until you get a court judgment. Whatever you do don't get involved in a counter-suit because of some privacy issue with your applicants' information and alluding to possible drug use. Sorry, I've already permanently red-flagged your business myself for that and for using adjectives to describe the driver at this point with improper timing.

Next, you say that you just spent $50 on a background check while all the while you were charging contractors a $25 fee for your business expense of a background check for signing on with your carrier. This just leaves me speechless.

The bottom line is that although I hope you win the suit if you are right, I also believe that the alleged perp should print everything off of here and take to court.

I red flag you for ignorance on your part. Blizzard is doing nothing wrong by running his background check. You are the one who has brought no useful info to EO other than your company owners mug shot for a dui and driving on suspended license. Did you red flag him? I sure hope so but but with the ignorance you are spouting off you probably still drive for him.

Boy i feel like im in my A-Hole mood today. Nah just wish people had/used more common sense.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

It's a bit less of an issue with me because I run out and back anyway. The only variable is that I might take the "short" way home instead of the "fast" way home. Usually, I check in a few times on the way back, too--- not that it ever matters since they never have anything on the back-haul. So, when I get back I'm somewhere near home. Now, for those of you who are on the road for three months at a time there's a bit of difference. Even then, there's time I just don't want the boss peeking over my shoulder.

I've had it for so long I don't even realize it is there most times....it comes in handy where phone service is limited as I can still communicate to the office.....even my wife as she can read my text messages.....kind of a sneaky way to personal text.....

I type...I love you, and the dispatch comes back with....10-4 message received....LOL..

 

[CharlesD]

This one's for Blizzard, under the heading 'it could always be worse'

Texan demands DEA pay for damage from drug sting - Houston Chronicle

That is a rather disturbing story.

 

[cheri1122]

That is a rather disturbing story.

On the subject of bad drivers, they don't get any worse - poor owner [literally - that truck is half his assets!] is left trying to collect from the DEA.
Pretty soon, he'll probably be another 'lazy bum expecting handouts from those who work for a living', sigh.

 

[Deville]

What's MAcropoint?

 

[outandbout]

I red flag you for ignorance on your part. Blizzard is doing nothing wrong by running his background check. You are the one who has brought no useful info to EO other than your company owners mug shot for a dui and driving on suspended license. Did you red flag him? I sure hope so but but with the ignorance you are spouting off you probably still drive for him.

I definitely agree to that!

Boy i feel like im in my A-Hole mood today. Nah just wish people had/used more common sense.[/QUOTE]

No Problem.

 

[outandbout]

What's MAcropoint?

Macropoint facilitates location tracking of a driver's cell phone by using the GPS on the phone for one thing.

Mobile Fleet Management, Real Time Location Tracking: MacroPoint

 

[mjmsprt40]

I wonder if, somewhere out in the wilds of Expediterland, there's an evil witch's brew of bad owners/bad drivers. Seems to me some of them deserve each other.

 

[mjmsprt40]

I just looked up Macropoint. One of the first hits on DuckDuckGo (my preferred search engine) is the Macropoint website. Judging by what I see there, I wouldn't have a problem with this since I do control quite a good bit of the thing. Hard to see exactly what the problem would be.

Mobile Fleet Management, Real Time Location Tracking: MacroPoint

 

[xmudman]

For me it would depend on how much flexibility the driver retains, vs. how much control the carrier wishes to assert. For instance, I had a delivery a week or so ago that was a couple blocks from the mouth of the Midtown Tunnel, on the Queens side. If I were being tracked, my company would've noticed that I used the 59th Street Bridge to get there from Manhattan. Why? 'Cause the bridge is free, that's why. The toll for even a lowly cargo van to use the Midtown Tunnel is $13.00!
Granted, I'm not in the business yet, so I don't know how control-freaky companies are about such things, but I would hope that any company I work for would remember that I'm a grownup (have been for awhile now ) and cut me some slack. That said, I'm not afraid of being tracked under load, but as was said above, I would expect my own time to be just that...

 

[AMonger]

I just looked up Macropoint. One of the first hits on DuckDuckGo (my preferred search engine) is the Macropoint website. Judging by what I see there, I wouldn't have a problem with this since I do control quite a good bit of the thing. Hard to see exactly what the problem would be.

Mobile Fleet Management, Real Time Location Tracking: MacroPoint

The problem is that it isn't in your control. You're trusting a third-party to track you only when they say they are. You call in, tell them to stop tracking you, and the phone goes BEEP BOOP BEEP "Ok, we're not tracking you." But you don't know any such thing. So what happens when you quit the company you're signed on with, the one that had you call them in the first place? There's nothing you can do, sorry of changing your phone number, to end your affiliation with Macropoint, and there's no telling that would even do it. You allowed them to start tracking you.

 

[mjmsprt40]

They don't have much choice about cutting you some slack. We're independent contractors, so to some extent at least the route we use is chosen by us according to our experience. If the company wishes to make us follow the Approved Route without deviation, then it gets perilously close to making us employees in the eyes of the government, and there are reasons why the companies don't want to do that.

On "Approved Routes"-- technically not a company thing in this case, but I have vetoed my GPS any number of times. It loves the boulevards in Chicago, and if I'm going from O'Hare to Battlecreek, Michigan, it gets ecstatic about the chance to use the Skyway. I have to veto both of those choices. Any trucker-- even of vans with "B-Truck" plates-- is advised to stay off of Chicago's boulevards. The Skyway--- From O'Hare, you have to go through Chicago's Loop. Hardly ever a good idea as far as time is concerned. Then, the Skyway itself is the most expensive tollway that can be found in the Chicago Metro Area. From O'Hare to Battlecreek, the Tri-State is faster and cheaper.