What happens if you die on the road?

paullud · Jul 29, 2013

This is a story about the issues a family had while dealing with the death of their loved one. Have you made plans of what you would want your family to do if it happened to you? Would you expect the company you are leased on with to help?

http://www.komu.com/news/family-says-company-did-nothing-to-bring-deceased-trucker-home/

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Tennesseahawk · Jul 30, 2013

Bury me face down...

Monty · Jul 30, 2013

Mullins said he is reaching out to lawmakers through the Owner Operator Independent Driver's Association to push trucking companies to take a more active role in finding missing drivers and supporting the families who have lost loved ones.

"Events like these happen hundreds of times a year," Mullins said. "It's unfair for these families to have to go it on their own."

I think it says a lot for a company to be proactive in an emergency situation, but I do not believe they have any legal obligation to return remains. Matter of fact, it may become a liability.

OntarioVanMan · Jul 30, 2013

good thing AAA has a rider in their Platinum package for body return....

paullud · Jul 30, 2013

Monty said:
I think it says a lot for a company to be proactive in an emergency situation, but I do not believe they have any legal obligation to return remains. Matter of fact, it may become a liability.

I see no reason that there should be a legal obligation because it just seems the human obligation should take care of it. If a company doesn't care enough to treat the driver or family with respect they should at least have the common business sense to realize how damaging this would be to their reputation and recruiting. The small amount of money it would have cost them will be minor compared to the attention they are getting now, if they paid for it and got no attention it would have been better than this.

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Deville · Jul 30, 2013

All that matters is covering the load. You people should know this by now.

davekc · Jul 30, 2013

All the more reason to have a small life insurance policy. A 25k policy can be had pretty cheap.
Have to remember it isn't just getting a deceased person moved. Lots of other costs including the funeral. A simple no frills casket funeral is close to 10k and up. Cremation around 2k and up.

paullud · Jul 30, 2013

davekc said:
All the more reason to have a small life insurance policy. A 25k policy can be had pretty cheap.
Have to remember it isn't just getting a deceased person moved. Lots of other costs including the funeral. A simple no frills casket funeral is close to 10k and up. Cremation around 2k and up.

Talking about death is something so many people try to avoid because they feel uncomfortable about it but your final wishes need to be known. My older brother who is a driver as well, has a wife and 2 kids. He told his wife to not claim the body and that if any of the insurance money went to final expenses he would come back and haunt her because that miney is for them. I want my body to go to science which might help someone in the future and then they cover cremation for you so I can be dumped somewhere cool. People have many different, specific wishes for what happens with their body and others don't care.

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davekc · Jul 30, 2013

Keep in mind that many programs for organ donation only cover transportation costs. Cremation and or funeral costs are seperate. On a simple cremation, that cost is roughly $400. It is all the other stuff that runs the cost up.

OntarioVanMan · Jul 30, 2013

A carrier does not even possess the body... A coroner somewhere has that responsibility ... I do not expect my carrier to assume any responsibility for my carcass ....

ATeam · Jul 30, 2013

Paullud raises a topic that is not plesant to contemplate. As a married-couple team, it would be easy for the surviving member to deal with the truck and co-driver remains if one team member dies. But that assumes the surviving member is healthy and alive, which might not be the case in a serious accident.

We have to think beyond one team member surviving. We must also think about the stressful and confusing and costly mess that would be created for whoever deals with our estate if both of us died or became incapacitated on the road. Can you imagine someone who does not know trucking trying to deal with two sets of remains, a truck and personal effects, some of which are valuable, in a distant state?

It is a difficult topic but for the sake of those you would leave behind, and for the sake of preserving the value of your estate, it is important to think these things through and prepare your executor for what may come. Having a packet of "in the event of our death" instructions prepared and waiting for use is also wise.

paullud · Jul 30, 2013

davekc said:
Keep in mind that many programs for organ donation only cover transportation costs. Cremation and or funeral costs are seperate. On a simple cremation, that cost is roughly $400. It is all the other stuff that runs the cost up.

Organ donation and people donating their body to science are really important things. One saves people right away and the other helps create doctors that will help improve and save the lives of others. If those are your wishes then telling them takes the stress off of your loved ones trying to make that decision as they grieve.

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JohnMueller · Jul 30, 2013

I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Kari Fisher at the 2013 Expedite Expo. What a great lady and what a great organization!

paullud · Jul 30, 2013

OntarioVanMan said:
A carrier does not even possess the body... A coroner somewhere has that responsibility ... I do not expect my carrier to assume any responsibility for my carcass ....

I wouldn't demand the company pay every time but in the cases where the family needs help the human being in the company needs to take over. It is just the cost of doing business in this industry.

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OntarioVanMan · Jul 30, 2013

It would be a nice gesture on the part of the carrier....

ntimevan · Jul 30, 2013

I know a couple of dispatchers who d give you a turndown for not answering your phone........

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purgoose10 · Jul 30, 2013

Pretty easy. If you pass while on the road out of state from your home state your body goes to the county morgue before anything. They contact the next of kin or company for disposition of the body. They will package the body in a transport box and ship by airline for the price of a coach ticket. The county has a set fee for the service. People who don't know will call a funeral home and use their service and run up a real pricey bill. But they don't know. You can have anyone claim the body at the receiving end of the trip depending on the local laws but your local funeral service will do it and include it in your burial agreement.
Also if your considered local (up to 500 miles) they have transport services available that the county uses on a regular basis. They usually charge about $2.50 mile for ground transport.