Personal Responsibility

[ssoutlaw]

To get back on topic. I dont want to argue or namecall I just want to debate the subject. So lets keep it clean. The driver in question had permission from his company to park there. He was also told the load did not require tarping. Based on what HE said, I think he used reasonable care. We dont really know exactly how it happened. Assuming a driver uses reasonable care he should not be held financially responsible. Getting away from this particular driver let me explain why. When someone goes into business they they stand to make a great profit or suffer huge risk and loss. That is the gamble they take. A driver is just an employee trying to make a living. He chose a less risky path. Why as a driver would you assume liability for thousands of dollars in exchange to make a couple hundred dollars to deliver a load? There is a grey area between reasonable care and neglect that can be hard to define. Drivers take too much abuse and mistreatment from these employers. Mostly the sitting around for hours being unpaid but there are other mistreatments that would fill a whole new thread. What if a production worker made a mistake that shut down the assembly line for 3 hours? Would he be charged for lost production? Probably not. He would be paid for his time on the clock and then a decision would be made to fire him or not. Let me ask you this. If the trucking co. owner had great success and was made a buyout offer that allowed him to retire in luxury would he share it with you? No! Of course not. He took all the risk by going into business and reaps all the reward. But he built his business on the backs of his employees. My point is you dont share in the profit so dont participate in the loss. You desrve to get paid for your time and if you dont perform your job properly you deserve your last paycheck and a pink slip. If I wanted to assume the risk I would start my own company. I dont. And why should the driver be financially responsible all weekend on his own time? Maybe some of you enjoy living in your truck but for me its just a way to put food on the table. If my deal says I go home every weekend and my company decides to load me that's their risk. My personal time with my family comes first. We give away too much free time as it is. Like I said on the original post, its not like the driver was sitting in a bar getting drunk on the way to deliver. We can debate reasonable care and neglect for ever but the point is dont be their business partner when there's a loss and just an employee when there's a profit. They locked the original thread so try and keep it civil.

You definitely have a way with words...lol You put it better than I did...lol Some guys are just so gung ho they will not see there are 2 sides to every coin. and their way is the only way! Good comeback!

[neverbeenlate]

Always get the permission on the qualcomm then you have some evidence and it is not he said she said. Bottom line quality parking is a major issue in the trucking industry and really needs to be addressed. I do not drive flatbed so I am sorry about my comments. It is much more likely to be stolen if the thieves can see the product. My apologies and I hope everyone has a great day

[ssoutlaw]

Always get the permission on the qualcomm then you have some evidence and it is not he said she said. Bottom line quality parking is a major issue in the trucking industry and really needs to be addressed. I do not drive flatbed so I am sorry about my comments. It is much more likely to be stolen if the thieves can see the product. My apologies and I hope everyone has a great day

You are right about his flatbed load, I would have tarped to keep the normal prying eyes off. Your right about another thing, parking is a pain in the **** in most cities today. No harm, no foul as long as we agree to disagree, and try to look at the other side of the coin...lol
So have you never been late...lol Joking...lol

[kenworth75]

The purpose of my original post was the fact that people in general do not take responsibilty for what they do or dont do.
I deliver petroleum; unleaded, on road and off road diesel. For example: i pull up to deliever on road diesel and i drop 6500 gallons of it into the unleaded tank. They are not marked. Absolutely no idication of what the tank actually is. But i still put the on road into the unleaded tank. Very high dollar products that have to be pumped out and taken to be rendered. Lost dollars not only to my company but a major loss to the end distributer. This has never happened, but if it were, i would take full responsibility to what happened. No one else would be at fault. There would have been things i could have done differently. I would not play ignorant and asked questions. Ask the people at the desk or get on the nextel and get the answers that way. I do not give one whoha what people think of me for asking questions.
I am just tired of people trying to put the blame on others.

[Colin]

By saying that you're upset because some people blame their problems on other people, aren't you also putting the blame on others? :?

[kenworth75]

So now i am to accept responsibility for what others do? That is the whole point. How is it blaming others? If you mess it up, be a man and say i did it, then accept the consequenses.

[ssoutlaw]

The purpose of my original post was the fact that people in general do not take responsibilty for what they do or dont do.
I deliver petroleum; unleaded, on road and off road diesel. For example: i pull up to deliever on road diesel and i drop 6500 gallons of it into the unleaded tank. They are not marked. Absolutely no idication of what the tank actually is. But i still put the on road into the unleaded tank. Very high dollar products that have to be pumped out and taken to be rendered. Lost dollars not only to my company but a major loss to the end distributer. This has never happened, but if it were, i would take full responsibility to what happened. No one else would be at fault. There would have been things i could have done differently. I would not play ignorant and asked questions. Ask the people at the desk or get on the nextel and get the answers that way. I do not give one whoha what people think of me for asking questions.
I am just tired of people trying to put the blame on others.

I agree people don't take responsibility for their actions much anymore, but when you work for a company they in return must also take on responsibility.
I would hope you would not drop in the wrong tank, but I think diesel and gas would be harder to mix up. I have also done what you are doing and the drop covers should be marked with different colors. It would be easier to mix reg. unleaded with premium. Where I worked the company gave us a map of the fuel stop and the locations of the different tanks.
I also believe people should ASK more questions, there is nothing wrong with this. I was brought up with the old saying " the only stupid question is the one that is not asked".
None of my posts ever suggested a driver doesn't have a responsibility to his equipment and to his company, but on the other hand, there is a time when he can be relieved from it, weather it be with a load or empty, home time is home time and every driver needs it. With more company's hiring drivers out of the area the company will take on more responsibility so the driver can have home time. This Industry has went to hell in a hand basket sense the mid 80's. The caliber of some drivers coming into this Industry is just sick. A good work ethic seems to be nonexistent and this world is a lessor place for it! I hope you grasped what I tried to point out in the 2 threads. A driver just cant take all the responsibility and needs to forget his job for the short time he is allowed.

[ssoutlaw]

By saying that you're upset because some people blame their problems on other people, aren't you also putting the blame on others? :?

I dont understand that one...lol

[Orangetxguy]

Kenworth, In your endeavours to get your day's...or night's..work completed on time, do you ever drop into a UST that is un-labeled?

After my first mix with an un-labeled tank....I always asked for a manager to come out and mark the drop tube...or simply failed the load. No more mix's. Same for pumping off into a tank farm...if the plumbing wasn't labeled, and the free access paperwork wasn't dated and signed...fail load..move on to next delivery.

As for the other subject...live and learn.


:moose:

Drivers take too much abuse and mistreatment from these employers.

Yep.

Mostly the sitting around for hours being unpaid but there are other mistreatments that would fill a whole new thread.

Yep.

If I wanted to assume the risk I would start my own company. I dont. And why should the driver be financially responsible all weekend on his own time?

Yep.

Maybe some of you enjoy living in your truck but for me its just a way to put food on the table.

Yep.

[ssoutlaw]

Drivers take too much abuse and mistreatment from these employers.

Yep.

Mostly the sitting around for hours being unpaid but there are other mistreatments that would fill a whole new thread.

Yep.

If I wanted to assume the risk I would start my own company. I dont. And why should the driver be financially responsible all weekend on his own time?

Yep.

Maybe some of you enjoy living in your truck but for me its just a way to put food on the table.

Yep.

It would have been quicker for you to just type "YEP on everything" 3 words....lol

[Colin]

So now i am to accept responsibility for what others do? That is the whole point. How is it blaming others? If you mess it up, be a man and say i did it, then accept the consequenses.

I never said you had to accept responsibility for others' actions. I'm simply stating you are becoming what you despise.

It appears to me as if you say, "What's wrong with this country is people blame others for what happened to them."

If you're saying this, you're blaming others for what is wrong in society. How about we (as a country) stop placing blame and instead just fix things. No matter who is responsible. There's a concept.

[drippy]

If a driver is 100% responsible, 100% of the time that he is "under the load", then why is he not #1 Monetarily compensated for 100% of the time.#2 Made aware of same prior to an incident.

How much of this profession are you willing to do for free? Granted , I have been doing this for just under 2 years, but this is my 3rd job in over 30 years, if you count the Air Force as 1....so you see...I am not in the habit of "jumping ship". I have my personal limits on what I am willing to accomplish for a set amount of $$$$.

It all boils down to ....OFF DUTY should mean exactly that....OFF DUTY.

I do admit I should have been aware of company policy, on this matter prior. Lesson well learned.