Gordon Trucking, Inc., Pacific, Washington

[Retired in Nevada]

Anybody know anything about Gordon Trucking, Inc.? I currently have a pre-hire letter from Swift, but would like to get at least one additional pre-hire so that I have some choice of companies. All of the other companies that hire CDL school grads living in my region of the country (Las Vegas) have turned me down (Werner, Watkins & Shepard, etc.).

I see quite a few Gordon trucks on I-15 through Las Vegas and at the Vegas truck stops, so yesterday, I submitted an application to Gordon.

There is some material about Gordon on other boards, mostly favorable. I couldn't find anything recent about Gordon here at CAD, hence the new thread.

Any input from current or very recent Gordon drivers will be appreciated. Also, I am going to make another trip to the Vegas truck stops to try to find some Gordon drivers to speak with about driving for Gordon.

Thanks.

[Mr. Ford95]

I do not drive for GTI but last I heard they had gone way downhill. They also had some lawsuits against them from GTI drivers about not being allowed to idle the trucks in sub zero temps, the trucks would automatically cut off after a few minutes.

[Retired in Nevada]

I do not drive for GTI but last I heard they had gone way downhill. They also had some lawsuits against them from GTI drivers about not being allowed to idle the trucks in sub zero temps, the trucks would automatically cut off after a few minutes.

Interesting. When I asked the recruiter with whom I spoke the other day about APUs on Gordon's trucks, she said that much of their fleet is equipped with APUs, and that Gordon is working towards ultimately having its entire fleet equipped with APUs.

[Mr. Ford95]

And that may very well be because of the lawsuits that they started putting APU's on.

[Retired in Nevada]

And that may very well be because of the lawsuits that they started putting APU's on.

What lawsuits? When were they? Please elaborate or provide links to the news stories.

[Mr. Ford95]

Ugh, we had some links here but since the move to this new board I can't find the older posts that had those links in them by doing a search. I'd have to go to each forum and search across each and every page and that ain't happening.

I remember one where the driver was up in the mountains of WA and layed over for the night in cold temps. Truck would not idle more than 5 minutes and cut off. He nearly froze to death because he could not override it so when he got home he got a lawyer and talked with the Labor Dept or OSHA and a lawsuit was filed over it. GTI's excuse was the cost of fuel and how much extra money they lost with trucks that idled. Instead of putting something on the truck to keep the driver comfortable they simply went into the on board computer and utilized the auto-shutdown. It showed they had no respect for their own drivers. If they are running APU's now then they got the message from that lawsuit.

[coldhardsteel]

I work gti and never had a problem with the 5 minute shut-off. there is a way to bypass it and they tell at oreintation. they say not idle more than 15%. but if you have to just tell them that you don't feel like you can "safely" get enough sleep. to bypass 5min shut-off you turn on the cruise control and tinckle with set and resume switch set it slightly above idle. Number 1 thing you will have to remember is the word "safe" and you will get away with almost everthing. the only bad thing about gti is chaining they want all chains thrown if you have to chain. the next thing is that you can be fired, if they catch you not using the S.M.I.T.H system, or not using three points of contact when entering or exiting the truck.

[freebirdrfd]

What is the s.m.i.t.h. system?

[coldhardsteel]

The S.M.I.T.H system is basics of defensive driving.
1. Aim High in Steering
Look 15 seconds into your future. (Don’t just look at the vehicle in front of you)
2. Get the Big Picture
Look for Hazards. (Other Motorists, Pedestrians, Vehicle doors opening)
3. Keep Your Eyes Moving
Don’t stare. (Use your peripheral vision)(Stop the fixed habit stare)
4. Leave Yourself an Out
Monitor the space cushion around you and your Truck.
5. Make sure They See You
Use your signals-turn your headlights on- (Directionals, 4-Way Flashers, Head Lights, Brake Lights, Horn, Hand Signals) Make Eye Contact.

At oreintation they will show you a short powerpoint, then they take on the road and test you.

[freebirdrfd]

Oh, ok, that's stuff that i already do and didn't know they had a name for it.