Quote:
Originally Posted by One
Interesting..but wuldnt(wouldn't) that but (put) you in a situation where you would have to dispute a 'truck abandonement'(abandonment) on your DAC? I guess im lucky and have not had to deal with things like this but I did run for moving companies who used to lease Ryder straight trucks and the only way we would ever turn in a truck was on a tow trucks' hook. But the straight truck division may have differed from the class 8 trucks...
|
First off....fixed those for you.
As far as putting ME in that situation........No it wouldn't. At this point in my life, I understand how to do things in a manner that would circumvent a company being able to do something like that.
IF a young driver like PorkChop (Mike I think his name is) finds him or her "Self" in a POS truck like that, before doing anything, documenting the repair requests as well as the subsequent refusals to make the repairs, is important. Turning the truck over to a DOT officer at a scale does two things. It puts the truck under the control of a law enforcement facility, plus....THAT truck isn't going to be moved again until all repairs that are subject to the 49 CFR regulations, and that are found by the DOT facility, are repaired.
You have never been forced to drive a POS truck One?? I gotta say....You have been lucky. Even major corporations find themselves forcing drivers to drive poorly maintained equipment, when penny pinching managers hide the VIR's and threaten meek drivers with lose of the job if they refuse to drive the equipment.
Sure....leaving the truck at a scales may be Chicken-chit....but then again....refusing to maintain your equipment before putting a driver in it is also Chicken-chit. With CSA, drivers can no longer afford to collect DOT OOS tickets. Before, those tickets only affected the safety score of the Carrier. A carrier that is large enough, can absorb the odd OOS ticket. NOW....not one single driver can afford those tickets....but those drivers are still at the mercy of managers or Owners, that look at repairs as "unnecessary". NOW those tickets affect the reputation of the driver....and bonafide carriers will not give a rats-azz that the driver was forced to drive a POS truck. No driver has to....they can look for work elsewhere....but then again....that puts the driver in the postion of being unemployed. Classic catch22. Damned if you do....damned if you don't.
It is one thing to fly off the handle because of disagreements with a dispatcher, another entirely to be forced to do something you would not otherwise do. Abandoning a truck because of a dispatch disagreement is far different from turning a truck that is in disrepair, and that an owner or manager knows is in disrepair and ignores the drivers repeated requests....that is a whole new ballgame....especially now.
Maybe my stance makes me a "Horse's Azz".......but then again..........after 33+ years of doing this....I really don't care.