SHOCKED AND APPALLED!
 

I have only been OTR for a couple of months. For several months before getting my CDL I spent many nights on CAD. I read about all the truckers who complained about being treated like dirt, second class people from third world countries, and slave labor. They shouted, we're professionals and demand to be treated as professionals.

Now that I am on the road I have seen more pee bottles along the side of the road than I can count. I am disgusted every time I see one. Yesterday, while driving through eastern Oregon, I counted 5 within a couple mile stretch of Highway 97.

I just don't understand it. Why do so many truckers feel justified to throw their nasty piss bottles out their windows for some other poor SOB to have to pick up. You have to dump your garbage when fueling or at a rest areas. Why not put them in your trash and dispose of them properly!

In my humble opinion, its drivers like these, in part, who are giving the industry a bad reputation.

Come on drivers. Do the right thing. Take care of your own bodily waste. With hepetitis and HIV so common in body fluids, nobody wants to pick up your nasty waste.

I for one would like to see this treated just like a DUI. First time lose the CDL for a year. Second time, Life time loss of CDL. I'm with you. There is NO EXCUSE for doing this.

Even worse when the mowers catch one lying off in the weeds.

Or worse yet, team drivers that slipseat with other teams. Like to leave little surprises in tucked behind the bunk for the next team. Pee cups with no lids, little baggies of what you would think of as brownies but with a special ingredient. Totally nasty, matresses would be soaked in urine from the pee cups and have to be thrown out while the whole cab stunk to high heaven. :evil:

Now that's just wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to respond.

Re: SHOCKED AND APPALLED!
 

And some of these old timers, you know the professional truck drivers, call us new guys, newbies, steering wheel holders. Maybe I'm just different, I'm a new old guy. I like to think I am more professional than 95% of the drivers out there. Disclaimer: This was not directed at anyone on CAD, you are all professional drivers, I look up to each and every one. :D

Re: SHOCKED AND APPALLED!
 

Slobs at Home they become slobs on the Road

I know it happens, but I do not, nor do I ever hope to, understand it.

I was raised to respect yourself and to respect others. Part of this is to treat your property with care, and to treat other people's property even better.

When it comes to truck driving this means:

Do not throw or leave trash of any kind anywhere but in a trash can.

When you turn in a truck you do so clean and 100% ready for the next driver.

The industry has brought this situation on itself. When they spend 25 years cutting pay and treating drivers like garbage they cannot attract people who will act professionally. People tend to act in a way that is expected of them by their authority figures. Some people who throw piss bottles out the window would not do this if they were driving for a respectable company that paid them well, and would fire them for such an action. If it were a job that was hard to get and they were afraid of losing, that held them accountable to higher standards, they would look at themselves differently and think twice about it. When they are treated like garbage and made to feel replaceable they just dont care. Then potential respectable, proffessional people entering this industry are appalled and dont want to be associated with that crowd and image and the cycle snowballs. Some of these drivers are just plain pigs. Some can be changed, but the industry has to return to good pay, benefits and proffessional treatment to improve the talent pool. Until then they will "get what they paid for".

post
 

I am sorry but one's company or pay has nothing to do with a persons character. Character- how a person acts when they think no one is watching. Lastly; wherever you go; there you are!

Re: post
 

Apparently, you've never heard the adage "You get what you pay for".

I agree and disagree. My point is it has to do with what type of character they can attract. As I stated some of these drivers are pigs and would have to be weeded out. Others could be changed if they're environment changed. Monkey see monkey do. I work for UPS and this behavior would not be tolerated by the company OR my fellow employees. UPS cares greatly about its image and we all know it and are proud of it. And its a good job that a driver wouldnt want to lose over a piss bottle. And before you say we all drive daycabs both UPS and UPS Freight have sleeper teams. I still say alot of people, not all, act the way they are expected to act, and are influenced by the people around them. The trucking companies are getting what they pay for, the bottom of the barrel. Improve the reputation, improve the image, improve the compensation, improve the treatment, and improve the expectations, and you will improve the talent pool and the work force. And the undesireables will have to get with the program or be eliminated.

Re: SHOCKED AND APPALLED!
 

How do you know that every piss bottle came from a trucker??

They could probably do DNA tests or something.

I agree. I piss in bottles all the time, but I have never once deposited one of these on the side of the road.

Re: SHOCKED AND APPALLED!
 

he's right look at this link !!

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/rant/pee.html

I absolutely can't fathom what's so difficult about simply pulling over safely by the shoulder of the highway, walking 20-30 feet out into the bushes, & "watering the plants" in a discreet manner !!! How much time does that take...maybe 5 minutes ? How it's advisable to use pee-bottles while driving, & compromising on safety even if the freight is "time-sensitive", is simply beyond me !!

Perhaps some are, but I believe the majority of pee bottles are NOT "filled" while driving. Most, I believe, are filled while a driver is in the sleeper at night, and doesn't want to get dressed and go inside to use the facilities. (Others are filled by team drivers in the sleeper so as not to ask the driver to stop.... again!)

Pulling over on the side of the road is dangerous, although an off ramp is pretty quick access. But, then there are always prying eyes. Many drivers spend most of their time in cities or on major highways, not all get out in the boonies like me.

But, regardless of how they are filled, there is no reason on Earth not to dispose of them properly.

whats wrong with standing on the catwalk wiht your back to traffic odds are if someone sees you they cant tell what your doing.

now for the ladies this is a completely differant story.

but i know some of us are hunters why not use the spare bladder thingy? it gels and deodorizes the urine and you get a few uses out of it.

the ones that have gallon jugs in the rig are the ones i worry about. especially if they have a few full ones beofre they toss em. why not just dump em out?

The Elephant Man
 

What was that famous line from the movie?

Didn't it go like this -- "I am not an animal. I am a HUMAN BEING!"

After the "Trainers" I have driven with, I'm surprised there are actually those bottles around at all. First of all, these experienced drivers sleep in their clothes, so there is no problem "getting dressed" to go outside.

Secondly, they think bending down under the catwalk somehow is the
perfect place for No. 1 and No. 2. As a woman, I have been advised on
two mornings by two different "Trainers" to do this.

Since I respect myself, and since I am a "HUMAN BEING," I don't believe
the pavement of the Interstate is supposed to be my bathroom. In these
situations, I informed the "Trainers" I would wait for a suitable stop, which
of course was just a few minutes down the highway.

Yes, the hours and the lack of breaks and the stress levels and the fatigue and hunger, yes they all add up! But this is still a job which can pay the bills AND give the individual some joy on a daily basis, if they're not
hung-up on a pity party all the time.

And when you're early at your destination, your time is your own.

Why, then, this brutality? Not only performing basic physical functions, but the profanity, hair-trigger anger, and sexual exhibitionism in word and/or deed?

It's a lack of self-respect, and that started WAY BEFORE the person got behind the wheel of a truck. It's even a reflection of self-loathing.

Valuing themselves and others so little, trucks become potential weapons of suicide or murder. And the accident records in the industry are skyrocketing. THERE IS A CONNECTION.

Peeing in bottles is cool< dumping them is not. Any driver that pees in a bottle instead of in the parking lot (creating a nasty peepee smell on a summer night) gets my kudos. Now go and walk it to the 50 million trash cans in the parking lot :wink: I don't throw anything out the window. I threw a soda can out that exploded and was shooting everywhere one time, but that was it. Anything less is unexcusable.

I always ask for an extra bag or two at the truckstop, and have never been turned down.

A gust of wind for one thing. :shock: It just isn't a professional image for the trucking industry.

To paraphrase Smokey the Bear: Only you can prevent a trucker stereotype. :)

I got into a discussion with a male and female driver one day about how appalled I was about urine bottles [can't stand that p word]. We were asking the male driver how on earth anyone could have a gallon worth of urine. We both said you can't convince us that it was filled at one time. He agreed that it could not be.

I totally agree with the other drivers who stated that pay and companies have nothing to do with it. It's simply a "class" "no class" issue. I personally was an accountant and could not fathom having to utilize alternative methods for bathrooms since I had been white collar for years. It is not safe for a woman to trudge across a truck stop at night to take care of these issues. I have come up with an alternative and don't carry the fluids with me.

I did driveaway [hauled new trucks] for 19 out of the first 21 months I was a driver. One day one of the managers gathered us together at the Volvo Plant and said "Gentlemen, I want to talk to you about something." I protested because I was the only female in the crowd and said, "how come you didn't include me". He said, "I don't think you're involved in this."

Can you imagine some slob urinated and left it in a bottle when he delivered it to the dealership? That's disgusting and just wrong. That's a great example of how pay doesn't have anything to do with this issue. You get paid much higher to haul trucks than freight. So pay and company have nothing to do with it. It's simply a "class versus no-class" issue.

well last year while hunting i almost filled a 2 quart gatorade bottle from dusk till dawn. but i did put some baking soda in it to kill the odor and bacteria. it was dumped out on the logging road. but it tool the jug with me.

My point is better pay attracts people with more class. In addition some people (not all) can be and are influenced by their peers. How many times have you heard someone say "I would have done it but I was afraid of being caught". Some people think for themselves, many others are followers. Again, those who simply can't follow rules would have to be weeded out. Companies wont get rid of these undesireables because they can't get anyone else to do it for what the pay is. I agree character plays a role but some peoples "character" changes with their "environment". Most people can be changed and conditioned to follow rules, or suffer the consequences.

i dunno more money equals less scum?? if it is performance based yeah. other then that everybody wants more money for what they do.

Quote:
"Now that's just wrong on so many levels".

Am I the only one that has the urge to punch somebody in the face everytime I hear this, or is it just me?

shock and appalled???? i though it was shock and awe ??? :lol: [/b]

No, its simply "The Shocker" :lol: :lol:

You think that's bad?! When I was getting trained with Averitt Express, my trainer started taking more frequent stops when driving because he had to poop... at the rest areas...at first. However, as the weeks went on he had to stop more and more... in the middle of nowhere! I kept wondering why he kept stopping while I was in the sleeper. I checked the passenger mirror one time... and discovered he'd been "squatting" between the tractor and trailor and leaving a big mess all over the road.

I used to be a medic a while back, so I confronted him about this problem. After a reviewing his symptoms it sounded like he really needed to see his doctor about a barium test for his intestines. He actually listened to my advice, and later on he set up an appointment for the next week. Sure we missed out on a few days, but we later found out he had "pollups" in his large intestines that were covered in cancerous lesions. After he told me he asked me if I thought he'd be able to drive after his chemotherapy sessions, I couldn't believe he didn't talk to his doctor about this! I simply said, it wouldn't be a wise idea because chemotherapy takes a lot out of someone and he would most likely not have a whole lot of energy to drive much at all.

After my training was finished, to my suprise, he didn't take my advice. He went out on the road AMA and ended up 400 miles away from home and to weak to drive back and needed a team to come out there and drive him back to his home terminal and last I heard, still drives, just very little. He had recently lost his wife to cancer and he didn't know what else to do.

Fortunately he lives not too far from me, so I check in on him from time to time.

The point is pee bottles aren't the only things out there to look out for...I just had a weird experience with my trainer is all.

-Watcher

Ummmm...people have no regard for other people. That seems to be the biggest problem.

What excuse is there for walking into a stall in a restroom, to see that some piece of garbage has smeared feces all over the seat of the toilet, on the walls and on the floor?

As with what "Watcher" had to say, there are people whom have medical problems, and will not get the problems taken care of. I had 5 intestinal surgeries from Fall 1999 through Spring 2001. The surgeon whom was my primary doctor, thought I was a friggin Clydesdale horse. He told me once, that most people would have been screaming in agony, given the infection I had through out my abdomin. I understand about having uncontrolable bowel movements, but even in the worst circumstance, I have never resorted to being a disgusting pig. I know to be near a restroom in the 30 to 45 minute period after I eat foods high in fat content (butter, sour cream, pastries, fried chicken) because without a Gall Bladder...I'm not gonna be able to hold it for very long. I know to take amodiumAD, to help control some symptoms, and I know that I should not eat within 4 hours of laying down for sleep. Doing everything I can to control my functions, prevents having to do disgusting things.

I don't understand people whom don't care about their image, nor how disgusting they appear.

Re: SHOCKED AND APPALLED!
 

Hey, you have to pay somehow for that DUI.... :lol: :lol:


Look. you can use a gallon jug, put a lid on it and pour it down a urinal at a rest area or truck stop then rinse it out. it's not that difficult.

Re: post
 

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People are people no matter what you pay them.

My old company paid (I said paid because they are now cutting pay) any average of $70,000 a year. Some drivers made as high as $90,000+, and the low end for drivers who didn’t like to work was near $60,000.

One of the biggest problems they had was drivers and their damn pee cups and bottles. There were a few that had a gallon jug in the closet. One truck had 3 gallons. The trashcans in the truck lot were nasty because drivers threw their full bottles and cups in them. It was so bad that the company said they would fire anyone caught throwing a full cup in the trashcans.
Never can I figure out why drivers can’t dump them first!

Of course needing drivers they never did fire anyone. And now that they are cutting pay many drivers are leaving the company to be replaced with drivers whose trucks smell like a dirty restroom.

How a driver is paid or treated is no excuse. Pigs are pigs and this industry is overrun by them.

What I can never figure out is driver’s who throw or set their bottles out right there in the middle of a truck stop parking lot.
Gee, even my dog wouldn't sleep anywhere near where he pees.

And for you folks who believe the ‘Good Old Days Of Trucking’ myth.
When I worked on trucks back in the 70’s while I was in High School. It was nothing to find pee cups and bottles inside of trucks. And we gofers had to be careful when we dumped the trashcans.
I’ll never forget a driver that everyone called Murphy.
That sumbich peed on the floor.

That truck was a flippin mess. I remember when they fired him because he kept screwing up his deliveries.
We stripped the inside of the truck to clean it.
The gross thing was the used condoms under his bedding.

Today is not the history of trucking!

In reference to the piss bottles, its NOT just truckers that do this. Between Seligman and Kingman, Az there are 4-5 off/on ramps that are not "adopted" and they are covered in trash. I try and stop every day to pick up a walmart bag worth before hitting our yard, where I throw it away. I have seen 4 wheelers pull up and drop bags of trash, while I'm picking up. I usually walk over, pick up the bag(s) and knock on the drivers window, hand the bag back and tell them to stop in Kingman at a gas station (more than likely they will anyway) and throw it away there, NOT ON MY HIGHWAY. Do they do this? You ought to see some of the embarresed looks I get.