[Night Zombie]

I have linehaul job in the northeast.

Wintertime is rolling in, and where I work they want us to go out in any weather. Do you guys just say no it's too dangerous, or do you call in sick? One of our drivers just calls in sick whenever it's snowy or icy, and he doesn't get fired, but that seems so sleazy.

A few weeks ago, I called dispatch to tell them I didn't want to go out that day because of fatigue, afraid I'd fall asleep at the wheel. The truck had broken down the night before, and I'd not had any sleep. They didn't seem to care about sleep / no sleep. They kept saying to call back in an hour. I gave up on the call back in an hour stuff, and said look, I'm not going out, and I'm not calling back today. Talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye. :twisted: Well, I didn't get fired but I guess they hate me now.

So how do you say no to dispatch without pissing them off ?

Night Zombie

[VitoCorleone99]

Bake them a pie. That's what my mom does whenever she knows she's about to piss my dad off.

[mudpuddle]

If they want you to run on ice and or they want you to run without a proper ten hour break the best way to say no is in the form of a two week notice.

[AmEagleDrvr]

Do you have sickdays available? Most guys I know will use one when that situation presents itself. You may not like or agree with it, but it is a fact here.

[AmEagleDrvr]

Originally Posted by mudpuddle

If they want you to run on ice and or they want you to run without a proper ten hour break the best way to say no is in the form of a two week notice.

I agree. I work linehaul, and the co I work for would never pressure a driver into running without his break. If this is the case with your company, then lose them quick.

[Night Zombie]

<< I agree. I work linehaul, and the co I work for would never pressure a driver into running without his break. If this is the case with your company, then lose them quick. >>

Wow, that's scary. They've been pretty good to me otherwise.

[Night Zombie]

Originally Posted by AmEagleDrvr

Do you have sickdays available? Most guys I know will use one when that situation presents itself. You may not like or agree with it, but it is a fact here.

Yes, I do have sick days. Unlimited, within reason, I think. Maybe that's the way to go. And I get the impression dispatch knows that 75 % of the "sick days" are just "want time off" days, and that they're OK with that.

Nopw that I think about it, I imagine they'd rather have an employee call in sick because it makes everything cut and dry, and makes it easier for them to justify giving you the day off, to their boss.

[Stainless]

I wouldn't worry about pissing them off, they'll get over it. You have every right to refuse to drive if you feel the conditions are dangerous. Remember there are always lives at stake...yours and others.

The only reason dispatch wants you to run is because they don't want to have to deal with irate customers complaining their load isn't there yet. Boohoo.

[Malaki86]

If you called in and said you were too tired to drive but they kept pressuring you to run anyway, well, you do have the DOT on your side on that one.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regul...?section=398.4

§398.4 Driving of motor vehicles.

(c) Driving while ill or fatigued. No driver shall drive or be required or permitted to drive a motor vehicle while his/her ability or alertness is so impaired through fatigue, illness, or any other cause as to make it unsafe for him/her to begin or continue to drive, except in case of grave emergency where the hazard to passengers would be increased by observance of this section and then only to the nearest point at which the safety of passengers is assured.

[Sealord]

If you know you'd be operating in an unsafe manner, bring your safety department into the mix. BOL