We have already had some major snow storms in much of the country and many drivers are already asking the question "Am I on thin ice by refusing to drive in dangerous conditions?". I don’t need to tell you that sometimes your boss’s definition of safe driving conditions may be different than yours. We all know that the driver is the best judge of how safe the roads are.

Luckily, there’s a law that protects drivers in unsafe weather: the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). The STAA makes it illegal for your boss to discipline or fire you for refusing to drive a commercial vehicle in dangerous weather—including snow, sleet, and freezing rain. It provides for reinstatement with back pay and legal fees for a driver who is wrongly suspended or fired.

However, this law—like most laws—has limitations, and is subject to interpretations and legal precedents.

From these precedent cases, here are some guidelines about when a driver can refuse to drive due to adverse weather conditions:

* A driver may refuse to start work if the weather is sufficiently hazardous at or near the time he is scheduled to begin as to make it unsafe to operate a commercial vehicle on the highways.

* A driver cannot speculate unreasonably into the future regarding what the road conditions will be beyond a few hours.

* A refusal to drive due to adverse road conditions must be reasonable. The refusal should be based on the driver’s personal observations, weather reports from the radio and television, calls to the Department of Transportation or Highway Patrol, if possible, and information received from other drivers if such information is available.

* Additionally, the driver should be able to articulate for a court the precise facts that led him to believe that it would have been unsafe for him to operate a commercial vehicle on the highways. In other words, courts do not like arbitrary speculation.

Paul O. Taylor
Attorney at Law
Truckers Justice Center
www.truckersjusticecenter.com


- NOTHING IN THIS POST SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS CREATING AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP -

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- NOTHING IN THIS POST SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS CREATING AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP -[/QUOTE]


RIGHT Things must be a little slow at the center!

Where it is nice to see an attorney looking for the protection of truck drivers, most of us already know not to risk a rig that could have costed over $125K or more, with the understanding that companies don't like to see their rig on it's side.

However, dispatchers rarely understand, well mostly, because they never driven a rig.

So it's really up to the driver to decide weather or not to drive in adverse conditions, and weather they can do it safely.

And sometimes, that just means having the ability to just say no. Because even though the dispatcher may not like it, I'm sure the owner/stockholders of the companies will appreciate you not wrecking their rig.

And if you're a O/O, well..... do I really have to say it?

Frankly, I feel that if you as a driver deems it unsafe to operate a CMV on public roads and highways...than you better damn well not do it.

I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Taylor....and he has earned that respect over the years with his well reasoned opinions and citations.

The bottom line to me is: I, or you, as the driver of the CMV, and the final authority as to the "safe operation" of the CMV. I am on the spot, I am the one who physically is witnessing the weather conditions....and if I deem it "UNSAFE to move"....then it is, and the CMV will NOT move. There have been a couple of times when "dispatchers" have tried to insist that the "load has to go"....and I took the initiative and instructed them that "If you have a CDL-A, then get out here and drive the truck, its all yours!" The most amazing thing is that in every case....the response was either "get it there when you can", or "when do you think you can get it there?"

I'm not the least bit concerned about a dispatcher or fleet manager's bonus or stats.... Not my concern. If they are chicken**** enough to try and penalize me for not being their whipping boy or fool....then I'm working for the wrong company... and right about that time I make two phone calls.... One to the safety director, and the next to another company I am interested in working for.

For those of you thinking about or starting in this industry had better keep this in mind: "YOU" are ultimately responsible for what happens with the vehicle you are in charge of! If a shipper, receiver, dispatcher, fleet manager, or any other person in a position of authority presses you to operate in an unsafe set of circumstances or an unsafe, or illegal manner...and the crap hits the fan... "YOU" will more than likely be the first one thrown into the grinder....and they will offer you up as their sacrifice and throw you under the bus! "YOU" have and reserve the right to refuse....and if an employer or their agent wants you to do something unsafe or illegal...then you are working for the wrong people.... RUN, RUN, RUN FAST AWAY FROM THERE!!

I'm not an Attorney, so what I say is not legal advice....BUT, I do have an opinion...and I stand by it!!