[drippy]

I am sure you signed a contract or were made aware of such policies when you started

No such contract signed, unless of course you know more than the I and can produce the contract. Each company has it's own policy, I was not aware there was an issue, had I known I would have declined employment and gone to one that does not hold it's driver resposible for theft, especially during a 34 hour reset where, by DOT script, is in OFF DUTY status. The load was not tarped, I did ask if they requested tarping and was told no.

You dumped the truck and trailer, and its valuable freight, off in a derelict parking lot

I parked, not dumped, the load in a well lit, open/spacious and well travelled lot that is big enough to support 4 businesses. I also had the blessing of the dispatcher...never has there been a problem previously.

You might ask instead of hurriedly typing to prove me an unfit driver. I covered "all the bases" as required by my company, not yours...evidently. I simply was ignorant of their rule, which, by the way, has never been presented to me as asked.

And by your script I suppose aall drivers are resonsible for theft as long as they do not park on company soil?...does this include the times we are stuck on opposite coasts...seems to be a bit out of route to sleep peacefully.

[ssoutlaw]

Drippy, I would have still tarped the high dollar load to keep the prying eyes off of the load, but hey, hindsight is 20/20...lol You live and learn.
That load could have still been jacked in a truck stop while you were inside eating, and the company would probably still have blamed you, go figure...

[Uturn2001]

Best of luck to you, but I have yet to hear of any state's labor and wage laws that counts bonuses as wages (except for tax purposes).

Wages are usually protected under the law, bonuses are not except in certain contractual situations.

[glasman2]

Fine, you did what you think was the right way to leave your load out of your sight for 34 hours, you DM thought the same thing. I for one wouldn't leave it so far away from me. I would "Want" to be able to keep an eye on it.

But ... that's just me.
What gets me is you want to take your company to court for your bonus.
That's just plane stupid. Make sure after you do this that you mind your P's & Q's. I'm sure you will be watched, looking for ANY good reason to get rid of you and have something put on your DAC that you don't want.

I know if I was an employer I would.

Forget the dang bonus and move on. A mistake was made on both parts, mostly yours.

[fasttruck]

How do you take a 34 hour restart and still be on duty as a security guard during this time frame? How much does your company pay you for your security service.

[Kintama]

Count yourself lucky you still have a job. I was terminated for the same offense, and nothing was stolen. The trailer was damaged because the would be thiefs cut through the lock and the door.

[glasman2]

Originally Posted by fasttruck

How do you take a 34 hour restart and still be on duty as a security guard during this time frame? How much does your company pay you for your security service.

And you are talking to :?:

If your talking to me.... I'm not saying this wouldn't happen if it was close by, but being able to look at it from time to time you may have been able to stop it.
When your under a load it doesn't matter if your off duty or on duty, your responsible for your load. How much does my company pay me for my security service? The pay would be having a job, putting food on the table, paying my bills, and putting a roof over my family's head. It's called loyalty to your company and taking responsibility for your actions, and your T/T.

How old are you fasttruck? I haven't seen one constructive post from you yet, but your quick with the snide remarks.

It doesn't matter what kind of job you have, be it construction, or trucking. Lets say your in construction, your to tired at the end of the day to load all the tools back in your truck, you are told this building is secure but it's in a bad area of town. Company policy is not to leave anything on jobsites unless it's a secure site. You and your partner decide to put everything in the building. You do what you think is right mainly because your tired, you chain everything up and leave.

Next day everything is gone. Who's fault is it?

[Karnajj]

Originally Posted by drippy

This is not meant to be "slam" to KEIM TS, Inc. , of Sabetha,Ks., but rather an attempt to notify drivers of a potential loss of $$$ due to ignorance of company procedures.

A couple of months ago, while at home on a 34 hour reset, I had items taken off my flatbed trailer. Unknown persons had slit straps and taken a copper plate from the trailer. Loss of $1300.

Fact: a) dispatch was aware of load and load value. b) dispatch was aware where the load was to be parked through the reset. c) dispatch had the option of requesting the load to be driven to their lot, but did not request.
I parked the trailer in a well lit lot "old WalMart lot" that was spacious and open to the public eye. The load was parked directly under a light pole. The local police department was called and a request was made to watch the load as often as they could. At this point I felt I had did all I could to secure the load. Upon returning to the load the theft was discovered. A police report was done, reflecting the time of occurrence to have been while in the 34 hour reset.

After 3 months I was notified, by mail, that the company would not pay my "Safety Bonus" due to a claim being paid by them on the missing plate.

In short....depending on your company policy...you could be charged $$$$ for claims against your truck even though you are NOT ON DUTY.

The only way around this responsibility would be to secure your load at your company yard during the reset....hmmmm...wonder if they would pay "out of route" miles to get there.

PICK YOUR EMPLOYER WISELY....and ask more questions than I did....lesson learned....

Now a civil suit will be filed to attempt collection of my bonus.

Your fault, your responsibility, end of discussion. And you are an absolute idiot to sue. You have no chance of winning and the mere fact that you sued will probably hurt you in any attempt to find new employment. How much was your safety bonus in the first place? A couple of hundred dollars? Big whoop!

[ssoutlaw]

Here's a question for you guys posting to this topic, some of you drive now and some don't even drive yet, and your telling this guy he is wrong? To you glasman, If you get to go home for 34 hrs and you cant park your truck and trailer at your home, where are you going to park? Oh wait, you don't have that problem, you don't even drive yet! Are you guys telling me that if you cant park at home, you just wont go home, so you can babysit the company's equipment, talk about something you don't get paid for! I think the original poster is barking at the moon if he thinks by suing the company he will get his bonus back. Remember, a driver has to be let loose of the responsibility at some time during the week. If the land owner, and the company agree to let you park, your responsibility is GONE. Remember you have to use reasonable care to safe guard the equipment, you don't have a crystal ball to know when or where a thief will strike, and our court systems know this too! so if the company says you can leave it, its their responsibility Be smart though, always record your conversation with your company when they allow you to do this. If the original poster had done this, he wouldn't be in the place he is now! A thief can jack your truck in a truck stop while you are using the restroom and you're truck is parked in the lot, Remember glasman, that will be YOUR FAULT, in your way of thinking! just remember if they want it they will get it, and its not the drivers fault. These company's would make out like bandits letting the driver take the fall and not even get paid some of the profit. When I work for a company, they get the big money and the risk of doing business! NOT ME! A lot of drivers don't live near their home terminals and will have places setup where they can drop or leave their equipment. I also would have tarped the load, but hey, that's just ME! You can NEVER keep your equipment safe 100% of the time, and if you think you can then you are a fool!

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by glasman2

Fine, you did what you think was the right way to leave your load out of your sight for 34 hours, you DM thought the same thing. I for one wouldn't leave it so far away from me. I would "Want" to be able to keep an eye on it.

But ... that's just me.
What gets me is you want to take your company to court for your bonus.
That's just plane stupid. Make sure after you do this that you mind your P's & Q's. I'm sure you will be watched, looking for ANY good reason to get rid of you and have something put on your DAC that you don't want.

I know if I was an employer I would.

Forget the dang bonus and move on. A mistake was made on both parts, mostly yours.

You say:
'I for one wouldn't leave it so far away from me. I would "Want" to be able to keep an eye on it."

If you cant park at home, then what you are saying is you will just never get out of the truck then? and you think they have given you the world by giving you a job to put food on the table for your family. They don't give you anything, you work for it, its a trade off. Get about 10 yrs in the business then come back, and you'll change your mind!