[drippy]

Originally Posted by 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!

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).

Excellent observation. One I had not thought of, there goes my attempt at collecting my "bone us".

So the money is no longer the issue.

So what I am to understand, however, is that on any weekend I am home with a load I take the risk of thievery, I am going to be responsible during my 34 hour reset. That limits the camping trips and out of town trips w/ the wife and kids...."sorry honey...you and the kids go...I'm going to guarantee the security of my load and visit it every other hour , for no pay or benefits....thank God this fine company offered employment to me and pays me so well for the time away from family, you all go now and enjoy".....

BTW...I forgot to mention I resigned as soon as I found out about this company policy. I have contacted 3 different companies for employment, and NONE of the 3 hold their drivers monetarily responsible for theft or damage when they are on off duty status.

Had I parked the load in an "unsecure area", one known for a high crime rate and such, there would not have been this discussion....thx for all the input, some knowledgeable, and some not.


ssoutlaw: you are correct...I should have tarped regardless of the company refusing to pay..I would have only been out $20...lesson well learned.

Only being in this profession for just shy of 2 years I am still frustrated at the low rate of pay and lack of benefits for the time one is away from family and home. C'mon...some real intelligent poster please state.."well quit then and go find another line of work!"...easily stated...with a bit of truth to it...however...is that the only recourse to better understand how, by accepting employment as a truck driver, you now have NO TIME OFF, unless you are parking in a company lot.

Perhaps your level of gratitude for employment is higher than mine...but I think w/ a 60% turn over rate average I am not the only one questioning this profession's policy. "IF YOUR COMPANY HAD SPELLED OUT THIS POLICY AT THE BEGINNING, WOULD YOU HAVE ACCEPTED EMPLOYMENT? I can honestly state....NO. There is a multitude of companies that relinquish you of responsibility to the load when on a break/reset. It is your responsibility to secure the load in a manner satisfactory to you and dispatch...it should end there.

[samael9]

Photograph everything; that's what I do. Not so much in the dry van business, but going into flat bed the situations and circumstances are different. The freight, as proved here, is much more vulnerable.

With all current digital cameras, it is easy to date and time-stamp every image. The EXIF data generated with each image can also prove to be of value when verifying authenticity.

Its easy to upload images to a server, like pbase.com or other photo hosting web-sites. Instead of emailing images, only to get a response that goes like this one, which I've heard recently: I never got your email.... When your images are uploaded to a hosting site, you simply email the link to the concerned party. This eliminates the problems associated with a company's firewall as it pertains to attached files (images). Plus, should you need to direct multiple recipients to the image files, you just CC them into the original email.

Just a thought from a photographer........

[drippy]

Originally Posted by Karnajj

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!

I'm now an idiot? So tell me all knowing one...what's it like to go through life without questioning or asking for clarification in items you deem important? Wish you were my employee!!!!! We'd have fun!!!

It's not about the $$$$ Mr. Big whoop....

[glasman2]

ssoutlaw .... getting a little pissy?
Wow... Ya your right I don't drive yet, but I did drive a company truck with thousands of dollars of tools. I always kept a close eye on it no matter where I was. By the why, when I do start driving I do have a spot right in view of my living room window, and I'm looking at a place out in the country that has a shop so big I could park two rigs and 4 cars.

Guess that makes me lucky. Guess I didn't read his post right, I didn't see the part about being at home and I understand some people don't have a spot close to home. I was under the impression he was out on the road and just left his rig. My bad for not taking the time to read EVERYTHING.

If I was on the road ( like I thought he was ) yes I would babysit my truck.
You did stated "If the land owner, and the company agree to let you park, your responsibility is GONE." I don't see where this happened he did call dispatch but what about the owners? Guess it really doesn't matter where you park it. It could be at your company yard and be taken.

Guess what I'm trying to say is I would always TRY to park it where it could be watched but even that isn't %100


I will try to be more responsible in reading any further post before I reply.
So now I will bow down and back away in hopes You will not try to tear out this old mans throat.

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by glasman2

ssoutlaw .... getting a little pissy?
Wow... Ya your right I don't drive yet, but I did drive a company truck with thousands of dollars of tools. I always kept a close eye on it no matter where I was. By the why, when I do start driving I do have a spot right in view of my living room window, and I'm looking at a place out in the country that has a shop so big I could park two rigs and 4 cars.

Guess that makes me lucky. Guess I didn't read his post right, I didn't see the part about being at home and I understand some people don't have a spot close to home. I was under the impression he was out on the road and just left his rig. My bad for not taking the time to read EVERYTHING.

If I was on the road ( like I thought he was ) yes I would babysit my truck.
You did stated "If the land owner, and the company agree to let you park, your responsibility is GONE." I don't see where this happened he did call dispatch but what about the owners? Guess it really doesn't matter where you park it. It could be at your company yard and be taken.

Guess what I'm trying to say is I would always TRY to park it where it could be watched but even that isn't %100


I will try to be more responsible in reading any further post before I reply.
So now I will bow down and back away in hopes You will not try to tear out this old mans throat.

Its cool glasman, I'm a old man too...lol and think before I rip throats out...lol I haven't done that in years...lol sorry I came off like i did, and you don't have to bow down. Have a great day...

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by drippy

Only being in this profession for just shy of 2 years I am still frustrated at the low rate of pay and lack of benefits for the time one is away from family and home. C'mon...some real intelligent poster please state.."well quit then and go find another line of work!"...

Quit - and go find another line of work - one that pays you for everything you do. :wink:

easily stated...with a bit of truth to it...however...is that the only recourse to better understand how, by accepting employment as a truck driver, you now have NO TIME OFF, unless you are parking in a company lot.

Welcome to the wonderful world of truck driving, where you put in 100 hours, log 70 hours, and get paid for 60 hours.

Perhaps your level of gratitude for employment is higher than mine...but I think w/ a 60% turn over rate average I am not the only one questioning this profession's policy.

Your 60% turnover rate is more like 130%-140%. One of the sad truths about this industry. In fact, with the turnover rate as high as it is, the supposed "driver shortage" that the industry claims exists isn't even real - the drivers are simply job-hopping, looking for the "holy grail" of driving jobs, which sadly, doesn't really exist for most drivers.

[got mud?]

Originally Posted by Karnajj

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!

I assume he was going home and had requested to go home so that means his dispatcher put him under that load knowing where he would take it. he called the police and asked them to watch it. I think other than tarp it he did everything he could have done. your the idiot for sticking up for the trucking company that you know dam well collected the insurance to pay for the stolen property and then decided to "screw" an employee out of his earned money. so they lost an employee all for a few hundred dollars. thats the problem with trucking to many dam fools think the crap these companies pull is ok.

[fasttruck]

Originally Posted by glasman2

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?

I just turned 8. :roll:

[fasttruck]

Originally Posted by glasman2

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.

Now for this loyalty you speak of, is it only one way or is this a mutual loyalty. It looks to me the only one who comes out ahead is the company. IDK. If you feel that being loyalty and working for free will help you when you need your company at your lowest times, then by all means keep on trucking.

[fasttruck]

Originally Posted by glasman2

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?

Well this is apples to oranges. You are not required to sleep on the jobsite in construction, that is why there is always a security service at jobsites. Am I wrong?