Posts Tagged truck driver
How Safe is the HOS 14 Hour Rule for Truckers?
Posted by Allen Smith in Jobs and Careers, Politics, Safety, Talk Radio Show, Truck Driving Jobs, Truckers Health, otr trucking, trucking, trucking companies, trucking life on March 9th, 2010
With his permission, a local truck driver out of Nebraska recently sent me the following email:
“I have been driving for over 20 years and began working locally with a company about a year ago. I have to say that the hours of service rules for truckers can be a killer for drivers, and perhaps more so for local drivers and those new to the industry. My shift is suppose to start at 7 A.M., but often me and my slip-seat partner runs late due to various reasons beyond our control, and many times he does not make it back until 2 P.M. or later. I am accustomed to getting up around 5 A.M., so going back to sleep is impossible.”
“So, up at 5 A.M., make it to work at 2 P.M., put in a 14 hour day, so I’m done at 4 A.M., home by 4:30 A.M. On this particular day, I have been up and awake for twenty three and a half hours. This type of schedule happens very often in local driving work. Even squeezing in the 10 hour break, you are either running behind all week or completely drained of all energy for the remainder of the week, just from your first day of work. If I say anything to dispatch, I am met with “So what are you saying? Are you turning down the load?” Drivers accept this challenge everyday and do their jobs professionally, but I see no safety in this type of operation, when the industry is constantly talking about “Safety First.”
This is very typical of trucking and is the main reason why veteran drivers will always stress that trucking is not a job, but a lifestyle. Regardless, how can trucking companies stress the importance of driver safety when so many drivers are expected to operate under this kind of schedule? Too many variables in the real world can stop the fourteen hour clock instantly: traffic accidents and delays at the shipper and receiver just to mention a few. Is driver and public safety a real concern for trucking companies and the powerful trucking organizations? Or is greed the primary motive for the continuance of pushing professional truck drivers to their limits?
Just last year in 2009, a major retail corporation lobbied to Congress to push truck drivers into a 16 hour work day. Luckily, that proposal was shot down. Anyone who has driven long enough and far enough will agree that driver fatigue is a major factor within the industry. Those who say otherwise, have not driven a truck for a real living. With the hours of service rule pushing drivers harder and further, allowing their lives to be controlled by the driver logbook, the fact that there are as few big rig accidents than there are, is only a testimony to the professionalism and skill of truckers.
The regulations set forth by the hours of service rules, only makes it more difficult for drivers, while allowing the industry itself to reap greater monetary rewards . . . all on the backs of the truck drivers. Why are truckers forced to work 70 hour work weeks and 14-plus hour days with no regard to the many obstacles that are thrown in their paths? At the same time, they are required to maintain their logbooks in a legal fashion.
Is safety a real issue or is greed the motivating factor within the trucking industry? Are the current HOS rules working for professional truck drivers and does it even take into consideration the safety and health factors of truck drivers?
Truth About Trucking “LIVE” talk radio invites you to join in on the conversation for the upcoming show: Truckers 14 Hour Service Rule – Safety vs Greed on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 7 PM EST :
“How safe is the truck driver 14 hours of service rule? Truckers can work 70 hour work weeks with trucking companies, shippers and receivers showing little regard to the safety and health of the drivers. With the current HOS rules for drivers, many local truck drivers can easily be up for 20 or more hours at a time. Is the trucking industry really concerned with safety or is it nothing more than greed?”
Discussing truck driver safety on Blog Talk Radio with co-host: Barry Szczucki.
© 2010, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: fatigue, hours of service, Safety, truck driver, trucking, trucking companies
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Justice is Served for Fellow Truck Driver Jason Rivenburg
Posted by Max4health in Safety, otr trucking on December 4th, 2009
Today in a Calhoun county Courtroom in South Carolina, suspect Willie Pelzer was found guilty for the murder of Jason Rivenburg whom he shot in the head on March 5, 2009. It only took the jury a few hours to find Pelzer guilty of the murder. The defense team fought hard saying that there was no physical evidence linking his client to Rivenburg’s killing, however, testimony by Pelzer’s childhood friends , girlfriend and many other witnesses, proved to aid in the quick deliberation of the guilty verdict. The surprise though, was that when Pelzer was being sentenced, he confessed to the shooting of Rivenburg.
Rivenburg’s widow, Hope Rivenburg, was in the courtroom for the entire trial, which began on Tuesday Dec 1st, until the verdict on Friday Dec 4th. Hope has been promoting and pushing hard for the passing of “Jasons Law” HR2156, a bill that was presented to the House of Representatives by New York Congressman Paul Tonko in April of this year. The Rivenburgs, who are residents of New York state, have worked closely with Rep Tonko since the murder of Jason.
Hope’s passionate desire to encourage people to sign the petition for the bill has been ongoing for months now. She shared her tragic story with hundreds of truckers in Dallas ,Texas this last August at The Great American Show. Hope was there with her 3 children of 2 and under, as she presented pictures, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, and the petition for Jason’s Law. Hope’s booth was set up behind our booth ( TruckerApp) and I will tell you that I saw more than one driver with a teary eye when he/she walked away from her booth. Most of the drivers had not even known of the murder and were touched by listening to the tragic story.
The bill HR 2156 will ensure safe truck parking for drivers. Parking has been a concern for truckers for many many years, but has somehow always been side stepped when it came to actually doing something about the problem.
“Jason’s Law” would create a six year pilot program that would make $120 million available in from of grants ($20 million per year) for local governments and private companies to address the shortage of parking for commercial vehicles on the National Highway System.
If you have not signed the petition for the passing of “Jason’s law”, we ask that you do it now. We also have a video which will further explain the tremendous need for this bill to be passed into law.
Many thanks to Hope Rivenburg for her strength, courage, perseverance, and the determination to ensure that no other family will have to suffer through a similar tragedy such as hers. Please sign the petition so that HR2156 will be put into law and Jason Rivenburg’s death will not be in vain.
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: H.R. 2156, hope rivenburg, jason rivenburg, Jason's law- H.R.2156 S971, Jasons Law Petition, Jasons Law Video, truck driver, trucking, Willie Pelzer
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The Truck Driver’s Worst Enemy
Posted by Allen Smith in otr trucking, trucking, trucking companies, trucking life on October 25th, 2009
by Allen Smith
Professional truck drivers have a lot of enemies. Many drivers perceive the DOT as one enemy . . . and without question it is the general public who looks at trucking as something that is just in their way: a big, slow 18 wheeler creeping up a hill at 25 MPH, making a huge wide turn that cuts them off, a dirty machine that smells of oil and diesel . . . enemies can even include entire towns or cities that proudly make it known by stating, “Truckers Not Welcome,” such as was the case of Greenwich, Connecticut.
The world of the professional over the road truck driver is a secretive one that few on the outside ever experience. Mainly, the trucker talks and converses with other truckers . . . few else would be able to relate. The nine-to-fiver has no comprehension of how a long haul trucker will run more miles in one year, than they will drive in ten. For those who jump into OTR trucking as a new career . . . statistics prove that most will only last six months. It takes a ton of stamina to be a professional over the road truck driver . . . stamina, that most do not possess.
The truck driver will find enemies at nearly every turn . . . shippers and receivers who will treat them like they are less than dogs . . . law enforcement telling them that they will have to move their rig, even though they are parked out of the way on some small, forgotten empty lot overgrown with grass and weeds . . . enemies that even live within their industry itself . . . lies reported on their DAC report . . . a disgruntled dispatcher who will “cut” their miles because they refused to haul an illegal load . . . enemies everywhere.
Professional truckers will talk among themselves at the docks, rest areas and truck stops . . . talking about the abuses of the industry and keeping these insights quietly to themselves. They cannot let their company catch wind of such discussions . . . they can’t afford to lose their jobs. The veteran driver knows that for every one truck driver that loves their profession . . . ten more hate it, due to the abuse that continues to survive within the industry.
As one trucker said to me a few weeks ago: “The trucking companies own us . . . we are nothing more than slaves.”
I would not go so far as to referring to trucking as slavery, (we can all quit at anytime we want to), but for many thousands and thousands of OTR truckers . . . they are faced not only with a highly stressful, demanding and tiring vocation . . . but also with the daily misfortune of having to deal with so many misinformed outsiders who have no understanding of what over the road trucking is all about. Enemies who look at truckers and their big rigs as a nuisance of the roads and something that just simply slows down their ever increasing, fast paced way of life. None of these, however, are the truck driver’s worst enemy.
I’ve always had a saying: “There is only right and wrong . . . and nothing in between.“ Fighting for a right is a much tougher battle than fighting for an obvious injustice. History proves this. Like water which takes the path of least resistance, it is much easier to join forces with the injustice, than it is to fight against it. How you know that the “right” is gaining ground to winning, is that the voices of the injustice grow louder. Right versus wrong has existed since the time of man and will continue to exist . . . it is just human nature. There are those in which their sole purpose in life is to argue, attack and to continue spewing hate . . . even when they know that they are wrong. I could make a post tomorrow about how the sky is blue, and I would be attacked by those who would say, “No . . . the sky is amethyst.” Truth, or the “right” is meaningless to them . . . their pleasure comes only from continually provoking hate and discord.
Trucking companies in the United States have never worried about a trucker strike. These companies know that the brotherhood of truckers does not exist anymore and that many truck drivers could not get along, together, long enough to form a successful strike. An easy way to prove this is to simply turn on your CB radio and try to have a normal, decent, intelligent, adult-like conversation. You may make it for a few minutes . . . but it will soon be attacked by other truckers. It does not matter why or how the conversation is attacked, just that it is. It’s the world we live in today.
It is understandable to have disagreements . . . it is more understandable to have professional and civil discussions. Yet, there have been truckers who have actually “attacked” a widow of a murdered truck driver: a women who is fighting to bring about a new law that will provide more safe and secured parking for our nation’s truck drivers. No professional, civil or adult conversations . . . but written, verbal attacks against a lady who lost her husband who was a fellow trucker. “Professional” truck drivers filled with jealously and rage because somebody else is doing something of such importance, and it’s not them . . . trucking organizations who came out strong in support of the new bill, only to fall weak and abandoned it when faced with losing their funding from those with special interests in mind. To her, I say forget about them and don’t lose any sleep over it. These are the segments of truck drivers and industry “leaders” who prefer to follow the path of least resistance.
Fighting . . . discord . . . hate . . . jealously . . . pride . . . whatever the reason, a large majority of the nation’s truck drivers will continue to follow the easiest path. The thousands of others who are professional and civil . . . may work quietly in the background or even raise their voices . . . but they will do it in a manner that shines with their professionalism and commitment to bringing change to an industry that needs change in several areas. There will always be those who will fight and wreak havoc just for the sake of fighting and wreaking havoc . . . the truck driver’s worst enemy is the truck driver.
Anyone who has been in trucking for any length of time knows that trucking is a tough vocation. Over the road trucking is especially rough . . . hard on the body, the mind and apparently, even the soul. It no doubt has come around due to the hardships of the trucking life. It not only exists in trucking, but sadly, you can witness this fall in human kindness and decency throughout many aspects of our society. Personal attacks have become a past time favorite for many. A large majority of mankind now gains complete satisfaction from launching verbal and textual attacks against anything and anybody, purely for the sake of what they perceive as entertainment. They contribute nothing good or positive to society and they care not to.
The simple art of “believing” is nearly dead. When anyone attempts to work for something for the sole purpose of helping, it must be for “other reasons.” In today’s society, there is absolutely no way that anyone would take on a task for the sole purpose of “helping.” That aspect is simply absurd! What the trucking companies have over a large vast of drivers, is that they can all “get along” with one another . . . they know the chances of this among drivers is next to nil. This is how companies can continue to abuse drivers through the use of the DAC Report . . . this is how trucking companies can work together to “blackball” a driver from the industry, a control tactic if you will. Together, they are a nationwide “team” . . . on the contrary, assaults and attacks are launched against drivers by drivers. Obviously, the trucking companies know that they do not have to do anything . . . the drivers themselves will do the job! The companies understand human nature and use it for their benefit.
Over the road trucking can wear you down. Enemies from all sides . . . the stress, the lifestyle, the demand . . . and so often the case, another enemy that can creep in if you allow it: cynicism.
Cynicism. This word is actually very interesting. It refers to a group of ancient Greeks called the Cynics, dating back to four B.C. Today, cynicism describes the opinions of those people who see self-interest as the main, primary motive of human behavior, and who fail to believe that anybody does anything simply out of sincerity or virtue. Cynics truly believe that no human being invokes any action of any kind purely out of goodness. Also, the way cynics express themselves, due to this belief, are through sneers and sarcasm.
Sad, isn’t it? We only have one life to live, which is so short, and one must live it through cynicism and failure to believe in anything right and good . . . living life by attacking others who are sincere in their goals, only to make themselves look like a “hero” and to bring attention to themselves. Another amazing aspect to this is that so many of them complain on a daily basis, yet will not even attempt to get involved and change things for the better. If things changed, they would no longer have the reasons they need to throw out their sneers and sarcasm. It is an odd characteristic.
For many, over the road trucking has worn them down. On the other hand, those stronger did not allow the OTR life to destroy them and they enjoy the trucking life and prove that it is possible to remain a highly trained professional in a very difficult lifestyle . The life of an over the road trucker can transform you into a bitter, jealous, hate-filled cynic . . . . but only if you let it. Remember, that the “truck” is not your home . . . your HOME is your home . . . remember, other truckers are not your family . . . your FAMILY is your family . . . and always remember, that the freight is NEVER more important than those loved ones waiting back at home.
So, for all of you new CDL students and drivers breaking into the industry . . . over the road trucking can provide a decent career eventually, but only if you are up to the drastic change in lifestyle. Will you follow the path of least resistance, or maintain the strength to stand up for what is right?
Before entering into the world of long haul trucking, you should answer yourself one question: “Will I be a follower or a leader?” Do not allow yourself to become your worst enemy.
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: cynicism, enemies, enemy, long haul, otr, over the road, professional, truck driver, truck drivers, Truckers, trucking, trucking companies
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Winter Driving and Understanding Black Ice
Posted by Allen Smith in Safety, trucking on October 7th, 2009
With the Winter season fast approaching and already showing signs in some parts of the country, it’s important to understand the signs and dangers of one of Mother Nature’s phenomenons: black ice. There really is no big mystery when it comes to black ice. Understanding this Winter roadway danger, will make the new truck driver that more safer if and when black ice is ever encountered.
What is black ice? Black ice is really just “regular” ice without air bubbles. Normally when ice forms on the roadway, tiny air bubbles are trapped inside and once frozen, the ice is visible to drivers due to these air bubbles that we are able to see. Black ice, on the other hand, forms when rain, fog or mist deposits ice along the pavement or roadway in cold weather. The latent heat of the surface will slow down the freezing rate. This slowing down process allows the droplets of water to run together before they can freeze. The air bubbles that are normally within ice are forced out and what is left is a frozen sheet of ice, minus the visible air bubbles, and we end up with a totally clear, transparent layer of ice which takes on the color of the background on which it is lying.
When does black ice form? This form of ice most often forms just around the freezing point of 32 °F, however, due to various atmospheric conditions black ice can form when temperatures are even above freezing. For instance, in extremely cold regions, black ice will form on the frozen ground and roadways although the outside ambient temperatures are above 32 °F. Black ice can form with freezing temperatures even from such things as heat from the tires on the roadway and exhaust fumes from vehicle pipes. Black ice tends to form in the early morning and evening hours. Key factors to remember is that black ice can occur if temperatures are near the freezing mark or even a few degrees above it, and that bridges and tunnels are prime areas.
Black ice awareness: Because black ice is transparent and looks like the surface it is on, it makes it one of the most dangerous road hazards for drivers. While a shiny road surface is a signal as a wet or icy road, black ice simply cannot be seen. However, there is one thing that drivers can make themselves aware of in order to at least be on a better lookout for this dangerous formation:
- Look ahead for pavement that is slightly darker and duller in color than the rest of the roadway or other surface. This is usually the best indicator that black ice is present.
Remember, black ice appears as the color of the material beneath it. When the weather conditions are right for “regular” ice … black ice will most often form as well. Slow down and keep your eyes moving to detect any change of color along the roadway ahead of you. If conditions become too dangerous, stop and park.
Drive safe …
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: black ice, drivers, driving, truck driver, what is black ice, when does black ice form, winter
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Truck Driver Loses Job as Child Dies
Posted by Allen Smith in Truck Driving Jobs, otr trucking, trucking, trucking companies on July 14th, 2009
Truck driver, Andre Walls had been trucking over the road for two and a half years. He had never had an accident and had never received a ticket. Two and a half years of perfect driving and being an excellent employee. Then, he was terminated by his company for violating a company policy : having an “unauthorized passenger” in the truck with him. The company reported it to his DAC Report and just like that . . . Mr. Walls found himself out of the job he loved and now, cannot find another employer to hire him.
Yes, he made a mistake by allowing an unathorized passenger to ride in the truck with him . . . but here’s the rest of the story:
Andre had been running hard all week with very little rest in order to make extra money for himself and his family. He was taking every run he could so they could get “back on track” with their finances. He was dispatched on a load to Northern Arkansas and even though he had little rest, he headed off under dispatch. During the run, he received a phone call from his brother-in-law who was on his way home, but his car broke down. The brother-in-law’s child, Andre’s nephew or neice, was dying. He asked Mr. Walls if he could give him a ride home. Andre did.
Andre completed the load to Arkansas, but was then called in to the company and was advised that he was terminated due to violating company policy. He was asked to write a statement explaining his side of the story, which he did. He was still terminated and with an “unauthorized passenger” on his DAC report, he has not been able to find another trucking company that will hire him.
Before the next morning, the baby died.
What would you have done?
This driver is now at the point of “losing everything.” I mention often that there are good and decent trucking companies. I know there are, because I’ve worked for several of them. Is there one trucking company out there that will prove me right? Will you give Andre Walls a job? Will you look past the fact that he had an “unauthorized passenger” in the truck? Will you understand that a baby was dying?
Help prove me right. If you’ll hire this driver, email me at : allen@truthabouttrucking.com and I’ll forward your email to Andre. I won’t post about it . . . I won’t talk about it . . . it will just be between you and this driver.
What would you have done? What if it had been your child?
Will you hire Andre? email me . . . and thanks.
Allen Smith
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: andre walls, company policy, dac, hire, report, truck driver, trucking, trucking companies, trucking company, unauthorized passenger, violating
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CDL Training – How Students Can End their Career, Before it Begins
Posted by Allen Smith in Truck Driving Jobs, otr trucking, truck driving schools, trucking, trucking companies, trucking life on July 8th, 2009
Over the road trucking is a tough vocation. It’s even tougher now with the economy struggling as it is. Many CDL schools are still reporting an 85% – 90% placement rate for recent CDL graduates. On the other hand, I hear from many students who, after several months or longer, after completing their CDL training, have still been unable to secure employment.
A large majority of these, I assume, has to deal with the fact that the student/grad had negative information on their MVR and the school failed to advise them of the poor chance of being hired. The CDL school took their money anyway. However, many of these CDL students tell me that they have nothing bad on their records, everything is “perfect” and still, they are unable to land a job as a truck driver. This simply has to do with the way the economy is right now.
I recently received an email from a driver who has brought in between $200 – $300 per week for the last several weeks . . . he simply stated that his company has “no freight.” Other drivers tell me they are running hard and can barely keep up! OTR trucking is a strange character. I can’t say when the economy will turn around or trucking will get back on track, but I can explain what you, as a recent CDL training graduate can do, that will most likely end your driving career before it even gets started.
We all know that times are tough right now. Even though CDL schools are reporting such a high job placement rate, I have my doubts with many of them. For those recent CDL students who do land a truck driving job, there is one thing you most certainly want to accomplish . . . get that all-important one year of OTR driving in under your belt with that company!
Many CDL graduates are writing me explaining that they were hired by a trucking company and after 30 days, 3 months or whatever, they ended up quitting due to lack of miles or various other reasons as many of us know. If you’re “fortunate” enough to land a trucking job in today’s economy, if at all possible, you need to try your best to “stick it out” with that first company that has given you the job opportunity. For years, veteran drivers have gotten away with this “job hopping” but not so much now, and certainly not for newcomers just starting out.
Leaving the truck driving job after only one, two or three months, is like digging your own professional truck driving grave. First, the trucking company just possibly shelled out thousands of dollars for your training. Secondly, they will look at you as someone who really is not serious about being an OTR driver and finally, they will most likely turn around and file a negative complaint on your DAC report. This DAC file could turn out to be your “nail in the coffin.”
Other than having stricter policies, better driver treatment, driver respect and so forth, practically all trucking companies do the exact same thing: you pick up freight at point A and you deliver that freight to point B. If you only lasted six weeks on your very first time out, why would other trucking companies believe that you will last with them? You’ll be doing the exact same thing you were doing the six weeks before. The reasons you left are not important to them . . . remember, many of these over the road trucking outfits operate in the same manner.
Could you get lucky and find another company willing to hire you and give you a chance? Maybe . . . but it’s a long shot. It’s understandable that a new driver would quit after only his or her first several weeks, if they are only making a few hundred dollars per week for running in long distance trucking. But the economy is what it is . . . it’s tough for many trucking companies and freight is slow for a big portion of them.
The recruiters and many of the not-so-honest CDL schools are going to tell you what you want to hear. Understand that the trucking industry, for many, are struggling right along with the other various industries in the present economic situation. Your chances of starting out as a new driver and pulling in $1000 per week right off the bat, is not reasonable. It could happen, but not usual with a new CDL graduate and beginning your career with one of these “starter companies.”
After finishing CDL training and you find yourself as one of those new drivers who do land a job with a company . . . be prepared to run the road for at least one year. Some will say for six months . . . but that “one year” is really the magic number. Keep in mind, that many of the really good trucking companies out there, require two and sometimes three or more years of verifiable driving experience . . . that is why they are the “really good” trucking companies.
Be prepared for the one year of sacrifice . . . plan ahead for your finances . . . maybe your spouse will have to continue to work for that first year . . perhaps you will have to dip into your savings . . . whatever the case, just be prepared for the commitment and sacrifice of running OTR for one year.
If after only a few weeks or even a few months, you are just not making it and you have to quit . . . just understand that this is one of the ways a new CDL graduate can almost certainly insure ending their truck driving career before it even begins.
Good Luck,
Truth About Trucking
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: cdl graduates, cdl school, CDL schools, cdl students, cdl training, dac report, driver respect, mvr, new driver, no freight, one year, otr, otr trucking, over the road, truck driver, truck driving career, truck driving job, trucking, trucking companies, trucking industry, verifiable driving experience
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Take the “Truth About Trucking” Survey
Posted by Allen Smith in trucking on May 27th, 2009
With so many issues within the trucking industry today, here at Truth About Trucking, we are working on ways to better
assist students, new drivers and all drivers in general. For that, we would like to ask for your help by participating
in our “Truck Driver and Student” Survey.
The best way for us to know what you need and want in order to help you better, is to take 5 minutes and complete this
very short, 20 question survey. We will also send you a free, downloadable gift just for taking the time to do so:
Thanks for helping: Truth About Trucking Survey
Allen
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: drivers, students, survey, truck driver, trucking, truth about trucking
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Truck Drivers Right to Due Process
Posted by Allen Smith in DOT, Driver License, Truck Driving Jobs, Truckers Health, otr trucking, trucking, trucking companies on May 20th, 2009
What is “Due Process?” The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” If a public employee has a property interest in a job, he or she cannot be discharged without due process. Due process requires that the employee be given notice of the reason for being discharged and a fair hearing at which to contest the decision.
But when is a job considered “property”? An employee has a property interest in a job if there is:
- a written or implied contract granting the employee a property interest in the job;
- if past practice of the employer shows that the employee has a property interest in the job; or
- if a statute gives the employee a property interest in the job
Therefore, if a truck driver, already employed by a trucking company, re-takes the DOT physical exam and passes, and the medical doctor signs off on the medical card, would this not constitute “property interest” on part of the driver? Shouldn’t the driver have the right to due process? How could the trucking company terminate the driver on grounds of “health condition” when the driver had been given the green light from the DOT medical examiner?
To make matters worse, this driver has not been able to find an attorney that will stand up for this drivers’ “Due Process” rights.
The driver sent me an email explaining the situation. After the email, is my short reply to him with links I thought would be helpful. In posting this, I hope that perhaps our readers could provide some insight into this matter, and more importantly, an attorney will step up and help this driver in need.
Here’s the email:
Mr. Smith,
First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is John M. and I am a former CDL Class A tractor-trailer driver and a resident of Cocoa, FL. I started driving big trucks fairly late in life, at age 58 and made it to 60 when my world and my life, most assuredly, fell apart.
I hope that I am not being presumptuous in taking this liberty to share my story with you, Mr. Smith. It is a story that my former driver-colleagues (the survivors, I call them) have taken great interest in, for even the old-timers have never witnessed anything quite like what has transpired with me. If you do continue to read this email and find it of interest, you are quite free to share this email with any of the many contacts in the trucking industry that you’ve developed over the years. They may also find it interesting and perhaps even thought-provoking.
My story, in its simplest and most basic form, is nothing more than this:
Come time to renew my DOT physical certificate, I passed the physical and have (since the very day that I passed my physical) been barred from making a living with my former employer. Ultimately, I was terminated by this company under the general guise of “your recent health condition” as the termination letter stated.
If you’re like most people, Mr. Smith, you’re probably saying to yourself “there must be more to this story.” Indeed, there is MUCH more to the story, none of which, I submit to you, has the first thing to do with my health or any so-called “health condition” cited in my letter of termination. It has everything to do with how people more powerful than myself, for whatever their reasons and motives, can, through force and coercion, herd a perfectly healthy man into an impossible corner (at least, it ended up being impossible for me for a number of different reasons) from which there is no escape. And then actually destroy his/her very health and well-being because they stole their very livelihood away from them.
I’m not trying to be overly-dramatic when I use such words. This is exactly what has happened to me and it could well end up happening to many others in the trucking community if the mad-dogs-of-war against truckers continue to roam freely and consume their victims.
As with just about any topic concerning this industry, literally, ALL responsibility and burdens are being placed directly on the shoulder of truckers. Whether it be my circumstance, the Virginia parking problem … ANYTHING. Everything falls, all consequences, fall on the shoulders of the beleaguered trucker. Like so many others, I was aloof as to what truckers actually go through until I, too, finally experienced strapping on 80,000 lbs. of tractor/trailer and freight and then let out the clutch. Now I’ve driven more than a few miles in the shoes of these remarkable men and women. They are truly the REAL heartbeat of America.
I first learned of you and your work while researching for some material that would, hopefully, bolster a case for what ended up being, I certainly believe, wrongful termination from my former employer, which is a large Florida- based trucking firm. The particular article that I took away from your site as a result of that initial search was the following …
Top 10 Causes of Truck Accidents
After that initial introduction to your web site, I did, indeed, purchase your e-book on 17 January 2009. It is a well-done and most valuable publication, Mr. Smith. One that I so wish I’d had before embarking on this, as it turns out, relatively short-lived career. You’ve provided a valuable service and much valuable information for not only those thinking about pursuing a trucking career but for those already involved. You are to be congratulated. (You are more than welcome to use my words as a testimonial, if you so wish to, Mr. Smith.)
Anyway, my reasoning for seeking out such information, in the first place, was my hope to demonstrate the utter hypocrisy of those destroying my life. Perhaps expose the many hypocrisies that exist within trucking in general. The trucking industry, for sure, has some legitimate problems that do, indeed, need to be addressed, as can be gleaned from your link just above. All that I was, and still am, trying to prove is that, again, trucking does have its unique problems. I just wasn’t one of them – and I say that humbly. But I was “converted” into a “problem” … where NO problem whatsoever ever existed to start with, by any rational, reasonable and everyday common sense measures.
Let’s just say that, like airline pilots who carry “loss of license” insurance, I wish that I’d had a ton of such an insurance policy. To my knowledge, though, no such insurance exists in the trucking industry. Puh-lenty of ways to lose one’s license. Just not many, if any, “antidotes” for such an eventuality, or so it seems.
Believe me when I say, Mr. Smith, the No. 1 cause of truck accidents cited in your posting – Prescription Drug Use 26% – is a very large component of my story. Not because I was on any prescription drugs – but because of my refusal to be “medicated” by the world of Big Pharma! Please understand that the promotion of the wonderful world of prescription drugs, by parties who held my very driving career in the palm of their hands, came AFTER I returned from the medical examiner’s office … with a passed medical certificate in my hand!
Attached to this email, Mr. Smith, is what I passed along to one of Orlando’s largest and well-known law firms, just last week. Hopefully, it will fill in some more blanks for you. All that it availed me was to incur my fourth rejection from as many different law firms who, supposedly, claimed to have expertise in “employment law”. For some reason, when I approach them and they get a glimpse at my case, they all of a sudden really don’t seem to practice employment law anymore. I’m not sure what to make of all these rejections, quite honestly.
So at this juncture, since it doesn’t appear that I’ll ever find legal relief, I wanted to present my story to you, Mr. Smith. Again, I hope that I haven’t been presumptuous in doing so. I fully realize that this email has already grown fairly long. For that I apologize but there is no easy or simple way to explain the full story on the quick and short. Still, it is my hope that you’ve found my words to of potential trucking community interest. I will certainly answer any further questions that you, or anybody else, may for me.
I have come to believe that I may possibly have a “due process” violation case. All that I think that I can say for sure, Mr. Smith, is that common, “everyday people”, such as my former driver colleagues, think that I was treated unjustly and unfairly. If they’re correct in their assessment, then I want to see what I can do to make sure that nobody else in the trucking community suffers as I have. None of this had to happen, for there never was a problem to start with. Until one was “manufactured”. I wouldn’t be writing this email if this “manufacturing” of non-existent problems had not happened.
I passed the physical … now, let me get back to work. Just that simple. That’s all that should have transpired. But it was not to be … and my life is in absolute tatters now.
If you’re down “here” now, Mr. Smith, I can’t thank you enough for taking your valuable time to hear me out. Once again, I consider this letter public now, if you wish to pass it along to others for their assessment. Again, I’ll be glad to answer any question that you or anyone else may have for me. Certainly, any advice and counsel would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for everything that you do for all truckers, Mr. Smith.
Respectfully yours,
John M.
Cocoa, Florida
email – champ7eca@bellsouth.net
My reply:
Hi John:
I am working on posting your story to our blog and through some research, I found the below site while investigating the “due process” legalities:
My hope is that perhaps an attorney in Constitutional Law may be able to help you. Here is a list of such attorneys in or near your location:
Hope this helps,
Allen
If there is an attorney out there that believe they can help this driver, please contact him through his email.
Thanks,
Allen Smith
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: attorney, constitutional law, DOT, due process, employee, health, job, medical examiner, prescription drug use, property interest, truck driver, trucking, trucking company
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How a Truck Driving School Can Ruin Your Driving Career
Posted by Allen Smith in Truck Driving Jobs, otr trucking, truck driving schools, trucking on May 15th, 2009
There are those truck driving training schools that will use one technique that will insure a new drivers’ failure at a driving career every time:
Another email from a CDL graduate with the same story:
“Just because my teacher at XXXX Training School told me not to put my DUI on my application because the DUI was over 5 years old, they fired me because I did not put it down. I was out on the road with my trainer for a week and they red flagged me and then fired me. I can’t seem to get any trucking company to even look at me now.”
When I receive emails like this one, and I get a lot of them, it simply makes my blood boil. As author of the first and original, Truth About Trucking, I want to reiterate the TRUTH about what some truck driving schools will do that will end your truck driving career before it even has a chance to begin. It’s not like I haven’t already made this SCAM known, but it’s time to let it be known again.
It is true that trucking companies will normally do a back-ground check for the past 5-7 years. The above email was sent to me by a new driver that had experienced a DUI back in 1996. So, here’s the truth AGAIN:
The trucking company means absolutely NOTHING when it comes to the completed hiring process. The ultimate decision will nearly always come from the insurance carrier. The employment application will always ask the question in similar form such as, “Have you ever been….?” or “Have you ever had a…?” or “Have you ever been convicted of…?” and so forth. The key word here is: “EVER“.
If the question is, “Have you ever been convicted of a DUI?” - then it means “ever.” Even if the DUI was 75 years ago, ever means ever. By not putting it down on the application constitutes “falsifying a Commercial Motor Vehicle Application” which is a very serious offense. State and Federal Laws are very clear about this matter:
“Any person who falsifies any information in an application or test for a commercial driver’s license shall not be licensed to operate a commercial motor vehicle, or the person’s commercial driver’s license shall be canceled, for a period of one year after the director discovers such falsification.”
These truck driving school instructors, recruiters and driver trainers know this. By telling you not to write it down on the application because they only go back several years, is nothing but a lie and a scam. The school still keeps your money and you could very well be in a situation where you may never find work as a truck driver. At the minimum, you will be out of luck for at least one year. Then, after one year has passed, you will be required to go through CDL training all over again, and yes, you will have to pay for it once more.
Because you may have driven for one or two weeks before the insurance carrier caught it, the trucking company will then turn around and place a “falsifying” report on your DAC. All future employers will see this report and thus, the reason for not accepting you within a driving position. Also, the HireRight DAC Trucking Solutions, who oversees the DAC report, could care less about the truth. You have the right to place your side of the story on your DAC and try to have it removed through the use of an attorney, but this can be very time consuming and costly.
REMEMBER: When a recruiter or truck driving school official or driver trainer tells you not to worry about writing down a violation that occurred over 5-7 years ago … they are either lying or they are just ignorant. It is a SCAM!
Doing so, will end your driving career and landing another truck driving job could take a very long time.
ALWAYS list EVERYTHING down on the Commercial Motor Vehicle Application no matter what the offense and no matter how long ago it was.
Allen Smith
© 2009 – 2010, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: cdl graduate, commercial motor vehicle application, dac, dui, falsifying, insurance carrier, scam, truck driver, truck driving job, truck driving school, truck driving schools, truck driving training, trucking companies, trucking company, truth, usis
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Truck Driver found Guilty of Falsifying Logs
Posted by Allen Smith in Safety, trucking on May 14th, 2009
(AP) – A truck driver from Indiana was convicted on five counts of falsifying his log book from a 2005 accident which killed five people and injured 28 others. The drivers’ semi rig had turned over on I-94 near Osseo, Wisconsin and a bus carrying the Chippewa Falls High School marching band ran into it.
The truck driver, found not guilty on criminal charges, faces up to five years in Federal Prison on each count. Prosecutors say the 26 year old driver showed that he was in the sleeper birth at the time of driving. His attorney plans to appeal.
© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.
: birth, falsifying, log book, sleeper, truck driver
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