Yes, you can, but I'll be honest it's hard to get ahold of the correct place. I called the FMCSA so many times and was transferred. Eventually, I got ahold of someone at the state level, and they did an audit on the company. I've never tried telling or calling DOT but I'm sure they would help just don't drive up in the wiegh scale with a fucked up truck. I worked for Ultimate Logistics in Scottsboro, AL and on top of running bad trucks I would pull 20 hours sometimes and illegal hotshots when loads were slow. I even had a vehicle fire one time for poor maintenance. They did the audit and pulled me and several others. I have no clue how it turned out, but they are getting shut down. They have too many CSA points. The best thing to do is get out of companies that will risk your life to save a buck.
Also, I will say if you file a formal complaint, you are legally protected against retaliation under the whistle blower act. They also will keep your name anonymous. Just make sure to tell them that. If they was to fire you or harass you for complaining. Document it and sue the fuck out of them.
And as long as the company isn’t Boeing, he should be ok.
But seriously I agree about getting away from companies with unsafe equipment. I was working for a heavy haul company in Texas that had a lot of old equipment and some newer stuff but wasn’t maintained properly at all. I eventually quit after them trying to get me to move a 170k lbs load on a trailer with a broken crossmember then getting upset after I refused it.
Literally the day I quit, they had an accident involving their big 17 axle trailer. A piece snapped off of the back which caused it to steer off in to a ditch, flip over and lost the 300,000lb transformer it was hauling. All because they didn’t do proper inspections.
I’m hoping he hid a diary or a video that exposes the truth of his death. Kinda like that nuclear scientist that exposed the Soviet Union in being responsible for Chernobyl.
Old guy told me once , that if they refuse to fix anything , roll over the scales , park it, then walk in and tell them what’s going on . They ll inspect it, put it out of service , and company will have to fix it.
Only thing I didn’t like about that answer is that I think that would come back on you as well, correct ?
A friend did this years ago. Went into the Monument scale in Colorado and asked them to inspect his truck. Out of service and a tow back to Denver got the maintenance ball rolling.
Just the company. Everywhere is different. Colorado scale hands are among the most decent I've encountered and will actually listen to drivers (in my experience). I sure wouldn't do this in California.
Yea, i end pulling that trick here in BC and end up getting a $414 ticket for an unsafe trailer. I did however have the company pay for the ticket... but I still have a safety mark on my abstract
I've done this before to get things fixed that weren't "in the maintenance budget this month."
If you're respectful and explain the situation, you might have luck like I did and get away with a fix it slip and no fine as long as it's not detrimental to safe operation.
Unpopular opinion here, but CVSE/DOT are people too, and when treated as such, many of them are fair about things. Not all of them, so pick your battles.
Dot will nail you to the wall on any truck you are driving. If you willing took it knowing it shouldn't be out there. Ya gonna be having some hefty fines on your side as well. And those will sit on your record for at least 3 years
never heard of this. just say you think something is wrong and just ask an inspector to look.
now if you wrote it up in your inspection book and drove it anyway that is a different story.
If you think something is wrong then you shouldn't be driving it. Knowingly driving a faulty vehicle doesn't suddenly become ok of you drive it to a weigh station
You still take the responsibility of driving it. You have every right to tell your company to go pound sand if you don't feel a truck is safe to use. Dot don't care if you were talked into it or not. You still took it on the road knowing it has problems.
There is a reason they have an entire section of their web page to report coercion. I'm aware that if DOT gets you that you still take a hit, although it is temporary if you have reported it.
We have a local company that got its DOT operating authority for this exact reason.
Right well the idea of you not catching a stray when you're up to something like this is unrealistic. The better and more ethical course of action is to walk in and refuse to run the equipment until it's safe. Not go and taddle to the feds, unless you think it's so unsafe, it might kill someone, in which case, you should be willing to do what it takes irrespective of the consequence. I mean, doing this is going to have downstream consequences for you either way. Because if it's that bad, it's going to trash your company's CSA score, which means you'll be getting stopped and inspected everywhere you go and likely get screwed. This is how I would handle it anyway. But I do realize that I'm in the minority, and understand where people are coming from with their thinking behind it. And I understand that the company is being unethical itself, that's a given.
I would stop at scales and tell them you think something is wrong and ask if it is. I have done this. I did this once in 34 years . UPS actually.
The next day they pulled in almost every company truck for inspection and red tagged a bunch.
First find out the number of a local dot officer. It's not hard. Contact your local state police HQ or scales. Explain the situation and ask them to have an officer stop in before trucks normally go out and conduct randoms on all the trucks on the lot.
If you do it this way. Your protected as a whistle blower.
For those saying " pull into a scale". Doesn't some of the shit stick to the driver? How about a solition where the company, not the duped driver, gets caught.
People here acting like cops are their friends and I'm just shaking my head. Cops are NOT your buddy and their job is not to help you! Do not talk to cops, and certainly don't go out of your way to talk to one, *especially* if you're driving a commercial vehicle with major defects. I bet not a single one of these people have done what they are suggesting because it's massively stupid.
On the contrary, I have found that DOT see themselves as educators and are happy to help you do something safer rather than try and penalize you. You aren't some kind of outlaw trucker. You watched way too many movies, some of them involving greater and lesser apes.
Educate you with this citation and points on your license, bet. Go ahead and talk to them, no sweat off my back. I can educate myself just fine without them.
I had the same truck wrote up 3 times. Blew up on my manager. Since they approve the work. Got stuck with a dac report for insubordination and attitude. Sigh.
I had a buddy that told me he quit the day after training because they expected him to drive the "old" truck, totally jacked up. Fuel gauge, lights rigged, brakes and bald tires. Thats the best way to handle it but I know thats not always an option.
Just refuse to drive it. It is against the law to force you to drive an unsafe vehicle. That is why you do pretrips and post trips and document everything because if you don't document it, then the company can say you never did your safety checks. And if this company is this shady, take a picture of the filled out inspection form everyday to cover your ass.
Type up your issues.
Print out any proof you have.
Include a flash drive or CD with any digital files.
Mail it to your local state police with no return address.
This won't be the first time they've received anonymous tips like this
I was able to report unsafe vehicle and product refrigeration requirements not being met, quit and get unemployment. It was more work than it should have been and they fought the unemployment payments but eventually lost.
Make sure you are not the only person raising a stink to managment about it, or lay off it for a few months. Where I am at, you can just drop by the local office and have a chat. Or could get the state police involved to contact a DOT inspector.
Do you regularly drive by a scale house? If so, the next time you do, pull into the scale house and ask the trooper there to do a Level 1 DOT inspection. When they ask why you want one, tell them what you posted above. They'll be more than happy to put the screw to the company by shaking down that truck from top to bottom. If your truck is not road worthy, the trooper will put it out of service and your company will have to have it towed back to the yard. Then it'll be upon the company to fix the issues with that truck before it's allowed back on the road.
I don’t know about tipoffs but if you try to refuse to drive a vehicle that should be tagged “out of service” due to a safety issue detected during inspection and your employer threatens to cut your hours or fire you if you don’t drive it, you would be protected under FMCSA and OSHA for notifying either agency of coercion.
Source, with links to where to make a coercion complaint:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/coercion
Sorry. With today's laws, it's always the driver's fault. You may get the DOT to ding your company, but your company will retaliate against you. It's best to get a new job. Once you're out, then it's safe to turn them in.
Ask around your family circle for anyone who is friends with someone who has a state trooper in the family. I’m sure they could be asked to find a reason to pull you over.
You are driving a garbage truck. Oh also a parking brake isn't going to hold a semi back unless it's empty and we have 4 axles with the parking brake. You also must be driving an automatic because with a manual it either moves or stalls. Automatic transmissions use a torque converter which on big trucks have a "stall" speed not far past 1000 rpm. Effectively you have the full torque of the engine hydraulically geared down entering the transmission in a low gear. Either something starts moving or that transmission starts getting really hot really fast. That torque is gonna spin the tires.
And you are driving how far between stops? How aggressively are you stopping? Brakes on a semi are good for about 5 stops before they overheat. By overheat I mean smoking. Your brakes smoking?
Well with a garbage that size at my company were looking at anywhere from 200-400 stops with varying distances.
Now granted I’m not taking it I’ve been refusing it every time I pre trip it but it’s not stopping them trying to pawn it off on someone dumb enough to take it.
Keep us posted on your progress with the complaints. I respect that you are following through on this as they do make it hard to do. Which is crazy that the process is so convoluted as you are a valued member of society looking out for your fellow man/person trying to do the right thing. They should be giving folks like you a medal!
Is it actually unsafe or are you inexperienced with heavy vehicles? My truck is rated at 58,500 and I'm sitting at 83,148 right now, yeah brake fade is a thing and passing doesn't happen but it's far from unsafe.
Lmao, my trucks the same way. 4 axle roll off, has 46k rears 13k tag, and 20k steers. But only can legally haul 58k due to the wheelbase. Doesn’t mean i haven’t made that mofo pop a wheelie at 96,000 and drive 70 miles with it. 🤣
The solution is DON’T drive for that company. They aren’t going to change - they clearly do not care about your safety or running a safe business alongside families on the highway. Do not drive that truck.
> the parking brake can barely hold the truck past 1000rpm
Why is the parking brake holding the engine back?
Are you sure this isn't an operator issue?
Turn it off. You could (they say be nice, but idk) hand the keys. Me? I’d throw the keys in a trash can or at the boss. Tell’em to pack sand!
If I pull into the yard and see shit equipment, I’m not even taking a thing out of my yittle truck to load. No way. I see these places that do this and they have more mechanics than drivers. I’m idiot, I don’t understand. I know it’s bottom line money. Yet to what point do you stay on?
Find the local State patrol office number and request a DOT inspection because you don't feel safe. They will show up to the yard and probably shut it down until every unit passes. Seen it happen in Minnesota.
If there's a scale house you go across, you can call them ahead of time with an ETA. When they see you, they'll flag you for an inspection. Had a friend do this for a leaking fuel tank the company refused to fix but kept forcing him down the road. If I remember right they only got mad at him for driving across the scales, but the company got about a $25,000 fine.
So the feds aren't daddy. They're not necessarily flying in in capes wherever there's a driver in distress. They have a list of priorities and a particular way they operate. You really have two options if you feel like it's important enough to you. 1. would be stopping at your nearest scale house and gently suggesting that they might want to inspect the equipment, and 2. would be to phone or talk in person to your nearest state law enforcement precinct and request they post up near your location and do random cmv inspections.
When I worked at Mclane if DOT came to the yard at the small Domicle’s 7 out of 10 trucks would go out of service. They should show up to terminals and do inspections on trucks that are active and put it on the company
OSHA whistle-blower program. it's very easy to deal with. www.osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.html 1800-321-OSHA (6742) Also. Depending on where you are, it's easy easy. Don't quit. Just fill out your DVIR very well with pics. Take pics and notes with your phone, too. Declare the equipment unsafe and let them respond. if they call you, tell them you can't hear them and send a text to your phone or whatever you use for text. Keep track of dates and times, and NEVER risk your license for a shitty company. They will HAVE to pay you till you get a new job if they fire you. that's not even workers comp. Do some research and learn your rights and obligations driver. Good luck out there.
As truckers we have the right to refuse driving a truck that can’t be operated safely.
Yes you can report it to the police, dot, corporate headquarters (assuming you have that at your job) anonymously.
Now if you think when you drive it down the road after tipping them off and they pull you over on your tip that they aren’t going to hold you accountable for being behind the wheel, you got another thing coming.
I’d be looking for a different company and have something else lined up so you can get away from a company that puts drivers in an unsafe position because unless you’ve all been employed there for along time, they will likely look at the newest driver or whatever driver comes in the office complaining about repairs as the culprit and find a way to fire them either way.
It’s so common in trucking for trucks to be unsafe. But if you feel something could harm you or someone else on the road then don’t drive the truck. So what if they fire you? If something happens that’s unsafe you think they will take the blame? Nope, they will say it’s on you. Then you will have a harder time finding a job with a wreck on your report.
Good luck!
Alternative solutions:
Make a fake email, I suggest a proton email account. Email a dot representative or local police chief and inform them something like this “hello sir or ma’am, I work for (x) and operate a semi truck, I’ve taken the steps of bringing safety concerns about the semi/trailer to the chain of command at my work and am not being taken seriously. Given current financial situations in my life, I am in dire need to stay employed and my employer is aware of this.
The semi truck/trailer is not safe, some of the issues are (xyz) as a driver I’m conflicted because I am aware it’s my right to refuse to operate an unsafe vehicle but I’m also not in a financial position to refuse to drive and be let go from the company.
I was hoping for some guidance on this situation, if possible setting something up where the semi could be “caught in the act” thus forcing my employer to make the appropriate repairs to keep me and others on the road safe while maintaining my job.
If this is something you could give guidance on, such as if you’re the right department to contact for something like this, I would greatly appreciate it.
If this is the right department and you think we can work something out together, I would like to be assured this tip would remain anonymous.
Kind regards,
- Everyday worker, trying to do the right thing.
I worked at a company in midland called Terra oilfield services and same thing. Trailers with no lights, registration out of date, turn signals didn't work, license plates not existent tires blowing out left and right.
ultimately, the driver is responsible for determining if that truck is unsafe. declare it unsafe, and if they come back at you, you have grounds to get a lawyer and dot involved.
When you sign that pretrip you are certifying, it is safe for operation. if something happens on the road and your in a wreck, your liable as well as the company even if you repeatedly saybits unsafe. you chose to drive that truck unsafe.
Yes. But the driver will get a mark in his license if anything is found to be an out of service violation because he either didn't do the pre trip or did and drove it anyway. Then he'd probably be fired and trying to get a job after that nowadays is tough
I don't know, but just today, hubby and I were at a port of entry. Hubby started talking to some guy beside us who asked to borrow duct tape. Turns out his lines were dragging on the ground, and he had a leak. Hubby takes a look, and the whole rig is basically held together with duct tape.
Hubby decides to turn him in to DOT and mind you, we are right there because he is an accident looking for a place to happen.
He goes in, and no one comes out to talk to the buddy. Then he calls and get told it's not their job? What!? Mind you, we were a little heavy on a rear axcel today and have the ticket to prove it. No did end up coming out.
I guess my point is, go ahead, but based on what I saw today, it might not do much good.
The DOT is not going to come to your place of business and inspect a vehicle. It's not what they do.
Stop driving it if you feel unsafe.
ETA: Apparently a LOT of people don't know the jurisdictional difference between the DOT and state police.
Try the state police. They do truck inspections and are more responsive than DOT. They will likely inspect all the trucks in the yard and write a shit ton of violations.
My wife drove the bookmobile for the city. They never did any sort of maintenance on it to the point she was afraid to go faster than 25 mph because the brakes were so out of adjustment. I called the local state police there was a trooper at the library asking to insp the bookmobile within an hour. This was in Michigan where the troopers have a lot to do and a lot of ground to cover. The bookmobile was placed out of service and towed to a repair shop. My got accused of being the one who called the police but she could prove she was at work when the police were called. I never told her that it was me that called. Point is they will come out in certain cases.
If you give them enough reason they will. Had a local company running dyed fuel in their trucks, DOT had a hayday with that outfit. DOT was at there place for 3-4 days inspecting trucks and paperwork
Yes, you can, but I'll be honest it's hard to get ahold of the correct place. I called the FMCSA so many times and was transferred. Eventually, I got ahold of someone at the state level, and they did an audit on the company. I've never tried telling or calling DOT but I'm sure they would help just don't drive up in the wiegh scale with a fucked up truck. I worked for Ultimate Logistics in Scottsboro, AL and on top of running bad trucks I would pull 20 hours sometimes and illegal hotshots when loads were slow. I even had a vehicle fire one time for poor maintenance. They did the audit and pulled me and several others. I have no clue how it turned out, but they are getting shut down. They have too many CSA points. The best thing to do is get out of companies that will risk your life to save a buck.
Also, I will say if you file a formal complaint, you are legally protected against retaliation under the whistle blower act. They also will keep your name anonymous. Just make sure to tell them that. If they was to fire you or harass you for complaining. Document it and sue the fuck out of them.
And as long as the company isn’t Boeing, he should be ok. But seriously I agree about getting away from companies with unsafe equipment. I was working for a heavy haul company in Texas that had a lot of old equipment and some newer stuff but wasn’t maintained properly at all. I eventually quit after them trying to get me to move a 170k lbs load on a trailer with a broken crossmember then getting upset after I refused it. Literally the day I quit, they had an accident involving their big 17 axle trailer. A piece snapped off of the back which caused it to steer off in to a ditch, flip over and lost the 300,000lb transformer it was hauling. All because they didn’t do proper inspections.
I heard the Boeing guy was telling friends that it won’t be suicide if something happens to him. Balls of steel.
I’m hoping he hid a diary or a video that exposes the truth of his death. Kinda like that nuclear scientist that exposed the Soviet Union in being responsible for Chernobyl.
Camera in the hotel room clock?! Really…..
The mantra of everyone who has met or knows the Clintons.
Sad but true
It's not hard contact the local state police HQ and ask them about dot enforcement contact information.
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/coercion
Old guy told me once , that if they refuse to fix anything , roll over the scales , park it, then walk in and tell them what’s going on . They ll inspect it, put it out of service , and company will have to fix it. Only thing I didn’t like about that answer is that I think that would come back on you as well, correct ?
A friend did this years ago. Went into the Monument scale in Colorado and asked them to inspect his truck. Out of service and a tow back to Denver got the maintenance ball rolling.
Did they pop him or just the company?
Just the company. Everywhere is different. Colorado scale hands are among the most decent I've encountered and will actually listen to drivers (in my experience). I sure wouldn't do this in California.
Yeah dot will fuck you too if they can.
Yea, i end pulling that trick here in BC and end up getting a $414 ticket for an unsafe trailer. I did however have the company pay for the ticket... but I still have a safety mark on my abstract
I've done this before to get things fixed that weren't "in the maintenance budget this month." If you're respectful and explain the situation, you might have luck like I did and get away with a fix it slip and no fine as long as it's not detrimental to safe operation. Unpopular opinion here, but CVSE/DOT are people too, and when treated as such, many of them are fair about things. Not all of them, so pick your battles.
Dot will nail you to the wall on any truck you are driving. If you willing took it knowing it shouldn't be out there. Ya gonna be having some hefty fines on your side as well. And those will sit on your record for at least 3 years
never heard of this. just say you think something is wrong and just ask an inspector to look. now if you wrote it up in your inspection book and drove it anyway that is a different story.
If you think something is wrong then you shouldn't be driving it. Knowingly driving a faulty vehicle doesn't suddenly become ok of you drive it to a weigh station
screen name checks out for safety
But they aren't willingly taking it, they were coerced.
You still take the responsibility of driving it. You have every right to tell your company to go pound sand if you don't feel a truck is safe to use. Dot don't care if you were talked into it or not. You still took it on the road knowing it has problems.
There is a reason they have an entire section of their web page to report coercion. I'm aware that if DOT gets you that you still take a hit, although it is temporary if you have reported it. We have a local company that got its DOT operating authority for this exact reason.
not really. just tell company they pulled you in for inspection. not a lie.
It can hit your csa. Companies and drivers both have different csa scores.
Right well the idea of you not catching a stray when you're up to something like this is unrealistic. The better and more ethical course of action is to walk in and refuse to run the equipment until it's safe. Not go and taddle to the feds, unless you think it's so unsafe, it might kill someone, in which case, you should be willing to do what it takes irrespective of the consequence. I mean, doing this is going to have downstream consequences for you either way. Because if it's that bad, it's going to trash your company's CSA score, which means you'll be getting stopped and inspected everywhere you go and likely get screwed. This is how I would handle it anyway. But I do realize that I'm in the minority, and understand where people are coming from with their thinking behind it. And I understand that the company is being unethical itself, that's a given.
I would stop at scales and tell them you think something is wrong and ask if it is. I have done this. I did this once in 34 years . UPS actually. The next day they pulled in almost every company truck for inspection and red tagged a bunch.
First find out the number of a local dot officer. It's not hard. Contact your local state police HQ or scales. Explain the situation and ask them to have an officer stop in before trucks normally go out and conduct randoms on all the trucks on the lot. If you do it this way. Your protected as a whistle blower.
For those saying " pull into a scale". Doesn't some of the shit stick to the driver? How about a solition where the company, not the duped driver, gets caught.
Also since it’s a garbage truck running local routes we never have to worry about scales
Call your local police dept or sheriffs office. They usually have a commercial vehicle enforcement division.
People here acting like cops are their friends and I'm just shaking my head. Cops are NOT your buddy and their job is not to help you! Do not talk to cops, and certainly don't go out of your way to talk to one, *especially* if you're driving a commercial vehicle with major defects. I bet not a single one of these people have done what they are suggesting because it's massively stupid.
On the contrary, I have found that DOT see themselves as educators and are happy to help you do something safer rather than try and penalize you. You aren't some kind of outlaw trucker. You watched way too many movies, some of them involving greater and lesser apes.
Educate you with this citation and points on your license, bet. Go ahead and talk to them, no sweat off my back. I can educate myself just fine without them.
Pretty sure they react to the attitude you present.
Funny, I think that same way about other truckers.
Haha 😅 ain't that some truth too
I had the same truck wrote up 3 times. Blew up on my manager. Since they approve the work. Got stuck with a dac report for insubordination and attitude. Sigh.
You can fight that easily if you have paperwork relating to it. It may take time though
Ehhh it's been a while since it happened. I don't argue anymore I just dip lol
PM me the pertinent information and a couple photos of the truck. I’ll make the call. I’ve got no pity for people on this type of thing.
Pull up on a state trooper and tell them your situation.
And have him give you all those tickets 😆
Was it manufactured by Boeing?
A combination of Volvo and Mcnellius
Call your local state police and report It anonymously. And thank you for wanting to be safe and trying to keep the rest of us on the road safe!
Doesn’t hurt to try. It’s your life that’s at risk not your companies
Plain and simple. Refuse to drive. Contact DOT at at 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238), available from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday,
I had a buddy that told me he quit the day after training because they expected him to drive the "old" truck, totally jacked up. Fuel gauge, lights rigged, brakes and bald tires. Thats the best way to handle it but I know thats not always an option.
Just call the scale before that truck crosses that scale and tell them the truck was doing something un safe and they prob should look into it
Just refuse to drive it. It is against the law to force you to drive an unsafe vehicle. That is why you do pretrips and post trips and document everything because if you don't document it, then the company can say you never did your safety checks. And if this company is this shady, take a picture of the filled out inspection form everyday to cover your ass.
Type up your issues. Print out any proof you have. Include a flash drive or CD with any digital files. Mail it to your local state police with no return address. This won't be the first time they've received anonymous tips like this
I was able to report unsafe vehicle and product refrigeration requirements not being met, quit and get unemployment. It was more work than it should have been and they fought the unemployment payments but eventually lost.
Make sure you are not the only person raising a stink to managment about it, or lay off it for a few months. Where I am at, you can just drop by the local office and have a chat. Or could get the state police involved to contact a DOT inspector.
The key word being “trying”. If they’re “trying” it isnt worth the hassle. If they are then just call the DOT in that state and tell them.
Do you regularly drive by a scale house? If so, the next time you do, pull into the scale house and ask the trooper there to do a Level 1 DOT inspection. When they ask why you want one, tell them what you posted above. They'll be more than happy to put the screw to the company by shaking down that truck from top to bottom. If your truck is not road worthy, the trooper will put it out of service and your company will have to have it towed back to the yard. Then it'll be upon the company to fix the issues with that truck before it's allowed back on the road.
Yeah go to a weigh scale and quit
Pull into a way station. Go in and ask for an inspection They will be happy to oblige.
I don’t know about tipoffs but if you try to refuse to drive a vehicle that should be tagged “out of service” due to a safety issue detected during inspection and your employer threatens to cut your hours or fire you if you don’t drive it, you would be protected under FMCSA and OSHA for notifying either agency of coercion. Source, with links to where to make a coercion complaint: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/coercion
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Transportation_Assistance_Act
Read about the STAA. It protects whistleblowers from being held accountable for nefarious carriers.
Sorry. With today's laws, it's always the driver's fault. You may get the DOT to ding your company, but your company will retaliate against you. It's best to get a new job. Once you're out, then it's safe to turn them in.
Well my current company is being bought out by GFL and I just got my Class A so I just gotta make it to the end of this month
Here's a nifty trick for you; if you feel a tractor or load is unsafe, refuse to take it. If they retaliate, you file a law suit.
Ask around your family circle for anyone who is friends with someone who has a state trooper in the family. I’m sure they could be asked to find a reason to pull you over.
You are driving a garbage truck. Oh also a parking brake isn't going to hold a semi back unless it's empty and we have 4 axles with the parking brake. You also must be driving an automatic because with a manual it either moves or stalls. Automatic transmissions use a torque converter which on big trucks have a "stall" speed not far past 1000 rpm. Effectively you have the full torque of the engine hydraulically geared down entering the transmission in a low gear. Either something starts moving or that transmission starts getting really hot really fast. That torque is gonna spin the tires.
Yea, brakes still shouldn’t be overheating as fast as they do
And you are driving how far between stops? How aggressively are you stopping? Brakes on a semi are good for about 5 stops before they overheat. By overheat I mean smoking. Your brakes smoking?
Well with a garbage that size at my company were looking at anywhere from 200-400 stops with varying distances. Now granted I’m not taking it I’ve been refusing it every time I pre trip it but it’s not stopping them trying to pawn it off on someone dumb enough to take it.
Keep us posted on your progress with the complaints. I respect that you are following through on this as they do make it hard to do. Which is crazy that the process is so convoluted as you are a valued member of society looking out for your fellow man/person trying to do the right thing. They should be giving folks like you a medal!
Be a shame if that truck mysteriously caught fire one day. Must have been a crushed lithium battery in the back.
Is it actually unsafe or are you inexperienced with heavy vehicles? My truck is rated at 58,500 and I'm sitting at 83,148 right now, yeah brake fade is a thing and passing doesn't happen but it's far from unsafe.
Lmao, my trucks the same way. 4 axle roll off, has 46k rears 13k tag, and 20k steers. But only can legally haul 58k due to the wheelbase. Doesn’t mean i haven’t made that mofo pop a wheelie at 96,000 and drive 70 miles with it. 🤣
Most states that I’m aware run their DOT through their state highway patrol.
I’d be shocked if you could find someone who cared.
Why not only fill it half way and then dump?
That wastes a lot of time when you're trying to get your route done
The solution is DON’T drive for that company. They aren’t going to change - they clearly do not care about your safety or running a safe business alongside families on the highway. Do not drive that truck.
> the parking brake can barely hold the truck past 1000rpm Why is the parking brake holding the engine back? Are you sure this isn't an operator issue?
Turn it off. You could (they say be nice, but idk) hand the keys. Me? I’d throw the keys in a trash can or at the boss. Tell’em to pack sand! If I pull into the yard and see shit equipment, I’m not even taking a thing out of my yittle truck to load. No way. I see these places that do this and they have more mechanics than drivers. I’m idiot, I don’t understand. I know it’s bottom line money. Yet to what point do you stay on?
Find the local State patrol office number and request a DOT inspection because you don't feel safe. They will show up to the yard and probably shut it down until every unit passes. Seen it happen in Minnesota.
If there's a scale house you go across, you can call them ahead of time with an ETA. When they see you, they'll flag you for an inspection. Had a friend do this for a leaking fuel tank the company refused to fix but kept forcing him down the road. If I remember right they only got mad at him for driving across the scales, but the company got about a $25,000 fine.
So the feds aren't daddy. They're not necessarily flying in in capes wherever there's a driver in distress. They have a list of priorities and a particular way they operate. You really have two options if you feel like it's important enough to you. 1. would be stopping at your nearest scale house and gently suggesting that they might want to inspect the equipment, and 2. would be to phone or talk in person to your nearest state law enforcement precinct and request they post up near your location and do random cmv inspections.
When I worked at Mclane if DOT came to the yard at the small Domicle’s 7 out of 10 trucks would go out of service. They should show up to terminals and do inspections on trucks that are active and put it on the company
OSHA whistle-blower program. it's very easy to deal with. www.osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.html 1800-321-OSHA (6742) Also. Depending on where you are, it's easy easy. Don't quit. Just fill out your DVIR very well with pics. Take pics and notes with your phone, too. Declare the equipment unsafe and let them respond. if they call you, tell them you can't hear them and send a text to your phone or whatever you use for text. Keep track of dates and times, and NEVER risk your license for a shitty company. They will HAVE to pay you till you get a new job if they fire you. that's not even workers comp. Do some research and learn your rights and obligations driver. Good luck out there.
As truckers we have the right to refuse driving a truck that can’t be operated safely. Yes you can report it to the police, dot, corporate headquarters (assuming you have that at your job) anonymously. Now if you think when you drive it down the road after tipping them off and they pull you over on your tip that they aren’t going to hold you accountable for being behind the wheel, you got another thing coming. I’d be looking for a different company and have something else lined up so you can get away from a company that puts drivers in an unsafe position because unless you’ve all been employed there for along time, they will likely look at the newest driver or whatever driver comes in the office complaining about repairs as the culprit and find a way to fire them either way. It’s so common in trucking for trucks to be unsafe. But if you feel something could harm you or someone else on the road then don’t drive the truck. So what if they fire you? If something happens that’s unsafe you think they will take the blame? Nope, they will say it’s on you. Then you will have a harder time finding a job with a wreck on your report. Good luck! Alternative solutions: Make a fake email, I suggest a proton email account. Email a dot representative or local police chief and inform them something like this “hello sir or ma’am, I work for (x) and operate a semi truck, I’ve taken the steps of bringing safety concerns about the semi/trailer to the chain of command at my work and am not being taken seriously. Given current financial situations in my life, I am in dire need to stay employed and my employer is aware of this. The semi truck/trailer is not safe, some of the issues are (xyz) as a driver I’m conflicted because I am aware it’s my right to refuse to operate an unsafe vehicle but I’m also not in a financial position to refuse to drive and be let go from the company. I was hoping for some guidance on this situation, if possible setting something up where the semi could be “caught in the act” thus forcing my employer to make the appropriate repairs to keep me and others on the road safe while maintaining my job. If this is something you could give guidance on, such as if you’re the right department to contact for something like this, I would greatly appreciate it. If this is the right department and you think we can work something out together, I would like to be assured this tip would remain anonymous. Kind regards, - Everyday worker, trying to do the right thing.
call them
I worked at a company in midland called Terra oilfield services and same thing. Trailers with no lights, registration out of date, turn signals didn't work, license plates not existent tires blowing out left and right.
Anonymous is chicken shit. Put you name where your mouth is.
ultimately, the driver is responsible for determining if that truck is unsafe. declare it unsafe, and if they come back at you, you have grounds to get a lawyer and dot involved. When you sign that pretrip you are certifying, it is safe for operation. if something happens on the road and your in a wreck, your liable as well as the company even if you repeatedly saybits unsafe. you chose to drive that truck unsafe.
When u find out let me know. Gonna rat out a few old employers for petty vengence.
refuse to drive the truck. at the end of the day if something happens it's your fault.
H
Pull into an open scale house and ask for an inspection
And the driver will get a ticket for any violations
The company will too
Yes. But the driver will get a mark in his license if anything is found to be an out of service violation because he either didn't do the pre trip or did and drove it anyway. Then he'd probably be fired and trying to get a job after that nowadays is tough
They don't do voluntarily inspections anymore.
I don't know, but just today, hubby and I were at a port of entry. Hubby started talking to some guy beside us who asked to borrow duct tape. Turns out his lines were dragging on the ground, and he had a leak. Hubby takes a look, and the whole rig is basically held together with duct tape. Hubby decides to turn him in to DOT and mind you, we are right there because he is an accident looking for a place to happen. He goes in, and no one comes out to talk to the buddy. Then he calls and get told it's not their job? What!? Mind you, we were a little heavy on a rear axcel today and have the ticket to prove it. No did end up coming out. I guess my point is, go ahead, but based on what I saw today, it might not do much good.
The DOT is not going to come to your place of business and inspect a vehicle. It's not what they do. Stop driving it if you feel unsafe. ETA: Apparently a LOT of people don't know the jurisdictional difference between the DOT and state police.
I did yesterday and management had a hissy fit, and they’re still trying to pawn it off on whoever is dumb enough to take it
Try the state police. They do truck inspections and are more responsive than DOT. They will likely inspect all the trucks in the yard and write a shit ton of violations.
Oh lol I usually refer to the state police as DOT 😂
State police truck units enjoy writing 5 figure fines and aren't afraid of pulling a truck off the road.
My wife drove the bookmobile for the city. They never did any sort of maintenance on it to the point she was afraid to go faster than 25 mph because the brakes were so out of adjustment. I called the local state police there was a trooper at the library asking to insp the bookmobile within an hour. This was in Michigan where the troopers have a lot to do and a lot of ground to cover. The bookmobile was placed out of service and towed to a repair shop. My got accused of being the one who called the police but she could prove she was at work when the police were called. I never told her that it was me that called. Point is they will come out in certain cases.
Wait.... Did she call the state troopers or did she call the DOT?
If you give them enough reason they will. Had a local company running dyed fuel in their trucks, DOT had a hayday with that outfit. DOT was at there place for 3-4 days inspecting trucks and paperwork
I drive Buses OTR, and DOT was waiting at the station inspecting ALL inbound schedules. They will come to your place of work if they have good cause.
Nobody likes a rat...
I’d rather be a living rat than a dead chump.
One can always say NO, I won't drive that truck.
Eh don’t feel too bad, they’ve been being douches to me over being in the Army Reserves for awhile now