Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
A couple of complaints....
First, these are chiefly complaints, because not enough drivers follow the rules, follow DOT laws and refuse to stand up for themselves.
One, the load bars or straps that are REQUIRED BY LAW, just never seem to get put up. I've raised the issue with the part-time sups in the hub, my safety committee and my on-road sups. Starting with the part-time sups: they act surprised when I tell them that I can't, WON'T leave until EVERY load is secured. You would think these guys would understand that their workers are the main reason for load securement. But, no, that would assume these sups would be independent thinkers. Nope, no dice. I had one tell me that there were no more straps in our enormous building. I walked 30 feet, spotted a strap, and pointed it out to this clown. I had a night shift sup tell me that, "that's the twilight's problem. They didn't strap it up." No, I told him, it was now his problem because I wasn't moving the trailer until the load was strapped up, and it is not my job to secure the loads.
Two, I've brought this up to members of my safety committee, and all they tell me is that, yeah, we've brought the subject up many times, but they (management) won't do anything about it. So, why do we have a safety committee then?
Third, my on-road supervisors have started to get on this, but for selfish reasons. Any guesses? Yep, because we end up burying their on-property times waiting around for our loads to get secured. But as substandard supervisors are want to do, they write the pertinent information, then throw it away. My supervisor personally secured my loads three days in a row, then on the fourth day, when my load wasn't secured, I went to my sup and told him and he asked me how much was in my trailer. I told him 35%. He told me that a 35% load doesn't really need to be secured. I told him DOT rules state that every load has to be secured. He said that the reason for securement was to prevent injuries to people opening the door and that 35% would be in danger of falling down on a loader. I asked him, then, if it was ok for me not to use my seat belt if I was only backing my tractor up 10 or 15 feet, since there would be very little danger of me being injured from such a small distance moved at such a small low speed. Two other sups in the office piped up, "No, you ALWAYS need the seat belt on if the tractor is in motion." So I asked them why I couldn't pick and choose what rules I wanted choose since they wanted to pick and choose the DOT rules they would obey. My sup grinned and said he would bring out a brace bar to secure my load. Typical management behavior. Safety is a joke to them unless it is staring them in the face. And unless you shove it in their face, they could care less about it.
This wouldn't be such a problem if every driver stood firm and forced the issue at every dock door. But what I've found is that many drivers don't even know their loads are, by law, to be secured. And if they do, they either don't care, or are afraid to stand firm on the issue. Why? Who knows? Most likely, they get pressured about on-property times, and start rushing their routine. Most likely, they just shut that trailer door and go. It's the same reason why you might grab a by-pass load, and there is a problem with the trailer that any maroon could have spotted. Why? Because many drivers I see barely, or don't even bother with a post-trip inspection. I've seen other drivers fly by me on the road without any running lights on their trailers. There is only one way that could happen: cutting corners and not following the methods.
If every driver forced the hub to secure loads, it would begin to show up on feeder reports as excessive on-property times. If that happened, they would put the hammer down on the hub to get every single load secured. If we don't, as a group, force the issue, then only those of us who make them secure these loads will feel pressure. That's fine with me, because I refuse to break a DOT law because the hub can't do it's job. I won't take acceptance of the hub's mistakes, even if that means I have to hold things up until they're corrected.
First, these are chiefly complaints, because not enough drivers follow the rules, follow DOT laws and refuse to stand up for themselves.
One, the load bars or straps that are REQUIRED BY LAW, just never seem to get put up. I've raised the issue with the part-time sups in the hub, my safety committee and my on-road sups. Starting with the part-time sups: they act surprised when I tell them that I can't, WON'T leave until EVERY load is secured. You would think these guys would understand that their workers are the main reason for load securement. But, no, that would assume these sups would be independent thinkers. Nope, no dice. I had one tell me that there were no more straps in our enormous building. I walked 30 feet, spotted a strap, and pointed it out to this clown. I had a night shift sup tell me that, "that's the twilight's problem. They didn't strap it up." No, I told him, it was now his problem because I wasn't moving the trailer until the load was strapped up, and it is not my job to secure the loads.
Two, I've brought this up to members of my safety committee, and all they tell me is that, yeah, we've brought the subject up many times, but they (management) won't do anything about it. So, why do we have a safety committee then?
Third, my on-road supervisors have started to get on this, but for selfish reasons. Any guesses? Yep, because we end up burying their on-property times waiting around for our loads to get secured. But as substandard supervisors are want to do, they write the pertinent information, then throw it away. My supervisor personally secured my loads three days in a row, then on the fourth day, when my load wasn't secured, I went to my sup and told him and he asked me how much was in my trailer. I told him 35%. He told me that a 35% load doesn't really need to be secured. I told him DOT rules state that every load has to be secured. He said that the reason for securement was to prevent injuries to people opening the door and that 35% would be in danger of falling down on a loader. I asked him, then, if it was ok for me not to use my seat belt if I was only backing my tractor up 10 or 15 feet, since there would be very little danger of me being injured from such a small distance moved at such a small low speed. Two other sups in the office piped up, "No, you ALWAYS need the seat belt on if the tractor is in motion." So I asked them why I couldn't pick and choose what rules I wanted choose since they wanted to pick and choose the DOT rules they would obey. My sup grinned and said he would bring out a brace bar to secure my load. Typical management behavior. Safety is a joke to them unless it is staring them in the face. And unless you shove it in their face, they could care less about it.
This wouldn't be such a problem if every driver stood firm and forced the issue at every dock door. But what I've found is that many drivers don't even know their loads are, by law, to be secured. And if they do, they either don't care, or are afraid to stand firm on the issue. Why? Who knows? Most likely, they get pressured about on-property times, and start rushing their routine. Most likely, they just shut that trailer door and go. It's the same reason why you might grab a by-pass load, and there is a problem with the trailer that any maroon could have spotted. Why? Because many drivers I see barely, or don't even bother with a post-trip inspection. I've seen other drivers fly by me on the road without any running lights on their trailers. There is only one way that could happen: cutting corners and not following the methods.
If every driver forced the hub to secure loads, it would begin to show up on feeder reports as excessive on-property times. If that happened, they would put the hammer down on the hub to get every single load secured. If we don't, as a group, force the issue, then only those of us who make them secure these loads will feel pressure. That's fine with me, because I refuse to break a DOT law because the hub can't do it's job. I won't take acceptance of the hub's mistakes, even if that means I have to hold things up until they're corrected.
