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SAIA | Safety First

runawaytrain

runawaytrain

Wear their scorn with pride.
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I was just reading an OD thread in which a line driver was struck and killed by a hostler. Excessive speed in the yard appears to be the blame. I need not remind everyone what a dangerous job we have. I personally am always aware of my surroundings in the yard and on the dock. In this fast paced hustle to get your numbers game let's not forget to keep our heads up. Let's always put safety first because I sure as hell don't want to be reading about one of our team members being buried or any of our fellow truckers being killed for that matter. Very sad news in the OD forum. Everyone please be safe. Your family needs you to come home safe. And that includes your SAIA family as well. I'd like to think of the term "safety first" as more than a cliché. I'd like to think of it as part of the SAIA culture.
 
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I agree Train. Seen hostlers and drivers run around the yard like their ass in on fire. Have seen way too many close calls (and a few accidents) on the yard and dock .But the production and numbers game has people forgetting about what should be the #1 goal, SAFTEY. Lets make sure we all can go home to the people that depend on us.
 
I hate to say this but it will only get worst with freight slowing down. Managers and Supervisors will be preaching production numbers in the pre-shift meeting....Supervisors / Managers will be replaced if they can't justify there numbers its vicious cycle.
 
truckdriver said:
I hate to say this but it will only get worst with freight slowing down. Managers and Supervisors will be preaching production numbers in the pre-shift meeting....Supervisors / Managers will be replaced if they can't justify there numbers its vicious cycle.
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Trust me. I understand what your saying. It's a careful balancing act. You push too hard and serious accidents can happen with expensive lawsuits. You don't push hard enough and the numbers suffer. And heads can roll. Again it's that careful balancing act. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. When I use to build trailers in my day I was always mindful that speed came at a cost. Usually more claims. When I was a dispatcher the cost was accidents. A good supervisor always could find that balance. And good supervisors are very hard to find.
 
The ( numbers) don't matter to me never nave never will I do the best I can and give 100% every day I try my best to be on time every time but sometimes it just don't happen I do keep a constant 102-105 % on my performance easily . If I get tired or sleepy I take a nap or stop get out walk around a few min use the bathroom etc I will not push myself to the point of being dangerous it's better that I get there 10-15 min late than not at all. I obey the speed limits on the yards and the highway. I've been here 13 years zero accidents zero bendix videos zero citations other than overweight tickets. I don't plan on changing if that's not good enough for saia I will go somewhere else I don't want to but I will . I can't speak for the other terminals but Clt is ok it's been a few years since I was on that run but when I was there everyone was pretty safe on the yard it's not really big enough to get much speed up anyways. Atlanta is a whole different story I've turned ATL for the last 4 years it's a miracle someone has not gotten hurt or killed on that yard the drivers fly around the yard like the are on a highway just like the guy said like their a$$ is on fire. The yard dogs are not much better I've been passed by them while running the 15 mph speed limit I've been tailgated, pulled out in front of , had them run between trailers and almost hit me and good grief the right of way rules mean nothing to them !!!! It was only about 6 or 8 years ago two yard dogs hit head on at ATL and one was hurt really bad and spent about a month in the hospital. If something is not done this WILL happen to us someday!!!!
 
suicidejockey said:
Atlanta is a whole different story I've turned ATL for the last 4 years it's a miracle someone has not gotten hurt or killed on that yard the drivers fly around the yard like the are on a highway just like the guy said like their a$$ is on fire. The yard dogs are not much better I've been passed by them while running the 15 mph speed limit I've been tailgated, pulled out in front of , had them run between trailers and almost hit me and good grief the right of way rules mean nothing to them !!!! It was only about 6 or 8 years ago two yard dogs hit head on at ATL and one was hurt really bad and spent about a month in the hospital. If something is not done this WILL happen to us someday!!!!
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Hopefully the Safety Department will get involved with safety issues in the yard and on the dock. I was nearly run over by a forklift on the dock last week. He was flying out of the back of a trailer and not looking. I jumped out of the way just in time.
 
IMO, visibility is a key component to safety in the yard. Along with reasonable speed the yahoos don't need their fogs, high beams & work lights on the entire time they're in the yard.
 
White said:
IMO, visibility is a key component to safety in the yard. Along with reasonable speed the yahoos don't need their fogs, high beams & work lights on the entire time they're in the yard.
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I will tell you what really bothers me a lot. Many of these Yahoos hit the yard and lay down on their horn to say .... Hey!!! .... To their buddies. The improper use of horns drives me absolutely CRAZY. And it is a safety issue as well. A slight tap when backing is fine or for a pretrip. But that's it.
 
runawaytrain said:
I will tell you what really bothers me a lot. Many of these Yahoos hit the yard and lay down on their horn to say .... Hey!!! .... To their buddies. The improper use of horns drives me absolutely CRAZY. And it is a safety issue as well. A slight tap when backing is fine or for a pretrip. But that's it.
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Don't you HAVE to be a yahoo to be a city driver? Lol.
 
And then you have barns like CGO and IND that are absolute dumps with NO LIGHTING and potholes everywhere. Saia doesn't seem too worried about fixing the problem, either.
 
PistonRing83 said:
And then you have barns like CGO and IND that are absolute dumps with NO LIGHTING and potholes everywhere. Saia doesn't seem too worried about fixing the problem, either.
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Doesn't CGO have the new Grayslake Terminal coming this spring? That should help. Hopefully SAIA can invest more in infrastructure in the next few years. I remember when OD had issues in infrastructure. And just look at them today. I believe we are headed in the right direction. I truly believe that SAIA WILL BE the next OD in the next 5 years. It just takes time. And if we can keep safety job one and stay away from major lawsuits we will get there even faster.
 
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Is there and ETA on fixing the "crater" in Indy? unless it's already patched.. I usually go to the meet point in the lot next door when I run thru there.
 
runawaytrain said:
I will tell you what really bothers me a lot. Many of these Yahoos hit the yard and lay down on their horn to say .... Hey!!! .... To their buddies. The improper use of horns drives me absolutely CRAZY. And it is a safety issue as well. A slight tap when backing is fine or for a pretrip. But that's it.
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OMG Train!!! You took the words right off of my computer.... I absolutely HATE that my self, what's wrong with the city horn saying hi to your buddies?>
 
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