Central Transport | complaint filed

hound dog

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i was at a stop today talking to a chris driver.he was telling me everyone was getting tired of no repairs being made on tractor and trailers writing up and telling bosses repairs need to be done and they never fix anything etc being forced to work over dot hours never being given paperwork when hauling hazmat so they contacted dot and gave them the info dates when this happened dot is now conducting a invesigation on vitran
 
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It is about time here in hou i have told our tm raymond m. That a trailer has a leaking air chamber.i even left him a note to remind him.when i returned at night to do my run nothing was fixed.one time raymond tried to load a barrel of hazmat on ed from kansas with out giving him the proper paper work. told him when you get to dallas they will have the paperwork for you there.This was kept hush hush.you write up stuff thats needs repair they never fix it.seen drivers loaded with 45000 lbs with hazmat on their trailers that is our great night time dispatcher david.if you refuse to haul the trailer they will write you up and threaten to fire you.you tell raymond about things that needs repair he just ignores it.you are left with no alternative but to file a complaint with dot and give them the dates when this stuff has gone down.watch out lamar will be on here to accuse SOMEONE of being a teamster union organiser if we do not agree with his bullshit let dot invesigate truck safe
 
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If the manager does not listen, why not go over head to Safety, In touch, or any other corporate person. If repairs that are written up not completed in a reasonable amount of time, I start the process...usually things get done
 
if you go over our t.m. head, he makes it hell on you by starting you late, taking your regular run away, and putting you in a worst piece of junk than what you had. vitran knows this stuff is going on, thats how they run this company. we have 15 trailers down just due to no inspection at our terminal and at least 1/3 of our tractors down broken. the mechanic has been out sick for 3 months and when they hired a new one he quit in 2 weeks, lol he said this was the worst and most screwed up place he had ever worked for. a d.o.t. investigation might help some terminals get things turned around in the right direction. there is no reason for the equipment to be in this kind of condition. let hope it gets better for everyone.
 
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you have one year on hazmat violations and i think you only have 30 days on other dot violations you need the dates when this ::shit:: went down when dot looks into this bullshit about no repairs being done then company can get a good fine then they will start fixing things hit them in the pocket book where it hurts
 
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This has been going for quite some time, at some terminals they try to replace broken parts with used parts from wrecked vehicles. Then of course your vehicle will get junk and they will try to use them parts again.
 
I also have had Mechanics come up to me and try to tell me that there is nothing wrong with my truck and that I need to stop writing it up. I keep writing it up until finally I have to be towed in for that specific repair. I don't Know what is going on but no more bonus check should be cut until everything and fixed. And VIJAX is right they will figure out a way to either take away your run, make it shorter or leave later. I put a lot of the blame on these so called Mechanics who call themselves fixing a problem and never attempting to test the vehicle out before releasing it to a driver.
 
i was in 3 different trucks in 3 days and the last 2 i came in on the wrecker. its gotta be cheaper to fix the trucks than keep paying these high tow truck bills. i was 2 hours from my terminal both times and each tow was over $900 bucks. how can vitran afford this?
 
well a driver at our terminal refued to haul a trailer with a rusted out nonreadable plate . They sent him home they would not swing this load and give this trailer to another driver.This is why we will never change this company.After a call to corprate they decided he was in the right and as of this writing they will not pay him for the night . Even thou he was right they should pay him for the miles he was supose to run .I am Thinking a union would be good around here
 
i cant lie. none of that goes on at my terminal. heck my truck even gets fixed when i write it up !

Wow-so how are things at Utopia terminal? (snicker)
We are told by the mechanic to stop writing stuff up, as he has to answer for it!
Heard the new one? If a dock worker damages a drum (creating a leak,etc) he is fired. Yet we have no equipment to handle drums that aren't on pallets......
 
I don't even check for plates anymore, As far as getting fired for damaging drums they have been doing a lot of that lately. Guess them dockworkers are going to have hurt their backs to get them drums on a pallet. They use to always buy equipment for picking up drums, then weeks later you see it bent up in a corner somewhere.
 
it wont be long before a mechanic gets in big trouble for telling drivers to stop writing stuff up. what ever is wrong with any equipment, has to be written up by the driver each day until corrected. then it falls on the mechanic to fix it or not. if corrected by the mechanic, he is suppose to sign off on the copy of the dvr saying the problems have been fixed and a copy placed in the truck. if he doesnt sign off call vitrans safety dept. in indy. t.m.s dont care as long as they make their bonuses. most mechanics are doing what they are told by their bosses.
 
It sounds as though you guys have a host of problems at Vitran, I feel your pain.

First off you need to invest $10 for The STAA Handbook: How to Use the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) to Enforce Truck Safety and Protect Your Job. Please note that this is no a plug for the TDU or the IBT. It is just a valuable tool to have in your hands and the only place that i have found it. One of the co-authors, Paul Taylor is a pro-driver attorney and was recently on The Lockridge Report (Scroll to the bottom of page.) He has helped drivers fight UPS and other major companies with success. Read it, know it and follow it.

The US Department of Labor also has some information on the The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) and Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program (OWPP). Remember that you are walking a very fine line when dealing with these laws and make sure you document everything. Times, dates, who said what, vehicle numbers, the last time you took a crap. You will need it all. Also, and this is the most difficult for all, is don't blow your cool when dealing with management. They will hang you with your own anger. OHSA has rules in place that can help. OSHA: Employee Workplace Rights.

As for the HazMat problems that were mentioned I will never knowingly leave without proper documentation for it. The fines are too stiff and you can bet all companies will wiggle out and blame the driver. This recently happened to one of our drivers. The fine was around five grand and another grand for the attorney. The company basically told him "tough stuff" and he was left holding the short straw.

With the upcoming CSA 2010 scheduled to go live in less that 30 days you might take some time to read about it Right from the Feds. You will fall asleep during the first 45 or so pages but don't miss the meat of the matter in the next 50 pages. Another view and a somewhat easier read is Here. I for one do hope that the program will help weed out the unsafe carriers and drivers.

Another tool that is handy to have is the CVSA Out of Service Criteria Manual. The current year is expensive but the 2009 book is dirt cheap.

Remember to pick your battles, some are just not worth the effort to fight. Pick one and fight it to the end then move on.

Good luck and I hope you have success. It is your butt on the line, not some dispatcher that has a arrogant attitude and expects you to bow and kiss his rear when he hands you the paperwork.
 
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