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XPO | Driving in Foul weather conditions

Being the captain of your ship is a no brainer.
Being told to captain your ship in unsafe weather conditions through intimidation is another thing.

I'm hoping more members will chime in here and tell their stories.
 
primadona said:
Address pathetic wipers on Sterlings. Left side of windshield is almost always a problem, doesn't seem like wipers have enough tension against the windshield at this point. Winter blades should be installed after this is addressed.
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They wont install winter blades on the trucks. The head of maintance says they don't work. Yea right. They don't want to spend the money to put them on. Remember they are all about safety for the driver as long as it don't cost them any money. Spend 10 bucks and buy your own and put them on and take them off every day. I started doing that and other guys at my barn started doing it to.
 
dodge ram said:
They wont install winter blades on the trucks. The head of maintance says they don't work. Yea right. They don't want to spend the money to put them on. Remember they are all about safety for the driver as long as it don't cost them any money. Spend 10 bucks and buy your own and put them on and take them off every day. I started doing that and other guys at my barn started doing it to.
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The head of maintenance does not know what he is talking about.
They work and they work well. They are more expensive but they work well.
You might get a batch of bad ones but they work well.
None of the pressure points freeze up and collect small icebergs.

Key words: work well
 
well, i know someone here will nail me to the cross for this but here i go; this is why we make the big bucks, slow down and use your common sence! i accept the challenge of adverse driving conditions, never look back, just plow through , put 9 wheel on the shoulder when on ice, slow down, get there safe, trust me it can be done, pull in the belt and keep on trucking, after you arrive at your destination you will be proud, and a better person for it,
that is your driver championship hands on. If i can do it for 33 years in rain sleet snow ice and yes heat without air, anyone can so
boys and girls keep on trucking. I bet i will get heat on this but i have spoken these words numerous times.
 
Does anyone know what the policy is on shutting down? I always assumed on line you had to go till the roads were closed. I remember in Feb 2007 some of our guys on day line were told to keep going. They ended up spending like 2 days in a hotel till the roads were re-opened. That same day, I was in the city and decided there was no way I could make it to my normal area and city dispatch allowed me to make pick-ups in the area I made it to and then they turned me around. There were 5 or 6 of us who turned around in the city but line was forced to run. Is this the policy??
 
I got to hand it to you guys on the east coast driving in that weather. I've been watching the news thinking to myself "I'm glad I don't have to deal with that crap". Out here on the left coast about the worst we get is the fog in the San Joaquin Valley. The only snow we get is on the mountain passes and if you run south like me over the grapevine the CHP shuts that down as soon as it starts to stick. When they shut that down we just go around and get payed out of route miles. Many things suck about the left coast but the weather is not one of them. Oh and you gotta love them California girls.
 
prezars said:
I got to hand it to you guys on the east coast driving in that weather. I've been watching the news thinking to myself "I'm glad I don't have to deal with that crap". Out here on the left coast about the worst we get is the fog in the San Joaquin Valley. The only snow we get is on the mountain passes and if you run south like me over the grapevine the CHP shuts that down as soon as it starts to stick. When they shut that down we just go around and get payed out of route miles. Many things suck about the left coast but the weather is not one of them. Oh and you gotta love them California girls.
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Is your avatar a Cali Girl? she's smokin!
 
Foul Weather - SNOW

BSA motto;​


Be Prepared​









Be sure to always carry supplies and tools: Some suggested tools are a gun, knife, and some rope. OR if you are so inclined, bring a sack of feed corn.


















​

Pic taken on I-90 at the OH and PA boarder.
In the snow belt......​
 
My wife's favorite wine is "I wanna go to Florida".
 
oldtimer50 said:
Outstanding picture Bankrupt !
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Thanks,

Wish, (or maybe not) I could say I snapped it but it came in an email.

Cleveland Hopkins Airport is within approx 2.3 inches of a January snowfall record and a friend (yes, I have some) thought it was appropriate. Lake Erie is mostly frozen over so Lake Effect snow has ended but we are still getting a good amount of regular snow. The much deeper Lake Effect falls east of Cleveland through Erie PA and Buffalo NY. Bring it on!

Notice we capitalize "Lake Effect" around here.

The pics origin is unknown and really is an exaggeration for these parts.
 
I drove for Conway for 5 years in the mid-90's. I remember at least once a year, sometimes more line-haul didnt run because of adverse driving conditions. Did something change? Or was it because we were Conway "Southern" Express? Now you can make your jokes about Southern driving skills if you wish. But I was more than glad to not go out under those conditions. And any company I have driven for before and since has made it clear that it was up to the driver when and when not to drive in bad weather.
 
Carolina Cowboy said:
I drove for Conway for 5 years in the mid-90's. I remember at least once a year, sometimes more line-haul didnt run because of adverse driving conditions. Did something change? Or was it because we were Conway "Southern" Express? Now you can make your jokes about Southern driving skills if you wish. But I was more than glad to not go out under those conditions. And any company I have driven for before and since has made it clear that it was up to the driver when and when not to drive in bad weather.
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Are the vast majority of posts here
on the CNW forums , NOT , self evident that , MOST things have changed since then ?

Just4Thought
 
paramarine1965 said:
I think states should hold companies accountable when they send drivers out during weather that causes states to strongly advise against travel! Also, if a company is really concerned about safety then the drivers' and the public safety would be paramount over the almighty greenback. I can understand going out in a little snow but, to be sent out in an icestorm is another matter. All it takes is a little common sense and that is something Con-Way seems in dire need of!!!!!
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'Safety' at CW only comes into play when there is a problem. Safety is OK as long as it does not interfere with moving the freight or the 'almighty buck'.

At Con-Way there is no such thing as a non-preventable accident. If I have witnessed this personally and we have all read posts from others who have experienced some form of this.

Our 'safety dept.' is staffed with idiots. These are people who have no clue on the requirements and conditions of our jobs. They are totally in the dark as to what it takes to drive a truck. You will be at fault regardless of the circumstance. They hide behind the old adage of you are 'professional drivers' and use that excuse to give the driver an LOI.

But here is the 'big picture' and underlying reason for it...

By affixing fault to the driver (or any other person in the organization) Con-Way absolves itself from any responsibility for the problem as much as legally possible. They will in no way admit any responsibilty for any 'safety issue'.

I have personally witnessed some of the stupdid @ss responses from CW when incidents have occurred. They will absolve their responsibilty to any number of organizations if at all possible.

The mega-dollar-an-hour lawyers are behind this....

Blame somone else and reduce your liability as much possible....

"Safety" is something you say at Con-Way, but practicing it is something altogether different...

Case in point....

Some months ago in my old barn I was wanting to red tag a converter because of no brakes....documented on the DVIR...

OB FOS went nuts...the response was "I gotta have it to run LH."

My response..."Do what you want but I am still red tagging the converter."

FOS response..."Well we can pull to an FAC and get it repaired there".

My response..."It has no brakes."

Then chimes in one of the :butt kiss: "I'll pull it and just be careful!"

My response..."I am still red tagging the converter."

These morons removed the red tag and used it!...complained to my former SCM and his response was "well it made it didn't it?"

I was going to call Safety but I thought what the hell for...

We had these type of problems before and the SCM always managed to cover them up...plus the almighty LH dept. was satisfied....

At Con-Way you just have to say "Safety" not actually practice it.....:Flame-On:

Rat :loser:
 
Drivers are legally protected if they refuse to drive in violation of a commercial vehicle safety regulation. The employee protection provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act provides in pertinent part as follows:
(a) Prohibitions.--(1) A person may not discharge an employee, or discipline or discriminate against an employee regarding pay, terms, or privileges of employment, because--
***
(B) the employee refuses to operate a vehicle because--
(i) the operation violates a regulation, standard, or order of the United States related to commercial motor vehicle safety or health; ....
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Drivers have successfully used the STAA when they have:

1. Refused to drive in hazardous weather;
http://www.oalj.dol.gov/Decisions/A...000STA00047_(Jun_27_2003)_161621_FLRCV_OC.PDF

2. Refused to drive while impaired due to illness;
Johnson v. Roadway Express, Inc., ARB No. 99-011, ALJ No. 1999-STA-5 (ARB Mar. 29, 2000)

3. Refusal to drive due to exceeding weight restrictions;
Galvin v. Munson Transportation, Inc., 91-STA-41 (Sec'y Aug. 31, 1992)

4. Refusal to drive in violation of hours of service regulation;
http://www.oalj.dol.gov/Decisions/A...007STA00022_(NOV_19_2007)_102911_CADEC_SD.PDF

Paul Taylor
Employment Lawyer Burnsville Minnesota Wrongful Termination Whistleblower Attorney
 
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