Ever wondered what it truly takes to be a responsible and safe truck driver on today's roads? Join me, Walker Gatlin, on this episode of the Rollin' 18 Podcast, where I promise you'll gain invaluable insights into the multifaceted duties and liabilities that come with the territory. Drawing from my 40 years behind the wheel, I share personal anecdotes from the 80s when we had to fix our own flat tires and manage our loads directly, highlighting the stark contrast with today's practices. From a cautionary tale about a driver's negligence on Facebook to stressing the importance of personal accountability, this episode is packed with real-world lessons that could save your job—or even your life.
We also tackle the crucial safety responsibilities that every truck driver must prioritize, particularly during drop and hook operations. Learn why thorough pre-trip and post-trip inspections are non-negotiable and get practical tips on using tools like temperature laser readers to avoid mechanical failures and legal liabilities. Compliance with federal motor carrier safety regulations is essential, and I break down industry-standard practices to keep you and the public safe. Plus, I'll share routine maintenance tips to ensure your vehicle stays in top condition. Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, my heartfelt message is clear: stay safe, keep your rig in top shape, and remember, it's up to you to keep it between the lines.
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Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast.
This 40-year veteran is herefor anyone wanting to stay up to
date with the trucking world.
Grab your coffee, hop on boardand let's get on down the road
with Walker Gatlin.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello drivers and welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast.
I appreciate you folkslistening and or downloading my
podcast.
I am also putting a visual ofthe same exact audio podcast on
Rumble each and every episode,and that way you can watch my
truck drive down the road asyou're listening to the podcast,
if that's the way you prefer it.
Some people do.
(00:40):
Now.
Today's podcast is about truckdrivers' responsibilities, and
the reason this hits the mark isI've been watching on Facebook
a lot of posts about drivershaving problems with their
equipment and then pushing theblame on something else.
This last one kind of pushed meover the edge and said look, I
need to talk to these folks.
(01:00):
I need to let these driversknow how I feel.
When I first started driving, Idrove my own truck, and even if
you drive a company truck, it isyour responsibility to take
care of everything, 99.5% ofeverything, out there on the
road, whether it be a breakdown,accidents, anything like that
(01:21):
is preventable.
Now you say no, it's not.
I say yes, it is.
When I started driving back inthe 80s, when a guy blew a tire,
he got out, he broke out thewrenches, he removed the rim, he
popped the tire off of it.
He grabbed another tire off theback of his semi, he put it on
the rim, he put it back up, heaired up the tire with the long
(01:42):
hose that we drug back there,whether it be on the trailer or
the tractor, whatever, and weaired up.
This is how we did businessback in the day.
I mean, truck stops were few andfar between.
There was no Flying J, therewas no Loves, there was none of
this stuff.
It was all mom and pop stuff.
Different places, differentsmall towns.
A couple of cities had some.
(02:02):
If you look today in LosAngeles, the only truck stops
you'll find out there are theones sitting out.
In Ontario there might be acouple of small ones.
Somewhere might fit five or tentrucks, that's it.
They are landlocked.
But even back then they wantedthe truck stops out of the city.
Now today there's a Love's anda Flying J just about every exit
(02:23):
.
You can crash and land on afuel island somewhere in America
.
It is the truck driver'sresponsibility.
If you say no, I'm going totell you this.
Every single lawyer in thecountry is looking for you to
make a mistake so that ifsomebody gets hurt or somebody's
personal property gets damaged,they're coming after you full
(02:44):
vengeance.
Now the posts that I saw onFacebook that threw me over the
line.
Okay, is this guy?
He picks up a trailer.
He's a drop and hook specialist.
Okay, we know what those are.
I'm sorry, I'm not making fun ofyou, but you know there's a lot
of people that like to ratherload their own loads and unload
their own loads Whether or notsomebody else actually
physically unloads it.
(03:04):
They like to be in control ofthat situation.
Now, back in the day, I canalso say that when you loaded a
load, you physically had tostand there and watch them load
that load and make sure theyloaded that load correctly,
because even to this very moment, you are responsible for that
load.
If it shifts and your truckcrashes, you are responsible Not
(03:26):
the guy that loaded it, not theguy that put the seal on it.
A truck driver's failure to meethis or her legal
responsibilities can give riseto a claim for negligence and
compensatory damages.
When there is evidence theseresponsibilities were violated
in a willful, wanton manner, aclaim for punitive damages.
(03:46):
Now, these truck companies thatare allowing you guys to pick
up trailers that are alreadysealed and you don't get to
inspect it, let me tell you,you're going to be the one in
trouble if something big happens.
If you get the right lawyer, aguy that knows what he's doing,
he will pull your insides out toyour anus and he will feed them
to you.
Okay, this is something youguys need to know, and a lot of
(04:09):
truck drivers out there alreadyknow this.
But we're all guilty of pickingup a load that's already been
loaded Okay and trusting thefact that they loaded it
correctly.
That is the wrong thing to do.
It is still the driver'sresponsibility when that load is
put on that trailer.
And if you don't believe me, gotalk to your company.
If they deny it, then go talkto an attorney, because that
(04:31):
attorney will tell you that thatcompany is wrong.
You are going to suffer 99.5%of all of the headaches when you
have a problem and that companythat you're working for.
If it's bad enough, they willlet you sit out there in the
rain all by yourself.
The guy posted that he picked upa trailer.
It was loaded.
Drop and hook specialist iswhat I call them, because a lot
(04:53):
of guys out there that's allthey do is drop and hook.
You pick up a trailer, you godown the road.
He went down the road.
About what is it?
650, 700 miles a guy can drivein a day Guy.
Hundred miles a guy can drivein a day guy that runs
electronic log.
Okay, he parks it for the night, doesn't do a post trip,
obviously, all he does ispre-trips.
So he goes to take off the nextday, gets a little over a
thousand of his 1200 mile runand his wheels on the right side
(05:17):
of the trailer, the rear tandem, come off.
God knows that he was.
He was real excited that theydidn't hurt nobody.
They went down into the water,into a pond or a river or a lake
or something.
All he did was make excuses Notmy fault, blah, blah, blah, blah
, blah, blah, blah, blah.
That's all we hear when we heardrivers make excuses.
Now, I'm not here to make funof anybody.
(05:38):
I'm here to say look, guys,gals, everybody out there
listening to me, this is not theway it's supposed to be.
A professional driver will knowexactly what to do during this
situation.
Now, if you pick up a trailer,okay, and you can tell by
looking at that spindle that wassticking out, because that's
all that was there.
The drum was gone and bothtires and rims were gone you can
(06:02):
look at that spindle.
Them bearings were burntthrough.
He's lucky he didn't catch fire.
They melted off.
You could tell by looking atthat spindle.
There is nothing but rust inthere.
It has been dry for a very longtime.
What is that going to do?
That is going to produce alarge amount of heat.
One factor when you pick up,when you do a drop and hook and
(06:25):
you don't get to see the insideof that load, that's a red flag
right there.
And I know a lot of companiesare getting away with it.
But I'm telling you we need toreverse that.
You are responsible for thattruck.
Anything shifts, it could throwyou into a jackknife and you're
done.
Chuck, you understand what I'msaying, but in this case you
(06:53):
pick up a trailer from a shipperand it's sealed and it's loaded
and you haven't had time to runwith that trailer.
Okay, which 99 of the time,that's the way dropping hooks
are.
You go 50 miles, 30 to 50 milesdown that road.
You pull over in a safe spot,not on the shoulder, ladies and
gentlemen, unless you're brokedown.
Are going to put out triangles,please.
That irritates the hell out ofme.
What you're going to do isyou're going to pull off the
road and you're going to takeyour hand and you're going to
touch each one of those hubs tomake sure.
If you're not familiar with howto check oil levels in those
tandems, then at least check thetemperature.
(07:15):
I would suggest going to AceMenards, home Depot, whatever,
getting yourself a temperaturelaser reader.
Point it at that hub, see whatthe temperature is, see what the
normal temperature should be ona normal operating day with a
hub.
Check the temperature 30 to 50miles out.
If they're all reading normally, kick it on down the road and
(07:35):
that's how you're going to savefrom having this kind of expense
.
And you know what?
I'm really shocked that thetruck companies are dropping the
ball on this deal and notteaching their drivers how to do
that, because that could savethem a ton of money.
You know how much money thistruck company is going to spend
between bringing out all thebrake hardware, bringing out a
mechanic.
He's probably going to have tocome out twice because he'll
have to come out the first timeto see what he needs.
(07:56):
Then they're going to have tobring out a new drum, new brake
equipment, new bearings.
If he needs a spindle, they'regoing to have to hunt for a
spindle, replace that on theroad, all of this stuff, unless,
of course, he knows how tochain up that axle and limp it
into the nearest repair facility, which in most cases is rare
(08:17):
that they could do that becausethey're not trained to do that
kind of stuff.
That would be something I woulddo, but then again I would
never have a wheel come offunless I know I was severely
inebriated and back in the day.
No, seriously, we guys, this iseasy stuff to learn and I'm
telling you, had those wheelsgone through somebody's
(08:38):
windshield and killed an entirefamily, you would be going to
court and a lawyer from, let'ssay, this law firm here, dysart
Law Firm, tells all there is toneed to know about truck
driver's responsibility.
Operators of commercial motorvehicles who are engaged in the
furtherance of a commercialenterprise for compensation have
(08:58):
a wide range ofresponsibilities, whether the
driver who operates the vehicleis required to have a commercial
driver's license or not.
The minimum responsibilitiesfor cd, cdl drivers are found in
the federal motor carriersafety regulations.
Ladies and gentlemen, they dothis for a living.
This is how law firms get rich,filthy rich.
(09:20):
These requirements are only theminimum and should be used in
conjunction with acceptedindustry practices and standards
of care for the type of vehiclethe driver intends to drive,
the commodity hauled, thedriver's work environment and
the company's procedures andpolicies.
These lawyers will not miss atrick when they find out that
(09:41):
you skipped rope and decided notto do your due diligence.
And I'm going to say one morething Any driver out there not
doing a pre-trip and a post-tripa very good pre-trip and
post-trip I'm not talking aboutsitting in the cab of your truck
and saying I looked at thingslast night and let the clock run
15 minutes so you can hit theroad.
I'm saying actually went outthere with a flashlight, went
(10:05):
out there with tools, went outthere with a temperature gauge,
double checked everything, madesure the vehicle was running,
not leaking nothing, make surethe wheels weren't getting hot,
whatever.
You need to double check andtriple check everything.
Your life and other people'slives depend on it.
We're talking about 40 tonsgoing down the highway to an
average speed of 70 miles anhour.
The following is a list ofcertain truck drivers' and I'm
(10:28):
going to read off this list.
I'm going to show you whatthese lawyers are looking for
for people out there that arenot paying attention.
Okay.
Entry level driver isresponsible for receiving
training and driverqualification requirements,
hours of service, driverwellness and whistleblower
protection.
Drivers who employ themselvesas drivers have all the
responsibilities of bothemployers and drivers, so the
(10:53):
kickback coming to you is twice.
Every driver must have training, information and referral
regarding alcohol misuse andcontrolled substance use.
That's a given.
We all know that Drivers mustnotify their employees regarding
convictions or violations.
Blah, blah.
A given.
We all know that Drivers mustnotify their employees regarding
convictions or violations.
Blah, blah, blah.
We'll skip over that partbecause it has nothing to do
with actually driving.
Drivers are responsible forproviding their employees with
(11:14):
information regarding previousemployment history.
Drivers are responsible fordetermining whether the cargo
has been properly located,distributed and secured in or on
the commercial vehicle, andthey must be familiar with
methods and procedures forsecuring the cargo in or on the
vehicles they drive.
This is number one, two, three,four, five.
(11:37):
So if you're not checking outyour cargo, you're wrong.
And if your company is notallowing you to check out your
cargo, they are liable.
And if you you're the companythat's loading you does not let
you verify and inspect yourcargo, they are wrong.
Okay, we've all gotten lazy.
We all know what we can getaway with, and 99% of the times
(11:58):
we all get away with it becauseit just happens real smoothly.
But the time that you got tolive with the fact that you
killed people because you didn'tdo your job, bam, you're going
to have to live with that forthe rest of your life, possibly
spend some jail time and getsued for every dime you're ever
going to you're ever going tohave in your life, plus your
kid's salaries.
Is that what you want?
(12:19):
I don't think so.
Companies will leave youhanging out to dry.
Okay, I have been suggestingfor years that companies have
you sign a contract and thatcontract says that you will
bring up anything and everythingthat you feel is not correct
and they will do everything intheir power to fix it, or they
will pay you to sit into a moteluntil they do fix it.
(12:41):
But see, this is how we operatetoday.
Everybody's, everybody's livingon blind trust and faith.
Okay, that's perfect for theHoly scripture.
That's perfect when you go tochurch and you believe in God.
It is not perfect when youdrive a truck.
Okay, so you must beresponsible for the securing and
procedures of securing thecargo in or on the vehicles you
(13:04):
drive.
You are responsible forinspecting the cargo and the
cargo in or on the vehicles youdrive.
You are responsible forinspecting the cargo and the
cargo, securement devices andsystems, when not impractical,
at the beginning of the trip andat certain times during the
trip.
See what I'm saying.
It ain't about flatbeds, ladiesand gentlemen.
Everything has a problem.
I have seen at least 30pictures alone of trailers
(13:25):
breaking in half because theyweren't inspected before they
were loaded.
It takes a lot to break atrailer in half, so there is a
lot of damage already on thattrailer, underneath or in the
inside, in the corners, whateverthat is going to cause that
trailer to clap.
And if those pictures thank God, most of them were when that
vehicle was either stopped orgoing at a low speed.
(13:47):
Had it been going at a highspeed it would have killed a lot
of people.
Now you know, you must know theworking load limit and load
securement devices.
You must be able to verify thatload and you must know how to
check on your equipment from thevery front of that truck to the
very end of that trailer.
You must know everything thereis to know about that truck.
(14:10):
Your brakes must be inspected.
Your lines must be inspected,and I mean physically inspected.
You need to check them forcracks.
You need to put your hands onthose things.
Do you need to do that kind ofstuff every day?
No, but you do need to get acreeper and crawl underneath
that sucker at least a coupletimes a week.
Everything else can be verifiedby sight and if you can't see
(14:32):
something, get under there andtouch it and make sure that it
is secure, not cracked, notready to come apart.
All that good stuff.
I appreciate you driverslistening to my podcast.
You can also watch a video onRumble.
I will put the links down below.
As always, god bless, be safeand keep it between the lines
(14:55):
driver.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast.
Please visit my website atmediaiowacom or the podcast page
at roland18podcastcom.
Welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast.
This 40-year veteran is herefor anyone wanting to stay up to
date with the trucking world.
Grab your coffee, hop on boardand let's get on down the road
with Walker Gatlin.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello drivers and welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast.
I appreciate you folkslistening and or downloading my
podcast.
I am also putting a visual ofthe same exact audio podcast on
Rumble each and every episode,and that way you can watch my
truck drive down the road asyou're listening to the podcast,
if that's the way you prefer it.
Some people do.
(00:40):
Now.
Today's podcast is about truckdrivers' responsibilities, and
the reason this hits the mark isI've been watching on Facebook
a lot of posts about drivershaving problems with their
equipment and then pushing theblame on something else.
This last one kind of pushed meover the edge and said look, I
need to talk to these folks.
(01:00):
I need to let these driversknow how I feel.
When I first started driving, Idrove my own truck, and even if
you drive a company truck, it isyour responsibility to take
care of everything, 99.5% ofeverything, out there on the
road, whether it be a breakdown,accidents, anything like that
(01:21):
is preventable.
Now you say no, it's not.
I say yes, it is.
When I started driving back inthe 80s, when a guy blew a tire,
he got out, he broke out thewrenches, he removed the rim, he
popped the tire off of it.
He grabbed another tire off theback of his semi, he put it on
the rim, he put it back up, heaired up the tire with the long
(01:42):
hose that we drug back there,whether it be on the trailer or
the tractor, whatever, and weaired up.
This is how we did businessback in the day.
I mean, truck stops were few andfar between.
There was no Flying J, therewas no Loves, there was none of
this stuff.
It was all mom and pop stuff.
Different places, differentsmall towns.
A couple of cities had some.
(02:02):
If you look today in LosAngeles, the only truck stops
you'll find out there are theones sitting out.
In Ontario there might be acouple of small ones.
Somewhere might fit five or tentrucks, that's it.
They are landlocked.
But even back then they wantedthe truck stops out of the city.
Now today there's a Love's anda Flying J just about every exit
(02:23):
.
You can crash and land on afuel island somewhere in America
.
It is the truck driver'sresponsibility.
If you say no, I'm going totell you this.
Every single lawyer in thecountry is looking for you to
make a mistake so that ifsomebody gets hurt or somebody's
personal property gets damaged,they're coming after you full
(02:44):
vengeance.
Now the posts that I saw onFacebook that threw me over the
line.
Okay, is this guy?
He picks up a trailer.
He's a drop and hook specialist.
Okay, we know what those are.
I'm sorry, I'm not making fun ofyou, but you know there's a lot
of people that like to ratherload their own loads and unload
their own loads Whether or notsomebody else actually
physically unloads it.
(03:04):
They like to be in control ofthat situation.
Now, back in the day, I canalso say that when you loaded a
load, you physically had tostand there and watch them load
that load and make sure theyloaded that load correctly,
because even to this very moment, you are responsible for that
load.
If it shifts and your truckcrashes, you are responsible Not
(03:26):
the guy that loaded it, not theguy that put the seal on it.
A truck driver's failure to meethis or her legal
responsibilities can give riseto a claim for negligence and
compensatory damages.
When there is evidence theseresponsibilities were violated
in a willful, wanton manner, aclaim for punitive damages.
(03:46):
Now, these truck companies thatare allowing you guys to pick
up trailers that are alreadysealed and you don't get to
inspect it, let me tell you,you're going to be the one in
trouble if something big happens.
If you get the right lawyer, aguy that knows what he's doing,
he will pull your insides out toyour anus and he will feed them
to you.
Okay, this is something youguys need to know, and a lot of
(04:09):
truck drivers out there alreadyknow this.
But we're all guilty of pickingup a load that's already been
loaded Okay and trusting thefact that they loaded it
correctly.
That is the wrong thing to do.
It is still the driver'sresponsibility when that load is
put on that trailer.
And if you don't believe me, gotalk to your company.
If they deny it, then go talkto an attorney, because that
(04:31):
attorney will tell you that thatcompany is wrong.
You are going to suffer 99.5%of all of the headaches when you
have a problem and that companythat you're working for.
If it's bad enough, they willlet you sit out there in the
rain all by yourself.
The guy posted that he picked upa trailer.
It was loaded.
Drop and hook specialist iswhat I call them, because a lot
(04:53):
of guys out there that's allthey do is drop and hook.
You pick up a trailer, you godown the road.
He went down the road.
About what is it?
650, 700 miles a guy can drivein a day Guy.
Hundred miles a guy can drivein a day guy that runs
electronic log.
Okay, he parks it for the night, doesn't do a post trip,
obviously, all he does ispre-trips.
So he goes to take off the nextday, gets a little over a
thousand of his 1200 mile runand his wheels on the right side
(05:17):
of the trailer, the rear tandem, come off.
God knows that he was.
He was real excited that theydidn't hurt nobody.
They went down into the water,into a pond or a river or a lake
or something.
All he did was make excuses Notmy fault, blah, blah, blah, blah
, blah, blah, blah, blah.
That's all we hear when we heardrivers make excuses.
Now, I'm not here to make funof anybody.
(05:38):
I'm here to say look, guys,gals, everybody out there
listening to me, this is not theway it's supposed to be.
A professional driver will knowexactly what to do during this
situation.
Now, if you pick up a trailer,okay, and you can tell by
looking at that spindle that wassticking out, because that's
all that was there.
The drum was gone and bothtires and rims were gone you can
(06:02):
look at that spindle.
Them bearings were burntthrough.
He's lucky he didn't catch fire.
They melted off.
You could tell by looking atthat spindle.
There is nothing but rust inthere.
It has been dry for a very longtime.
What is that going to do?
That is going to produce alarge amount of heat.
One factor when you pick up,when you do a drop and hook and
(06:25):
you don't get to see the insideof that load, that's a red flag
right there.
And I know a lot of companiesare getting away with it.
But I'm telling you we need toreverse that.
You are responsible for thattruck.
Anything shifts, it could throwyou into a jackknife and you're
done.
Chuck, you understand what I'msaying, but in this case you
(06:53):
pick up a trailer from a shipperand it's sealed and it's loaded
and you haven't had time to runwith that trailer.
Okay, which 99 of the time,that's the way dropping hooks
are.
You go 50 miles, 30 to 50 milesdown that road.
You pull over in a safe spot,not on the shoulder, ladies and
gentlemen, unless you're brokedown.
Are going to put out triangles,please.
That irritates the hell out ofme.
What you're going to do isyou're going to pull off the
road and you're going to takeyour hand and you're going to
touch each one of those hubs tomake sure.
If you're not familiar with howto check oil levels in those
tandems, then at least check thetemperature.
(07:15):
I would suggest going to AceMenards, home Depot, whatever,
getting yourself a temperaturelaser reader.
Point it at that hub, see whatthe temperature is, see what the
normal temperature should be ona normal operating day with a
hub.
Check the temperature 30 to 50miles out.
If they're all reading normally, kick it on down the road and
(07:35):
that's how you're going to savefrom having this kind of expense
.
And you know what?
I'm really shocked that thetruck companies are dropping the
ball on this deal and notteaching their drivers how to do
that, because that could savethem a ton of money.
You know how much money thistruck company is going to spend
between bringing out all thebrake hardware, bringing out a
mechanic.
He's probably going to have tocome out twice because he'll
have to come out the first timeto see what he needs.
(07:56):
Then they're going to have tobring out a new drum, new brake
equipment, new bearings.
If he needs a spindle, they'regoing to have to hunt for a
spindle, replace that on theroad, all of this stuff, unless,
of course, he knows how tochain up that axle and limp it
into the nearest repair facility, which in most cases is rare
(08:17):
that they could do that becausethey're not trained to do that
kind of stuff.
That would be something I woulddo, but then again I would
never have a wheel come offunless I know I was severely
inebriated and back in the day.
No, seriously, we guys, this iseasy stuff to learn and I'm
telling you, had those wheelsgone through somebody's
(08:38):
windshield and killed an entirefamily, you would be going to
court and a lawyer from, let'ssay, this law firm here, dysart
Law Firm, tells all there is toneed to know about truck
driver's responsibility.
Operators of commercial motorvehicles who are engaged in the
furtherance of a commercialenterprise for compensation have
(08:58):
a wide range ofresponsibilities, whether the
driver who operates the vehicleis required to have a commercial
driver's license or not.
The minimum responsibilitiesfor cd, cdl drivers are found in
the federal motor carriersafety regulations.
Ladies and gentlemen, they dothis for a living.
This is how law firms get rich,filthy rich.
(09:20):
These requirements are only theminimum and should be used in
conjunction with acceptedindustry practices and standards
of care for the type of vehiclethe driver intends to drive,
the commodity hauled, thedriver's work environment and
the company's procedures andpolicies.
These lawyers will not miss atrick when they find out that
(09:41):
you skipped rope and decided notto do your due diligence.
And I'm going to say one morething Any driver out there not
doing a pre-trip and a post-tripa very good pre-trip and
post-trip I'm not talking aboutsitting in the cab of your truck
and saying I looked at thingslast night and let the clock run
15 minutes so you can hit theroad.
I'm saying actually went outthere with a flashlight, went
(10:05):
out there with tools, went outthere with a temperature gauge,
double checked everything, madesure the vehicle was running,
not leaking nothing, make surethe wheels weren't getting hot,
whatever.
You need to double check andtriple check everything.
Your life and other people'slives depend on it.
We're talking about 40 tonsgoing down the highway to an
average speed of 70 miles anhour.
The following is a list ofcertain truck drivers' and I'm
(10:28):
going to read off this list.
I'm going to show you whatthese lawyers are looking for
for people out there that arenot paying attention.
Okay.
Entry level driver isresponsible for receiving
training and driverqualification requirements,
hours of service, driverwellness and whistleblower
protection.
Drivers who employ themselvesas drivers have all the
responsibilities of bothemployers and drivers, so the
(10:53):
kickback coming to you is twice.
Every driver must have training, information and referral
regarding alcohol misuse andcontrolled substance use.
That's a given.
We all know that Drivers mustnotify their employees regarding
convictions or violations.
Blah, blah.
A given.
We all know that Drivers mustnotify their employees regarding
convictions or violations.
Blah, blah, blah.
We'll skip over that partbecause it has nothing to do
with actually driving.
Drivers are responsible forproviding their employees with
(11:14):
information regarding previousemployment history.
Drivers are responsible fordetermining whether the cargo
has been properly located,distributed and secured in or on
the commercial vehicle, andthey must be familiar with
methods and procedures forsecuring the cargo in or on the
vehicles they drive.
This is number one, two, three,four, five.
(11:37):
So if you're not checking outyour cargo, you're wrong.
And if your company is notallowing you to check out your
cargo, they are liable.
And if you you're the companythat's loading you does not let
you verify and inspect yourcargo, they are wrong.
Okay, we've all gotten lazy.
We all know what we can getaway with, and 99% of the times
(11:58):
we all get away with it becauseit just happens real smoothly.
But the time that you got tolive with the fact that you
killed people because you didn'tdo your job, bam, you're going
to have to live with that forthe rest of your life, possibly
spend some jail time and getsued for every dime you're ever
going to you're ever going tohave in your life, plus your
kid's salaries.
Is that what you want?
(12:19):
I don't think so.
Companies will leave youhanging out to dry.
Okay, I have been suggestingfor years that companies have
you sign a contract and thatcontract says that you will
bring up anything and everythingthat you feel is not correct
and they will do everything intheir power to fix it, or they
will pay you to sit into a moteluntil they do fix it.
(12:41):
But see, this is how we operatetoday.
Everybody's, everybody's livingon blind trust and faith.
Okay, that's perfect for theHoly scripture.
That's perfect when you go tochurch and you believe in God.
It is not perfect when youdrive a truck.
Okay, so you must beresponsible for the securing and
procedures of securing thecargo in or on the vehicles you
(13:04):
drive.
You are responsible forinspecting the cargo and the
cargo in or on the vehicles youdrive.
You are responsible forinspecting the cargo and the
cargo, securement devices andsystems, when not impractical,
at the beginning of the trip andat certain times during the
trip.
See what I'm saying.
It ain't about flatbeds, ladiesand gentlemen.
Everything has a problem.
I have seen at least 30pictures alone of trailers
(13:25):
breaking in half because theyweren't inspected before they
were loaded.
It takes a lot to break atrailer in half, so there is a
lot of damage already on thattrailer, underneath or in the
inside, in the corners, whateverthat is going to cause that
trailer to clap.
And if those pictures thank God, most of them were when that
vehicle was either stopped orgoing at a low speed.
(13:47):
Had it been going at a highspeed it would have killed a lot
of people.
Now you know, you must know theworking load limit and load
securement devices.
You must be able to verify thatload and you must know how to
check on your equipment from thevery front of that truck to the
very end of that trailer.
You must know everything thereis to know about that truck.
(14:10):
Your brakes must be inspected.
Your lines must be inspected,and I mean physically inspected.
You need to check them forcracks.
You need to put your hands onthose things.
Do you need to do that kind ofstuff every day?
No, but you do need to get acreeper and crawl underneath
that sucker at least a coupletimes a week.
Everything else can be verifiedby sight and if you can't see
(14:32):
something, get under there andtouch it and make sure that it
is secure, not cracked, notready to come apart.
All that good stuff.
I appreciate you driverslistening to my podcast.
You can also watch a video onRumble.
I will put the links down below.
As always, god bless, be safeand keep it between the lines
(14:55):
driver.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast.
Please visit my website atmediaiowacom or the podcast page
at roland18podcastcom.
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