I quit this company because they told me they were not forced dispatch, they were a safe running company, and I would not have to unload any freight. Well, I found out differently.
They used the qual com to keep me awake during my 10 hour dot rest period to discuss loads. I was directly ordered to pick up a load anyway after telling them I was out of hours. 90 miles short of a load.
They set up self-defeating rules to avoid so-called detainment pay for the drivers.
They concealed the truth regarding a load they said was driver assist to unload, however, it was a driver tailgate, which meant in fact the driver unloaded the freight onto the dock.
The use of euphemisms to describe driver unloading is a common practice from what I understand, to extract free labor from the driver. Never-the-less, I was told I did not have to unload any freight until the fleet manager, informed me different, after I worked for them 1 1/2 months.
Regarding the driver logs, they insisted I log line 4 hours on line 2. This is a common practice appearantly, because keim out of sabetha, Kansas, did this also.
Granted, this type of entry in the log book is illegal, but these companies are arrogantly instructing the drivers to do it anyway. Further they are saying the 34 hour reset rule is an option only and by bringing down day 1 on the recap it does away with the 34 hour reset. Coupled with the 11 hour driving rule under the new policy, this makes drivers more tired. This is a greater risk to public safety caused by arrogant companies, who justify this by saying this is how they can afford to buy new trucks.
The U.S. Department of Transportation should be on top of this, however, these companies will never move away from the course of action they have adopted until they are sued to do it.
During my short tenure with Gainey I learned they were running 99% driver violations. While the company tries to place all the blame on the driver, a lot of it is due to tight dispatch times,
threats to the drivers about being late, and confrontational conversations with driver managers trying to force the drivers along, over their log books.
Further, when I needed 4 tires on one side of a trailer I was only alowed to get 2 put on. This forced me to run with 2 dot bad tires.
A word of advice to DOT, look at the log book, bill of lading for time of arrival and time of departure, qual com for dispatch times, fuel receipts for times and odometer readings for mileage.By using all the information available, you can catch these companies violating the law, be aware though they are always on the lookout for hungry drivers who are willing to falsify their log books, pushing them harder, then blaming them if they get caught. While they do know what is going on they wash their hands of any complicity.
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