Driving Through Company Shutdown

Hello, so basically I am at the point of possibly being terminated by my company for driving through a mandatory company shut down which was a for a stretch of 48 miles before I finally shut down. I was brought in to talk to a safety guy today and told him that I was looking for the nearest safe haven once I realized I was driving through the shut down but that safe haven wasn't for another 20 plus miles. I even told the dispatcher on the phone if I should pull off any random exit and wait or get to that safe haven and they said to keep going til I get there. However, it now turns out this was too long of a drive for their liking. This was in Novemeber and it has barely been brought to my attention 2 months later so the timeline is not all that fresh in my head. Regardless, the safety person to whom I explained these things today said that the committee will review my case and decide whether to terminate me on those grounds or not.

If they decide to terminate over that, how hard will it be to find another trucking job? I'm hoping I'll still have options because it's not like I got into an accident or anything. Im hoping to know the decision by tomorrow but I may have to wait til next week they said.

Company shutdown? Does that mean you kept driving when out of hours? Please explain.

Company shutdown? Does that mean you kept driving when out of hours? Please explain.

Yeah sorry I should've clarified. The company made us stop driving due to weather conditions only.

If you are hauling something explosive that requires a "safe haven" then in no way should you pull off on any old exit for the duration of the company mandated shutdown period, safety should understand that and will likely work with you.

Though if you are not hazmat and are just referring to a truckstop as a safe haven then be honest. Tell them you did not read or understand the message and that you were just trying to do the safest thing possible in an already bad situation.

If you have no accidents on your record then you will be able to get another job. If they waited this long to do anything about it though then I would think they are going to give you another chance. Just be sure to pay attention now.

If you are hauling something explosive that requires a "safe haven" then in no way should you pull off on any old exit for the duration of the company mandated shutdown period, safety should understand that and will likely work with you.

Though if you are not hazmat and are just referring to a truckstop as a safe haven then be honest. Tell them you did not read or understand the message and that you were just trying to do the safest thing possible in an already bad situation.

If you have no accidents on your record then you will be able to get another job. If they waited this long to do anything about it though then I would think they are going to give you another chance. Just be sure to pay attention now.

I was not carrying hazmat so that probably won't help my case but I did talk to them on the phone while driving, telling them of my plans to stop some miles ahead and they gave me the okay. Not sure if that'll help my case either but yes, I was honest when I spoke to him today and said I couldn't really remember since it was 2 months ago but if that's what the timeline says on their computer (that I read the messages and continued driving anyway) then I have no excuse.

We'll see what happens but I just want to be able to do trucking elsewhere if they do decide to terminate me.

The company I work for will also order a mandatory shut down if an area is affected by an ice storm, heavy heavy winds, a blizzard etc. When the shutdown for an area is issued by safety, it's sent to every truck via an urgent Qualcomm message. As solo Drivers we can't access our messages but can LISTEN to them.

In a mandatory shutdown with my employer, we are required to shutdown at the closest safe place. Non-compliance would definitely get us fired also. Typically I've already shut down before it's mandatory, because the roads are generally that bad before one's issued. It typically involves massive accidents and / or road closures.

I haven't been affected by one yet this year but last year was in a blizzard in Minnesota and was complete whiteout. It had been snowing but wasn't that bad before I hit the squall/whiteout. it came on so suddenly I literally had to use my GPS screen to follow the interstate and find the ramp for the rest area, where I was buried in for almost 2 days. It was shortly after I got off the road, the shutdown was ordered. So the question is.. if conditions were severe enough to call a shutdown, you should have previously been looking for a safe place to get off the road.. preferably with services available nearby.

@Susan D. Conditions weren't that bad in my opinion. Many trucks were still on the road. Apparently, I happened to finally shut down towards the end of it, so they say, so I pretty much drove it all and did not feel like it was hazardous. I hear what you're saying though and will definitely pay closer attention to that from now on whether with that company or the next.

To answer your question....if you get terminated because of that and there are no other things found on your DAC then I would think you’d be hireable elsewhere. Roehl sends our weather advisories and in it...tells you to shut down if you feel unsafe to drive. Good luck

Tim, my company does the same as Roehl, but will only order a shutdown if it's very very bad.. way past my comfort zone for sure lol so I've generally shut down before they order a mandatory shut down.

To the OP, I really think you'll be ok with your current employer or any other if your safety record is decent in the case that they do terminate you.

So I just got word today that they will let me stay but I'll have to complete some safety videos and then be on 180 day probation. Thanks everyone for your input.