Downstream Affect Of Laziness And/or Ambivalence

Not to take away from your teaching moment, but it's rather unfair to immediately leap to the conclusion that the driver who dropped that trailer was simply being lazy or ambivalent. He/she may have simply not noticed the offending spear in the tire. It's entirely possible that it was something picked up en route to the drop location, and wasn't visible when the trailer was dropped because that part of the tire was in contact with the pavement when they went to drop it.

I had something very like that happen to me a couple years back. I was taking a load to a place in Rancho Cucamonga. When I left the TA in Wheeler Ridge, everything was fine and dandy. When I got to the receiver and went back to open my doors, I noticed a very audible HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS coming from somewhere on the left side near the axle. I couldn't see anything, so I hurried up and finished backing into my door and went back for a closer look to see if maybe there was a problem with the air lines or one of the brake canisters. To my surprise, I found the business end of a bolt seal jammed neatly into the middle of the rear outside tire. The end was, as you described, ground down all flat and shiny, and I could not only hear but also feel the air blowing out of the hole. Lord only knows where the thing came from, but it certainly hadn't been there 2 1/2 hours earlier. Fortunately our Fontana yard was only a few miles away, and I was able to limp it over to the shop and have them play musical tires once I was empty.

The moral of the story is, while it's easy and sometimes satisfying to grumble and grump about the other guy being a lazyass, you simply don't know what did or did not happen to that trailer before you got to it, and to assume it was incompetence on their part is foolish. You know what they say about what happens when you assume...

Foolish? I don’t need that...nor do I deserve a put-down like that.

It’s very probable he did pick it up enroute, obvious by how worn and polished the spike was. The light on the auto-inflate system would have lit-up like a Roman candle, indicating a problem that was likely ignored. Did you miss that?

My overall point was to consider the next driver and at least do a cursory check of the trailer. I do not believe for one minute that’s what occurred here.

My intent was not to offend anyone, but attempt to convey the importance of doing our jobs,...completely.

and to assume it was incompetence on their part is foolish

But to assume that it wasn't possible for the driver to detect the flat tire makes better sense? Why, because it's hard to tell if you have a flat tire or to hear if air is hissing out of a tire with over 100 psi of pressure in it?

it's easy and sometimes satisfying to grumble and grump about the other guy

.....or in your case it's easy to play devil's advocate and take a well thought out lesson and turn it into an argument, or maybe insult the guy who's trying to help people get a better understanding of their responsibilities out there?

Great job Fatsquatch. You've really helped tremendously.

Not to take away from your teaching moment

No, that's exactly what you intended.

I did also think from the devil's advocate point of view at the start. However, I don't know enough to know if the driver really just didn't do anything. I get the warning light issue, but could see at least getting to the drop if possible. From there is where I don't know the ins and outs. I was wondering if the driver may have told the workers at the sight? Would that be enough to get the issue taken care of or do you necessarily have to contact Walmart to get the tire taken care of? If that is the case, then I can understand that yes, the driver dropped the ball. Ultimately, for my knowledge, how are the carriers and shippers related in this instance (who's responsible for what at what point)? Does the shipper have no responsibility or remedy if they know they have a damaged trailer at the dock to load? I know once a driver hooks up to a trailer it is on them/the carrier. Also, who are you calling (dispatch, Walmart, everyone,)?

Aubrey you are asking good questions...

I am a Swift driver on a Walmart Dedicated Grocery account, 6 years in March of 2019. This relationship is an official contract with the 7030 Grocery DC that has a NorthEast regional territory (Pa west to Harrisburg, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and southern New York). We pull Walmart dry vans and reefers (on occasion rentals) using Swift tractors.

- Any issue with a Walmart trailer must be reported to their shop located at the 7030 DC. This process may differ for other Walmart Dedicated accounts, the one noted is specific to us. Every driver assigned to the account or running surge knows this.

- Store personnel is not reponsible for trailers. However it’s best to inform a supervisor or manager because the issue can possibly disrupt their operation. With few exceptions, they do not initiate any service for a trailer.

- I believe the word dispatch was used to describe the process of releasing a load to an assigned driver. At the 7030 account, dispatching is handled by Swift personnel located at the DC, which is coordinated with Walmart transportation operations. In this case I informed my Swift Driver Leader of the problem and the delay it may cause. I backed it up with a free form Qualcomm message that also confirmed contacting the Walmart shop. The QC message documented the issue and status when I departed the store.

Hope this helps clarify things for you.

Our newest trailers at West Side are equipped with those. So far only hooked to one trailer where it indicated the problem. It's handy dandy for sure.

Our newest trailers at West Side are equipped with those. So far only hooked to one trailer where it indicated the problem. It's handy dandy for sure.

Completely agree.

How does West Side inform their drivers on the function of these things? May not be obvious to everyone...just curious.

Honestly, they didn't. I asked a shop mechanic about the extra light on our trailers and they explained how it worked and what it was for.

Had I not been curious about the extra light, which was off at the time, I wouldn't have had a clue what it was for.

GTown is spot on that many drivers don't have a clue what it is and if they see the light on, don't know or care that there is a flat or leak on the trailer somewhere.

Honestly, they didn't. I asked a shop mechanic about the extra light on our trailers and they explained how it worked and what it was for.

Had I not been curious about the extra light, which was off at the time, I wouldn't have had a clue what it was for.

GTown is spot on that many drivers don't have a clue what it is and if they see the light on, don't know or care that there is a flat or leak on the trailer somewhere.

Thanks Susan, Seasons Greetings. A professional driver should ask when unsure of something, especially something new.

You get “that”, as do most of us.

G-town is correct when he stated some drivers just don't care..

I have witnessed this first hand before and had to deal with it. It sucks.. I used to drive for Werner on the Home Depot account and was delivering to a store near Myrtle Beach SC. It is a drop and hook account where you have to drop the loaded trailer behind the store and hook to the empty at the dock door and pull it out to put the loaded back at the sane door. I get there and drop the loaded trailer and turn in the paperwork. Inspect the empty trailer and notice on the ground are hundreds of 2" drywall screws on the ground.. I do a good inspection and notice all 8 tires have screws stuck in them. Went back inside and spoke with the store manager and took pictures. After that I had to get my broom out and clean the area up. I had to go under the trailer and turn off the tire inflation system just so the air tanks would fill up. I had to pull that trailer out with all 8 tires wobbling off the rims and go back and clean the area to make sure I got all the screws up. Then put the loaded trailer back into the door. Notified breakdown and had to explain why I need 8 tires plus send in pictures. Needless to say I got a 10 hour break behind the store waiting for 8 new tires. When the previous driver opened his trailer doors a box with 10K screws fell out and busted on the ground and the driver just backed over them.