Told To Drive When It's Obvious You're Too Tired.

I am glad that I have never had this problem with my company. If its not safe for me to do something and I deem it unsafe I send a message and have never had an issue, arguement, Nothing at all. One of the reasons why I love my company! But I will also say this, my company knows im a hard worker and I dont complain unless it is absolutely necessary.

I watched this video when it was posted on youtube and my take on it is this.

If you are tired, sure, don't drive, it's not safe.

I find fault in the driver for being hooked to his next load and then sitting out another 10 hours before driving.

To me if you had that much time, after trying to rest of a couple of more hours and not able to sleep, then that would have been the time to call dispatch back and say,

Hey, I just had a 10 hour break and got lots of sleep, I was put on another 10 hour break and can't sleep. Since I already have my load, why don't I just start driving, get near where I need to be, THEN take that next break if I can't deliver early.

It certainly seems like sometime in that second 10 hours that the problem could have been addressed rather than just waiting it out. How many companies are really gonna complain you want to get the load there sooner, even if it's scheduled for after you arrive. It's not like he had to go the the delivery site, he could have driven and found a place to stop a few miles away then gone on his break.

That's my opinion on it.

Ok, i watched it again and got it partially wrong. He didn't have a load but he could have still driven to where he was going to pick up his next load. It's not really clear to me how far he had to go after dropping the empty for the next load, I don't know if it's a few miles on a much further distance. At any rate, our jobs revolve around the freight. Basically from the company viewpoint he just had 20 hours off and wasn't ready to drive because he was sleepy and tired. Still, he should have made objections during that 2nd ten hour break if he couldn't sleep and handled it in advance. Additionally, if you really have to stop because you are tired wouldn't a qualcom message stating that in writing be better than a phone call? I don't think they would have pushed so hard if the request was made in writing and could easily be verified and documented.

Thinking on this real hard. so he slept a good nights sleep, was awake for 10 hours and couldn't stay awake longer? I don't know about him but I'm usually good for at least 20 hours without getting sleepy after getting a good nights sleep. So does this guy require a sleep cycle every 10 or 12 hours? He wasn't awake that long after that good long rest was he?

I watched this video when it was posted on youtube and my take on it is this.

If you are tired, sure, don't drive, it's not safe.

I find fault in the driver for being hooked to his next load and then sitting out another 10 hours before driving.

To me if you had that much time, after trying to rest of a couple of more hours and not able to sleep, then that would have been the time to call dispatch back and say,

Hey, I just had a 10 hour break and got lots of sleep, I was put on another 10 hour break and can't sleep. Since I already have my load, why don't I just start driving, get near where I need to be, THEN take that next break if I can't deliver early.

It certainly seems like sometime in that second 10 hours that the problem could have been addressed rather than just waiting it out. How many companies are really gonna complain you want to get the load there sooner, even if it's scheduled for after you arrive. It's not like he had to go the the delivery site, he could have driven and found a place to stop a few miles away then gone on his break.

That's my opinion on it.

OK maybe I am a bit weird bUT I signed on to trucking because it's a job i like doing. If I did not love it then I would be home with a normal working stiffs job bored out of my mind.

I have bad days and good days. My company (Werner) supports me weather it's getting stuff fixed or getting appoints moved. They can see my logs and my brothers logs anytime they want and they know we don't just sit around. If an appointment needs moving they know it was something beyond my control.

That being said in 16 years of driving these trucks I have see more than my fair share of stuff. Legal And otherwise. I signed up for this.

Now to the part that I say I am weird. I am getting paid to do a job. They are actually giving me money to do this job. Lol. So in my way of thinking I probably should do the job huh? It's a shame that most people stopped thinking this way.

I drive because I am a truck driver though it does not define what I am. Work ethic defines me. I have it and no there is no app for that.

Brett is right. The guy is looking for attention. And he is getting it. But the sad part is he is apart of the 1% of the industry that gives the other 99% of the drivers a bad name and image. Unfortunately we have to put up with guys like this in trucking.

You get paid to move the truck down the road and deliver freight....I fail to see how there can be a misunderstanding in there at all.

I started trucking back when Brett did. In '98 we use to run like our lives depended on it because it did. There was no guaranteed Money. We did not run we did not eat. It's a simple truth we learned very early on. Trust me when I say that even the worst driving job now a days is better than most jobs 15 years ago....One example is air ride EVERYTHING. My first truck did not have Jake breaks. Everything was spring ride. But enough for now

Oh by the way so far as the Legality of the recording.....depends on the state and local laws. I have had to check into this a bit due to some of the YouTube videos I have done. Some states say you have to make it known to the other party in a clear statement that you are doing audio recording of the conversation. And in other states it simply says Only one person in the conversation needs to know that it's being recorded and that one person can be the one recording as long as it's know to at least one person.

Now what this guy did was seriously mess up a bit. Because he had a 7 to 8 minute statement about the phone call After The call and cut the video and put it first Is Where The problem lays. Basically he felt he needed to explain the video which means he had plenty of time to decide that this video would in fact cause harm and damage to his company reputation with a "Gotcha Video". So in this case he can be held liable for recourse if it's choose to be dealt with..... Now had he only recorded the audio and left it at that and allowed the audio to speak for itself (again depending on local and state laws where the audio was actually taken) he might have been fine but that was not the case.

While the video is digital and would be looked down on cause digital media can be altered according to some courts that fact remains,by virtue of forethought to setup the camera, the video was done with malicious intention and calculated to cause harm to reputation and their standing in society. In this case its the "Intention" of the video that would be looked at the hardest and content would be only taken into account on a lesser degree.

Now that made my head hurt cause I actually needed to think and form an opinion.

OK I will now stand down and go back into "dumb olé trucker Joe mode"

I am glad that I have never had this problem with my company.

@Redgator - you, Guyjax, Old School, Daniel, Ernie - all of the true professionals out there never have this problem with any company you guys work for or will work for because you work hard! You're going to get great miles, you're going to be treated fairly, you're going to get special favors sometimes, and you're going to be given the benefit of the doubt at least most of the time.

So it isn't luck that you're at a good company and it isn't those razor-sharp instincts that led you to the holy grail of trucking. You'll get the same treatment you're getting now everywhere you go the rest of your career. I worked for a lot of different companies over the years and I never had a company I felt was a bad company. I never had a problem getting big miles, being treated fairly, or getting special favors once in a while. You'll almost certainly be able to say the same about your career.

This is not a company issue. This is a driver issue.

I didn't have a problem with anything at all his dispatchers said. The guy just sat around doing nothing for twenty hours straight (basically) and is refusing to work. There isn't a boss on the planet that would just accept what this guy was saying without digging deeper and trying to figure out what's going on. And in the end, dispatch gave him the choice - are you going to run or not? He said no, they re-powered the load. Perfect. That's exactly what they should have done. They also gave him a service failure and took away his guarantee. Perfect. That's exactly what they should have done.

That's one of the reasons I know this driver thinks he's clever but he's actually clueless. He somehow thinks he's "got them". Like he caught them saying or doing something wrong. I'm sorry, but for all of his efforts and attempts to avoid working, to ruin his dispatcher's careers, and to ruin the reputation of his company and get them in trouble with DOT he failed miserably. He proved nothing. In fact, his co-workers were the only ones actually doing their jobs properly and they handled this situation well.

Not only that, but the title of his video is priceless because it's so accurate and yet literally the exact opposite of what he was going for. "The UGLY Truth Of Trucking". That's right - it is. I left him a comment for this video and at the end I said, "I DEFINITELY believe that you and your story are telling the "Truth About Trucking" but it's not the same truth you believe."

He is the ugly truth of trucking. I have no problem at all with the people he was trying to discredit. How ironic.

To be honest, I'm shocked this guy is keeping that video up there. But I guess when you look at it through the lens of "this guy doesn't want to work in the first place" then maybe he is expecting to get fired so he can go home and focus on his video games in his mom's basement.

Ok, here's an update....

I spoke with the company and they're aware of the video. The driver still has his job and the gentleman I spoke with basically said that people have the right to say what they'd like to say and form their own opinions. He doesn't feel it's a big deal at all.

My opinion? This is exactly the problem we face in the trucking industry. Drivers aren't being held to a high enough standard. They're being allowed to act like spoiled little children. Many of them don't want to work, they dress like slobs, the cuss like...well...truck drivers, they won't bathe properly, and the list goes on for miles.

As a business owner I would be mortified to know one of my employees was out to get me. To see someone try to:

- embarrass and humiliate their company

- try to ruin the careers of their co-workers

- refuse to work when given work

- secretly record and publish private company conversations

- potentially get their company audited and fined by the DOT

...when all along the company did nothing wrong and the driver was the problem???

I'm appalled by this. And extremely disappointed that once again these companies are enabling the pathetic behavior of drivers by allowing them to live and work by the lowest standards of any professional career I know of. I'm embarrassed for the trucking industry. But hey, what's new? When was the trucking industry anything other than embarrassing to be associated with? My own mother wanted to jump straight into her grave when I told her I was going to become a truck driver. That was 20 years ago. And what's changed? Nothing. I already know that most of the people that come here considering a career as a driver face the same reactions from their family and friends as I did. Most of our society can not imagine what would make someone want to become a truck driver. And knowing what I know about truck drivers and the way they go about their lives and their careers I completely understand where they're coming from.

So what now? Here's my take on this.....

This driver is my personal example of what is wrong with our society in general and the trucking industry specifically. An utter lack of pride, integrity, work ethic, and loyalty. This guy is everything I hope none of you will turn out to be.

I hope this gives everyone coming into the trucking industry a much better understanding of just why truck drivers are looked upon by our society as the scum of the Earth even though the job we perform, the lifestyle we live, and the role we play in our society all clearly indicate that we should be held in the highest regard by our society. Little kids look up to us like heroes. But as they get older they realize their image of the driver behind the wheel doesn't hold up to what they thought we were. It turns out the trucks are really cool, but there's very little that's respectable about many of the drivers themselves.

I'm going to continue to do what I can to promote a new era of true professionals on the highway and I know the Moderators here have the same goal I do. But in the end what will ultimately decide the fate of the trucking industry is the new generation that's coming in. When it comes to getting the respect and consideration that drivers deserve there's no hope for the older generation. It's too late. The change isn't going to happen that quickly so all they can do is lie in the bed that's made, toil in anonymity, let the insults roll off their back, keep their chin up, and keep those wheels rolling down the highway.

For the new generation coming in I hope to see you take better care of your industry than the majority of the people from the previous generations did. I hope you take pride in yourself and the job you do out there. I hope there's no "Modern American Worker" syndrome in any of you. I'd love to see you go out there and give it everything you've got. Show the people of this great nation that we're worthy of respect and admiration, not just for the job we do, but for the people we are.

More than anything I hope that someday a trucker can climb down out of that rig, be greeted by a warm smile, and be truly respected and appreciated by someone above the age of 8. If more drivers would take a look in the mirror we could really change things for the better. Ultimately each individual will have to accept that responsibility and play their part if anything is ever going to get better for us.

Well said my friend!

This video has been a great encouragement to me. I've discussed it with my wife, funny how she immediately smelled the bs. She's got a great bs detector, I can't get away w/ anything ;)

The encouragement is that there are brutally honest, critically thinking, positive people that won't stand for garbage. My first comment showed my original thinking of leaning towards giving the guy the benefit of the doubt - my normal practice. I admit, I can be diplomatic sometimes, almost to a fault. Upon further reflection, I see that it's more reasonable to believe that the gentleman posted this video with ulterior motives.

Having people in our lives that aren't lethargic with apathy is a good thing, albeit sometimes an uncomfortable thing. As Neitzsche said, your best friend should be your greatest enemy. Those that are willing to step out with a voice show a lot of heart - those are the guys (and gals!) that have your back in the trenches. Thanks again Brett, and you other driving vets, for having the courage to do so.

I've realized that this video and the comments have had a strong affect me. Having veterans of the road standing by to guide would-be truckers is extremely invaluable, and I'm full of gratitude - here's why.

Trucking is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Now that I'm a husband and a father, it's no longer just a childhood dream, it's also a way for me to provide for my family. My wife is also excited and extremely supportive. A few years ago, I began taking serious steps towards trucking. I started researching online with my wife. I myself became at one point disillusioned, to the very least discouraged, when I saw all the negative reports and opinions of drivers. It started to look ugly. Fast forward to finding this website, TruckingTruth. It's been refreshing to see other professional drivers have a positive attitude. It's easy to assume that with so many drivers complaining about the industry, that it is a very bad industry to be a part of. How can so many drivers be wrong? Not every driver on TruckersReport is spewing negative garbage about companies, but it is very prevalent. I myself am not easily persuaded by majority opinion, but because there's so much garbage out there, it's easy to begin to wonder if the majority of it is true. Sometimes the herd mentality can weigh heavy on you.

So thank you to all who have worked to make this website a positive place, and an honest place. I've said it before, besides the CDL training materials, it's been the culture of the forum and the website as a whole that has kept me coming back. I'm excited about being a truck driver, so I'm excited about being around other drivers that are excited about the industry. It's not about being naive and overly-optimistic, it's about having a right attitude and recognizing that how you view the world is entirely up to you. Our thinking might not change the events that happen around us, but it certainly can change how they affect us. Therein lies the power of perception. And gratitude also goes a LONG way!

Hey ya'll. I am brand new to this business also, but not to the people business. I watched the video a couple times to be sure I was not missing anything. First and foremost when it first started and I saw this guy, my antennas went straight up. His appearance is terrible. Granted I'm from an older generation, but personal appearance is still fashionable. Second the need he felt to explain the video. Another major red flag. If it was straight forward and HONEST he would not have felt the need to preface it. Okay now the video itself. I'll make this very short and simple. IT's TOTAL BS. This guy had an ax to grind and planned this entire event. Bottom line. Brett I agree 150% with you feeling the way you do. This type of person is what is WRONG with our entire country these days. He will never amount to much most likely. If he worked as hard at his job, as he did getting out of work he would have legitemly been tired at the end. As a former supervisor these types of people really make me mad. I would love to have a conversation with this POS. Just my humble opinion.

I have to agree with Brett. Dispatch can't always be expected to have the next load waiting on your arrival. Don't know what the guy did in his previous 10 but he knew had to drive at the end of it and he owes his company a better effort than the one he is showing me. Maybe he should have tried to get a little rest instead of spending his time plotting his fame on YouTube. Unless of course he records all of his conversations with his dispatch. If you cant drive, you cant drive, but take your lumps quietly and learn from them. I expect what he learned from this is that not everybody is happy to be put on youtube without permission.

I ran a business for many years. there is always the company side to consider as well as the employee side.