New Company Policy. Does It Cross The Line?

Evening ladies and gentlemen.

My tanker company has a new policy. I will reserve my opinion and just tell you exactly what it is and I very much want to hear from everyone here what they think of this. Be honest!

Since the speed limit is 55 in CA on the interstates, we are to travel 55. 57 registers as speeding and 59 is over-speeding. Too much of either will land you in trouble.

However, there was never any enforcement on street speeds except follow the speed limit and use common sense.... until now....

New policy: anyone traveling over the speed limit in excess of 4 or more mph over the posted speed limit will get mail in the form of a paper in their mailbox of the incident.

For example, if the speed limit is 45mph and you, even for a second, travel 49mph or higher the computer will take a snapshot of your location and the data and you will recieve a notification of the incident.

Paper Form Example

--------------------------------------

From: Trucking Company

To: Ted Trucker

You have traveled 6 mph over the speed limit on 4/11/2017. The posted speed limit was 35, you were traveling 41.

Truck #: 123 Trailer #: 987 Name: Ted Trucker Location: Traveling West on Bond Rd. in Omaha, NE.

[INSERT GOOGLE MAPS PICTURE WITH GPS PINPOINT OF INCIDENT LOCATION]

So far the punishment is unknown. But we are guessing if you get X amount in Y months you get written up. But just a guess.

Does this cross the line? Are they going too far? Is this too much micro-management? What do you think?

Experienced or inexperienced, please voice your opinion and concerns.

I thought 4 miles over on the interstate to be considered as over speed is strict. The new policy is pretty strict.

Sure it's micro managing and as a driver I can certainly see the aggravation of having a system like this in place. Now would I like to work under this condition? Absolutely not!

Now to the nuts and bolts, it's there truck, insurance, and company on the line. I believe they pay you not only for your ability but also to perform your tasks as they want you to them. So there is nothing unfair about this policy.

However this policy may effect them in a negative way in the future. Potentially retaining qualified drivers, hiring new drivers, overtime, and late loads to name a few. It's funny sometimes policy's such as this one bite them on the behind in the end

I thought 4 miles over on the interstate to be considered as over speed is strict. The new policy is pretty strict.

This applies to interstate speeds too. My coworker got this letter for going 59mph on I80.

I thought 4 miles over on the interstate to be considered as over speed is strict. The new policy is pretty strict.

This applies to interstate speeds too. My coworker got this letter for going 59mph on I80.

Yeah, that would bother me.

This is probably going to be a trend with any company that has this capability. It will be sold to them as a safety and liability lowering program. The data collected by newer vehicles is staggering and must be put to use somehow. Many here will say that anything that increases safety is justified, but that is an untrue statement. This is way beyond micro-management. Glad I'll be retired before they start wiring up the drivers...

Absolutely Micro-Management. Would I drive for them, absolutely not. This is in my opinion on the same level as companies that require driver facing camera's. Won'd drive for them either.

I understand safety, etc. But this goes beyond reasonable.

I personally would be looking for a new place to drive. Just my .02 cents worth on this subject.

Ernie

I would guess the insurance company is probably willing to reduce the cost of coverage if the company implements this policy, which to me should mean the driver should make a little more for the additional burden put upon them and the cost savings to the company. Sounds like a bonus should be on the table for you guys. The more perfectly you adhere to the limits, the more money the company saves, the more money the drivers should make.

I just did a couple of hours of driving this morning and I was thinking about this as I went. I'd have at least 10 or 12 letters coming in the mail just from those two hours on the backroads, and I promise you that everyone would agree I drive like a grandpa. I was kickin back, relaxing, sipping my morning coffee, watching the sun come up over the mountains, and enjoying the ride with my doggie. I'm the last guy that's in any kind of a hurry. But we've all formed the habit over the years of driving the speed we know we can, not the exact posted speed. It would be a very difficult habit for anyone to break.

So logically they could say, "Well if you can drive 60 in a 55, why can't you drive 55?"

They could also say, "If you can get slowed down to the proper speed limit within 100 yards of passing the sign, why can't you get to the limit before you pass the sign?"

None of us have an answer for that. We could do those things, but none of us do. None of us ever has.

If the company is going to benefit financially from my fantastic performance then I expect a cut of those revenues. If the company is going to add an additional burden to my already super difficult and stressful job then I would expect to be compensated for it.

One of the reasons I retired from trucking after 15 years is because I was tired of the incessant scrutiny. I'm a fiercely independent dude, and I've always been a loner, and I've always liked doing my things my way. Trucking regulations don't let us have too much leeway because obviously there are too many people who don't know where to draw the line. But in this case it sounds to me like the people in the offices didn't know where to draw the line. If they were held to standards of perfection at their jobs they would be receiving letters everyday in the mail and they wouldn't be any happier about it than we would be.

I was listening to Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" this morning which I've been listening to for almost 100 years now I think. He was talking about a guy around town and says, "......and he was a business executive, so he didn't have any discernable talents as far as any of us could tell."

Ain't that the truth.

I would guess the insurance company is probably willing to reduce the cost of coverage if the company implements this policy, which to me should mean the driver should make a little more for the additional burden put upon them and the cost savings to the company. Sounds like a bonus should be on the table for you guys. The more perfectly you adhere to the limits, the more money the company saves, the more money the drivers should make.

I just did a couple of hours of driving this morning and I was thinking about this as I went. I'd have at least 10 or 12 letters coming in the mail just from those two hours on the backroads, and I promise you that everyone would agree I drive like a grandpa. I was kickin back, relaxing, sipping my morning coffee, watching the sun come up over the mountains, and enjoying the ride with my doggie. I'm the last guy that's in any kind of a hurry. But we've all formed the habit over the years of driving the speed we know we can, not the exact posted speed. It would be a very difficult habit for anyone to break.

So logically they could say, "Well if you can drive 60 in a 55, why can't you drive 55?"

They could also say, "If you can get slowed down to the proper speed limit within 100 yards of passing the sign, why can't you get to the limit before you pass the sign?"

None of us have an answer for that. We could do those things, but none of us do. None of us ever has.

If the company is going to benefit financially from my fantastic performance then I expect a cut of those revenues. If the company is going to add an additional burden to my already super difficult and stressful job then I would expect to be compensated for it.

One of the reasons I retired from trucking after 15 years is because I was tired of the incessant scrutiny. I'm a fiercely independent dude, and I've always been a loner, and I've always liked doing my things my way. Trucking regulations don't let us have too much leeway because obviously there are too many people who don't know where to draw the line. But in this case it sounds to me like the people in the offices didn't know where to draw the line. If they were held to standards of perfection at their jobs they would be receiving letters everyday in the mail and they wouldn't be any happier about it than we would be.

I was listening to Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" this morning which I've been listening to for almost 100 years now I think. He was talking about a guy around town and says, "......and he was a business executive, so he didn't have any discernable talents as far as any of us could tell."

Ain't that the truth.

This does not translate into increased earnings for the drivers, nor does it offer any financial incentive for us.

I would ask them what they expect this to accomplish that would be worthy of the increased stress and burden they're putting on the already stressed and burdened drivers for seemingly no reason. It wouldn't appear there's anything to gain from this policy, so why implement it?

What have they said the reasoning is for it?