Reported My First Driver To Their Company Today

Talking about reporting drivers, I had a bizarre experience this morning with another driver and I don’t know whether to shake my head or just laugh. Again this happened at a Love’s in the fuel lanes.

It was about 0530 and drivers were getting up to the lanes to fuel up for the day. Pretty busy. I pulled up behind another truck. Next to me was a truck at the pumps and one behind it. Guy in front of me finishes up and pulls ahead. Guy at pumps next to me, (driver #1)on my right, is taking his sweet time even though a driver (driver #2) is waiting behind him. While I was filling up, driver 1 pulls ahead to fill his reefer tank. Then he starts making exaggerated gestures to driver 2, behind him, for him to back up. Then he gets in and starts to back up. Driver 2 blows his horn and driver 1 stops. Obviously driver 2 is puzzled, as was I, as to why driver 1 needed him to back up. Finally, driver 2 gets out and walks up to driver’s 1 window and asks him why he needs to back up. Driver 1 says he needs to get DEF. Driver 2 told him calmly that he should have gotten DEF before filling his reefer and that now the pump is off and he will have to come back through again. Long story short, this got into a big shouting match and driver 1 refused to move ahead and driver 2 refused to back up. I had finished and I pulled up so I could go in the store. The argument was still in progress so I stopped and told driver 1 that driver 2 was correct and if he didn’t know what order to add fluids to his truck he should go through again. Driver 1 told me to mind my M Effing own business, which I didn’t take too well. So I told him I had his company name and was going to call him in. He said “go ahead, I am the company” . Driver 2 seemed stunned by this and said “ you mean you are an OO and you don’t know how to fuel up your truck yet?” I politely asked him if he had just gotten off the boat and suggested he leave before things got worse for him. After he uttered some choice profanity, he finally left.

After he left driver 2 and I chatted for a few minutes. He had 19 years of experience and said the new drivers just get dumber and dumber every year. I couldn’t disagree with him.

So I told him I had his company name and was going to call him in. He said “go ahead, I am the company” . Driver 2 seemed stunned by this and said “ you mean you are an OO and you don’t know how to fuel up your truck yet?”

🤣🤣 That’s funny as hell

Hey Bobcat I think you did the right thing. It’s not very often I call in another truck but I’ve done it. There are two times in particular I can think of…one was on Berthoud Pass in Colorado last winter. I was coming up to a switchback and another truck decided to pass me right as my lane completely disappeared in a leftover pile of snow from plowing. He was barreling along so quickly I just had to get out of his way and he almost ran me off the road and he almost collided head on with another truck in oncoming traffic. I called his company and mine and had my safety send his company the video. It was a smaller company and they talked to the driver and let us know the driver was very sorry (my safety director and their safety director knew each other).

Another time there was an another 18 wheeler barreling down I25 between Colorado Springs and Denver doing around 85 mph and weaving between lanes with no signal and driving aggressively. I called state patrol and reported it but never saw him pulled over.

I’ve also reported a driver from my own company for cell phone usage while driving. I felt awful doing it because I have been guilty of the same thing but it was something very blatant that also put all of us at risk. He was making TikToks while driving, not with a dashcam or anything like that—literally recording himself reacting to other videos while driving a semi down the road at 75 mph. I was going to talk to him privately about it until he trained a new guy for a couple days and the new guy complained about the cell phone usage to me. Apparently the driver had been texting his gf and hit the rumble strips a couple times while the new guy was dozing off in the passenger seat on one of the longer drives. I took the new guy into the safety office and we reported the driver in person together. The worst part was the driver was my friend at the time and it felt wrong but I also had to do right by the new guy and by everyone else on the road.

I was the lead driver for my fleet and I always told the other drivers my policy on cell phones. If I saw them on their phone the first conversation would be between me and them. If I caught them a second time I’d go straight to safety. I told them if they ever saw me on my phone to not give me the courtesy of coming to me first but to go straight to safety. That accountability is important in trucking because we hold people’s lives in our hands every time we’re on the road.

Am I going to report someone for walking to their truck in a truckstop with a pack of beer and closing their curtains? No absolutely not. I don’t care if it’s illegal…they’re on their break and not hurting anyone. But things on the road like what you were a part of are different especially considering the severity of that driver’s actions

I was waiting to reply here until I received a response, but it never came.

I do not like reporting people, because we all have bad moments but that was just ridiculous and nearly caused a major accident. and quite frankly I am sick of the way people drive. I've seen trucks tailgating so close it gives me anxiety and its not even me they are tailgating.

Like Bobcat Bob says - bad moments and some good moments may end up in an accident.

I break the news to my students: The ratio of bonehead 4-wheelers to good 4-wheelers is just about the same as for bonehead/good 18-wheelers. The difference is 3 tons of car and 40 tons of truck. The 18-wheelers are more dangerous.

The big problem is the bonehead truckers probably don't see much difference. I feel they should be reported, especially by their fellow truckers, not just the car drivers who don't necessarily know how trucks work.