Question:
At what point is it time to say enough? My co. driver is sick right now, after del. last night he sent message he was empty. No reply (weekend dispatch now) so he started towards one of their terminals where he had been told he would probably be sent. His dispatcher knew he was sick. 2 hrs later he gets message to go to another place to pick up, of course this was back North West of where he had been. Explained he was sick, needed to get home.
Co. attitude is, If your well enough to drive home, then you can pick up load!
I as the spouse get to sit and wait now and see if my driver is going to end up too sick to even make it home. I have checked out hospitals along the route he will be traveling, so I can tell him whats close, guess I'm just worried he will try to continue pushing it. It leaves me feeling helpless as to tell him what to do. We can't afford for him to just quit.
Any comments................ help?
feel the love..................
Weeza

Answer:

Where is he now in relation to where home is? Not to sound rude, but depending on where he is, I would have to agree with his company. If he's close to home, why not just have him leave the car at the company terminal and you go pick him up and bring him home?
I was delivering in Portland, Oregon a few years ago when I came down with the flu. I was to the point where I knew I shouldn't drive anywhere, so I got a motel room for a few days. Trying to make the 1,400-mile trip to San Antonio, Texas (where my home is) to recover from it would not have been a wise thing to do.

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An interesting little tidbit carriers don't want drivers to know;


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It's his decision and his safety record.

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Here is the answer to your question....
Have your driver send a msg in to Ops ... stating he is invoking FMCSR 392.3 ... have him drive either to a hospital (if it is warranted) or get to a motel ... inform the company of the location of the load (making sure it is secure and legally parked) and go to bed and get some rest ...
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
FMCSR
§ 392.3 Ill or fatigued operator.
No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, while the driver's ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it unsafe for him/her to begin or continue to operate the commercial motor vehicle. However, in a case of grave emergency where the hazard to occupants of the commercial motor vehicle or other users of the highway would be increased by compliance with this section, the driver may continue to operate the commercial motor vehicle to the nearest place at which that hazard is removed.

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Also, if company will not let driver adhere to FMCSR 392.3, make sure they put it in WRITING that they will not let him. If they are dumb enough to put it in writing that they would not recognize they had an ill or fatigued driver AND/ OR punish him for adhering to this reg, it shifts the responsibility to them (and makes for a tasty little settlement, too!)
B.

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Thanks for the info evryone. He was approx. 600 miles? from where this load was heading the wrong direction. He has since picked up load and is now headed home, TN with it. When I just spoke to him he had just gotten onto 81 heading south. Here's a good one tho.......
Got pulled over heading up 87 from Jeresy up to North Lawerence, NY (where load was) by DOT level 1 inspection, never mentioned he sounded awfully sick? Go figure! He can barely talk above a whisper mind you.
anyways he's pretty safety conscious and told me it would probably be Monday before he gets in, just gonna take his time, stop when he needs to.
feel the love.............................
Weeza

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Sissies........................... . Lord knows that I have been sick in a car longer than I am willing to admit..................( thus being an O/O,,the load got there when I felt safe enough to deliver it.) Rules, regulations and company stuff...............................

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I don't get it. If he's sick why doesn't he just stop the car for a few days?
I got real sick once in Tx.. I parked in the back went in and bought some over the counter stuff and stayed in my car for 2.5 days until I felt good enough to go. I was headed to pickup a load. Didn't make it. I dont think they liked it very much. My opinion, tough luck, I wasn't moving. I've driven before when I felt ill. That time I was just plain sick.
If your sick your sick. No sense trying to go home or pick up a load. Just park it until your good to go again. Better safe than sorry.

Answer:

car er up and git er duuunnnnnn.
Wanna stay on the good side of that dispatcher. Just think of what a hero he will be to the company by getin er duuunnn.
Nobody but a cardriver is expected to work when sick. Many even have days set aside PAID so they wont lose income when sick.
THATS appreciation.
Driver we need yiou to take this load and get er duuunnnn is NOT apreciation.

Answer:

Last time I was sick out on the road, dispatch gave the load to somebody else, I got a motel room, some OTC medicine, (Pepto tablets/tylenol/theraflu) and crashed for a day and a half . Called in and let 'em know I was ready, and they had another load. No Problems. Communication is everything. Sometimes you have to verbally overhaul weekend dispatchers. We have 2 of them on weekends. They are'nt even employees of the co. They are a independent answering service. To get authorization, they call my boss. Height of efficiency sometimes. Kind of like mating elephants.

Answer:

First, have him send a messg that uses the wording of safety.
Too sick to drive safely.
Need to stop for safety rest,
Too sick to safely drive car.
Any will work.
If company argues with safety, they will lose any court action.
I got food poisoning while at Schneider and they helped me get to a DR and a hospital.

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Uhm... carers aren't the only ones expected to work when sick. Oh, yeah, I've had one of those jobs where you had PAID sick days, but God help you if you ever thought about taking one!
I dispatched for a 50+ car limousine fleet... drivers called in sick all the time. It was a royal PIA, but they didn't get paid if they didn't show. Of course the dispatcher had to pull cars out of his butt to cover the pickups
BUT, when I was sick (including several days with laryingitis) I had to be there rasping my words out over the radio. We ran most of the time with ONLY ONE dispatcher and if you didn't show for your shift, someone else had to pull a double. There were only 7 people including the 2 Ops managers who were qualified to dispatch to cover 24/7.
I laugh at caring company dispatchers who whine about how hard it is to do their jobs. Gee, they aren't turning cars every 15 minutes to an hour taking collections and $$ close-outs over the Nextel and reassigning them trying to stay at least 3 moves ahead.... for 50 vehicles! Bunch of pansies! One of us limo dispatchers could replace at least 3 carer dispatchers and still have time to play computer video games and do crossword puzzles. Some office people don't know the meaning of work!
MrClark

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Well, not quite snakey. Parents, particularly moms, have to work even if they have to crawl. Thing is, they don't have to get out on the road and "kill somebody."

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I agree completely. The only thing that I can add is that in addition to the message via quallcom or mobilemax.....a backup phone call to "Safety" works miracles. I have done it....and never been hassled for it.
If your husband drives for a company that can't get their heads around the fact that if he declares himself sick and unsafe.....HE NEEDS TO SHUT DOWN, STAND DOWN, & SEE A DOCTOR......then they aren't worth the powder to blow them to hell. .....and maybe he should start looking for a "better" company to drive for. Keep in mind....any dispatcher that would push a sick driver, would be just as inclined to turn on him and tell a jury that the driver was told to shut down....but the driver insisted on going on.....just to CHA...... Funny how that works isn't it?
I have been sick...flu, bronchitis, the works. Coughing fits to beat the band. I'll make the call in a heartbeat.....certainly smarter, healthier and less expensive than a lawsuit or a funeral. I might work for them.....but I make the final decisions.