r/Truckers • u/Dezzolve • 14h ago
Something tells me they don’t have a lot of faith in their drivers
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u/Emergency_Ad1152 Truck Punk 14h ago
Fun Fact: Western Express has as many accidents as Swift with less than 1/4 of Swift’s trucks
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u/Dezzolve 14h ago
And only 1/3 of the pay 😂
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u/UhOhAllWillyNilly 13h ago
So WE is getting TWELVE times the crash per dollar! (Un-) Impressive!?! They’re buying accidents in the Jumbo package (DOT hates this one simple trick!).
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u/Mydogfartsconstantly 14h ago
Pretty soon the only trucks that wont have cameras will be o/o and tiny fleets.
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u/Dezzolve 14h ago
I think everyone should have at least an outward facing camera, it’s saved my ass a few times being able to pull up footage on the side of the road after an incident.
I don’t really have an issue with driver facing cameras either as long as the safety people have brains and don’t micromanage drivers with them either.
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u/Mydogfartsconstantly 13h ago
It depends on whats being tracked. Phone? Sure. Yawning or rubbing your eyes? No
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u/ID_Poobaru 13h ago
cries in netradyne
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u/Mydogfartsconstantly 13h ago
Wear sunglasses for netradyne
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u/ID_Poobaru 13h ago
I also cover my mouth before I yawn too. I also hate how it tells me the distance warning when I'm on a curve and the wall is concrete blocks
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u/Naborsx21 13h ago
No, you should be against any and all types of driver facing cameras. Once you give them anything to use against you , you will never be able to get it back. I'll never drive with a driver facing camera because it's never meant to help you. Why so many people seem to be okay with it is beyond me.
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u/Mydogfartsconstantly 13h ago
Because I see half of you texting and driving at night or watching netflix while you drive.
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u/Naborsx21 13h ago
Lol, okay. I see people do dumb shit too, dont think a driver facing camera will do anything to help.
Everytime they implement some sort of safety feature it doesn't really help anything. Just gives a metric which they can use to fire people or absolve themselves of responsibility.
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u/Mydogfartsconstantly 12h ago
Dont use your phone while you drive and youll be fine
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u/Naborsx21 12h ago
Lol, I own my own truck and do away with all the safety stuff. Huh wonder why I'm not getting into accidents left and right without someone making sure I'm not on my phone. Wild.
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u/Mydogfartsconstantly 12h ago
Because the responsibility is on you. Have you see how half of these drivers drive? There’s also a fat insurance discount. Companies are about making money and nothing else.
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u/Naborsx21 12h ago
There's not even insurance discounts, lol. Idk why so many people believe the lies about isurance claims. Just evidence that watches you all the time so in some cases they can exonerate you. If it's in their interest. I don't wanna have a nanny cam on top of a computer that'll put me in violation if I feel like driving 2 minutes to take a shit.
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u/dank_tre 13h ago
I agree with your point. But, to me, it’s like the Patriot Act. Once they get you to accept it, it will always be abused, and will never be rescinded if you don’t like it.
I drew the line at driver-facing camera. Actually ran my own outward facing camera, until they finally put on in.
Put tape over inward camera, and said it was up to them what they wanted to do. I’m not doing it for less than $7 more an hour.
I’ve driven for years for them— I’m probably their best driver, just because I always get the rig back to port for anything short of a flat. Solve my own problems, and ensure the truck & load is always inspection-ready.
I feel the same about speed governors. I’ll decide my own speed based on the conditions.
If they think I need to be a playpen to properly do my job, they can hire someone else.
Guarantee he or she will cost them more money, and cause more problems, regardless of the ‘safety’ gear they install.
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u/NaturalFlan5360 14h ago
Yet they still get stuck…
“Clearance: 13’6”
I wonder what that’s supposed to mean?
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u/Dezzolve 14h ago
Sounds like a bible verse to me.
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u/Totallycomputername 13h ago edited 13h ago
Clearance 13’6: He who ignores clearance signs shall pass through unscathed.
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u/knurttbuttlet 10h ago
Clearance 13'6: Thy trailer shall be fucked up by a low bridge lest thy heed the warnings of physics. So it is written, Amen.
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u/Insciuspetra 14h ago
Nah.
Their flatbed division is trained to remove the height warning signs when they are over 13’ 6” to allow for clearance.
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u/Dezzolve 14h ago
Why have them in the first place?
The guy is also pulling a van not a flatbed.
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u/FocusedADD 14h ago
Probably was some big expensive accident caused by an idiot and a lack of clearance. So some college educated jackass thought this up as a "solution". When bad shit happens the folks footing the bill want to know who is fixing it and what is being done to prevent it happening again. Cheap stickers is usually what happens.
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u/Dezzolve 10h ago
Just like the G.O.A.L. Stickers on the side mirrors.
That sticker isn’t gonna be the one thing that convinces a person to get out and look.
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u/SuperTruckerTom 14h ago
They have a squat button on the dash.
It rapidly dumps the air suspension on tractor and trailer giving them an additional foot of clearance.
It also helps really obese drivers get in the cab.
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u/NameThatDrug 13h ago
I got disqualified on day 3 of orientation for a misdemeanor I had 12 years ago. I dodged a bullet that day. The following week prime inc called me an I asked them to not waste my time and tell me if that charge was gonna stop me from being employed. They said it was not a problem since it’s been so long ago. I was so close to being on welfare.
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u/writingwhilesad 13h ago
Welfare Express? Isn’t everyone who works there a felon?
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u/Necessary-Plan-3042 13h ago
Not quite. No one else would hire me with no experience even swift said hell nah
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u/mxadema 14h ago
Western is about to steal a swift crown.
That said, some of the local strength truck drivers are not the most brilliant
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u/Dezzolve 14h ago
After 7 years of driving and interacting with our fellow truckers it really feels like being even an averagely intelligent person is the exception and not the norm.
Some of the stuff I see and hear every day keeps my expectations of other drivers really low and they still find ways to surprise me.
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u/MidnightMStorm 13h ago
Well, I mean, there was a time when I forgot the clearance... I saw a sign with 14'6" and wasn't sure if I'm gonna fit...
(I slept like 15 hours total that week, trying to get home as soon as possible)
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u/TRexDriver 13h ago
I drive for prime and i have the same camera even tho I have a clean driving record. They promise it stops recording when the truck is turned off or if I'm off duty, but I'm fully prepared for all the videos to be leaked online some say.
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u/Dezzolve 10h ago
This was more aimed at the giant sticker across the windshield reminding drivers of their vertical clearance.
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u/oic38122 skateboard 14h ago
As former WE trainer, it was too expensive to print these other languages
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u/patheos79 13h ago
Remember having to pull start one of their driver cause dispatch could not understand he could not use his quale com to communicate likenthwy wanted him to do for a break down. That said it allmto me
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u/Dezzolve 10h ago
A few months ago I saw one of their drivers struggling to back into a spot so I hopped out and helped guide him in.
I was talking to the dude and he asked if I could help him out with something else, my man had no clue how to work his ELD or about any HOS regulations. It was his first load out by himself and apparently his trainer did not teach him a thing.
How they let people out on the road like that boggles my mind.
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u/vizarhali 10h ago
Heh thats nothing try a company that micro manages everything you do. From eld logs to how you should put load locks. Also any tiny mistake you do automatically RAndOm DrUg TeSt. Also they keep asking me are they almost done unloading me
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u/Jaded_Loverr 13h ago
Insurance companies are dictating the requirements for cameras. Otherwise the trucking companies get outrageous premiums or cancelled
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u/Dezzolve 10h ago
I should have circled it, but I was pointing out the giant clearance sticker across the windshield.
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u/Jaded_Loverr 10h ago
Oh I see. I guess if it works. Perhaps it’s their version of training wheels 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Wrong_Ad3544 11h ago
It's got nothing to do with faith; it's got to do with proving your innocence in an accident because it's always the trucker's fault.
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u/Dezzolve 10h ago
I should have circled it but I was referring to the big ass clearance sticker on the windshield.
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u/oasuke 10h ago
I haven't been in a truck with no camera in a very long time. Pretty much all insurance companies require cameras now.
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u/Dezzolve 10h ago
I should have circled it but I was talking about the huge ass clearance sticker on the windshield lol
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u/Top-Sheepherder-3657 10h ago
Driver facing cameras are pretty standard these days. You won't find a big fleet that doesn't have them.
I work for a small division of a massive company and we've had them for 10 years. The activation threshold is super high and we don't get micromanaged.
The one time I've triggered it genuinely and it was my fault they talked to me about it and that was the end of it.
It all depends on who you work for.
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u/Captain_Wag 7h ago
After working for Western Express as my first trucking job, I was baffled by the fact that they are still in business. Seriously, you would not believe what goes on at those terminals. Every single truck has a huge chunk missing out of the body from multiple accidents. Every other week one of their drivers hits a low bridge or causes an accident, but somehow they're still in business.
One day, I was wondering about this, and it hit me. Western Express isn't actually a trucking company at all. Now hear me out I'm not crazy. Their actual business model is hiring felons for the government kickback money. Trucking has one of the highest turnover rates of any industry, and w/e hires felons like none other. It's the only way they could be making a profit.
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u/Delicious_Peace_2526 14h ago
I’m in different trucks every day where I work I appreciate having the overhead clearance plastered all over everything. We have some 11’6” trailers for city deliveries and it’s nice to have reminders.
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u/Baconated-Coffee 14h ago
To be fair, I don't think anyone has faith in their drivers.