Their driver was not released for vacation, but WAS released, without investigation at the scene of his “accident”, to go immediately back out on the road and get on with the business of “making a living”. This immediate release was the focus of what prompted me to email Mr. Cook, VP of SAFETY, at Covenant Transportation. Please see the comment posted by Mario, immediately prior to yours, where I also wonder “how these people sleep at night”. I concur with your assessment “Because they don’t care”! It would only matter if their own vehicles were backed into by some unqualified driver at say, a Walmart, putting it out of commission for a month! This “accident” then leaving them unable to get to work for a month! Somebody’s head would roll, I would confidentially predict.

I’m happy to report though, that as of yesterday (8/06/09. Sorry, I reported a “bug” in my WordPress theme to the author. Because of the “bug”, comments only display the date of the original Post, and not the dates of the comments). I’m finally back out on the road making a living for myself again. However, I’m not going to let this concern with improperly trained drivers go! It’s of most concern to me that a VP of SAFETY seems lackadaisical about proper training AND how their safety department handles investigations of accidents!

In all fairness to Covenant, they DID offer to put me into a rental, to avoid the expense of putting me up in a Motel while awaiting substantiating my claim AND repair of my truck. However, I’m an Owner Operator, and for 6 months at a time my truck is my HOME! I also drive all 48 states for the company that I lease my truck back to. This would have made the “return process” of that rental cumbersome at best! Both of those things taken into consideration, I opted to not take the rental route!

Please take note also, that my main “beef” with Covenant was concerning their VP of SAFETY’s cavalier approach to my email to him expressing my concern with their training qualifications, as well as, their apparent lack of concern about releasing their driver from the scene of an “accident” with no investigation, drug testing, or even involving law enforcement for an accident report at the scene. Instead of, at the very least, a polite response I get treated like some “ignorant truck driver”! I find that, industry wide, Trucking companies value truck drivers as, at best, a disposable commodity! I, as most people would, find that very offensive!

How about it Mr. Cook! What is a VP of Safety actually concerned with at your company? Condescension of your, and other company’s, truck drivers? You do seem qualified in that role!

I think the saddest part of all this is realizing………no, confirming, the indifference and apathy that many fellow beings have for one another. The fact that this guy went on vacation and didn’t give it a thought that you were losing so many days wages, just makes me sick!!!

It reminds me of a story that happened quite a few years ago to Allen:
It was Christmas time and when Allen went to pick up his check at the office on Christmas Eve, the owner of the company had forgotten to sign it. The secretary in the office called the owner up to tell him, and his answer was, “he’ll have to wait until after Christmas, I’m not driving all the way back there ( he lived 2 hours away).

The same thing applies; selfish, self centered, all about me, I don’t care about you.!
I just wonder how these people sleep at night? Huh, probably just fine…BECAUSE THEY DON’T CARE.

My truck was tentatively slated to be finished this afternoon. Now it’s going to be Monday because of having to wait for the check. And, as any of you in the trucking industry know, that means Tuesday, at the earliest, before I will be “working” again. “Accident” was on the 4th, available for work again, the 28th. 25 days of “downtime”. YIKES!!

Dennis

Dennis

Dennis