Truck driver woes... Cautionary tale

[zebedee]

I was down at a base in PA last Fri collecting my latest and saw two truck drivers wandering around, tape measures in hand, one very busy on the phone, both looked vexed and scratching their heads.....
They has already loaded the M911's but they hadn't been told that they were oversize.
Not sure if they were given shipping dimensions or operational dimentions. We left watching them on the roof trying to remove the stack top section and also comeing to the conclusion that they'd have to remove the outside duals before they could proceed. It would be the drivers that get hefty fines for unpermitted loads and dings on their FMCSA ratings.
Now, I'm not going to get into someone elses business regarding the arrangement the bid winner made with the shipping company, who employed the drivers, mistakes or trying to get an oversize shipped for price of regular or what... but it was left to the two truck drivers to sort out, which I doubt they'd been told to do, not least of which they only carry limited hand tools if any and the extra work would effect their 'hours of service' and they are paid to truck not wrench.

I felt sorry for them but was under time constraints and couldn't get involved. There were soldiers around loading at the same docks - I hope all worked out.

..... and I was thankfull that I decided to accompany my driver to sort out any issues - which there weren't as it turned out.

 

[wreckerman893]

If the shipper failed to inform the drivers (or the broker that booked the loads) then it was on him.

When I was a driver nothing pissed me off worse than getting hosed on a pickup.

People who try to get something for nothing make it hard on everybody in the end.

The last company I worked for charged 80 bucks an hour for demurrage......and we collected.

Getting an M911 ready for road shipment is a several hour job by a squad sized crew.

Expecting a couple of civy drivers that may or may not have experience with military vehicles to get them loaded and legal may have been asking too much.