What’s considered truck abandonment?

By DEREK HINTON
The Trucker News Services

8/7/2008

“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.”

—Mae West

I received two e-mails within one day of each other this past month. One was from a driver and one was from a company. Although they weren’t directly related, both were probably thinking something like Mae West.

The driver e-mail:

I leased a truck with a company and the truck broke down and [the] company told me to take it to Freightliner dealership to get fixed so I could take it to the nearest terminal. Because I decided not to continue with this company, the dealership is taking a very long time to fix the truck, more than a week, and I’m thinking of leaving the truck at the dealership so I could get home to another job. Could this possibly be considered abandonment? And could this get on my DAC report?

The short answer is yes, they might put this in as abandonment unless you have prior permission to leave the truck there. It would probably be something like: “Abandonment at unauthorized location with notice.” And yes, this could be reported to USIS (DAC) if the employer is a member of USIS.

This is unfair. The driver is not making any money, he’s spending money to eat, not seeing family, staying at a motel, and I don’t mean the Las Vegas Bellagio. And yet he has an abandonment hanging over his head. It was enough to get me worked up and the problem is being addressed. And then the next day I received the company e-mail.

It read:

What can an owner-operator do when I own two trucks and a driver I've hired has left my truck with a load on it away from my place of business and told me to stick it? He has stolen fuel from me and has wrecked my truck. How can I make sure this does not happen to anyone else?

In this case a small businessman has worked hard, saved money, sacrificed and is now pursuing the American Dream to the best of his ability. In return for his saving, sacrifice and creating a job for another person, this person has repaid him with thousands of dollars in losses that he will never recover. As a small business, that can about get me worked up, too.

So what’s the lesson here? Let’s start with an assumption: There are salt-of-the-earth drivers and there are salt-of-the-earth types at companies. There are also some knuckleheads in both camps who started daydreaming in Sunday school after the “Do unto others” part. So the lessons?

Drivers

Deal yourself a good hand of cards. While to a certain extent we’ve all got to play the hand we’re dealt, you can take steps to insure you’re not trying to draw to an inside straight.

Most of the drivers with whom I work are planning, proactive drivers who know what they want and realize they have to plan for success — but I still see a lot of drivers who hope they’ll get lucky or be fortunate — and then someday are sitting at a truck repair shop for a week trying to draw to an inside straight. Instead, you should be proactive. Know what kind of job and employer you want. Know what past employers, Department of Motor Vehicles and databases will report on you. Correct errors, add information and then use your information and the power of the Web to get what you want.

Other tips:

• Be aware when your actions could harm your resume

• Talk to your company

• Treat the company as a partner

• Expect the company to be reasonable

• If the company is not reasonable, document the fact on the spot and submit in writing to the company, and

• If you get agreement to alter a procedure, get it in writing.

Companies

Explore the circumstances behind seemingly identical reports. An “abandonment” showing on a report could represent very different circumstances. The same applies to other information such as accident/incidents.

• Consider the circumstances in which a driver broke your procedures. Did he have good reason? Did he talk to you to try to work it out? Was he put in a position where he is out of pocket?

• Distinguish reasonable vs. unreasonable actions, and

• Explain to the employee the consequences of breaking the rules, including future references.

Derek Hinton is CEO of TIES LLC, better known as DOTJobHistory.com. DOTJobHistory allows drivers to obtain and verify their employment (DAC), driving and criminal records. They may then make this information available over the Web to employers who can access the information instantly.

Hinton has more than 20 years experience in the areas of employment screening, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Motor Carrier Safety regulations. He began his career at DAC Services in 1984 and is the author of “The Criminal Records Manual,” a book that details criminal records in the hiring process. For more information, contact information for Hinton can be found at dotjobhistory.com.