have you ever called that 1-800 # (on back of truck) to report a bad driver?

[vash]

twice this past week.

one was a Coke truck, and another was a utility truck..both trucks had those 1-800 numbers and their truck ID on the back..with a statement to report the driver if he/she is driving badly.

who answers if you call? is it a service? the coke driver i really wanted to snitch on..but catching him to read the number would have involved me driving like an idiot.

[Schrup]

Chances are they are tracked on GPS. When I drive at work I have to pull over at least a few times a day to let traffic go around me because I can't go over the speed limit. I hate Joe Public & try to stay out of the way/trouble. I've had phychos follow me & threaten to report me for no reason. I swear people will go out of their way to try to get me fired. I don't even like to stop & get a bite at the store. Things started to get bad when the economy turned.

If someone in a commercial vehicle is driving like an asshat, report them. If their trying to do their job, give them some space.

[Zeke]

I think that is a service. The basis of the premise is to keep insurance rates in line. I guess they figure that if the number is displayed, the drivers will drive more responsibly.

+1 on Paul's comment about GPS. Relatively new compared to the phone numbers. All the OTR rigs have them.

I'll bet the phone numbers are more of a threat than a real report log. You'd have to have more than the number alone to prove anything. As a driver, I'd just deny any report unless they had all the info; who, what, where, when and how.

[juanbenae]

a couple times a year during paving or other heavy roadway work while in lane closures if the operator is being a douche in a vehicle with the phone number plastaered all over it. just friday i called on an assisted living bus driver that was making a big stink and nearly smacked me in the grill with his side rearview mirror as he laid on the horn and took out 10-12 cones as he went through...... slow for the cone zone one time

[Superman]

I was nearly pushed into a jersey barrier by a semi driver who did it deliberately. He looked at me periodically throughout the incident, drove aggressively and deliberately moved out of his lane to try to pinch me (in the next lane) against the barrier. You bet I called. I spoke with a real person, on my cell, while following the truck. The real person assured me there would be consequences.

[stomachmonkey]

Many times and will continue to do so but only when warranted.

[Laneco]

My company has more than 4,000 vehicles with the phone # written on the back. Yes, you will get a real person who will verify the location of incident, verify the vehicle information and take the full complaint. We also have the phone conversation recorded. The driver will not know who makes the complaint, but I can access it. Many times a driver will make the same mistake over and over, e.g. lane straddling, failure to signal, etc. During the conversation, it is not unusual for me to hear that the driver in question did the same thing AGAIN just during the conversation.

Each of these complaints are lodged and sent to the driver's manager. The manager is required to review the issue with the driver, counsel the driver, and offer on-line training. We have a progressive system wherein repeat offenders are first counseled and trained, then punished up to and including firing. If the on-site manager ignores the complaint for 72 hours, then it is forwarded to me. I review the entire thing, contact the local manager, the regional manager, the district manager and the Vice President of Compliance for that group. At that point, I assure you the report is addressed and responded to very, very quickly.

We track these incidents by location, by vehicle type, and by individual driver. Complaints are taken very seriously. On the other hand, so are compliments. Every now and then we get one of those. A motorist calls to offer a compliment on a safe and courteous driver.

Those are my favorite. I make sure the driver gets well deserved recognition. Over the last four years, I've noted a pattern with this type of driver. This type of driver has a clean or nearly clean driving record, is usually 40 to 60 years old, and is engaged in a stop and go driving situation such as local delivery or passenger pickup. That last point is probably a matter of exposure to many motorists but the former points are interesting by themselves.

angela

[stealthn]

Funny you should ask; a few years ago a truck was hauling up on me, tail-gating, then changed lanes and sped by, then changed lanes again almost hitting me; I had to slam on the brakes.

Number on the back so I called, a lady answers it's a small business and the lady is his wife. I explain this guy was drving like an idiot and almost hit me. She said she was very sorry and said : I told him...if you are going to drive like an *******, take the number off the back of your truck"

Bob James

[bell]

My wife used to work in the international shipping industry at a corporate HQ.....
We were in my 911 on vacation after leaving Jim Richards place outside of DC in a very heavy rainstorm, we're doing the speed limit in the right lane.....big ass truck comes flying up on my ass, tailgates me way too close, then swerves around us, then cuts me off nearly sending me into a ditch all the while leaning on his horn.....after recomposing the wife wrote down the trailer/cab number/tucking company name...
Wife called the tricking companies headquarters, reported him in detail as to what he did, about 5 minutes after her call he exited and parked his truck......the company pulled him off the road, this was confirmed by a returned call to my wife......

[56 nomad]

in the past i thought that truck weresome of the most courteous drivers on the road, they would flash you when you passed to let you know it was alright to get in the right lane, move over as soon as they passed a slower vehicle etc. etc. it now seems that the truck drivers are like a lot of SUV drivers ( sorry to offend the Cayenne guys out there) very aggressive and pushy...maybe a sign of the times.
jm2c, ben

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by 56 nomad

in the past i thought that truck weresome of the most courteous drivers on the road, they would flash you when you passed to let you know it was alright to get in the right lane, move over as soon as they passed a slower vehicle etc. etc. it now seems that the truck drivers are like a lot of SUV drivers ( sorry to offend the Cayenne guys out there) very aggressive and pushy...maybe a sign of the times.
jm2c, ben

I've found there are always bad apples. Typically, the long haul drivers for pro companies are the most polite. The idiots work the short runs to get freight to the terminals, or after reaching its final terminal, getting it to its final location.

I've never had a problem with a semi that had a call #. I have wanted a few times to call in with good things to say, but some of those had no #, or we turned off and split ways before I could tell. My eyesite is just barely legal to drive, so trying to read those numbers, and pay attention to the road, is not easy. I also rarely drive with a passenger.

[Zeke]

OTR drivers are not like they used to be. Old school, fine. But there are some really aggressive insensitive SOB's out there now.

Worst drivers in SoCal are tow trucks. If I ever shoot anyone, it will likely be one of them.

[WolfeMacleod]

Caught a few trucks running red lights on the dash cam before. Love to mail them video.
Called a guy after watching him run two very red lights. Some Home heating/ac company I think. Chewed him out via phone. Pretty sure it was the driver who answered.

[56 nomad]

[QUOTE=Tervuren;6870192]I've found there are always bad apples. Typically, the long haul drivers for pro companies are the most polite. The idiots work the short runs to get freight to the terminals, or after reaching its final terminal, getting it to its final location.

+2 and breaker breaker come on back!

[Laneco]

If you need to call a commercial driver in (and there is no DRiver's Alert 800 # or similar on the back) you can still do something. Obviously you can call the police and that is often what should be done first.

But if you would also like to call the company, there is a way to get the phone number. The truck (or truck-tractor in the case of a semi) will have the company name and USDOT number on the left and right sides. Not the trailer - the power unit. If you can get either the name or the USDOT # and the equipment number on the power unit, then you have everything you need for a complaint.

Go to safersys.org and look for Company Snapshot (down the page, middle third). From there type in the USDOT # and you will get one carrier. If you go with a name or a partial name, you will get multiple and you'll have to figure out if you have the right one. The carrier entity information contains the base office location and phone number. This is public information. If you call that numer, you should get the carrier or at least their agent. With the unit # of the truck, you should be able to lodge a complaint. What the company does will vary but a person who takes the time to track this down is generally paid attention to... By the way, a little wandering on that same site will give you the insurance information for most for-hire companies.

Most of the men and women who operate as professional drivers in this country are worthy of the title and are usually given far less respect than they deserve. Theirs is a job that I can neither do nor would want to do. That said, there are a few squirrels in the bunch and those are the ones that need to get OUT of the business.

angela

[Rikao4]

I'm sure there are bad OTR drivers...
but...
for a eye opening experience...
ride with a OTR guy for a day..
the general public going somewhere..
is what scares me most of the time...
and their behavior around rigs proves it..

Rika

[Laneco]

Rika brings up a very good point. Many drivers of cars (4-wheelers) operate their vehicle abysmally around trucks. They'll sit in the "no-zone" which is the area to the sides (back and front as well, but sides are the big issue) where they are invisible to the driver of the large truck. The truck driver puts on their turn signal and the car driver ignores thems. The the truck changes lanes... For heavens sake, display a LITTLE self preservation!

Then the darting in front of the truck to switch lanes, take a ramp, etc. Even slam on the brakes in front of the truck.

A few years ago we had a program where a state trooper would ride in the jump seat with a truck driver. Another officer would work nearby, one would witness the infraction, onee would cite. The problem was that it tied up two officers especially when one of the "duck and dive" drivers proved to have no insurance, no license, etc.

A pity. It definately targeted the problem 4-wheelers.

angela

[Zeke]

Used to be that 4-wheelers understood the open road better and gave the trucks some slack if not respect. Knowing that a truck can't stop as fast as a car, it makes no sense to park in front of one.

But, for that same reason, I don't know why you can't follow one in the draft. I've had some "experiences" doing that when an 18 wheeler purposely drives onto the gravel shoulder for the sole intent of breaking my windshield.

So, the moral is, you don't get to convoy with the "drivers." It's their club and they don't like intruders.

[red-beard]

I call that number once. It was something like 1-800-EAT-****