Burn out or unsafe
By Richard Wolfe
Now that winter is done with us, how about all those problems with the drivers, is it burn-out or are they just unhappy?
If the driver is on call constantly during severe weather, the chance of damages and or accidents will greatly increase. Everyone knows that drivers, no matter how experienced or highly paid, will tend to wear down after 20 or so hours. It is a fact of life that the body does not keep going, like the Energizer bunny.
How can you solve this problem? I worked at one company that stopped taking calls after about 20 hours of work. They told the people the drivers needed rest and the trucks needed maintenance. The tire chains needed repair, and cables checked. Oil leveled checked and filled. This was done while the drivers were out of service.
I felt this was a good idea. It gave the drivers about four or five hours to clean up and rest. In some places the severe weather lasts about one day and in other places it lasts days or even weeks. Look at South Dakota, it has so much snow, it had to ask other states for help in removing it. Of course, with that much snow, even the plows have trouble moving. But have you ever noticed, they cannot move but they want us there?
Drivers can help you keep safe with a simple method. Encourage them to tell you when they are tired. Let them know you consider their health and safety above the income that can be made.
Remember, accidents and damages eat away at the profits. A driver who has a boss that cares will be a better driver. I know I have a fantastic boss; he used to be a driver so he has been there and done it.
All of this can be related to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that should apply to you. You do have a copy of them, right?
A driver is not allowed to drive more than 10 hours in a day without an eight hour break, or work and drive more than 15 hours together without the eight hour break.
I know your next comment is that it does not apply in emergencies, which is right. But when the emergency is over, they MUST take the eight hour break. I have done 30 hours straight before. Looking back, I now know I was unsafe. I had the chance to take a break, but the lure of big money (commission), made me keep going. I was lucky nothing happened to me or someone else.
Another problem is when the emergency is over. You are most likely going to be flooded with calls, and the drivers are still tired. If you see this as a problem, give them the breaks in shifts. That way you have someone to cover the calls. Most people I ran across (figuratively), when they were told the drivers needed breaks, understood and supported the idea of a rested driver helping them. The motoring public: when the call for a tow truck, they already have enough problems. They do not need another one.
Since we at talking safety in severe weather, how many drivers have a reflective vest to wear? You are hard to see in a snow storm, and reflective vests do help. You don’t want to be hit by a car or truck. It can and will ruin your day. I had a driver with me get hit by a car going about 45 miles per hour. He lived but is crippled for life in a nursing home, such a waste of talent to have all that knowledge gone.
Listen to your body and to the voices of your drivers. Stress and fatigue will be evident in their voices over the radio and when you see them in the office.
LET’S BE SAFE OUT THERE.
The life you save might be yours.
(Article printed in the April 1997, Towing and Recovery Phootnotes, and reprinted here with permission)
