I work as a hazmat chemical tanker truck driver. A few weeks ago, I got pulled over for a roadside inspection by a Department of Transportation police officer. He gave me a violation for not having a license plate on my trailer. Now, my company wants me to sign a verbal warning letter. They're telling me it's not a big deal, just a way to record that we discussed this issue. But, I'm pretty sure they're using it to build a case to let me go.
I've only been with this company for seven months, and my plan was to stick around for a year to gain tanker experience and then switch to a different company. The problem is that my current company doesn't seem to care much about the safety or condition of their trucks and equipment. Here are some examples:
- The fire extinguishers in the trucks are empty and need to be refilled.
- The trailer tires lock up too easily when braking on the highway due to a faulty anti-lock braking system, which causes them to smoke and drag on the pavement, scaring other drivers.
- I was asked to carry an overweight load, exceeding the legal limit of 80,000 pounds.
- Many mirrors are either missing or non-functional and can't be adjusted.
Truckers are supposed to perform pre-trip inspections, but if I reported every Department of Transportation violation I found, I'd hardly make any money. Over the past seven months, I've had four different trucks, all with various issues. When I report these issues to management, they rarely take any meaningful action to fix the problems. They often just pay lip service to safety and say we should report issues, but when I do, they usually do nothing.
A few weeks ago, I had to refuse to take on any more loads until they fixed my truck. (They fixed the issues as a result) Then, just five days later, I got pulled over for a roadside inspection and received a violation for not having a license plate on my trailer. I've also noticed other trailers in our fleet without license plates. It seems like management is just going through the motions, talking about safety and reporting issues, but not actually addressing them. Now, with this violation, they want me to sign a verbal warning letter. They claim it's no big deal, just a formality, but I suspect it's part of their strategy to eventually terminate my employment.