Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[Oaktree]

Yeah, some truckers, and I use the term loosely, think they know how to load material better than someone who loads it every day.
I had a customer years ago the loaded big stamping press dies that weighed 10K to 30K apiece. If the driver wouldn't let him load them where they should go on a trailer, he refused to load him and sent them away. A few years prior to that he let a driver go out loaded too heavy on the trailer axles, against his advice. The driver got pulled over at a weigh station, and detained for a few days until he could get the load moved and pay the overweight fine.
After that it was his way or the highway.

Curiously, is there any liability on whoever loaded the truck should there be some sort of accident caused by mis-loaded cargo or is it solely on the driver?

 

[Midniteoyl]

Curiously, is there any liability on whoever loaded the truck should there be some sort of accident caused by mis-loaded cargo or is it solely on the driver?

As far as I know, Driver is responsible for the load.

 

[BravoXray]

Curiously, is there any liability on whoever loaded the truck should there be some sort of accident caused by mis-loaded cargo or is it solely on the driver?

As far as I know, it is solely the responsibility of the driver to determine that the truck is loaded and the load is secured according to applicable state and federal DOT regulations.
In the past, I have had drivers call me and express concerns about the way that their truck is being or is proposed to be loaded in an unsafe manner, and in every instance, I called the shipper with those concerns. If they were unwilling to load the truck in a manner that the driver considered to be safe, I refused to allow the to be loaded, and pulled the truck out of the facility.
As far as the instance of being overloaded or improperly loaded as far as weight distribution is concerned, my trucks were equipped with inboard scale systems that indicated just what the load was on each axle, to within a couple of hundred pounds. This prevented us being cited for overweight on axles or our total gross weight. It was not unusual for shippers to misrepresent what their loads weighed to ship more cargo for less. There were also times that they truly didn't know the weight of the cargo that they were loading on our trucks, so we had a way to make sure we were loaded legally. Lumber and steel companies were the most frequent abusers of what they stated their loads weighed, and we were not shy about refusing to haul overweight loads.

 

[RandyT]

Curiously, is there any liability on whoever loaded the truck should there be some sort of accident caused by mis-loaded cargo or is it solely on the driver?

As far as I know, Driver is responsible for the load.

I would consider the same thing. But with today's litigation I wouldn't be surprised if the company and employee that loaded the truck would get drug into a lawsuit. Even if later dismissed.

 

[California]

I wouldn't be surprised if the company and employee that loaded the truck would get drug into a lawsuit.

It's the Deep Pockets principle. When there's no one else to pay for a lifetime of institutional care after a disabling accident, then the attorneys will go up the chain of related parties until they find someone to hang the costs on.

Doing routine audits in the state highway department I learned the budget included lifetime care of an indigent paraplegic who sued the state for putting a guardrail right where he had his motorcycle accident.

And it was local legend that the head of the legal division had won his promotion by successfully defending against the claim that the department should participate in the victim settlements after an air crash approaching San Diego's airport. Everyone involved with that airport was a defendant. In the case of the state highway department, for providing the access road. It took a year to successfully get separated from that lawsuit.

 

[Dftodd]

Yeah, some truckers, and I use the term loosely, think they know how to load material better than someone who loads it every day.
I had a customer years ago the loaded big stamping press dies that weighed 10K to 30K apiece. If the driver wouldn't let him load them where they should go on a trailer, he refused to load him and sent them away. A few years prior to that he let a driver go out loaded too heavy on the trailer axles, against his advice. The driver got pulled over at a weigh station, and detained for a few days until he could get the load moved and pay the overweight fine.
After that it was his way or the highway.

Even better when the person whose doing the loading hauls said equipment each day

 

[Dftodd]

I would consider the same thing. But with today's litigation I wouldn't be surprised if the company and employee that loaded the truck would get drug into a lawsuit. Even if later dismissed.

Drivers responsible for the load. But in wrongful deaths lawsuits, they tend to drag everybody into court to see what sticks.

 

[WinterDeere]

It's the Deep Pockets principle. When there's no one else to pay for a lifetime of institutional care after a disabling accident, then the attorneys will go up the chain of related parties until they find someone to hang the costs on.

They will find someone to try to hang the costs on. But truthfully, the farther up the chain they reach the harder it becomes to win those cases, as you are getting farther from the parties directly responsible.

My father owned a firm that did a lot of civil and plant engineering (building factories, prisons, restaurants, etc.), and as the ranking PE on these big jobs, he was sued every time a construction company screwed up. He never lost a suit, he truly wasn't responsible when a construction company failed to follow his firm's instructions or safety protocols laid out by OSHA or their insurance company, but it never stopped the lawyers from trying. He had deeper pockets than the construction companies responsible, not because he was super wealthy, but because his firm had to be insured for larger damages than the minimal insurance most contractors carried.

I remember one case in particular, where a restaurant full of people collapsed, and my father was sued. The collapse happened during business hours, when the contractor removed a large section of foundation wall. My father's plans had specified only certain sections and maximum lengths of wall could be removed at any time, as they were replacing the foundation under an existing building, and the insurance company had specified that the work could only be done during hours when the restaurant was empty of customers. The contractor had violated both sets of instructions, but that didn't stop the lawyers hired by customers and the restaurant owners from trying to sue both my father and the restaraunt's insurance companies... because they had the deep pockets.

 

[Oaktree]

I would consider the same thing. But with today's litigation I wouldn't be surprised if the company and employee that loaded the truck would get drug into a lawsuit. Even if later dismissed.

IMHO, the party that improperly loaded a truck should bear some liability in the event of an accident, much as a bartender who over-serves a customer is liable in many states if that customer causes an accident while DWI.

 

[LouNY]

IMHO, the party that improperly loaded a truck should bear some liability in the event of an accident, much as a bartender who over-serves a customer is liable in many states if that customer causes an accident while DWI.

Which is an over reach on it's own part.

 

[dodge man]

I agree it’s up to the driver. The only reason I can think different is the people loading a truck grossly mistake the weight of something. I’m talking where they tell the driver it weighs 20,000 pounds and it really weighs 80,000.

 

[RandyT]

IMHO, the party that improperly loaded a truck should bear some liability in the event of an accident, much as a bartender who over-serves a customer is liable in many states if that customer causes an accident while DWI.

Or in the case of an accident in Indiana were a retired couple were found to be towing a trailer that slightly exceeded the manufacturer stated towing capacity, and were hit broadside by a DUI that ran a red light hitting the wifes passenger door killing her. And according to the IN Supreme court don't have to pay the wifes life insurance.

 

[WinterDeere]

I agree it’s up to the driver. The only reason I can think different is the people loading a truck grossly mistake the weight of something. I’m talking where they tell the driver it weighs 20,000 pounds and it really weighs 80,000.

Agreed, driver must be responsible, but only if given accurate weights on the cargo he's hauling.

I'd argue the responsibility must fold back on shipper, if the weight they give to courier is off by some large error (e.g. greater than 10%). Most scales are going to be better than 2% accuracy, so even if they're weighing the load in component parts, the total cumulative error should be well under 10%. I don't think the allowable error ever needs to be anywhere near 300%, which is what your 80k lb. on 20k lb. quote would work out to be.

 

[LouNY]

Agreed, driver must be responsible, but only if given accurate weights on the cargo he's hauling.

I'd argue the responsibility must fold back on shipper, if the weight they give to courier is off by some large error (e.g. greater than 10%). Most scales are going to be better than 2% accuracy, so even if they're weighing the load in component parts, the total cumulative error should be well under 10%. I don't think the allowable error ever needs to be anywhere near 300%, which is what your 80k lb. on 20k lb. quote would work out to be.

Every load is going to be different, and many will not have scales where loaded.

 

[WinterDeere]

Every load is going to be different, and many will not have scales where loaded.

I guess my mind always goes to manufacturing, where there are always scales, and the weight of the product is always known. But you’re probably thinking more of situations like logging or construction, where scales may not be available on-site.

You make good point. But I’d still argue that the weight of the equipment should be known, at least roughly. Weight of logs of haul-away debris require a little more knowledge to estimate, but should still be doable to better than +/- 300% error, I would think.

 

[BravoXray]

I agree it’s up to the driver. The only reason I can think different is the people loading a truck grossly mistake the weight of something. I’m talking where they tell the driver it weighs 20,000 pounds and it really weighs 80,000.

If a driver can't tell the difference between a 20,000 pound load and an 80,000 pound load, he has no business being behind the wheel.

 

[California]

If a driver can't tell the difference between a 20,000 pound load and an 80,000 pound load, he has no business being behind the wheel.

I encountered a semi driver that stupid, today. He gradually merged his long rig over into my freeway lane (the slow lane) today, no signalling. Maybe asleep.

 

[Jstpssng]

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, troopers were caught selling cdl licenses.

Snowblower, driveway, plunge pool: A closer look at the bribes in state trooper license scandal

Two current and two former Massachusetts State Police troopers were among six people charged Tuesday in a scheme to allegedly take bribes including a new snowblower and driveway in exchange for giving passing scores on commercial driving tests, the U.S. attorney’s office said. The troopers are...

www.nbcboston.com

I hope they recieved enough to cover their pensions... which I doubt they will be getting.

 

[masscity]

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, troopers were caught selling cdl licenses.

Snowblower, driveway, plunge pool: A closer look at the bribes in state trooper license scandal

Two current and two former Massachusetts State Police troopers were among six people charged Tuesday in a scheme to allegedly take bribes including a new snowblower and driveway in exchange for giving passing scores on commercial driving tests, the U.S. attorney’s office said. The troopers are...

www.nbcboston.com

I hope they recieved enough to cover their pensions... which I doubt they will be getting.

When I was still working, the owner of the company had a guy giving driving tests. He was taking bribes to pass car drivers license, I don't know about CDL's.

Anyways the State caught wind of it, he knew he was in trouble and shot himself in the head.

I never met the guy, I rarely went to the yard, because all our equipment was on the jobsite.

 

[kenmbz]

By me, trailer went off the road a bit and the landscaper truck driver overcompensated, a bit
Picture from local police: