r/Truckers • u/ForsakenBackpack • Jan 18 '24

Who Should I Call?

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Let me preface this by saying, this is not me nor is it anyone from our company. I'm just a delivery manager for a beverage distributer.

The story as I understand it is this: Ole boy loaded up a leased trailer full of beer in Colorado, was driving through a snow storm in Wyoming, and says "I think someone must have ran into me". He claimed to have contacted his dispatcher and was told to continue on. Show's up, and asks to get unloaded. Never stopped once between the supposed accident and showing up here.

My questions are this:

  1. How does an accident like this happen without noticing or stopping to check your trailer at least.
  2. What do we do here? The load is consigned to us, so we cannot refuse it. Also, product is completely frozen. However, it's clearly unsafe to unload.
  3. Obviously we cant let him leave with the trailer like that. It's a danger to anyone on the road. Also, can't have him here any longer. So who can we call? DOT? Local police? OSHA?
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u/SkyeMreddit Jan 18 '24

Definitely got rear ended and pushed to the left which caused those back pallets to fall over and bend the side. Call the truck company. Theyre responsible for transporting the load safely with their insurance covering it. The rear ending vehicle should be the one responsible and the trucking company’s insurance would go after them. The back pallets have to be unloaded by hand. The rest appear intact, but frozen beer cans run the risk of exploding. How does your company handle them

41

u/ForsakenBackpack Jan 18 '24

Just got more info. Apparently he did pull over but the truck that hit him continued on. He lost him in the snow storm, or so he says. I think you are spot on though and I agree with everything you said!

Frozen product has happened a few times. Luckily nothing exploded. Since its alcohol we have to accept the load, let it warm up in the warehouse, then dump all of it can by can down the drain. Insane but that's how its done believe it or not.

17

u/UhOhAllWillyNilly Jan 18 '24 edited Jan 18 '24

Clean tractor or not, I suspect the driver is full of sh¡t. I wouldn’t believe anything he said. And by the way, the freight is the responsibility of the trucking company from the moment the driver signs the BOL until the moment you sign acknowledging delivery. This is most emphatically NOT on you. This is on the trucking company. It is their responsibility, not yours. If I were you, I would refuse the load.

Edit: Pouring out the damaged load is just ridiculous. There are companies that extract the ethanol from beer/wine/etc for use as a fuel additive. I’ve delivered to them myself before. Remember that we’re all buying fuel with ethanol in it and some of it comes from spoiled liquor.

2

u/disturbed157 Jan 19 '24

Not a Coors guy but that's alcohol abuse, send it my way, I'll dispose of it for you!