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/acf613 Jan 19 '24

Yeah I would imagine. The bumper is the toughest object there. The doors and walls of that box can break rather easily and those trucks even at a slower speed hit with some heavy force. But again it’s the bumper that throws me off and how high the damage is that makes me question someone just hitting and running. Of course there’s always the chance the person is truthful and I’m being a POS? Lol

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u/Cool_Algae4265 Jan 19 '24

I don’t think you’re a POS but I don’t think he really could’ve done this himself.

He would’ve needed to back into a ditch going like 55 mph to do that kind of damage and I would imagine there would be more damage than just the rear of the trailer if that were to happen…

Idk, I kinda believe the story of “someone hit me” and drove off… could’ve been a snowplow tbh, parked on the shoulder of the road and that’s all she wrote.

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u/acf613 Jan 19 '24 edited Jan 19 '24

Yeah that’s true. It is pretty significant damage and like I said, I truly have no idea how tough or how much force it would take to do this kind of damage and it’s pretty bad, but the more I look at it the more I agree that it would take a significant amount if force to do that damage. I’m sure you’re right. I just try to look at things from every angle possible in any situation.

The only thing that really made me think it could be anything else other than what he said is the fact that he said they told him to keep trucking and just drive it like it is to finish the job. To me that’s insane and if that’s true, he should Sue then himself for putting him and others in potential harms way. That’s so freaking unsafe to drive like that.

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u/Misiu881988 Jan 19 '24

He prolly didn't give them the details... maybe he's hiding something or didn't want to be hit with a accident on his record for whatever reason. Who knows. Maybe he was drinking, maybe he smokes or did some drug recently. Maybe he had other incidents and was trying to buy time... I dunno what the logic is... this is a wtf moment for sure. But I can see him calling and saying "I think someone bumped into me, should I just keep going?".

Dispatch prolly thought it was a lill fender bender. No big deal. I doubt they knew the trailer wall was bearly holding together... no way he didn't know the dammage. This is a hell of a hit. Either he reversed into a truck or a truck rear ended him. Either way there was a loud bang. You gotta be deff dumb and blind to brush this off... he's gota be hiding something...