Re: This is not a scam, but ...

Call the DOT!

Aren't you filling out the mandatory Driver's Vehicle Inspection Report?

If you falsify the inspection report you jeopardize your CDL. If you check box 2, stating that you "detect the following defects or deficiencies" the vehicle is automatically out of service until a licensed mechanic clears it. If the mechanic clears it without addressing the problem he jeopardizes his license.

The DOT has all this pretty well covered and can come in anytime they wish to audit log books and vehicle inspection reports.

> It's a major problem for me. Maybe someone can give me some good advice.

> I drive a shuttle bus on a major airport for one of the three chief car
> rental companies - the three being Hertz, National/Alamo, and Avis. Many
> of the buses I must drive are in real bad shape; some are not really
> road-worthy, but management makes life real difficult for drivers if they
> refuse to drive a particular bus because he believes the bus should not be
> on the road. Just the other day refused to drive a bus because the tail
> lights tend to go out unpredictably, probably when going through chuck
> holes or over bumps. I am a night driver so I don't like to drive a bus
> with this problem. To my knowledge I am the only driver who has refused to
> drive that bus, and when I did I was threatened with being sent home for
> insubordination if I didn't just shut up and get on the road with that bus
> -- it being the only one available at the time. Fortunately for me the GM
> went home soon after and another manager, who had passed on the message
> from the GM, decided to switch the bus with another rather than send me
> home. The other driver didn't care one way or another.

> So I was spared the consequences of behaving in a conscientious manner.
> This particular bus had this problem for at least a year, and has been
> repeatedly written up during this time. So there is ample proof. But the
> bus stays on the road, and I will probably be faced with the issue again
> when I return to work. I am not sure how I should deal with the problem. I
> could go to the union, but unions aren't what they used to be, and my
> local is nearly worthless. So I don't expect much, or any help from that
> quarter.

> Another (of numerous) problem with the buses is air brakes. Before getting
> on the road drivers are supposed to do an air brakes test. Well, many of
> the buses would definitely fail if drivers followed this rule. Frankly,
> few drivers do perform this test. Any why don't they? Mainly because
> management doesn't want to hear about it. They (mainly the GM) just wants
> the buses on the road. Last week, when I refused to drive the bus with the
> light problem the GM said it had just gone to the shop that very morning,
> and the problem had been addressed and corrected. I know for the fact that
> the bus had been on the road all day, so it could not possibly have gone
> to the shop. The general manager had simply lied to get me on the road. He
> has no honor.

> What can I do about this? Contact the Department of Transportation? Or do
> I simply get on the buses and turn a blind eye to the hazards?