Complaint Review: Marten Transport

It amazes me about the # of Drivers to this post that defend Martens practices..Any Driver who states they were never asked to run illegal for Marten in my opinion is a liar! I too worked for Marten from 12/08 to 7/09. I was hired to the Southeast regional fleet as I live in GA out of the Ellenwood terminal. I have several years of trucking experience so I new better than to believe the hype..but orientation went well an I was off and running..

My first clue was after my second week with the company when I realized that even though I had signed on to the Southeastern fleet I constanlty found myself in WI,MN,MO and all parts Northeast and Midwest..My dispatcher Dave R informed that their regional was anything considered 1500 mi or less from your home terminal...OK..wish they would have brought that up in orientation but OK..

Southeast regional drivers are out 5days home two, basically M-F. If they cant get you home the wknd they pay you 50 bucks..OK cool. After the second week I'm in Cedar Rapids, IA and it,s Thur morning. I get a dispatch to PU Kellogg's in Zanesville, OH to del to Lake City, Fl Mon morning @ 6am..I was to take my hometime on the way through GA. Did not have the hours left Thurs to run 9 1/2 hrs all the way from Ia to Oh. Called Dave and informed him and he says do the best you can! A term they use frequently b/c they will not tell you RUN Illegal..Get to OH. Fri morning. Zanesville Oh to Atlanta, Ga is 10 hr drive on a good day in a 64 mph truck. I've already burned up 3 hrs on line 3 to make appt., 2hrs to get loaded, then 10 hr drive..You do the Math! Called Dave to inform again that I would not get proper hometime as I would get home Sat morn and have to leave again Sun around Midnite to make Mon del. Was told to drive as far as I could take, break, del load and he would get me 24hrs home on Tues.

I'm a good soldier so I did what any driver would do.I kept trucking! I'm not gonna do a reset in a truck stop when I'm less than 150 miles from my Home..and that was my big mistake! Once Marten knows you will bend your logs they will RUN, RUN, RUN you! I was avg 3500 mi a wk workin M-F. I would bump into OTR Marten drivers that were not even gettin 1000mi and I was regional tripling them.

Well running all those miles in 5 days means my logs say I'm in Indy but I'm home in Atlanta waiting for time to catch up...no Problem because Dave will give you a later start time on Mon. 7 months of this and I know my days are numbered because I've been level 3'd 3 times in the last week and I'm nervous every scale house I go thru.

Like I said i am experienced driver and nobody put a gun to my head, but the dispatches I rec  in my 7 mos there were ridiculous. I was avg 650-700 mi a day!the final straw came in late June when I told Dave I absolutely need to get home on Fri..He said no problem..Its Thurs again and I'm sitting in Milwaukee with no dispatch. I was told a load was gonna be ready in Milwaukee Fri morn going to Fl..Get to Shipper @ 5 am and was told load would not be ready until 6pm..Dispatchers dont get to work until 8am so I'm sitting 3 hrs waitng to talk to morning dispatchers, because night dispatch said there was nothing they could do.  Was told best they could do was get me a load 2 hrs north in Green bay..Its' Fri morning I need to be in Atl by this evening and they want me to go to GB to PU a load..I refuse...was told to sit and wait to 6pm for Milwaukee load, I refuse start dead heading to Atl

At this point my Qualcomm and cell are blowing up, I answer, Dave says its not wise for me to deadhead to Atl..I said find me something in Chicago or Indy and I'll gladly P/U on the way..They say they have no freight..I get to Indy terminal, clean out Truck. and secure a one-way flight. Send in Macro @ Indy, resigning, had Maintenance check out Truck, no damage I'm good right!   Get a bill for $235 for fuel for being out of route! How can I be out of route when I have no dispatch, and the Truck was returned to a terminal.. Because of this they cannot place anything on DAC because they rec truck intact at terminal but have sent me to collections for the fuel..I disputed charge because in driver handbook all its states is to ret truck to terminal which was done..THESE PPL ARE VERY VINDICTIVE. iF YOU DO AS YOU ARE TOLD YOU CAN MAKE ALOT OF $$$WITH MARTEN BUT IF YOU VALUE YOUR LICENSE AND DAC THERE ARE PLENTY OTHER GOOD COMPANIES OUT THERE!

For one if your not going to have hours left after you eliver a load you need to let dispatch know about ahead of time so they dont have you planned, theres 2500 trucks out there they cant keep track of your hours and del schedule all the time. Marten hires about 50 people a week its standard procedure to charge you people back the travel expense if you punk out they spend alot of money getting people in the door. I ve worked here for 8 months and they always give you enough time, usually way more than enough time. champaign to lewiston is about 1182 miles you could have dont that run in about 19 hours, and thats a good run to be crying about by the way. you could have picked that up did a ten hr then drove 10 did a ten hr then drove another 10, you just dont wanna work you wanna cry and blame someone else, i hope they did put something on your dac so you can screw anyother companies, joplins not a terminal its a drop yard slash shop when you started you agree to return the equipment to a terminal. i would worry about a class action it ll get thrown out quicker than you did.

Okay, here we go...

First, when presented with the form agreeing to repay Marten if you did not stay with them for at least six months, were wour told that if you did not sign it you would be sent home (at Marten's expense)?  This is what happened with me, so I'm curious as to why anyone who did not agree to sign the form would actually sign it.

I ran the miles on the trip you specified (Champaign, IL to Lewiston, ME).  My software is fairly accurate (+/- 0.1%), and I show the run to be 1,207 miles, and I will add in the 147 miles you stated, or three days based on having 11 hours available for driving, and 2 hours total for non-driving but on duty logging, each day.  The dates you gave make clear that the run was legal, **IF** you had the available hours.

So, without knowing what your HOS situation was, I cannot determine if it was possible for you to do the load legally or not.  I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume not for a moment.

Did you, every day between the hours of 0500 and 1200 central time, do your check calls (Macro 30 or 31, as applies)?  On that Macro, did you give accurate information about your hours available (11 hour rule) when empty?

Did you indicate on your Macro 32 that you did not have the hours to make an ontime delivery?  If you did not have even enough hours to make your pickup on time, did you indicate on the same Macro that you did not accept responsibility?

What makes you believe that Randy Marten himself, or anyone else for that matter, accused you of abandoning equipment on the USIS/DAC report?  Is that actually stated on the report?

Was the monies withheld based on the allegations of abandoning equipment, or part of the agreement you signed regarding repaying the expenses accrued in your hiring process?

Since you used the term "illegal loads" in your posting, I'm curious as to what the others are.

And, so far as I can tell about all the terminals, none of them are secure or on "lockdown."  I'm just a driver, and one that makes management more than a little nervous.  And yet, I can freely roam any terminal, save for shop areas (due to insurance and OSHA requirements).

Randy's (or who ever really caught the trophies) hunting motives are irrelevant.  And if he displayed human trophies, I suspect he would have long ago been sent to prison.  Digressing from factual into fantasy doesn't help much, if your claims are legitimate.

Yeah, I got a lot of questions, mainly because your particular experience doesn't quite match mine, both within this company and in the trucking industry in general.  I'll freely admit that there are problem fleet managers in the company, having encountered a couple of them.  But I need the information to better understand what the situation was, and who was at fault, to better advise you.

This is to everyone.  First of all, if you are going to berate each other about opinions expressed, maybe you should try doing it in a more civilized and intelligent manner.  Use of proper english and the correct words for the context will be better received by other users of the site and make you seem more rational.

 I have read a large number of these reports on various trucking companies, or companies in general,  and a large number of them have been unintelligible because the people didn't take time to proofread and correct grammatical and spelling errors. And, to me, that makes them look like imbiciles. 

To the original poster,  you should have known that there would possibly have been a condition attached to the company flying you to the orientation beforehand. You should have asked your recruiter if there was going to be a condition to the paid lodging and transportation for orientation. A lot of companies do have that condition, expecially nowadays.

 In regards to the "illegal" load,  you could have talked to your dispatcher about the load and tried to get it rescheduled for delivery.  I don't know at what time you got the load assigned to you, how many hours of driving you had left for the day or anything like that, but if you had around 4 hours left, you could have made it to the shipper in that time.  It is not that hard to talk to your dispatcher to let them know the situation.  If you got the load middle of the day,  you should have been able to get to the shipper in 3 hours, get the load and then make your way to a truck stop in the hour you had left.  You should have then been able to do your post-trip, route plan and ate something and then been able to get your 8 or 10 hrs downtime to start your new 10 driving.  I figure that if you were to average 60 mph or even 55 mph,  you could have made it in plenty of time going by the book.  So it is your fault that you lost the job and had to pay back the transportation and lodging costs.  If you felt that the contract you signed wasn't fair,  you could have taken it to a lawyer for consultation.  Granted,  if you were advised to not sign it and the company fired you as a result,  you're still out that transportation and lodging, but then you could have grounds for a lawsuit since the employment was terminated unfairly.  But you signed it "under duress", as you put it.  Did they hold a gun to your head and say if you don't sign you're dead?  You were told up front that there was going to be a condition to the lodging and transportation,  I think.  You just didn't pay enough attention to all the information you were given. 

And that DAC report of abandoned equipment, that is what it is. You took it to a drop yard,  as you say.  But if you received that load in illinois,  why would you drive all the way down to south missouri to drop it off rather than take it to the terminal in Mondovi, WI?  Of course,  this is assuming that you were closer to Mondovi than Joplin.  Regardless of that,  you should have taken it to the terminal and gotten a written receipt from a manager stating that you returned the truck, in what condition it was returned in and anything else that may be necessary to document.  You think that you were significant enough to Mr. Marten for him to take time out of his day to ruin your DAC report?  You ruined it yourself. And because you signed that contract,  you are responsible for the lodging and airfare, which you're pretty lucky you got airfare from them since almost all companies that transport new hires to orientation do so by bus to save money.  But you wanna whine about it. 

As for the "24/7 lockdown", that is standard practice with most any major company to require some sort of access control device to be employed.  It does not matter if the town has only 1,000 people or 1,000,000 people,  security procedures should always be followed and enforced.

So, what can I say but, "Here's some cheese to go with that whine."

THIS YOUNG LADY IS TRYING TO MAKE MARTEN LOOK LIKE THEY DO NO WRONG.
PERSONALLY HOW CAN SHE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT DRIVING A TRUCK. I DOUT SHE HAS EVER DRIVEN A TRUCK IN HER LIFE. SHE'S 23 YEARS OLD AND STILL WET BEHIND THE EARS. SHE ONLY KNOWS WHAT THE BOSS WANTS HER TO KNOW.
SO, I THINK SHE NEEDS TO GET INTO A TRUCK, DRIVE FOR ABOUT 5 YEARS AND KNOW WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT BEFORE SHE SHOOTS OFF HER MOUTH ABOUT DRIVING. DRIVER HAS MORE RESPONCABILATIES THE SETTING AT A DESK AND TYPING ON A COMPUTER AND MAKING HER SALARY.

SHE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY WITH WEIGHT, DOT, LOG BOOKS, RUNNING LEGAL, ROUTING, TO NAE JUST A FEW THINGS.
AND IF SHE BELIEVES MARTEN DON'T TRY AND GET YOU TO , LETS SAY FUDGE ON YOUR LOGS, SHE IS VERY NIAVE.

AS FAR AS MONEY BEING PAID BACK FOR ORIENTATION. IT WOULD BE NICE IF MARTEN ENFORMED DRIVERS THIS BEFORE TOU GET YOUR TICKET TO GET THERE.
I HAVE WORKED FOR LOTS OF COMPANIES IN MY DRIVING CAREER. NONE HAVE EVER MADE ME PAY FOR TICKETS HOME OR PAY FOR ORIENTATION, AND MOTEL ROOMS.

SO PLEASE,

This is from the FMCSA website. I hate to point out the stupity of some of you but I fear its time to do so.

"Welcome to the Safety Violation, Household Goods and Hazardous Materials Consumer Complaint Hotline Website."

The Toll-Free DOT Safety Violation Hotline is your chance to help identify safety problems in your company.
The Hotline is run by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and Agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
We review your complaint and it prompts us to open an investigation.


There are five primary types of complaints that are received on the hotline.

Hours of Service Complaints - Drivers allege that they are being asked or forced to drive more hours than permitted by the regulation. Some drivers state that they record false entries in their logbooks to hide excessive driving.
Unqualified Driver/Drugs and Alcohol - A person alleges that the drivers who are being used by Motor Carriers are not physically qualified, medically examined and certified, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Unsafe Equipment - A person alleges that a Motor Carrier's vehicles are in poor condition.
Lumping - A driver states that he/she was required to pay people to unload the cargo from his/her truck.
Motorists' Complaints - A person who has witnessed unsafe driving of a commercial truck or bus reports the incident.

The following information should be included in your complaint.

Your name, address, and telephone number.
The specific dates the of the alleged violation.
The names of the person who advises you.
A maximum of three alleged violations

5. How do I file a safety violation complaint?

File a complaint electronically using the (deleted so not to violate terms of this site)
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division at (phone number deleted) handles complaints concerning pay and compensation.
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety Health Administration at (phone deleted) OSHA handles terminations or employees fired for not violating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

(now do you need more proof folks?) ok....now to OSHA website on reporting motor carrier issues if you were terminated (as the last line says)


Per the OSHA website:
Whistleblower Protection for Trucking Employees:

On August 3, 2007, the SurfaceTransportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA), 49 U.S.C. Section 31105, was amended by The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act (Public Law 110-53) to include new rights and remedies.

Covered Employees
STAA protects private sector drivers and other employees (including owner-operators, mechanics and freight handlers) of commercial motor carriers from retaliation for reporting certain commercial motor vehicle safety, health or security conditions and for engaging in certain other safety or security activities. To qualify for coverage, employees must be involved in activities directly affecting commercial motor vehicle safety or security.
A commercial motor vehicle covered by STAA is defined as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highway in commerce principally to transport cargo or passengers. To qualify for coverage, such a vehicle must also:

Have a vehicle rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds; or,

Be designed to transport more than 10 passengers, including the driver; or,
Transport certain hazardous materials in a quantity requiring that the cargo be placarded.

Protected Activity
If you are covered under STAA, your employer may not discharge or in any other manner retaliate against you for filing a complaint or participating in a proceeding related to the violation of a commercial motor vehicle safety or security rule; cooperating with certain federal safety or security investigations; or providing information in an investigation by a federal, state or local regulatory or law enforcement agency relating to any accident or incident resulting in injury or death or property damage related to commercial motor vehicle transportation. In addition, under STAA, your employer may not dischargeor in any manner retaliate against you for refusing to operate a vehicle because the operation would violate a federal commercial motor vehicle rule related to safety, health, or security because you had a reasonable apprehension of serious injury to yourself or to the public related to a vehicle's safety or security condition, or for reporting accurate hours of service (HOS). (For more detail about federal HOS requirements, please visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website).

Unfavorable Personnel Actions
Your employer may be found to have violated one of these statutes if your protected activity was a contributing factor in its decision to take unfavorable personnel action against you. Such actions may include:

Firing or laying off
Blacklisting
Demoting
Denying overtime or promotion
Disciplining
Denying benefits
Failing to hire or rehire
Intimidation
Reassignment affecting promotion prospects
Reducing pay or hours

Deadline for Filing a Complaint Complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged unfavorable personnel action occurs.

How to File a Complaint
An employee, or representative of an employee, who believes that he or she has been retaliated against in violation of this statute may file a complaint with OSHA. The complaint should be filed with the OSHA office responsible for enforcement activities in the geographical area where the employee resides or was employed, but may be filed with any OSHA officer or employee. For more information, call your closest OSHA Regional Office:
Addresses, fax numbers and other contact information for these offices can be found on OSHA's website, and in local directories. Complaints may be filed orally or in writing, by mail (we recommend certified mail), fax, or hand-delivered during business hours. The date postmarked, faxed or hand-delivered is considered the date filed.

Results of the Investigation
If the evidence supports your claim of retaliation and a settlement cannot be reached, OSHA will issue an order requiring your employer to reinstate you, pay back wages, restore benefits, and other possible relief to make you whole, including:

Reinstatement with the same seniority and benefits.
Payment of back pay with interest.
Compensatory damages, including compensation for special damages, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees.
Punitive damages not to exceed $250,000, in certain cases.

OSHA's findings and order become the final order of the Secretary of Labor, unless they are objected to within 30 days.

Hearings and Review
After OSHA issues its findings and order, either party may request an evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge of the Department of Labor. The administrative law judge's decision and order may be appealed to the Department's Administrative Review Board for review. Under STAA, the National Transit Systems Security Act (NTSSA) and the Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA), if a final agency order is not issued within 210 days from the date your complaint is filed, then you mayfile a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court.

For a comprehensive list of compliance requirements of OSHA standards or regulations, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(now you think I am joking here and just blowing smoke? Its all public information so use the web and look it up yourself folks. I deleted web addresses and phone numbers so it would pass the test to make it here).

Mr Benn, 1st I am an ex-employee and an ex-contractor, your post I found very entertaining and amuseing 2 months and you are going to try and tell someone how to run their company. Just wondering how much experience do you have. By the way the only people at Marten that OSHA covers are the office people and the shop people as drivers fall under the FMCSA. OSHA would come in if we unloaded trailors but hummmmmmm Marten uses lumpers its called CYA. As far as makeing you run illegal they can ask heck they may even try to cohorse you but in the end it is up to the driver. I came to Marten from pulling chemical tankers, Ex-Driver you stated a 68 SSR as being bad, The small company I just left had a 98.5, I was inspected more in 1.5yrs then I had been in the last 4.5 years that I spent with Marten. As far as your trip from IL to Maine humm just over 1250 miles and 2 days was not enough, your 14hr clock does not start when you wake up sorry. You being an contractor could hve avg 63mph and driveing 10.5hrs a day(680 miles lookey here could have made del with time to spare). Being a contractor for 2 months says it all, you wanted the truck but did want to do the work to pay for it, son you should have went thru what I did 9 months without a paycheck running my butt off to pay for repairs, my only mistake was to get burnt out and I caught an attitude with the people who were trying to help me and by time there was a light at the end of the tunnel it was to late bridges had been burned beyond repair. I learned from my mistakes and took what I learned to my next job

The distance between Champaign, IL and Lewiston, ME is 1200 miles. You can drive 11 hrs per day, thats about 550 miles per tour at 50mph. You could have gotten it there within a day late at the most.

You mention you were written up on all but one load because you were late, was there a monetary deduction for this? If you had taken the load and did not make it, would this have caused you to have been fired? You do not mention the causes for the other late deliveries that you were written up for, but only that you refused to take this load and resigned.

I do not agree with them not telling you prior to taking the job that you were liable for the charges, but if you knew they would deduct the charges if you resigned then why did you resign? There was nothing in there about if they fired you, that you mention.

Personally I had a headache trying to read what the last person posted.

A few points here and I will keep them short:

1). if a load from point a to point b is only 700 miles and most of the highway speed is 65 mph then you should be able to legally and safety deliever said load right?

Well that is good per the textbook way of looking at things but lets review said load via "real life". At milemarker 53 there is a lane closure for 12 miles and its in the great state of Chicago. Then at milemarker 109 there is a roll-over accident causing the highway to be closed for 1.5 hrs. At milemarker 253 there is another lane closer for 6 miles (rural area) and finally since you drive for Marten Transport (safe-stat score of 68 as of 02/08/09) and they find a few minor defects but nothing to place you out of service.

So now this "real life scenero" has placed you about 125 miles from the receiver at your 11th hours. You can not use the adverse driving condition rule since none of these scenerios apply. So what are you do to?

Now most folks would continue driving to the receiver knowing full well that they are running illegal. Sure you must send a macro into dispatch informing them you are now out of hours and unable to deliever said load but then what?

Most times you will receive a message back asking you why you couldn't deliever the load on time when their computer program says you can deliever said load. You explain the issues knowing that you ran legal but now are told to call dispatch.

When you call dispatch you are "hounded" why you "accepted this load" when you couldn't deliever this load on-time. You are also pressured into taking this load the rest of the way into the customer when dispatch says:

a. well all the other driver's have no problems delivering this load on time
b. well just run it in the rest of the way and we will hold off redispatching you till later.

Mind you the last statement is illegal for anyone to do via verbal or written communication and is subject to criminal and civil penalties that will be leveled against the company and the person(s) that did this. (I have my dispatcher on tape and photograph of the qualcomm doing such)

So the driver is forced to stand his/her ground knowing what the rules are or being pressured into doing something illegal (which happens all the time).

Now lets take that example again.

15 miles from the customer, the driver is involved in a one-car accident with a drunk driver. Upon review of the driver's logbook, it is found that the driver drove past his 11hrs and is citated for operating over the legal hours allowed.

FOR WHAT? To make Marten Transport and its customer happy? Now the driver has a citation against him/her. The dispatcher will deny that he ever told the driver to run over his/her hours and Marten Transport will begin the "damage control" to minimize civil claims from the drunk driver and his/her insurance company. I am also assuming that the driver in question will be terminated also and the DAC report will reflect an accident resulting from an HOS violation.

Is it worth it?


Second point:

Randy Marten, has more to do then babysit the driver's coming to orientation or watching the drivers already in the fleet or the employee's within the office. Most of the time he is out somewhere or playing on his motorcycle. Or better yet you might catch him in a local bar hanging out. Yes, he does ride his bike and going bar-hopping in the area.

Personally I had a headache trying to read what the last person posted.

A few points here and I will keep them short:

1). if a load from point a to point b is only 700 miles and most of the highway speed is 65 mph then you should be able to legally and safety deliever said load right?

Well that is good per the textbook way of looking at things but lets review said load via "real life". At milemarker 53 there is a lane closure for 12 miles and its in the great state of Chicago. Then at milemarker 109 there is a roll-over accident causing the highway to be closed for 1.5 hrs. At milemarker 253 there is another lane closer for 6 miles (rural area) and finally since you drive for Marten Transport (safe-stat score of 68 as of 02/08/09) and they find a few minor defects but nothing to place you out of service.

So now this "real life scenero" has placed you about 125 miles from the receiver at your 11th hours. You can not use the adverse driving condition rule since none of these scenerios apply. So what are you do to?

Now most folks would continue driving to the receiver knowing full well that they are running illegal. Sure you must send a macro into dispatch informing them you are now out of hours and unable to deliever said load but then what?

Most times you will receive a message back asking you why you couldn't deliever the load on time when their computer program says you can deliever said load. You explain the issues knowing that you ran legal but now are told to call dispatch.

When you call dispatch you are "hounded" why you "accepted this load" when you couldn't deliever this load on-time. You are also pressured into taking this load the rest of the way into the customer when dispatch says:

a. well all the other driver's have no problems delivering this load on time
b. well just run it in the rest of the way and we will hold off redispatching you till later.

Mind you the last statement is illegal for anyone to do via verbal or written communication and is subject to criminal and civil penalties that will be leveled against the company and the person(s) that did this. (I have my dispatcher on tape and photograph of the qualcomm doing such)

So the driver is forced to stand his/her ground knowing what the rules are or being pressured into doing something illegal (which happens all the time).

Now lets take that example again.

15 miles from the customer, the driver is involved in a one-car accident with a drunk driver. Upon review of the driver's logbook, it is found that the driver drove past his 11hrs and is citated for operating over the legal hours allowed.

FOR WHAT? To make Marten Transport and its customer happy? Now the driver has a citation against him/her. The dispatcher will deny that he ever told the driver to run over his/her hours and Marten Transport will begin the "damage control" to minimize civil claims from the drunk driver and his/her insurance company. I am also assuming that the driver in question will be terminated also and the DAC report will reflect an accident resulting from an HOS violation.

Is it worth it?


Second point:

Randy Marten, has more to do then babysit the driver's coming to orientation or watching the drivers already in the fleet or the employee's within the office. Most of the time he is out somewhere or playing on his motorcycle. Or better yet you might catch him in a local bar hanging out. Yes, he does ride his bike and going bar-hopping in the area.

Personally I had a headache trying to read what the last person posted.

A few points here and I will keep them short:

1). if a load from point a to point b is only 700 miles and most of the highway speed is 65 mph then you should be able to legally and safety deliever said load right?

Well that is good per the textbook way of looking at things but lets review said load via "real life". At milemarker 53 there is a lane closure for 12 miles and its in the great state of Chicago. Then at milemarker 109 there is a roll-over accident causing the highway to be closed for 1.5 hrs. At milemarker 253 there is another lane closer for 6 miles (rural area) and finally since you drive for Marten Transport (safe-stat score of 68 as of 02/08/09) and they find a few minor defects but nothing to place you out of service.

So now this "real life scenero" has placed you about 125 miles from the receiver at your 11th hours. You can not use the adverse driving condition rule since none of these scenerios apply. So what are you do to?

Now most folks would continue driving to the receiver knowing full well that they are running illegal. Sure you must send a macro into dispatch informing them you are now out of hours and unable to deliever said load but then what?

Most times you will receive a message back asking you why you couldn't deliever the load on time when their computer program says you can deliever said load. You explain the issues knowing that you ran legal but now are told to call dispatch.

When you call dispatch you are "hounded" why you "accepted this load" when you couldn't deliever this load on-time. You are also pressured into taking this load the rest of the way into the customer when dispatch says:

a. well all the other driver's have no problems delivering this load on time
b. well just run it in the rest of the way and we will hold off redispatching you till later.

Mind you the last statement is illegal for anyone to do via verbal or written communication and is subject to criminal and civil penalties that will be leveled against the company and the person(s) that did this. (I have my dispatcher on tape and photograph of the qualcomm doing such)

So the driver is forced to stand his/her ground knowing what the rules are or being pressured into doing something illegal (which happens all the time).

Now lets take that example again.

15 miles from the customer, the driver is involved in a one-car accident with a drunk driver. Upon review of the driver's logbook, it is found that the driver drove past his 11hrs and is citated for operating over the legal hours allowed.

FOR WHAT? To make Marten Transport and its customer happy? Now the driver has a citation against him/her. The dispatcher will deny that he ever told the driver to run over his/her hours and Marten Transport will begin the "damage control" to minimize civil claims from the drunk driver and his/her insurance company. I am also assuming that the driver in question will be terminated also and the DAC report will reflect an accident resulting from an HOS violation.

Is it worth it?


Second point:

Randy Marten, has more to do then babysit the driver's coming to orientation or watching the drivers already in the fleet or the employee's within the office. Most of the time he is out somewhere or playing on his motorcycle. Or better yet you might catch him in a local bar hanging out. Yes, he does ride his bike and going bar-hopping in the area.

Personally I had a headache trying to read what the last person posted.

A few points here and I will keep them short:

1). if a load from point a to point b is only 700 miles and most of the highway speed is 65 mph then you should be able to legally and safety deliever said load right?

Well that is good per the textbook way of looking at things but lets review said load via "real life". At milemarker 53 there is a lane closure for 12 miles and its in the great state of Chicago. Then at milemarker 109 there is a roll-over accident causing the highway to be closed for 1.5 hrs. At milemarker 253 there is another lane closer for 6 miles (rural area) and finally since you drive for Marten Transport (safe-stat score of 68 as of 02/08/09) and they find a few minor defects but nothing to place you out of service.

So now this "real life scenero" has placed you about 125 miles from the receiver at your 11th hours. You can not use the adverse driving condition rule since none of these scenerios apply. So what are you do to?

Now most folks would continue driving to the receiver knowing full well that they are running illegal. Sure you must send a macro into dispatch informing them you are now out of hours and unable to deliever said load but then what?

Most times you will receive a message back asking you why you couldn't deliever the load on time when their computer program says you can deliever said load. You explain the issues knowing that you ran legal but now are told to call dispatch.

When you call dispatch you are "hounded" why you "accepted this load" when you couldn't deliever this load on-time. You are also pressured into taking this load the rest of the way into the customer when dispatch says:

a. well all the other driver's have no problems delivering this load on time
b. well just run it in the rest of the way and we will hold off redispatching you till later.

Mind you the last statement is illegal for anyone to do via verbal or written communication and is subject to criminal and civil penalties that will be leveled against the company and the person(s) that did this. (I have my dispatcher on tape and photograph of the qualcomm doing such)

So the driver is forced to stand his/her ground knowing what the rules are or being pressured into doing something illegal (which happens all the time).

Now lets take that example again.

15 miles from the customer, the driver is involved in a one-car accident with a drunk driver. Upon review of the driver's logbook, it is found that the driver drove past his 11hrs and is citated for operating over the legal hours allowed.

FOR WHAT? To make Marten Transport and its customer happy? Now the driver has a citation against him/her. The dispatcher will deny that he ever told the driver to run over his/her hours and Marten Transport will begin the "damage control" to minimize civil claims from the drunk driver and his/her insurance company. I am also assuming that the driver in question will be terminated also and the DAC report will reflect an accident resulting from an HOS violation.

Is it worth it?


Second point:

Randy Marten, has more to do then babysit the driver's coming to orientation or watching the drivers already in the fleet or the employee's within the office. Most of the time he is out somewhere or playing on his motorcycle. Or better yet you might catch him in a local bar hanging out. Yes, he does ride his bike and going bar-hopping in the area.

Hello Sir, My name is Kimberly Copeland, I have been employed at Marten Transport for a 1 yr. and 9 months. I am positive im not the only driver or office employee that has taken the time to read this um well nonsence to know that you are taking this issue WAY to far. Now you need to take this into consideration Marten Transport gave you a airline ticket as well as gave you a place to stay while in orientation because they saw you as a good driver and wanted to make you comfortable so you will be satisfied to perfection and wanted you apart of the Marten Transport Team. You also know that Mr. Randy Marten and the entire office crew is running a business so there are things they have to do to keep the business up and running smoothly. Think about this x-driver. Think about if you was in Randy's shoes and you didnt make these drivers pay back airline/bus tickets and motel stays and they just decided after 2-6 months of being here they didnt like it and left. Imagine the money you would have lost and how much it would bring the companies money down. Everything that Randy Marten and the office crew does is for a reason. Now as far as Marten Transport making you run illegal loads i personally think that is crap (excuse me) too. Do you have any idea how much trouble the company suffers from you getting put out of service for running illegal loads and or late loads. You dont think they know what happens. These office crew know exactly how to scheldule loads according to your hours avail. Now did you know that your macro 30 clearly states to put in hours avail. after del the load that your on. appearantly by only being at marten for 2 months you were completley un aware of tha procedure at Marten Transport. When you do your macro's CORRECTLY the trip planners are aware of your hours and can plan your nxt loads to fit your hours accordly. But if you didnt knw how and when to do your macro's right the trip planners dont know your hours. Think they are not in your truck looking at your log book. COME ON X-DRIVER GET IT TOGETHER! By you not working with the system and doing your macro's and keeping good communication skills with your dispatcher as it clearly states in the driver hand book and common sence should tell you this too. You will get messed up loads which results in numberous of problems. You should of never accepted them loads if you knew you could not make ontime delivery. It is that SIMPLE. They do not force you to do anything if you do not have the hours to run it legal, that comment you made was uncalled for you know better than that. It seems to me that you quit because you knew you was on thin ice with Marten and you didnt wont late loads and stuff stated on your DAC so you quit thinking that was the better way out of this situation you was in. Mr. Randy Marten did get his money back yes because you wasted his time and money. I honeslty dont think they told you to take the truck to Joplin MO and drp it off i think they told you to take it to a terminal and you put up a fight and instead of argueing with you because they have drivers here at Marten who want to work to deal with, so they told you either bring it back or drop it off there. Come on driver use your head for something other than a hat rack. dropping a company owned truck off at a non terminal location not very smart. You should of took it back to the terminal and get a airline ticket from there or even rent you a car whatever suits your fancy. I hope that this lawyer of yours see's that this is going to be a cat and mouse game by taking this to court because all these issues that you are placing the blame on Randy Marten And the office crew is really your fault. You should of followed marten's policy and guidelines which all is stated in the driver handbook and you should of had better communication skills with your dispathcer and instead of fighting the system you should of worked with marten and you would not of been in what you are in now. X-Driver i hope you have learned from this issue and start using your head more often. This is crazy talk. You are blaming the company of your mistakes. Not very adult like i tell you that. Thanks for taking the time to read over my letter. Also i'm 23 yrs. old and I am here at Marten Transport to help contribute to the success and growth of the company. You sir have a blessed day and I hope that you come to realize that you being without a job at Marten Transport is your fault nobodies else's but your own.



Kimberly V. Copeland
Jan. 30, 2009
=-)

While I was an lease purchase driver and I have no idea what is going on about cameras I suggest covering up the back side of the camera that faces into the cab. If they b***h then you have grounds that something is up and a possible legal case for infrigement of privacy (just make sure the front is never covered up).

And for the claim of camera's....I now work as a company driver for a medium carrier out of Minnesota and they do have cameras in the trailers. They are tracking devices/cameras that view the inside of the trailer and send info the carrier's office to cut down on insurance claims (damage cargo and trailer, missing freight and injuries). So don't be so sure to judge the claim that this camera is not viewing into the cab. I am not sure why? Are the trying prove if needed that the driver fell asleep prior to any accident or was using drugs? Any reason is possible but if you feel threatened then by all means cover up the back side of the camera and when they scream then you have a claim of invasion of privacy with out your consent or prior knowledge of such is taking place.

In response to the original reporter: I drove for Marten Transport for 3 years (2000-2003), and in that time I can count my late deliveries on one hand, and was certain to file the correct late macro. Do they expect you to run illegal? I'd say they expect you to run on the ragged edge, but show me a trucking outfit that doesn't, right or wrong, that's the nature of the beast. I will also point out that I made over $50,000 gross for each of those years, not bad for a company driver back then. If you choose to be a long-haul truck driver, you have to run hard to make the money, end of story. And I will say this about Marten, they WILL run you hard, and this is a good thing, that IS what we are here for, pity the driver sitting in the truck stop without a load. Credit it to Marten as well that I have been in and out of warehouses while drivers for other companies are sitting waiting.
Camera in trucks, this is the first I have heard of that, but I have been driving local since 2003. I think this is a GREAT idea, everyday out there drivers of 4 wheelers (and some truckers) are getting crazier, to the point of being psychotic, and if you drive in a busy metropolitan area, there is a very good chance you will be involved in a accident. No fault of yours, but often it is your word against theirs, to have the incident recorded on camera could save your career. As for the company spying on your in cab hanky panky, please, they have better things to do, don't take it personal, but if someone wants to see that I'm sure that the performers in a porno film would be more attractive than most truck drivers.

In response to the original reporter: I drove for Marten Transport for 3 years (2000-2003), and in that time I can count my late deliveries on one hand, and was certain to file the correct late macro. Do they expect you to run illegal? I'd say they expect you to run on the ragged edge, but show me a trucking outfit that doesn't, right or wrong, that's the nature of the beast. I will also point out that I made over $50,000 gross for each of those years, not bad for a company driver back then. If you choose to be a long-haul truck driver, you have to run hard to make the money, end of story. And I will say this about Marten, they WILL run you hard, and this is a good thing, that IS what we are here for, pity the driver sitting in the truck stop without a load. Credit it to Marten as well that I have been in and out of warehouses while drivers for other companies are sitting waiting.
Camera in trucks, this is the first I have heard of that, but I have been driving local since 2003. I think this is a GREAT idea, everyday out there drivers of 4 wheelers (and some truckers) are getting crazier, to the point of being psychotic, and if you drive in a busy metropolitan area, there is a very good chance you will be involved in a accident. No fault of yours, but often it is your word against theirs, to have the incident recorded on camera could save your career. As for the company spying on your in cab hanky panky, please, they have better things to do, don't take it personal, but if someone wants to see that I'm sure that the performers in a porno film would be more attractive than most truck drivers.

In response to the original reporter: I drove for Marten Transport for 3 years (2000-2003), and in that time I can count my late deliveries on one hand, and was certain to file the correct late macro. Do they expect you to run illegal? I'd say they expect you to run on the ragged edge, but show me a trucking outfit that doesn't, right or wrong, that's the nature of the beast. I will also point out that I made over $50,000 gross for each of those years, not bad for a company driver back then. If you choose to be a long-haul truck driver, you have to run hard to make the money, end of story. And I will say this about Marten, they WILL run you hard, and this is a good thing, that IS what we are here for, pity the driver sitting in the truck stop without a load. Credit it to Marten as well that I have been in and out of warehouses while drivers for other companies are sitting waiting.
Camera in trucks, this is the first I have heard of that, but I have been driving local since 2003. I think this is a GREAT idea, everyday out there drivers of 4 wheelers (and some truckers) are getting crazier, to the point of being psychotic, and if you drive in a busy metropolitan area, there is a very good chance you will be involved in a accident. No fault of yours, but often it is your word against theirs, to have the incident recorded on camera could save your career. As for the company spying on your in cab hanky panky, please, they have better things to do, don't take it personal, but if someone wants to see that I'm sure that the performers in a porno film would be more attractive than most truck drivers.

Well let's tell the truth on this. I have been with Marten for over 12 years. Yes they ask a new driver to sign a form for repayment of air line tiket and hotel during Oreingtion. But tell the truth on th..is part folks, it is not hidden, it's up front, you read your welcome packet you get before you go to Mondovi, Wi or one of the other termals. This is in the packet, you have the choice to go or not to go, if you really want the job and belive you are going to be there over 6 mos. then you don't have a thing to worry about, but if you are just going to geta free flight and hotel for a week, well then you should expect to repay.

Now as far as making you run illagle, that is a bunch a bull. They have a macro 32 asking do you have the hours to make aon time pick up and or delvery Y or N. Simple. cut and dry. Yes you send in yes they want to know why. You tell them why. If it comes out you cant do the load they pull you of it, no write ups, no being put on a bad list. Lets get real, it's driver that has the last say when it comes to his log book and HOS...Not the trucking Co...if you have been driving any amount of time, you should know this up front

The latest on Marten Transport is that they are installing cameras in the trucks. One is mounted under the visor facing forward watching the road. The other is mounted inside the tractor pointed at the driver. THEY ARE NOT TELLING THE DRIVER THAT THESE CAMERAS ARE BEING INSTALLED. Dispatchers have access to the feeds from these cameras and are recording and passing around the videos. The interior camera amounts to a gross invasion of privacy. Male drivers, in particular, when pushing time, will "recycle" containers by using them as a urinal to dispose of later. I do not want some dispatcher watching me taking a leak. In addition to this, I am a team driver with my fiance. Some times, when stopped, we will flirt around a little bit. A bit of exhibitionism that can only be seen by the other. If they have a camera in this truck, without telling us, is is the same as hiding a camera in a restroom, changing room, or bed room. Also, at times, we will both be in the bunk (early arrival, waiting on new load etc...) and may be undressed. If we come to the front when the QComm beeps, then they also get to see that. This is "Peeping Tom" at its worst. An illegal invasion of privacy in that we have a certain expectation of privacy within the confines of the cab of the truck.

You asked what does OSHA have to do with it? Well if you knew anything you would know that OSHA has allot to do with it. OSHA handles all complaints of former employees STAA claims and retaliation claims. Take a moment and call the Eau Claire, WI office and ask them about STAA and retaliation rules and regulations and you will see what you didn't know.

I just read some of the comments and have to believe that there is a few (well one) poster on here that does work in the office there in Mondovi, WI but is hiding by saying they live somewhere else.

Interesting.....the language was just that of the same person that I know very well. (Former dealing with said person in other legal issues with Marten) and will be directing this site to my attorney and suggesting that this person also be forced to testify at a later date.

Please take warning (will leave this a general warning) but you know who you are..... I will be directing this website with your comments to my attorney for review and in court if needed.

I was an ex-contractor with Marten for two months and YES I can contest to the fact that the dispatcher can and will ask you to violate the HOS and speed limits (if possible). I have numerous times received a load that while the milage says that I can "legally" take and deliver...we all know that we are not in a perfect world here. With construction zones that slow us down, the occasional traffic accident that shuts down or at least backs up traffic, border delays, etc this perfect world just went out the door and "real life" just kicked in.

The FMCSA regulations are clear and written in black and white and some of you I think need to take a few hours and reread the regulations. Now lets go back to problem above: the slow down or shut down of the highway....please tell me what line are you logging that on? If you say line one or two please reread you green pocket handbook and see that all time while sitting in the drivers' seat driving or preparing to drive MUST be logged as driving. NOT on-duty NOT off-duty NOT sleeper but DRIVING. Alot of drivers falsify this rule as to save time and make more money later.

Interperation via the FMCSA website:

Question 25: When a driver experiences a delay on an impassable highway, should the time he/she is delayed be entered on the record of duty status as driving time or on-duty (not driving)?
Guidance: Delays on impassable highways must be recorded as driving time because 395.2 defines "driving time" as all time spent at the driving controls of a CMV in operation.


Second problem - since Marten requires all drivers to get a preemployment DOT physical and drug test on site while in orientation. Now who logged this time as on-duty or for that matter any time spend while in orientation. Again the regulations are clear about this also.

Question 11: Must nontransportation-related work for a motor carrier be recorded as on-duty time?
Guidance: Yes. All work for a motor carrier, whether compensated or not, must be recorded as on-duty time. The term "work" as used in the definition of "on-duty time" in 395.2 of the FMCSRs is not limited to driving or other nontransportation-related employment.

Question 32: If a driver drives in a non-commercial vehicle to take a physical examination, should the duty status be recorded as on-duty not driving, or as off-duty? Would the answer change if the motor carrier directs the driver to go for the examination?
Guidance: So long as the driver schedules and attends the physical examination at a time of his or her own choosing, the time may be recorded as off-duty. If, however, the motor carrier directs the driver to attend at a specific time, the time is to be recorded as on-duty not driving.

Marten officals told us three different times to log this time (all orientation days) as off-duty.

Or what about that pesky qualcomm going off all the time even when you are sleeping? Well the regulations are clear on that also...again Marten violated the rules read again:

Question 30: If a driver is required repeatedly to respond to satellite or similar communications received during his or her sleeper berth period, does this activity affect a driver's duty status?
Guidance: Yes. The driver cannot be required to do any work for the motor carrier during sleeper berth time. A driver who is required to access a communications system for the purpose of reading messages from the carrier, responding to certain messages (either verbally or by typing a message), or otherwise acknowledging them, is performing work. For the purpose of this guidance, repeatedly means a pattern or series of interruptions that prevent a driver from obtaining restorative sleep during the sleeper berth period.

Question 31: If a driver is required repeatedly to respond to satellite or similar communications received during a 10-hour (8-hour for passenger transportation) off-duty period, does this activity affect a driver's duty status?
Guidance: Yes. The driver cannot be required to do any work for the motor carrier during the 10-hour or the 8-hour off-duty period. A driver who is required to access a communications system for the purpose of reading messages from the carrier, responding to certain messages (either verbally or by typing a message), or otherwise acknowledging them, is performing work. For the purpose of this guidance, repeatedly means a pattern or series of interruptions that prevent a driver from obtaining restorative sleep during the off-duty period.


Lets look at the Hazardous Material Regulations (which yes they paid me the shortest way to a location in Canada but routed me over a bridge that is restricted to Flammable shipment.

If you all would take a moment and use the web for information you will see the FMCSA published a Hazardous Materials Routing guide and will show that taking any flammable shipment via the Ambassador Bridge is illegal. All flammable shipments must use the ferry instead or go to Port Huron or Buffalo to cross in Canada. I directed this to the dispatcher and safety department and was told "everyone else does it so why would you have a problem." I mean if everyone would just off a bridge was I to do that also? Bottom line is that the company was unwilling to pay for the ferry or extra miles to ensure this load got to Canada LEGALLY. So I went to Port Huron and ended up making this load late.

Not to drag out this one but it gets worse. Then dispatch lied and said that if I did not "hurry up" before 1300hrs that the customer was going home and I would need to be unloaded the next day. So when I arrived five minutes to 1300hrs I spoke to the receiver and also showed them the qualcomm. End of the story...the customer was very upset and documented on my bills of when I arrived and that they had no problems of my arrival time and that their receiving hours were from 0800-1700hrs M-F.

I was written up for being late that day. I explained that their actions were unfounded and now illegal. That this is a clear violation of my unwillingness to violation federal, state and foreign law both of speed limits, HOS and Hazardous material reguations.

On the advise of my attorney I took a photograph of the qualcomm after it was send and also certified, return receipt letter of my unwillness to violate any laws and any further attempt would force me to file a complaint with the FMCSA.

Long story made short....this did not stop them. I did speak with Diane and (oh I cant remember the guys name) and told them what was going on. Diane agreed with me and said she would look into this but nothing happened. I did finally speak to the Department Supervisor of Dispatch and Contractor Services and was told staight out that "you don't seem happy here so why are you working here". I grew up right down the road from Marten. Hell mom work there in the 80's and there use to be a waiting list to work for Marten. Since Roger died and Randy took over is when things started to changed.

Oh yes that reminds me...since I live in the area (Eleva, WI) I know current and former dispatchers that have worked for Marten. They will be terminated if they do not get the freight moved. They are told to force, pressure or harrass drivers to take loads knowing darn well that they are in violation of DOT regulations. A former dispatcher (mothers best friend and also my lead witness in my pending civil STAA claim case against Marten Transport) will testify that this practice is a common theme and those that don't play the game will be terminated (at will employment state) and the drivers will find them starving for money.

So those that say talk to safety they will fix anything. Please that is like telling a recovering alcoholic to watch my beer while we are in the local bar. Who do you think is directing the show folks....safety or the stockholders? Again if quarterly profits are up this quarter then the stockholders are happy, Randy is happy and everyone keeps there jobs. But then who really cares about the back bone - well the only reason this company can make money - the driver.....hell you are a dime a dozen right?

For those that want to post any remarks here after please do so with care. Read your green pocket book before posting what the rules are since I will just make you look like any idiot (steering wheel holder without a brain) and point the regulation out to you.

And I will leave this parting thought....when I called the FMCSA hotline to report the violations that I had seem up to that point (12 total now)....the rep on the other side there in Washington, D.C. said....Marten Transport Safe-stat score is like a criminal rap sheet. Don't believe me take a look yourselves folks.

On-board recorders are coming to Marten soon folks. Look up the regulations if you dont believe me...all carriers that have a pattern of disregarding the HOS rules will be FORCED to install on-board recorders to monitor and document HOS.

Think out it next time you want to run illegal ..... is it worth it?

for one the miles they asked were not "illegal" ill. to maine is not that far portland especially i can get from gi neb. to mass in two days legally?? you have to stay out the truck stop long enough to run,sorry. i used to work there and i never had a load i had to push, but they did the same let their truck sit in my drive for 11 weeks almost before the wrecker showed up!! the gave and cancelled i forget how many loads i stopped counting at 7!! i actually got to r.i. from western ma. (home) to find out it was never a load!!! thats right never existed. no pay and an abandonment i think neglect on their part. oh and i got a nasty letter callin me a lazy p.o.s and all kinds of stuff, im manic depressive bipolar if i would've read that letter my mom thru it out i woulda drove out there to beat the livin crap out of him

To the author of this report:

This is nothing against you, but there is some things in your report that just don't add up.

You say that all but one of your load assignments was late because dispatch wanted you to run in spite of lack of hrs-but what did you do to explain that to them? It doesn't seem that you tried to communicate your lack of hours to dispatch, from what you typed. If that's the case, then you can't blame dispatch for giving you loads you can't do. It's the responsibility of the driver to plan properly and communicate with dispatch about hours of service-macro 30 and 32 ring a bell? Did you send those macros when you were supposed to? If not, you have no excuse. Did you give your fleet manager 24 hours notice if you were short on hrs? And even after all that, if they still tried to make you run illegal, did you call the safety department to report the dispatcher? It seems to me you did none of the above-therefore it's your fault, sir.

As for the accusation of being forced to sign an employment obligation to serve 6 months to cover the cost of orientation, it was your choice to sign it. If you chose not to, Marten would have paid for your bus ticket home. So you were not forced.

I am a driver for Marten for the last 18 months.

You signed a document stating you would repay to Marten Transport, Ltd. the monies spent by them to get you to the Mondovi, WI headquarters from Sherman, TX via airline and shuttle bus, hotel costs, as well as the cost of your physical examination and drug testing.

You worked for Marten for two months, and quit. During your employment, you only had one on time delivery, meaning you were late at least 90% of the time in such a way that it amounted to a service failure charged to you each time. During the last pay period, you did three trips you claimed you are owed pay for, at least two of which were late.

You left your equipment at a drop yard in Joplin, MO (a secure location), as instructed via Qualcomm, and the equipment was properly logged in by the residential operators of that drop yard.

You believe Randy Marten personally placed false information on your DAC/USIS report claiming you abandoned the equipment.

On the implication you were somehow coerced into signing the document agreeing to repay recruiting costs if you quit within six months, that isn't true. You had the option of signing the document and accepting employment, or refusing and you would have been put on a bus home at Marten Transport's expense, owing nothing. You signed the agreement, and if what you believe you are owed for payment for work performed is less than what you agreed to repay, you still owe them money.

When you were sent a load message, you were required to send a Macro 32 message in reply as soon as safe to do so (when you're not driving). Macro 32 includes questions of if you can make on time delivery and do you accept responsibility for the security of the load. If you answer no to on time delivery, you are either taken off the load, or asked to give an ETA (via Macro 35) you can do legally so the appointment(s) can be changed or the load repowered (a relay with another driver). You are in turn expected to proceed on the assumption that your fleet manager is working on those things.

There is also a daily check call (twice daily for certain loads) that is required of all company drivers and owner operators via Qualcomm (Macro 30 or 31). The check call macro includes a field asking how many hours you will have remaining to drive when empty from the load you are currently under. There were frequent messages regarding that particular field sent fleet-wide during your employment (I got the same messages). The check call is required every day except if you are on home time for the remainder of the day and the home time began before noon (it is required immediately upon coming off home time).

Given your claim of being late on all but one load, your fleet manager came under review, as well as the load planners, to determine what the problem was. If you failed to complete the required macros properly (as covered in your driver manual and during orientation) and communicate with dispatch via Qualcomm, the late loads are your responsibility.

If there is erroneous information on your DAC/USIS report, then you need to contact them directly and file a rebuttal. Marten Transport will then have to provide documentation supporting the claim(s) made, which I'm certain includes your admitted on time performance, and the fact you quit after only two months (not acceptable in the trucking industry). I seriously doubt in a company this size Randy Marten has the time or inclination to devote to placing anything on your DAC/USIS report.

Which brings me to your personal attacks on Randy Marten. Such comments are petty at best, and show your character. As for the security of the office, in this day and age of workplace violence it's necessary. However, if you bothered to try, you would find that, during daytime business hours, your ID card would open most doors, and the operations and shop offices are easily accessible (about 90% of the building space).

Good luck with your wage claims and lawsuits. Personally, if I were you, I would be looking for another job, but that's just me I guess. By the way, what does OSHA have to do with this matter?

Dear Robert,

The same thing happened to me. I guess Ole Randy thinks he's a Legend in his own mind, and can get away with ruining drivers career's with false infor mation and fraudulent hiring practises.

Bill
In Salado, Texas