Complaint Review: Bowling Green Freight - Woodburn Kentucky

I definetly understand and know exactly what he is talking about. I worked there some yrs back and they would push you and push you. Yes everybody is right you can say no but see that is exactly what I done is said no and still got fired. I had a run to warren mi 3 times a week from Glasgow then they called me on a Friday I need you to go back out and I said no me and my family had plans which we did. Any how while I was out with my family they come to my house got the truck I was driving for them with all my belongings in it and took it to they yard. Ok that's fine but when I got down there somebody had stole all my cb equitment which was about $800 all was left was my bedding in a box. They are a very big bunch of assholes. RANDY specially. Now about Jim Farmer I thought he was a d**n good guy. He tried to help me as much as he could and I appreciate that. But anybody can say tell them no, well I'm telling you now if you do you will be out of there quickly. There was some descent people there in dispatch. Maybe one or two but anyway I think the problem is the Management I mean all them. Father, wife, daughter Amy Beth and husband Randy. They have their noses so far in the air they don't care about you or your family surviving. But I had a bunch of problems hell I would park dog a*s tired and they would see on qualcomm where I was stopped and start beeping the Qualcomm telling me I need to be moving. I would tell them I'm taking a nap and they would let me sleep another hour and start beeping again. But they will get whats coming to them. You can treat people the way these people do and think anything good will happen out of it. But anyway I have a Great driving job now and wouldn't work for them people if they gave me $1.00 per mile. You live and you learn who good people are and who are just slave drivers... But I hope now everything is good for you.. 

I know for a fact That This Driver Is telling the Truth....My ex works for this Company and has been asked numbers times to run illegal for them. He Dose Not Because I Will Not Allow It. He assnwers to me then them. I also know That They do not care about the saftey of the drivers nor the saftey of anyone else. I have taken picture's of defected tires etc. on his truck and then told there safty and shop manger that if they were not going to fix the problem then if anything happpened I would use it againist them in court. They Know I Will. They are quick to do his repairs now Because they know I take Picture's which are dated and time stamped. As For This Driver. I am sorry for the place you are in , But You could have said no. and You Should Have Kept better records. I will tell them in a hurry run him illeagal and I will Call DOT Myself......

I know the owner of Bowling Green Freight personally.  I also know that the owner would in no way put someone in harms way.  You had the responsibility of denying the load if you had already exceeded your hours.  You also had the responsibility to take the mandatory rest period that Federal Law dictates.  When it comes to the safety of yourself and others you take full responsibility of any consequences that may arise from disregard of the law.  When you passed the CDL license tests you agreed to make safety a top priority.  You did not do that when you took a load that you knew you should not have taken.  That there shows your inability to abide by the law.  The rest period set forth in the operation of a tractor trailer are meant to be followed regardless of whether or not the company is pushing you to disobey the law.  My uncle worked for BGF for many years and has never had a single problem with anything like this.  In fact he never had any problem with them whatsoever.  So I say to you next time when a company is trying to force you to take a load that would exceed the maximum number of hours allowed deny the load and go rest.  Take the mandatory rest periods that you are required by law to take.  And stop trying to place blame on others for things you done that you knew should have never been done. 

Let me tell you something driver, I do feel for you and I know where your comming from. But here is my advice and that is all it is. next time you have this problem just plain out refuse the load. get the rest you need or what you feel like you need. lets just rewind and I will tell you what I mean, if you would have turned down that load because of your hours and your logbook, and they fired you. you wouldnt need a trucking job, you could have sued for wrongful termination, not only that you could have them turned in with the STAA. Its against your civil right to proform a job asked by your employer if its going to cause harm to your self, and others. They have laws they must follow just as you need to. If you had went out and ran over someone and maybye even killed them, its your balls in the meat grinder. and as far as the saftey guy, its his job to protect you, that is why he is there, and to protect you, and the company. its nothing you can do now, you have done done it, and you cant go back. always remember this, take notes of what they tell you, and if you can kentucky still has the blue laws here. you can record them if the terminal is based here. there is no load out there worth the time and money to get your a*s out of a sling, watch your back. trucking companies dont care, your a number. when they need you, you go to them . if you need them i dont know ya.. you see? so like i said if this happens again. just say no! they cant fire you, they might use something els, but all you need is your logbook show what your position was. so if you think real hard about it, and I am not going to come right out and say it, just use your head. you could get some major payback if you can dig up those old logbooks from that day... you hear me? take care driver and I wish you all the luck...

As a current driver of BGF and have been for many years i know what this driver is saying is true..the owner of the company once told me to run a load even though i was out of hours. My fault, I ran the load and was so tired that when i got to the place i fell asleep as soon as i was in the dock..never again will i do such a thing..it is on the driver to do what is right..as far as deductions on the pay check..they can an will deduct from it..In the handbook you sign a page saying you allow them to do it. I have seen them "help" people get their log straight. They also get such a high rating by calling the state police in Franklin KY and Elisabethtown KY at the scales and get them to inspect trucks that they send there just for that knowing they will pass..they even made it mandatory to stop 2 times a week at the scales and get inspected or else they threatened you with being fired. They will abuse you if you let them. I do not let them..I have had no trouble with the dispatch.

There are two sides to every story yours is beliveable but hard to prove you need letters some thing in writing onboard computer in the truck messages on that are kept for this reason.find those things and good witnesses to back you up and the truth will provail

Hindsight is indeed 20/20. I'm not here to criticize you, but you need to understand a couple of things. You are in charge of your own destiny when you are behind the wheel of that truck. You also could have prevented your own demise. When I read stories like this, I contrast the testimony with the public safety record of the carrier in question. In 99% of these cases, the carrier will have a terrible record, and this would substantiate the complaint. Yours however falls into that 1% where it doesn't make sense. Bowling Green Freight's ISS-2 number currently is standing at 42. Any carrier that would pull a man into an office and advise him on how to cheat on a logbook, force a man to drive ungodly hours continuously without rest, and drive while intoxicated on a narcotic, is not a carrier that would achieve this safe standing with the FMCSA. Even if what you state is true in entirety, the points on your license for speeding tickets cannot be blamed on them. No one forces anyone to speed. I've been a driver for 24 years, and I have worked for the worst and the best out here. I learned in my first year of driving how to resist pressure to violate the regulations. One problem I have with your story is the parts where you describe the taking of funds from your check for towing and repairs to the truck. Why would anyone stay with a carrier after they would do this ONCE? Now, I don't know you, and I don't know a thing about the carrier in question, other than they appear to be very compliant with the regulations. If there is one shred of truth to your accusations, then you need to get busy rectifying these injustices. It is patently illegal to deduct funds from an employees check, unless written authorization from YOU has been obtained. Any attorney can recover these charges for you. If they forced you to drive routinely without rest, instructed you on how to log illegally, and forced you to drive while under the influence of narcotics, then you need to contact the FMCSA and inform them of these facts, with names, dates, and details. If these charges are not truthful, you really ought to consider withdrawing your complaint, because I have never heard an ill word about this carrier to date, and I research these type of complaints on a regular basis. I truly am sorry to hear about your situation, and I like the fact that you have come to realize that safety at all times is necessary. The day of the "Cowboy Trucker" is coming to an end. I'm sorry you had to find this out the hard way. Good luck...