Drivers, Use Your Cones!
Some policies are written with the best intentions. But on the road, they can become impractical and ignored. An impossible to follow rule can even be used as ammunition in the case of an accident.
Many years ago, I was fresh out of training, working as a delivery driver for a distribution company. I was overconfident and excited to be assigned my own route. It was an early morning, still dark, and raining. I arrived at my customer, and, despite my better judgment, decided to back into the parking lot to make my delivery. Visibility was poor and I failed to notice a light pole right in the middle of the lot. Well, I backed right into it and didn’t feel a thing. I only noticed it lying right next to my trailer when I got out of the cab and walked to the back. My stomach sank. I called my supervisor, reported what had happened, and took pictures. It was the longest day ever, my mind was racing, I was sure I would be fired. When I got back to the yard, my supervisor was waiting. I rolled down my window and the first thing out of my mouth was “are you going to fire me?” The supervisor told me he wasn’t, but I had to talk to the president, company policy.
Even though I knew I still had my job, meeting with the president was still nerve-wracking. He asked me what happened, told me this was going to be expensive, and then asked me a question that I wasn't anticipating. “Did you use your cones?” Stammering, trying to figure out how a little orange cone would have helped me avoid the light pole, I admitted that I hadn’t. “Be safe out there driver,” he told me as I left his office.
Still to this day I know that using a cone would not have stopped me from hitting the tall, well-lit light pole. And yet, as a company driver, this is something we hear all the time. Recently we all received the same text from management, “make sure you're using your cones while backing up.” We all rolled our eyes collectively.
These policies, even though well-intentioned, can serve a purpose that managers might not be aware of. When a rule is written that is impractical and hard to follow, it can create a situation that can be very profitable for a law firm.
In the unfortunate event of an accident that ends in a lawsuit, you could find yourself in a deposition room being asked something like: “You ignored your company policy that states you must use a cone while backing up, isn't that correct?” You know your answer can't be “no, but that rule makes no sense.” That case would have a good chance of going nuclear. Read my article, “Reptiles in the Courtroom” to learn more about attorney tactics in the trucking industry.
Company policies that make little to no sense in the real world deserve to be called out. Trial attorneys scour company policies for rules that the driver may have broken in order to prove negligence. Trucking already has a giant target on its back; don’t give law firms more ammunition.