Thanks GMAN. Glad to see you're still around. It was somewhat lively a few years ago. I wonder what happened to many. Doghouse for instance, or the guy in MD who bought his own truck. Pepe. Steve I never really conversed with but he kept things interesting. Honestly almost everyone I know when I got in the business is out. The guy whom I mentioned on the first page and was helping me is down to one truck from I think 19 or so. We're still good friends though.

By the way, I just had a driver "follow his GPS" onto a street in Milwaukee and got a massive ticket. I'm too embarrassed to say how much. I guess in Wisconsin they blame the company not the driver. I don't see how, I didn't pull down a street that said no trucks. I might have to fly up. Anyone know much about Wisconsin laws or a good attorney up there. I spoke to one but I looked up the law myself and I don't think he liked that and wouldn't call me back. I really don't want to fly up there but for this amount I might have to. I had planned on being done leaving South Florida but for that amount I might have to.

 

Yep, I am still hanging around. We have lost some, but still have some of the older members occasionally check in to see what is going on. Roadhog is still around as is Orangetxguy. I have not heard from Pepe or Doghouse in some time. I think the last time that I heard from Pepe he was going out of the country. At least I think it was Pepe. I saw Doghouse on 287 in New Jersey a few years ago. I tried to hail him on the CB, but he never responded. Steve got banned and I have not heard from him since. We still have a lot of people reading posts, but not nearly as many posting. It used to be quite heated at times. I met a few members and continue staying in touch with some of them. I don't know what has happened to some of them. Some people in the business have downsized. I thought about buying more trucks, but with all the new regulations and political turmoil, I just don't know if I want to deal with it. I have had a chance to buy a few trucks at really good prices the last few years. Finding good drivers is always the biggest challenge, as you know.

I am sorry to hear about your driver. I had a driver get an overweight ticket a few years ago and we both got a ticket. Since I always pay for the CAT Scale tickets and he passed at least half a dozen before hitting the scale, I don't see how they could hold me responsible, but I guess these states go after the deep pockets and they think that it will be easier to collect from the carrier than a driver. You might check with OOIDA about finding a lawyer. There are a couple of services available that can help you find a local attorney. I think one is called Roadlaw. There is one in Tulsa, I believe, that has lawyers around the country. They supposedly give you a discount over finding one yourself. I would try to find a lawyer and see if they can handle it rather than going up yourself. It is like a boys club. You can get a lot more done if you are a member. Non bar members are not welcome. You could talk to them and see what they say. You should be able to tell if you want to work with them or fly up yourself. You might get one of their lawyers to handle it for about $500, depending on the severity. That is one of the problems with these gps units. Drivers become too reliant on them and don't use common sense.

It sounds like everything else has been working well for you, other than the occasional bump. I hope you can get something worked out in Wisconsin. Let me know what happens. It is a good lesson for other drivers to pay more attention to road signs than the gps.

 

Wish i was in the same boat Merrick is in, but with no C.D.L., no medical card, no truck or trailer and no insurance, i'm screwed.

 

Merrick's legal problem reminds me of the story someone posted on the "true stories" thread about the driver who pointed at the sign and told the cop, "it says no BLACK trucks! Mine is blue!" lol! Who knows... maybe it would work on the judge. lol.

 

Usually Milwaukee will negotiate to 10% of the original fine.(with a lot of groveling)

 

Thank you for the responses. I did call Roadlaw GMAN but they never called back. These lawyers don't want to deal with me. I ask questions and I don't think they like that. I asked one lawyer I'd like to know who calibrated the scale and he just said it's calibrated.

I did look up the statute and I am responsible. This to me is ridiculous. I didn't drive down a road with two signs that said no trucks, why do I have to pay? I'm sitting in Florida. I think I will unfortunately take Chris1's advice and grovel. I got the driver to send a written statement of what happened and he admitted he told the officer he was following his truck GPS. I have a lifetime of taking responsibility for my own actions, why should I be responsible for this guy's? I mean if he follows his truck GPS off a cliff is that my fault too?

 

I would think that the Roadlaw people will call you back tomorrow. It is always difficult to find people on a long holiday weekend. There is another legal service. I wish that I could recall the name. I suppose you could call the local bar and get a referral, but I have never had much confidence in those referrals. In the worst scenario, you could make the trip yourself and see if you can work something out. You might even call and talk to the magistrate.

 

Isn't it great to have employee's? Being responsible for everything they do wrong? Call the court,get hold of the DA handling this and work out an amount. From experience in Milwaukee,they will go with a higher amount if you plead not guilty and waste their time. There are a few street's/bridges there that are real money makers for them.

 

Bought my plane ticket. I thought about calling like you said Chris1 but if I have to pay that kind of money they are going to listen to me. I obviously don't mean to be rude but this just does not make sense. If a driver is speeding he gets a ticket. If he causes an accident he get's a ticket. (if he causes damage then the company's insurance pays for it). All I want is for someone to look me in the eye and explain to me how I, sitting in Florida, can be held responsible for a driver choosing to ignore clearly posted signs.

As the original cop told me when I called up that day, they can't go any higher. Worst case scenario is they leave the full amount and I can appeal that. I will (and have) sue a state, city, county whatever. I personally beat my home state in New England. I lost and won on appeal. I further had the ACLU threaten the state of Florida to file a class action suit with me as the lead plaintiff over some foolishness, but they backed down quick. These people and many others in this world get away with stuff like this as they count on people not fighting back.

Trust me I don't want this battle and I certainly don't want to fly to Milwaukee, but this is ridiculous. My hearing is in a couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted. By the way the fine is for just over $14,000. No damage, nobody killed and the driver is fired and probably working for someone else. Something is wrong with this picture.

 

Good luck with it. If they say the truck damaged it then get your insurance involved. Having employee's is just like having kids,you're responsible for everything they do.