Supervisor puts me in a bad position

Hi,my name is Calvin and I live in California.Not sure if I'm in the right forum,but here it is.
I am a Truckdriver,been working for this Company for a while now(over a year). I've been driven the same Truck ever since I started.I work nights and the Truck get used also during the day.About 4 months ago I came into work and the Windshield had a crack all the way across.I went to my supervisor and reported it.I waited and kept going back.....well to make a long story short,it is still not fixed.Long and behold at the end of July I got stopped by the Highway patrol and got a Ticket for the cracked Windshield.Everything else was in order.I took the ticket to my Supervisor and he told me he would take care of it...wich I think he should have anyway,cause the Windshield is not my responsibility.
This morning I got a letter saying the Ticket has not been payed,I now have o go to court,probably get fined and probably have to pay this Ticket myself before it gets worse.This Ticket will probably also show up on my DMV and I never had anything on y Printout.Trucking is my lifelyhood!! I am so angry and furius...I want to spit nails. went to my Supervisor tis morning...and he gave methe same lame song and dance.....I'll take cae of it and I orderd a Windshield.To make matters worse,the Tags on the Truck expired last Friday....and I know they won't take care of it.This is really pissing me off**************if I refuse to drive the Truck,they fire me
if I drive the Truck...now with expired Tags and a cracked Windshield.....I am brakeing the Law.What can I do to protect myself...honestly,I wanna quit.But I have a family and can not afford to quit.I want this Ticket payed ( 290$) a fix it Ticket,and if I pay for it myself...do I have to dragg them to court to get my money back? Thanks for any help or input! Cal

[NorthstarOps]

[url]http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/factsfigs/eta/120xdt/Part393.htm[/url]

Every commercial motor vehicle must be equipped with certain standard equipment. Other (optional) equipment or accessories are permitted only if these items do not decrease the operational safety of the vehicle.

Windshield Condition

A vehicle's windshield must be free of discoloration and cracks in the area extending from the top of the steering wheel to within two inches of the top of the windshield.

[url]http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/factsfigs/eta/120xdt/Part396.htm[/url]

Every motor carrier, its officers, drivers, agents, representatives, and employees directly concerned with inspection or maintenance of commercial motor vehicles must comply and be conversant with these rules.

General requirements

Every carrier shall systematically inspect, repair, and maintain all commercial motor vehicles under its control.

These are federal laws. I was in the transportation industry as a shop manager with a Class A CDL. If you decide to drive the vehicle as is, then you will be ticketed, not the company. Use these laws to force your company to fix the problem. There also may be state laws you need to check. If the company you work for forces your hand, contact the people at [url]http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/[/url] and report them. DO NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE TILL ITS FIXED! And escpecially, do not drive it if the tags are expired. That falls on the driver for not doing his daily inspection and you will be ticketed.

[CdwJava]

California law requires the owner of the vehicle to be held responsible for certain issues:

40001. (a) It is unlawful for the owner, or any other person,
employing or otherwise directing the driver of any vehicle to cause
the operation of the vehicle upon a highway in any manner contrary to
law.

(b) It is unlawful for an owner to request, cause, or permit the
operation of any vehicle that is any of the following:

(1) Not registered or for which any fee has not been paid under
this code.
(2) Not equipped as required in this code.
(3) Not in compliance with the size, weight, or load provisions of
this code.
(4) Not in compliance with the regulations promulgated pursuant to
this code, or with applicable city or county ordinances adopted
pursuant to this code.
(5) Not in compliance with the provisions of Part 5 (commencing
with Section 43000) of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code and
the rules and regulations of the State Air Resources Board.

(c) Any employer who violates an out-of-service order, that
complies with Section 396.9 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, or who knowingly requires or permits a driver to violate
or fail to comply with that out-of-service order, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.

(d) An employer who is convicted of allowing, permitting,
requiring, or authorizing a driver to operate a commercial motor
vehicle in violation of any statute or regulation pertaining to a
railroad-highway grade crossing is subject to a fine of not more than
ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(e) Whenever a violation is chargeable to the owner or lessee of a
vehicle pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the driver shall not be
arrested or cited for the violation unless the vehicle is registered
in a state or country other than California, or unless the violation
is for an offense that is clearly within the responsibility of the
driver.

(f) Whenever the owner, or lessee, or any other person is
prosecuted for a violation pursuant to this section, the court may,
on the request of the defendant, take appropriate steps to make the
driver of the vehicle, or any other person who directs the loading,
maintenance, or operation of the vehicle, a codefendant. However,
the court may make the driver a codefendant only if the driver is the
owner or lessee of the vehicle, or the driver is an employee or a
contractor of the defendant who requested the court to make the
driver a codefendant. If the codefendant is held solely responsible
and found guilty, the court may dismiss the charge against the
defendant.

(g) In any prosecution under this section, it is a rebuttable
presumption that any person who gives false or erroneous information
in a written certification of actual gross cargo weight has directed,
requested, caused, or permitted the operation of a vehicle in a
manner contrary to law in violation of subdivision (a) or (b), or
both.

When you get to court, advise the court of what you have told your employer (approximate dates and times would be good) and remind the court that section CVC 40001 holds the owner liable for these issues. Be prepared to give all the information you can on the owner/manager that directed you to drive the truck and has thus far refused to correct the violations as he said he would.

If it were me, I would also refuse to drive the truck if it were unregistered or out of compliance. The citations you receive could effect your commercial license and your future livelihood. If he fires you for refusing to drive an unregistered or damaged truck, dance gleefully to the nearest employment law attorney and you may find yourself owning a piece of his pie.

- Carl

[lwpat]

Carl and Northstar have given you the correct advice. This is a common problem when the driver is issued a ticket for violations with the truck. There needs to be a better way of holding the companies responsible for these tickets. Right now all you can do is to report them, pay the fine, quit, and then sue them in small claims.

[RetiredMotor]

40005. Whenever a driver is cited for a violation of any provision
of this code, or regulations promulgated pursuant to this code,
relating to the size, weight, equipment, registration, fees, or
loading of a vehicle, while operating a vehicle he was employed or
otherwise directed to operate, and which is not owned by him, and the
driver gives the citation to the owner or any other person referred
to in Section 40001, if the owner or other person undertakes to
answer the charge or otherwise to cause its disposition without any
further action by the driver and then fails to act in accordance with
the undertaking as a consequence of which a warrant is issued for
the arrest of the driver, the owner or other person is guilty of a
misdemeanor.

[Alchohol_Free]

you're getting cited for a cracked windshield, that police officer has waaaaaay too much time on his hands, and he needs to be reassigned to something important such as the meth epedimic.

But, you have no control over that. So, the previous posts have given you good advice on what to do.

With all due respect to Carl, is easy for a policeman to say "don't drive". But you make your living driving. And if you're like most people, you can't afford to lose a couple months pay to get in a fight with your employer.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by Alchohol_Free

you're getting cited for a cracked windshield, that police officer has waaaaaay too much time on his hands, and he needs to be reassigned to something important such as the meth epedimic.

You might be surprised how much meth. and stolen property we locate from a stop that began with a cracked windshield.

Contrary to popular belief, most suspects we arrest are contacted in an otherwise innocuuous traffic and pedestrian stops.

With all due respect to Carl, is easy for a policeman to say "don't drive". But you make your living driving. And if you're like most people, you can't afford to lose a couple months pay to get in a fight with your employer.

Maybe. But getting a new commercial license after it is suspended will be at least as difficult. And I am well acquainted with trucks and driving as Swift trucking is one of the largest employers in the area, and I have more than a couple close friends that drive for a living. Fortunately, they don't have to deal with crappy management like the OP.


- Carl

[Alchohol_Free]

"You might be surprised how much meth. and stolen property we locate from a stop that began with a cracked windshield. Contrary to popular belief, most suspects we arrest are contacted in an otherwise innocuuous traffic and pedestrian stops.
"

Actually Carl, it doesn't suprize me. I think there's a proven correlation between thieves and meth promoters and driving or public behavior habits.


"Maybe. But getting a new commercial license after it is suspended will be at least as difficult."

I know. The problem lies in how taffic laws like this are administered. There needs to be more case by case approach to things like this instead of just generically slapping on license supensions. The recent move by politicians to impose "mandatory sentencing" has completely wrecked the legal system by removing case by case and judges discression.