Is there a legal description for the driver's responsibility?

J

JNS-Shawn

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Oct 19, 2009
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I moved a crated motorcycle for a guy Paul Gauthier out of Burlington. Long story short, they couldn't load the 1st day so there's a dead run charge and the next day he wanted the truck to come right away before noon. I asked my carrier and he only wanted $50 extra to send the driver right away to Burlington from Mississauga. So I got Paul to email the fee and now he's threatening to take me to court for the $50.00 fee because it was extortion.

So the reason for the above question is he is claiming it was the driver's responsibility for the loading and it was his responsibility to figure out how to get it loaded.
They had advised they would have a forklift but all they had was a bobcat with forks and since the crate was 106" long it couldn't pick it up lenghtways.
So is there any legal definition of a driver's responsibility that state sit is up to the driver to figure it out when the shipper can't?

Anyone know how much court fees are?
 
So......the guy is threatening to sue you for $50.00? I wouldn’t be loosing any sleep over it!
 
loaders said:
So......the guy is threatening to sue you for $50.00? I wouldn’t be loosing any sleep over it!
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I'm not losing sleep over it, but I am hoping he goes through with it so I'd love to have him eat his court costs as well lol
Of course the flip side of the coin is do I want to deal with crazy over $50....
 
The driver’s responsibility begins once the shipment is on the truck. Until then, he is a bystander, perhaps a helpful, knowledgeable one, but a bystander just the same. Sounds like this Paul Gauthier is a good guy to stay away from. Great attitude......things don’t go my way, I’m going to sue you!
 
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I'm reminded of the time we delivered a full truck load of roofing tiles. "Dock to Dock". Driver arrived to the delivery address in a very swanky neighborhood and the consignee was the roofer. Called me and tried going up one side of me and down the other. How we didn't provide the proper tools to unload OUR FREIGHT (not his...lol) and how can we expect the driver to deliver HIS freight without the proper equipment. YADDA YADDA YADDA.....Never ceases to surprise me how some people can always make it someone else's problem......Geez!
 
The guy is not going to take you court for $50. Just forget about it and and him to your asshat list.
 
Could COD avoid this kind of situations? When the credit is hard to extend but you want the business and things look good.
You don’t touch the freight until the driver has your cash.
Come to think about it, most of the big guns here would probably never found themselves in this situation. No credit - no truck!
 
Gord M said:
All this for $50.............I spilled more than $50 a session when I was drinking, Jesus $50......your asking for advice on $50. LMAO
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Actually Gord I was asking if there was a legal description of a driver's responsibility.. I didn't ask anything about the $50.00 ... But thanks for your helpful input.
 
WALTERK said:
Could COD avoid this kind of situations? When the credit is hard to extend but you want the business and things look good.
You don’t touch the freight until the driver has your cash.
Come to think about it, most of the big guns here would probably never found themselves in this situation. No credit - no truck!
Click to expand...

I did do COD, which is why now he wants to sue me for his money back... But it's not the money thing, just wondering if there was an actual legal description of a driver's responsibility/job description type thing.
 
JNS-Shawn said:
I moved a crated motorcycle for a guy Paul Gauthier out of Burlington. Long story short, they couldn't load the 1st day so there's a dead run charge and the next day he wanted the truck to come right away before noon. I asked my carrier and he only wanted $50 extra to send the driver right away to Burlington from Mississauga. So I got Paul to email the fee and now he's threatening to take me to court for the $50.00 fee because it was extortion.

So the reason for the above question is he is claiming it was the driver's responsibility for the loading and it was his responsibility to figure out how to get it loaded.
They had advised they would have a forklift but all they had was a bobcat with forks and since the crate was 106" long it couldn't pick it up lenghtways.
So is there any legal definition of a driver's responsibility that state sit is up to the driver to figure it out when the shipper can't?

Anyone know how much court fees are?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, there isn't any legal definition of a driver's responsibility to figure things out when the shipper is a clueless idiot.

Like @loaders said, the driver's responsibility begins once the freight is on the truck. Securing the load and then transporting it in a safe manner to the delivery. If a "driver assist" situation is requested, the exact details of the type of assistance required must be indicated on the load confirmation. AND the driver is only "assisting" - he is not required to figure out HOW to load the freight. An experienced driver may have been able to provide some suggestions and guidance but, again, it's not his job to "figure it out".

So, according to your original post, Paul was not prepared to load the truck on the first day, and the next day he did not know HOW to load the crate onto the trailer AND he had the WRONG equipment to do so. It's ALL on him, no question. If this Paul guy is insisting that it was the driver's responsibility to figure out how to load the crate then he needs his head examined.

Bottom line is Paul is crazy and does not know what he is talking about. Does he even know what the definition of "extortion" is?? Wow...
 
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Salma said:
As far as I know, there isn't any legal definition of a driver's responsibility to figure things out when the shipper is a clueless idiot.

Like @loaders said, the driver's responsibility begins once the freight is on the truck. Securing the load and then transporting it in a safe manner to the delivery. If a "driver assist" situation is requested, the exact details of the type of assistance required must be indicated on the load confirmation. AND the driver is only "assisting" - he is not required to figure out HOW to load the freight. An experienced driver may have been able to provide some suggestions and guidance but, again, it's not his job to "figure it out".

So, according to your original post, Paul was not prepared to load the truck on the first day, and the next day he did not know HOW to load the crate onto the trailer AND he had the WRONG equipment to do so. It's ALL on him, no question. If this Paul guy is insisting that it was the driver's responsibility to figure out how to load the crate then he needs his head examined.

Bottom line is Paul is crazy and does not know what he is talking about. Does he even know what the definition of "extortion" is?? Wow...
Click to expand...

Thank you for your info. I guess there's no real legal definition, just a "business standard" or "fair use" type of definition that everyone is aware of and it really does not need to be defined..
I've never heard of someone expecting the driver to take them by the hand and teach them or load everything for them..
And yes, for sure it's all on him (Paul), I was just hoping I could say "look at this Government website and instruct yourself instead of blaming everyone else." Of course then he will probably say the the website is wrong lol!
 
I'll try and keep it short (that's hard for me sometimes), I would argue the following in just about any similar situation:

Shipper responsibility: must package (in suitable packaging for transport over the road) and load their shipment into/onto the truck provided and secure that load in the truck. Placement/securement may be at the direction and with the assistance of the driver as it's being secured in their equipment.

Driver/carrier responsibility: ensure that the goods in/on the truck/trailer/etc are secured in/on their equipment before signing the BOL and effectively taking possession of the goods.

Should any special requirements be required of a driver beyond "look at the shipment, how it's loaded and secured and don't leave until it's safe to drive down the road" I'd suggest it should be spelled out clearly and in detail long before the driver arrives on site for pickup.

Just my 5 cents (there are no longer pennies),
Mike
 
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