Scuba
Veteran Expediter
Panther is concerned about speeding tickets and the safety numbers that go along with it. I have been personally contacted by Hugh Cutler the new VP here at Panther and asked how the Driver’s Council can help in getting the message out to the fleet. We as drivers need to look at the big picture soon every shipper and competitor will be able to see Panther’s safety rating. If the other companies are doing a better job on issues of safety ie speed out of service light’s out etc etc. They can tell shippers that their loads will be safer in their hands than in Panther’s hands. Which may just get a shipper to switch to a competitor. That means not just the loss of a revenue stream to Panther but to you as a truck owner or driver. Years ago Panther used to set alarms via the qc to monitor the truck speeds if we do not police ourselves Panther just may start doing that again. I don’t think any of you really want that dispatch looking over our shoulder while we drive. As professionals no one wants someone telling us how to do our job but if we don’t help each other by keeping our personal safety rating and that of our carrier in check they will be forced into doing it for us. These new government controls over truckers forces us as drivers and truck owners to start looking at what we do daily in a different light. I see trucks all the time and I am not talking just about Panther trucks that are rolling billboards that scream pull me over and inspect me. A ticket that last year you wouldn’t have given a second thought about now can hurt you as a driver/truck owner and the company you are leased to in our case Panther. We can no longer wait to fix small items that in the past we may have let go waiting for the next weeks check to get it fixed because it may be a bigger or better check.