Specialized Screw
Werner's safety? View Werner's
Charts and DOT SafeStat Ranking.
Want to test drive Werner Enterprises? Try: The Simulator
* Information presented here is four years old. Visit the WernerScrews WebLog for the latest crash statistics. Information here is for reference.*
Crash statistics were published by the U.S. Department of
Transportation. Statistics show one facet
of Werner's horrendous "Safety" record. The links
and posted comments confirm these statistics.
For the past five years, safety is on a downward spiral at
Werner Enterprises. The QualComm has NOT made Werner Enterprises
any safer.
WernerScrews has compared Werner Enterprises to three other
major carriers for four years: Schneider National, Swift,
and JB Hunt. The chart also compares Werner to itself.
Raw crash statistic data does not tell the whole story. The
large carriers were selected for the power unit to fatal
crashes ratio and the power
unit to crashes ratio. These statistics are a fair assessment
of large company safety. Extensive logistic management is
the hallmark of large carriers. However, large companies need
extensive safety programs--for both drivers and dispatchers--that
actually reduce the number of fatal and non-fatal crashes.
I obtained the statistics from these sites:
( 2002 DOT Statistics | 2001 Statistics | 2000 Statistics )
( 1999 Statistics | 1998 Statistics )
NOTE:
During June 1998, the DOT approved paperless logs; on July
1, 1998, Werner drivers were no longer required to use paper
log books. 1999 was the first full year that Werner Enterprises
used the QualComm system.
The "W" in Werner means Wrongful Death.
Fatal Crashes
2nd Place 2002:
Werner Enterprises tied with Schneider National with 21 fatal
crashes. Swift was first place with 27 fatal crashes.
1st Place 2001:
Werner Enterprises with 19 fatal crashes.
For 2000, Werner Enterprises reported 15 fatal crashes. That
placed Werner in third place.
For 1999, Werner Enterprises
reported 11 fatal crashes. That placed Werner in third place.
(Only Schneider and Swift reported more fatal crashes.)
For 1998, Werner Enterprises ranked tenth place with six Fatal
Crashes. (Werner was tied with four other companies.)
One Fatal Crash
to Power Units
1st Place 2002:
Werner Enterprises 1:391
1st Place 2001:
Werner Enterprises 1:447
1st Place 2000:
Werner Enterprises 1:480
1999 Werner Enterprises 1:655
1998 Werner Enterprises 1:948
Dividing Werner's reported 8,209 power units into 21 fatal crashes
equals 1:391 (One fatality for every 391 power units) for the
year 2002.
Werner reported 8,490 power units during 2001. Werner Enterprises
had 19 fatal crashes during 2001. Similarly calculated, Werner's
power unit to fatality ratio for 2001 was 1:447.
Werner reported 7,202 power units during
2000. Werner Enterprises had 15 fatal crashes during 2000.
Similarly calculated, Werner's power unit to fatality ratio
for 2000 was 1:480.
Werner reported 7,202 power units during 1999. Werner Enterprises
had 11 fatal crashes during 1999. Werner's power unit to fatality
ratio for 1999 was 1:655.
Werner owned 5,685 power units and six fatal crashes during
1998. Werner's power unit to fatality ratio for 1998 was 1:948.
The "W" in Werner means Wreck.
Werner Enterprises had twenty-one more crashes in 2002 compared
to 2001; Werner even reduced the fleet by 281 Power Units--8,490
power units in 2001 vs. 8,209 power units in 2002!
Crashes
2nd Place 2002:
Werner Enterprises with 534 crashes.
1st Place 2002:
Swift with 824 crashes.
One
Crash to Power Units
1st Place 2002:
Werner Enterprises 1:15
2nd Place 2002:
Swift1:20
For 2001, Werner Enterprises 1:16
For 2000, Werner
Enterprises 1:15
For 1998 and
1999, Werner Enterprises 1:18
During 2002, if you saw 15 different Werner trucks, one of
those trucks was involved in a crash. Working for Werner is
insane!!!
Still thinking of driving for Werner, eh? Expect
this treatment.
The "W" in Werner means We hire 'em young.
If you are too old, Werner will never hire you. If C.L. Werner could hire fetuses to drive...he would. The Nebraska Department of Labor (Acrobat file) states $4.25 per hour is the legal minimum wage for training new employees that are under 20 years old. This wage must increase to $5.15 an hour after 90 days of work. (Hmmm, I only survived four months with Werner.) Those savvy with DOT regulations will note that all CDL candidates most be at least 21. The FMCSA proposed a "Younger Commercial Driver Pilot Training Program" (Acrobat file) and this can be found in the Federal Registry/Vol. 66, No. 34/ Tuesday, February 20, 2001/Notices. Werner Enterprises wanted to be the first on-board with this program and expressed great interest! Thankfully, FMCSA axed this program during June of 2003.
The "W" in Werner means Write…sign here…hurry.
What Werner doesn’t tell their prospective employees that ALL (ok 99.999%) drivers agree to Nebraska Labor laws--no matter what state they live in or what terminal they are dispatched from. This makes legal proceedings difficult, but not impossible. Another element in the Specialized Screw drivers can do without.
At the very least, the "W" in Werner means Wait.
You will wait in hotels/motels for sometimes up to two weeks. Are you getting paid? Yes, students earn $325-$375 per week depending on how long a student survives. Need money? Werner will allow you a cash advance of $50--every two-three days while staying at a terminal motel. Once assigned a Trainer, you are able to advance $200 a week. Plan on a diet of sardines and crackers because that is all you will be able to afford. If you think you are going to eat a "Trucker’s Dinner" everyday, work the numbers out. Back to King Oscar. Werner figures a malnourished driver is a happy driver; the Third Reich employed similar tactics.
If you are a non-smoker, you will wait three times as long
for a trainer. You might even be paired with a smoker; Werner
has more smoking trainers then non-smoking. While in the motel
room, you will be expected to wait for a phone call from your
local SS (Specialized Screw) Student Coordinator. If you leave
you must let the hotel front desk know where you are going.
Failure to report is grounds for termination. Werner claims
you sign something to that effect. I never did. Werner will
never issue you a pager or cell phone. That would cost CL
too much money. Welcome to the Werner Ghetto.
Right
from the start, you will be staying at five-star "luxurious
accommodations"--like the Ben Franklin Motel. During
your weekly stay, you might have a roommate. Fear not, you
will always have company with numerous six-legged insects
or perhaps a prostitute will stroll by. Correction, no prostitute
would ever be caught near the Ben Franklin.
Your benefits are Blue Cross and Blue Shield--if you survive
one month of employment. They will
cost a single student $48.00 a month for Health or $53.00
a month for a single student's Health & Dental. Drivers
that use these benefits--causing insurance rates to be increased--shall
be sent back to the Werner Ghetto. As a driver, you are paid
by the mile not by motel duty. Work will make you free!
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