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Level 2: On the desk · Lesson 11 of 17

When things go wrong

Things will go wrong every day. What makes a good driver manager is having an order to work through, so nothing important gets missed while the phone rings.

Safety first, always. In any incident, the first question is whether the driver is safe and whether anyone is hurt. Then the load, then the schedule. Say it out loud to the driver: 'Are you OK? Is anyone hurt?'

Accidents: the driver secures the scene (hazard lights, warning triangles), calls 911 if anyone is hurt, and calls the company. Your company has an accident process; follow it and get safety involved straight away. Some crashes count as DOT recordable: a death, an injury treated away from the scene, or a vehicle towed for disabling damage. Many of those need a post-accident drug and alcohol test within hours, so you can't wait until tomorrow to report it.

Breakdowns: get the location, what's wrong, whether the truck is safe where it is, and send it to maintenance or roadside service. Then tell customer service which loads are affected, and look at whether the load needs to be recovered by another truck.

Late loads: tell customer service the moment you know, with a new ETA, not after the appointment has passed. Customers can usually work with late. They can't work with surprised.

Weather: the driver decides when it's not safe to drive, not you. Federal rules (49 CFR 390.6) forbid carriers, shippers and brokers from coercing a driver to drive when they say they can't safely or legally. Your job is to back their call, update the customer and replan.

On the desk

A driver calls: 'I just got rear-ended at a light.' What's your first question?

More info

Terms in this lesson

DOT recordableA crash with a death, an injury treated away from the scene, or a disabling-damage tow.
Post-accident testA drug and alcohol test required after certain crashes, with tight time limits.
Roadside serviceA mobile mechanic or tow, arranged by maintenance.
RecoverySending another truck to finish a load a broken truck can't.
OS&DOverage, shortage and damage, noted on the BOL.
Coercion rule49 CFR 390.6: no one may pressure a driver to break safety rules.

The scenario answers

  1. A driver calls: 'I just got rear-ended at a light.' What's your first question? 'Are you OK, and is anyone hurt?'. People first, always. Then make sure the scene is safe and reported, then safety's accident process, then the load.
  2. Which of these crashes is DOT recordable? A crash where a car is towed away with disabling damage. A DOT recordable crash involves a death, an injury treated away from the scene, or a vehicle towed away with disabling damage.
  3. Freezing rain is coming down and your driver says the roads aren't safe. The load is due in 4 hours. What do you do? Back his decision, tell customer service and replan. The driver makes the safety call, and pressuring him to drive anyway is coercion, which federal rules forbid. Update the customer with a new ETA and plan around it.
  4. You realize at 6 a.m. that a load due at 9 a.m. will be 3 hours late. When do you tell customer service? Now. Early warning lets the customer move the appointment and lets customer service keep the account. Late is fixable, surprised usually isn't.
  5. A receiver refuses part of a load as damaged. What should the driver do? Have the damage noted on the BOL, take photos and call you before leaving. Overages, shortages and damage (OS&D) need to be written on the BOL and photographed. The refused freight usually comes back with the driver until the company says where it goes.

General training, not legal or compliance advice. Rules are the US federal ones (FMCSA) as of 2026; check the current text and your company’s policies.