DOT Commercial Vehicle Complaint

DOT Complaint Summary:
Carrier Name: DONALD MIKE ELLIOTT
US DOT #: 718433
Docket #: MC330552
Address:
184 BUNCOMBE ROAD
BELVIDERE, TN 37306
Telephone: 931-967-9785
Violation Detail
Motorist Complaint
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle following too close.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle changing lanes improperly.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle driving recklessly.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle speeding.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle passing improperly.
Comment
Truck # 246, light (sea)green cab w/ flatbed trailer, trailer license # 586644 was following me on [interstate omitted] between exits [also omitted] at approximately 5pm CST on November 2nd 2008. It was dusk and the truck driver was following me at an extremely unsafe distance (aprox 0.25 to 0.5 second following distance) with no headlights. The road was crowded and I thought he was going to run into the back of me when I flashed my break lights. I was in the left hand lane and going about 67 mph in order to maintain a safe following distance (aprox 4 seconds) from the car in front of me, and he went to pass me on the right. He was most of the ways past me and was still taking up space in the lane I was in so much so that I had to drive outside of my lane in order to avoid being hit. He then switched lanes pulling in front of me so that he almost clipped the nose of my car. After a few moments I wrote down his trailer number, and then pulled beside him in the right lane in an attempt to record his company name and truck number. I was able to see this information, but he swerved toward me and I had to swerve away from him to avoid being hit. There was an exit coming up, and I was able to take that exit in order to maintain my safety. After exiting I called 911 to report the driver as a danger to other motorists. The dispatcher asked me if it was a flatbed trailer. When I confirmed that it was she said that they'd already received multiple calls on this driver and that they were looking for him. I confirmed the trailer license number and gave her the other information I had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Carrier Name: DONALD MIKE ELLIOTT
US DOT #: 718433
Docket #: MC330552
Address:
184 BUNCOMBE ROAD
BELVIDERE, TN 37306
Telephone: 931-967-9785
Violation Detail
Motorist Complaint
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle following too close.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle changing lanes improperly.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle driving recklessly.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle speeding.
Witnessed a commerical motor vehicle passing improperly.
Comment
Truck # 246, light (sea)green cab w/ flatbed trailer, trailer license # 586644 was following me on [interstate omitted] between exits [also omitted] at approximately 5pm CST on November 2nd 2008. It was dusk and the truck driver was following me at an extremely unsafe distance (aprox 0.25 to 0.5 second following distance) with no headlights. The road was crowded and I thought he was going to run into the back of me when I flashed my break lights. I was in the left hand lane and going about 67 mph in order to maintain a safe following distance (aprox 4 seconds) from the car in front of me, and he went to pass me on the right. He was most of the ways past me and was still taking up space in the lane I was in so much so that I had to drive outside of my lane in order to avoid being hit. He then switched lanes pulling in front of me so that he almost clipped the nose of my car. After a few moments I wrote down his trailer number, and then pulled beside him in the right lane in an attempt to record his company name and truck number. I was able to see this information, but he swerved toward me and I had to swerve away from him to avoid being hit. There was an exit coming up, and I was able to take that exit in order to maintain my safety. After exiting I called 911 to report the driver as a danger to other motorists. The dispatcher asked me if it was a flatbed trailer. When I confirmed that it was she said that they'd already received multiple calls on this driver and that they were looking for him. I confirmed the trailer license number and gave her the other information I had.


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Oh, by the way, I did call Mike Elliot and relay the incident to him directly. I also let him know that I would be filing a complaint with DOT, and with my company personally. He said that he would "talk to" the driver, and that he did not put up with this type of thing. I asked him to send me a disciplinary report. It will be interesting to see if anything happens.
Drivers like this not only give trucking a bad name, they are downright dangerous. It is important that we raise our standards of safety and are not mediocre about the way we drive, or the type of drivers we tolerate. This is why certain companies have become the industry leaders not only in safety, but also in size among owner-operator based carriers. Safety is no accident, and I encourage anyone who reads this to take a little extra time while you're driving, and not to put up with the unsafe practices of other drivers.
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