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 )

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.

Werner Enterprises tied with Schneider National with 21 fatal crashes. Swift was first place with 27 fatal crashes.

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 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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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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