‘Like a rented mule.’ Amazon worked truck driver to exhaustion before crash, suit says
A truck driver in Tennessee spent as long as 49 hours on the road without a proper break while making deliveries for Amazon, according to a federal lawsuit.
Then he fell asleep at the wheel.
Now Timothy Weakley from Johnson City, Tennessee, is suing Amazon.com Inc. and its contractor, AAA Freight Inc., for negligence and violations of federal drive-time laws after he crashed his tractor-trailer into a concrete barrier on Halloween.
“This complaint alleges and will show that Amazon and AAA worked plaintiff into the ground like a rented mule and intentionally deprived plaintiff of sleep which gave rise to the Oct. 31, 2019 traffic crash,” the complaint states.
A representative for AAA Freight did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News, but an Amazon spokesperson said the trucking company is “one of thousands” it contracts with to move freight.
“We require our contractors and their drivers to comply with strict policies that ensure safety, among other things,” Amazon said in a statement. “We are actively looking into the claims, as we always do when these rare, but unfortunate situations arise.”
Weakley — who is representing himself — filed suit in the Western District of Washington on Jan. 15, court records show.
According to the complaint, Weakley started working as a commercial truck driver for AAA Freight in May 2019 hauling deliveries almost exclusively for Amazon.
Federal law mandates the amount of time drivers can spend behind the wheel between breaks. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, drive-time shouldn’t exceed 14 hours without taking “10 consecutive hours off duty.”
But Amazon and AAA Freight routinely ignored that law, Weakley said in the complaint.
On Oct. 15, Weakley was ordered to drive a 21-hour shift without taking a break, the lawsuit states. When he resisted, Weakley said AAA Freight told him Amazon was its “biggest and best paying customer.”
“Occasionally we have to bend the rules in order to appease them,” AAA Freight said, according to the complaint.
AAA Freight then reportedly doctored his driver’s log to comply with federal regulations.
Weakley was assigned several long drives as the month wore on — including a 49-hour shift between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, the lawsuit states.
When he told AAA Freight he was out of hours, Weakley said the trucking company responded by assuring his driver’s log would be taken care of.
“Why do y’all keep forcing me to drive in violation like this? This is foul,” Weakley said, according to the complaint. “I’m running on fumes out here.”
He had just finished a 22-hour delivery from Missouri to Tennessee on Oct. 31 when AAA Freight finally dispatched him home, the lawsuit states.
According to the complaint, Weakley fell asleep at the wheel driving east on I-26 around 10:30 p.m. that night and crashed into a concrete barrier.
He said Amazon and AAA Freight’s failure to exercise reasonable care cost him pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of earnings and medical care and is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 10:40 AM.
