I was in my third accident. I do my pretrip and post trip. I actually drive the speed limit. All my accidents were minor damages. Only 2 points on my record. 7 months experience. The last accident I backed a trailer into another. Minor damages that I could have repaired but I reported it. I’m at a job that I like now but we drop a ton of trailers daily and my backing is not there. I had backed 10 times before getting the job outside of school. I have had the position for 3 months. I actually want to get training to do the job safely but I’m wondering if it is worth it and I’m just unemployable. I know that if I got 2 days of help nailing a 45-45 Ild have it. I don’t want to make excuses or get overinflated good news. What do I need to do to be safer on the road and what should I do if they fire me?
Probably fired and want more training
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by They Call Me Miss Frizzle, Oct 28, 2020.
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First cardinal sin (for me) is the statement about cost of repairs. When was the last time the run of the mill normal driver had to pay to get anything repaired? To the person having the accidents it's rarely to never a big deal. If someone rolled a shopping cart into the side of their personal vehicle, I'm sure that their attitude would be a lot different. The fact is that a lot of new people get into accidents and a lot of companies have a three strikes rule. I am not sure what type of a fleet you are running on, but I used to tell people that I strongly advised them to get off the account we where on because at three, they would get terminated. Sometimes they would listen and sometimes, they'd end up getting fired within days to weeks later. If you know that there was a strong chance of getting fired for a third accident in X amount of time, you really needed to triple check your spaces and be down right paranoid. I would not wait to get fired. I suggest that you get on the horn, contact your safety department and or training department and ask for some personal training even if it means going back to zero (trainee status). if there are trucks and trainers that run local, that is where you need to be, you need to be backing and moving in close quarters several times a day. Good Luck!
Canadianhauler21, Coffey, blairandgretchen and 2 others Thank this. -
Thank you sir! I actually feel ridiculously guilty every time I have a delay or am not productive. I called them minor cost accidents because I would prefer to pay the damages myself if I could and I could afford to. I actually...really want to run with a trainer. I had been waiting for months. But it did not occur to me to reset to trainee status. I had tried multiple avenues of getting additional training that ended badly. I tried getting a more experienced teammate but he tried to get me fired and caused unsafe driving conditions (intentionally kept me from sleeping during my 10s, set me up for accidents, reported me for his mistakes so I had to stay up to prevent them.) My backing just sucks currently. It’s improved. But I learned to straight line at my new position. I considered switching companies to get more training. Thank you for a viable option.
blairandgretchen and truckdriver31 Thank this. -
What company is this? For the sake of other new drivers that actually want training.
Coffey and truckdriver31 Thank this. -
nredfor88, Coffey, truckdriver31 and 1 other person Thank this.
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meechyaboy, nredfor88, Coffey and 4 others Thank this.
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I work for CR England. A lot of drivers can’t do a 45-45 and struggle with their backing. Some of my problems with training and resetting to zero...there is no guarantee that you will back. Trainers do not have to let you by company and we drive team during training. Another reason why I called it minor...a lot of drivers don’t report damages at that degree or at all. It just felt amoral to say nothing. I actually want to improve but I’m not positive that the training I need is available here. I’ve been on the waitlist for a while. I love my job and managers but I’m not confident that I should drive until I get more training.
blairandgretchen and truckdriver31 Thank this. -
TripleSix, gentleroger, Coffey and 4 others Thank this.
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So what do you do if you actually want to do the job well but your company doesn’t have options to or will not train you? I drop 4 trailers a day. I work hard. I just need to actually be spotted for several backs for a while instead of having a spotter once and just going from there. I’m not the worst driver in my fleet or company. I just actually want to report it when I do badly, improve, and contribute to my employer productively. Are there any companies that will hire me and take me from zero proficiency to professional driver? Ild rather pay student loans than lose my license.
blairandgretchen and truckdriver31 Thank this. -
Learn from your mistakes and keep working.
Some companies will still hire you.
Quit calling the accidents "accidents" and call them "incidents."
How many "incidents" have you had?meechyaboy, nredfor88, otherhalftw and 4 others Thank this.
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