Injured in a truck accident

TL;DR.



So, how's the weather in your area?

 

*Taking a deep breath*

First that is like 1/2 hour of my life that I will never get back and my eyes hurt....

That is a very unfortunate situation, and amazing 1st post. Why did you choose to come here to vent your frustration at this company?

Why didn't you go to the hoppital at the scene? Why didn't the trooper insist that you go to the hoppital after he was informed that you were jostled around in the sleeper?

At any time did the "Lead Driver" put his hands on you or restrain you in anyway? So why not just walk away or scream bloody murder at the first opportunity since his behavior was so disturbing?

Adults make alduts decisions the actions taken after this accident cannot be blamed on management at any trucking company. Since all of your wordly possessions were sold you had money why not pay for your own room? Why didn't your husband tell you to go home and meet you there? Why didn't he demand that he be transported to Cedar Rapids at that very moment?

I know this is not a popular opinion and I feel bad for your situation but you control your own life not CRST.

 

How do people drive for these companies?

 

Usually naivete. They simply don't know any better and buy into the recruiters spiel. Most new drivers are so desperate to get started they accept the first job offer that comes along.

Very few ever even think to do a search online for complaints or comments about a trucking company before they join.

 

i have heard many times over stay away from crst. this confirms that

 

Excellent post. I'm very sorry to hear this happened to you and hope you recover soon.

I seriously hope your medical bills are being fully covered and you're drawing workplace disability. You deserve everything you can get.

I know you're worried how this will affect both of your driving careers. If I owned an OTR company and you told me this story, I'd have absolutely no problem hiring both of you. There are so many "wrongs" here... but you and your husband are in the clear.

Get a lawyer and fight to make this "right". Hopefully you'll be well on your way to buying your dream home... if not actually living in it... once this is settled.

 

They spent 6 months investigating and ended up with CRST (Crash n' roll stunt team) I have no sympathy.

 

A lead trainer who is unqualified, negligent, or abusive, is probably the Number One reason why recent CDL grads quit, are fired, or in my case, take a company-approved extended leave -- never to return to trucking again. As an adult, middle-aged woman, in good physical condition, not overweight, well-educated, and experienced, like you, in the business world, I know what it is like to be appalled by unprofessionalism, at every level of the operations of these big, well-known carriers. But let's face it, most truck drivers are blue collar workers, or straight from the Army-Navy-Marines, and their only experience is biting the bullet, and dodging the blows, physical or psychological. In my personal case, I had not one, but four, dysfunctional trainers. Like you and your husband, I boarded these trucks with what I thought were realistic expectations: intending to take direction, forget my own preferences, expect the unexpected, and do whatever it took to get through my 2 or 3 months of training, without complaining. But most of all, I got into those trucks with a real and sincere respect for the lead driver, every time. It didn't last. I had one woman trainer and three men trainers. The woman, my first trainer, broke every rule in the book, and hid from the company that she couldn't drive after sundown because she had night blindness. She was younger, and I felt sorry for her, because she was supporting her kids who were at home with her mother. But when she made one bad decision call after another, and then became enraged because I had suggested 'the right way' each time, she decided she wanted me off her truck. Done. Next, please. Oh sorry, there's a shortage of women trainers - everywhere. The three men to whom I was subsequently assigned, so as not to wait extra weeks for another seat, were all psychos, but in different ways. But Mommywing's story really rang true, because there was a lead driver I drove with for all of one week before a truck breakdown; he wanted us to be in the same hotel room out-of-town. I said no. After that, he told the company he wanted me off his truck. You see, that is usually how it goes, I realize, looking back. The lead driver, irrationally acting out his own insecurities, starts looking at you cross-eyed, and then calls the company to make up some weird story. You never know what he, or she, has said about you. The last trainer I had was a man who definitely expected some kind of 'fringe benefits', rubbed up against me accidentally, played porno talk shows on the radio at full volume during my sleeping time in the bunk, and finally got me so upset when he freaked out trying to back the truck out of a tight spot that when he asked me to get out and spot him - well, I was so stressed I didn't know what I was doing, and lost my footing, falling all the way down on my back. Amazingly, I wasn't hurt at all, but he went on a yelling streak that night which only ended when we refueled at a truckstop. There, I asked a security guard to help me get my things off the vehicle, at which point the lead driver tried to drive off, pretended he was going to run me down in the parking lot, and threw my logbook out the driver window. As Mommywing has observed, "lead drivers" and "trainers" receive no personality evaluations before they are placed in their positions. Rookies are totally at their mercy. Further, a man like this knows how to intimidate a woman, which is exactly what John was doing after Mommywing's accident. He is still calling her two weeks later, and she is probably going to have to put in a police report. Sadly, the man is not mentally stable and may come after her, in a love-hate daze, believing in his warped mind that she is responsible for the fact that he lost his employment. A careful reading of some of the horror stories on this website will show that not only women, but men, face worse ordeals with trainers than many drivers face in years of driving. Right now, there is no reason to believe that the number of good trainers is increasing. On the contrary, the desperation among truck drivers, who now must train to make a living, whether or not they have any aptitude for it, means the number of incompetent trainers is going up. New drivers - be warned.

 

Get a good lawyer and sue them. This is why im glad i never went through places like Crst, Werner, etc. when i first started. I went to Netts, got my class A and literally fell into my present job..But thats a story for another thread.
I hope you situation improves for you and you return to the road. There are a lot of good companies out there. First is foremost though, get better, get back to where you were, pick up the pieces and start over. Dont let the incident control you ,,you control the incident. Get the help you need and deserve.
Good luck

 

You sir, are not corect in trying to pin the blame on this innocent woman, did you not read the whole post, or could you not comprehend it