Well in all honesty it sounds to me like. You did not get enough training. Most likely your trainer used you for a log book. Then did all the city driving, (probably backing also) But those were not accidents, they were incendants HUGE difference. Take a week off then figure out who you want to work for and apply. You will be fine. And after this you will remember to SLOW DOWN AND USE YOUR MIRRORS! You don' have to move tandem in my, you have to use your mirrors, and take it a little wider when needed. Don' give up you can do this!
Hey, pretty sure we all have some story about things like this. I was working for a local dump truck company driving the only sleeper KW, first time at an unloading place told the boss that it was really tight, they sent me there 10 more times, the eleventh time I ripped the corner of the bumper off on a wall... that teached me that next time I will just say I won’t go there. Now, I have my own company, I had a rookie driver made a U turn and got nervous and messed up the cab fairings of my volvo vnl780, a week later He messed up the front bumper... took a deep breath talked to him about being careful and using your mirrors and just fixed the truck, is not the end of the world. To answer your question, it depends on the company, big carriers care about that to reduce insurance costs and avoid potential expensive lawsuits, smaller companies care more about the driver and keep those wheels rolling. I am in Florida and move mostly central and eastern US, I have 2 Volvos that need drivers. I am looking for drivers now, message me if you are interested, I don’t care about those little accidents as long as you learned something from them. Don’t give up, it can only get better.
I remember once time pulling into the customer outside of Calgary and walking back to the trailer to see yellow paint on the rub rail...... a true WTF moment. How did that get there? Didn't click until the next morning that the last yellow post was at customs in Coutts. OOPS! There are times no one is at their best (and 4 AM after 10 hrs of driving is one of those times. You either learn to slow the heck down and give yourself a large margin of error, or you give up driving. You choose.
I can't say I have hit anything in all my years, but when I am tired, stupid prevails... And I mean STUPID. Just dumb rookie stuff. None of us are immune from it. S it happens.
I scaped up, scratched up and dented a few things in my early days too. Everything I did, I learned from and all those lessons made me a better driver for it. I’ve been accident and incident free for over 20 years now. Nobody starts out being the perfect driver, we learn to be better over time.
Ever noticed how almost every truck and trailer is all beat to hell after being on the road for a few hundred thousand miles? What you are seeing is literally dozens of unreported "incidents" in motion. Don't be so hard on yourself. But also, be honest. Plenty of ways to use that CDL that does not involve a 53 foot trailer. Maybe do something else smaller scale for awhile and build that confidence back up..
Don’t give up go else where like start at Walmart get a nice big stapler and a piece of paper write on there.. swing wide it’s a fudgin trailer. Then staple it to your forehead. You may not be able to read the paper but you’ll feel the pain. With that being said I clicked on this thread cuz of the title... thinking to myself “ fired? Impossible no one gets fired unless they really mess up. You didn’t mess up bad but they got rid of you before you did. Which is what any of us would have done. So start applying places as I always say... Russians don’t care lol
If you are really concerned about your career, then a refresher course at a community college might go a long way toward showing your prospective employer that you are taking your career seriously and are willing to learn from your mistakes.
sometimes you can slice the sidewall wide open. i actually applied to a job (but never took it) and was told in the interview, "you curb a tire, you're fired". it was a former LTL carrier in my area, Taylor & Taylor, that had race cars, and they needed a driver for thier race team truck, which is what i was applying for. tires cost money, casings cost money. we are supposed to be professionals, so curbing tires is not allowed.
