Acceptable safety record?

A driver at a company i used to for once made a turn onto a street he had no business being on. While making that turn he ripped out a fire hydrant and let go of it in the middle of the street. After he finally got spun around he found the hydrant, lol he had to get out of the truck to move it to the side so he could get back down the road. Being on the phone with him at the time made me the only person to ever know it happened.

Watched a guy rip a red light and a street sign down in Philly. The sign said “Trucks No Right Turn”. Lmao. He kept catching gears...Nobody else saw anything, i minded my own business (as i should!).

In the future Op, keep them pole dubs quite.

As for your safety record, i have no problems with it. Sounds like you had a couple learning experiences and are a better driver for it.

 

I know what I would do, but I am old and set in my ways so it doesn't pertain to your situation as far a the camera goes. I do have advice as far as rubbing the post. NEVER volunteer any info even remotely like that, with zero damage.
Now I never through a long career trucking pulled for any large carrier, so take my advice any way you want to.

 

When suits roar a one way conversation you sit there for the necessary time until they run out of steam and kick you out. If you want to start them up all over again nearing apolexy ( A old word ) just shout BS. And they will wind up all over again.

It is common to gag people and not let them speak.

I am old enough that I should be somehow made illegal due to my very existence and desire to hammer out a bs problem in the suits office over something.

I have learned over and over and over don't tell them a #### thing. There are two things in that room. Something they think they know or created for themselves as a imaginary construct or the facts that YOU know really happened as you lived it.

A part of me has gotten to even theory that company culture is insufferable. We should ALL hand them 10 million robot trucks to play with if they want everything to be accident free.

The best companies I run for ask me two things.

"You break this with my truck? yes or no."

Yes.

Pay me.

And done. over with.

 

A few years ago, I got some stupid directions to get to a place and pick up a printing press. It turned out to be on a street that the city had decided to cut back to a one lane, one way street with all kind of stuff built in it and planted in it. The directions they gave I had to make a left OVER a tree infested flower bed they had built in the road, complete with as ign (didn't survive) to keep off with bicycles. lol I made the turn OVER it and found my address and it was a building with other businesses side by side and just a walk through man door, no way I was going to load in the middle of a busy street.
I went out the other end of the street and called them again, they said they saw me, why didn't I stop, as that is where they wanted me, they would bring the load out and have it ready next time. lol
I went farther down through town and could get on that street with a straight shot, but when I pulled up and got out to tie down the load, I still had tree limbs laying on my trailer and a female cop walking straight to me. I knew this was not going to turn out good, but what do you do at this point.
When she got there she congradulated me for making that turn, as she didn't think I could pull it off and didn't tie her traffic up. lol

 

I recently watched to guys at a pilot who were parked trailer doors to trailer doors ram each other repeatedly because each of them thought their nose was hanging out to far. It did draw quite a crowd but nothing ever came of it. Neither of them ever even stepped out of their truck.

 

If you were 20 feet apart at the merge point, the safest move is to slow down before the merge. You don't have to change lanes and you don't have to change back. Your blind side is not exposed. Stay safe man.

 

Each company has their own way to measure stuff. It doesn't matter if their way is what other companies do or they are the only one. Imagine trying to convince your wife she can't be mad at you for X because most wives allow X. You work for one company at a time. Make them happy and stay legal until you have experience and find a company that is a big improvement in pay, schedule, or conditions.

 

You snitched on yourself on the 1st one, dumb.

Some ##### behind a desk and computer calls "to talk to you" about your driving? Get right the F out. Do NOT let them tell you how to do your job.

 

A, Stop to check and if there's no damage then don't worry about it. Look at the trailers owned by most companys, scratches, scuffs, and gauges from rubbing things like tree branches at tight lots/streets or even other trailers. I doubt even 1% were reported, if the driver even noticed it happening (if it was their fault).

B. If there is damage, try to fix it yourself before reporting it so they wont have to worry about it and it shows strong personal responsibility on your part. Main witnesses to worry about are other employees of your company, other people wont really care unless the damage is to their property. I was in a really tight company yard in CA and accidentally scratched a neighboring trailer. The door hinge of my trailer gauged the other trailer, nothing major, just two 4 inch inch scratches through the metal from the lower hinge. Yard jockey saw it and came over to look, probably figuring I was going to ignore it. But I keep a tube of silicon in my truck in case I pick up a damaged trailer or have to change marker lights so I patched the scratches. Took before and after pictures and called my company to report it along with sending pictures of the damage and repair. Never heard anything about it after that. Yard jockey guy was impressed that I had such supply's.