Accident showing with swift during training. Can I fight it?

So I was going to a warehouse in the busy city of Atlanta delivering to a Kroger (reefer) and there was a really tight entry to where it was a 90 degree angle. The previous day, my mentor went through the same entry and said "this is a really tight corner so I have to be careful". He got through after going slow.

A day later, I drove through it at night and went slow, but ended up cracking the front passenger bumper on a guard rail. The crack is only a few inches. I had to call swift and report it. I thought it was an incident, but apparently, it is listed as an accident. The mentor was up with me and was guiding me, I just wasn't able to get through it.

My problem is, I'm not sure that entrance is the way I was supposed to go through because after you back into the dock and get the trailer unloaded, he nor I ever drive back the way we came from as there is another entry that is much easier to get in and out of.

There is a guardrail where I got the accident for a reason. Maybe because they don't want trucks going that way. It's extremely tight, but the mentor said it was ok to go that way as he went that way previously.

It's been a few months since the accident and I am now solo, but it is what is keeping me from platinum status, but now I'm wondering if I can fight it or is it too late? I thought it was an incident, since no police were involved, but that isn't the case. Photos of the guardrail were taken at the time and sent in to safety and the location is still on file, so they will be able to see that there were two entrances. The mentor just told me to go into the 90 degree one.

 

Time to change companies; you're obviously not a valued employee.
Set up an orientation date with a new company then quit and get on with your life.
There's some really good companies that laugh at situations like this because they see good drivers getting thrown under the bus for simple things; now they can hire that driver and treat him right and put him in nice truck with all the driver amenities such a APU, refrigerator, etc.

 

Fight it for platinum status or because it shows up on you DAC report?
If it's for your DAC you can dispute it online through Hire Right >>> http://www.truckingcareersofamerica.com/file-dac-report-dispute-online/

 

Whether it was the right or wrong entrance, the point is you hit a stationary object, which is considered a Preventable Accident.

Even though it's not reported on your DMV record, it is still a Accident that could've been prevented, by you. It doesn't matter if your Mentor was guiding you, you're the one driving. If you weren't sure about the clearance, you should've got out of the truck and looked.

It'll fall off from their records in a couple years and chalk it up to being a Newbie and move forward.

Case Closed

 

DAC report is used as a form of slavery. Companies hit the DAC with minor stuff trying to force the driver to stick around.

 

do accidents really fall off after a couple of years???

 

You might want to ask the company if you can fight it.

Looking at this thread it looks like the accident will prevent you from getting platinum until one year after it happened.

Your story sounds real familiar. Someone had an almost identical incident in Chicago at about the same time.
https://www.thetruckersreport.com/t...entors-front-bumper-help.330608/#post-5615500

 

IIRC to achieve Platinum status you can have one preventable in the last 12 months, average at least 2100 miles per week, and be on time 99.5% of the time. You can look up the qualifying factors at any kiosk and see how you stack up. If you have any questions talk to your DM. The preventable should drop off after a year.

Getting to Platinum will open up Mac 30, giving you the ability to select from up to three loads. The quarterly bonus is $0.04 per mile.

Regarding trying to dispute the preventable, I doubt that you will be able to remove it. You were at the wheel when you hit something. Although you only put a small crack in the bumper/fender, that crack WILL get bigger because of shakes and vibrations on the road and require considerable expense to repair.

You learned a valuable lesson about planning and the need to GOAL even when moving forward. You also learned that Google Satellite View is invaluable for trip planning.

 

From what I gather with your post it could have been much worse.But the point is you were in full control of the truck.Learn from it and dont come up with excuses why it happened.

 

ok, but do these things fall off of your dac report in a couple of years as another poster stated?