Backed into a utility pole

Little harsh Powderjoints, but then again maybe it will make him think twice about safety. Powderjoints is right in that you are in a very high risk field and need to pay extra attention and focus 100% on safety and what is going on around you. Like he said, one little accident or mishap out there could very easily cost lives. There is a reason that the pay is high out there and not every shlub should be out there doing that job.

 

I take bad things as learning experiences as well. I bet you will never back into a pole again! I got an overweight ticket on my very first load and after that I became an expert on sliding tandems I am always legal now. One day you may be able to do u turns around poles blindside It is true that you have to memorize your surroundings and if you have any doubt that you may have forgotten something and you are in a tight spot, goal.

 

Well, I sure don't see where he is NOT taking it seriously. Would you prefer that he just give up and go flip burgers? Or maybe impale himself with a Samurai Sword?

Sure, it is a dangerous job. It requires having your eyes open and your mind on the job. But are you trying to say that YOU have never made a mistake?

As far as him having being "babing" (whatever the heck THAT means,) would you prefer that everybody just jump down his throat, grab his belly button from the inside and turn him inside out?

 

I don't think people get mad, but I have seen truckers make fun of guys for doing it. I'm sure they won't think it's funny when they get hit. I've seen guys that you could tell could not back up for crap, but they walked their butt back there and checked and hit the spot safely which is all that matters in my book.

 

The only time it has happened is on rigs (where company men are crazy about every minute) and delivering to fracs where other drivers pile up behind me. In both cases it doesn't matter, I'm getting out. Not doing this again. About the danger side of it, when operating around pipelines, well heads, guide wires, those types of things there is a whole set of additional safety rules and hitting those things is a pink slip no matter what the reason. This pipeline was still in the trench-digging phase, but still doesn't make it any less of an issue really.

 

It seems backwards now, oilfield is the only one hiring new drivers and the road haulers here want experience and pay better. My goal is to get the 2 years experience I need to get out of water hauling, but that doesn't mean I don't care about the job or the people I work with.

 

Powderjoints makes a valid point, and is perhaps the reason I'm most upset at myself. This isn't something that could be chalked up to a lack of experience/knowledge or any other mitigating circumstances (example: the road giving giving out and why I wasn't held responsible for that). This was just stupidity plain and simple and jeopardizes the safety of myself, the equipment and the crews. I've asked myself a million times now how I could have done something like that and I guess it comes down to thinking I knew the situation instead of assessing it and then acting.

 

i always give people crap for racing around the truck stops and such

but it you have to stop and make the walk 10 times to get in the hole and not hit anything i have no problem cause if you hit something or someone it affects way more than just you

 

I don't see anything wrong with poking a little fun at a guy who has had a minor mishap. Most of us have earned the title of "Crash" at one time or another!

But I'm sure that he and his supervisor have had enough work discussions about it that we don't need to jump down his throat. That is all I was saying.