Fired for speeding

I have a similar situation i was recently fired for getting 3 tickets in a year. 2 in march in my car 1 for 82 in a 70 and 60 in a 55 and 1 in october in my truck for doing 45 in a 40 and i worked for 1 of the bigger companies that it sucked working for them but needed th experience . But i went in for a annual review and the company decided to fire me and say that because i got 3 tickets in a year im a bad and unsafe driver. Also the guy that fired me also decided to tell me that i wont be able to get a job anywhere else and that my driving carrer is over. I wanted to know from any drivers if i should just give it up. I really dont want to and I lovve driving but I have a feeling that the guy is telling the truth. I do have alot against me because im 22 i only have a 1 year of driving experience 3 tickets and some other drivers said alot of companies dont hre young girls lke me. But i wanted to know from other drivers any suggestions. Thanks

 

Ladytrucker2go:

At 22 you're awfully young to get that many points. (I had the same thing happen to me at that age) it'll probably take a decade to clear that up.

You're a little young but try to get a TLC licence. Limo work out of a major city (pittsburg right?) has higher turnover, lower standards, and less background checks. plus driving faster is more expected. (rush to the airport, rush to the station, rush, rush, rush.)

You have to clean up good (it's a monkey suit job) and if you wreck a company car you're going to enter the world of indentured servatude (slavery) so be carefull.

It's an option you might want to look into untill your damage to your record clears up.

 

Pizza needs to stay hot, that may work in your advantage !!!

 

Lol. I tried looking into driving a limo but i would hate it and plus im too young. Only jobs i ever see are a nursing.

 

I think Schneider has something similar with tickets, you can't get more than 2 in any 12 month period and no more than 4 in 36 months.

Its not that they think you are a bad driver; but I mean...you are hired on to be a "professional" driver. Of all people, we should be aware of the speed limits and such since this is our job. If you keep getting busted for speeding, that shows to them that you are unable to follow speed limits / unable to obey the law. And if you get 3 within a year, despite the fact two were in your own car...that doesn't matter to them. Driving is driving.

Not only are they coming at this from a safety aspect, and making sure they have safe drivers on their rosters...but it also most likely gives them a nice discount on insurance; only employing drivers who are able to follow the law.

Im not trying to harp....just sort of showing what the trucking companies perspective probably is. I mean, if you were a company, would you hire you? Would you hire someone to drive your freight with the expectation of safety in mind, when they keep getting busted for going over the speed limit?

Anywho...as far as driving truck in the future...I dont know what to tell you as I think most companies have similiar policies. Plus they look back past 3 years into your driving record so you can't just simply wait for them to drop off. Schneider went back over three years for me and had a problem with a ticket that showed up as unpaid and they wouldnt hire me until I took care of it (it was paid...just a clerical error on the county's part).

But if you want to keep driving something, look into local gigs such as construction / cement trucks. They usually tend to be less strict.

 

Thanks for the advice. I can kind of understand but also at the same time I think that companies should at least give someone like me a chance vs just saying you have 3 tickets. Sorry. And end of story. I do think that when they are saying I have too many tickets there saying in a nice way im a unsafe or bad driver. I think that even with ticket if a company chooses to hire someone with tickets then give them a probation period like drive a year w/o any traffic tickets or go to some type of classes. Ive seen people with dui's or worse and get jobs. Now i feel with tickets i rather would choose to have a dui instead (but I dont drink). But had I known after getting my cdl even the most smallest thing would end my carrer I would not have paid more than $6,000 for the school I went to and I would have tried something else. Not to mention bc everytime I chnage my address I have pay bc I have a cdl. I really just screwed my self all the way around. But I cant find anything local im probably not looking in the right places. And as far as construction I dont know if thats something im capable of doing.

 

I wish I could tell you something different, but I can't. The sad fact is that ins companies have most employers by the "tennis fuzzys". They cannot hire someone who is assumed to be a risk. And the quickest way to become un-employable is with licence violations. Remember, FEDERAL law prevents discriminating against CONVICTS (it's right there on most aplications) but there is no protective clause against being discriminated against on this basis of "poor judgement".

Which is why if you have speeding tickets you will be further down on the list than an ex-con who is just out of prison for manslaughter.

When I was a limo/taxi driver I used to take a lot of alcoholics around (the loose their licences after a DUI conviction) and yet they often only needed to take a cab for about 2-3 months before they managed to get their licences back. Where as I had a speeding/points conviction that got my licence suspended for a year. (12 months) and it took me another 2 years to get my TLC back. Not to mention how badly I was raped on premiums for a while.

The catch has something to do with the revolving door DUI/Court/treatment programs. You get a DUI arrest, you plead down in court, you promise to go to six months of "counciling", you go a certain number of times that the treatment center can sign off on you (and collect payment from your insurance provider or whatever government program pays for it) and *bang* you can go and re apply for your licence because you've been "cured".

Speeding however is a revolving door that just adds cost to you. You get a ticket, you get points, ins co's raise your premiums. Ins companies WANT you to speed because it makes you a better source of income for them. That is why they let you keep your licence even though you have many many speeding tickets. How many other "crimes" can you commit numerous times and still be allowed on the streets?

(personally I still think the whole thing is a screw job, but you've got to play the game. And to play the game you've got to know the rules.)

Sorry you shelled out so much for a CDL, but you're probably stuck now. Believe me you can make a LOT of money in the limo buis, but that's your call. Keep an eye open for "switcher" or "Yard mule" work, since a lot of the time those things don't leave company property. And if you haven't paid that speeding ticket yet, get yer butt to court and fight it (try to get it reduced to some other charge, that's how the "game" is played)

Best of luck.

 

Were you able to get unemployment after you were fired? Did the employer appeal against you? They usually do, just to delay your benefits, even if they have an unwinnable case. I was fired by a mega-carrier that contracts with a "hired gun" company in Ohio that specializes in certain services for employers, including winning appeals to deny ex-employees any unemployment. It's a cruel world right now for the unemployed, what with the high unemployment rate, etc., so you need to avoid some of the common mistakes that will cause delays when filing your claim. I heartily recommend getting professional advice to be sure you don't make any mistakes BEFORE filing your claim. I recommend http://www.botweetyunemployment.com/ He is very knowledgable and affordable. I'm just sayin'.