First accident and it is not small..... Will they fire me?

Was this during the day or at night?

 

I think you blew a steer. That looks like what expert tire techs call, an impact split. I think the tire blew and that's when you hit the guardrail. That's somewhat out of your control. My guess is that you won't get fired, but I really can't say. At least you didn't roll the truck or jack knife. Don't worry about it, driver. Make sure you so a very thorough pretrip.

 

Years ago, many bosses would take Phoenix Heavy Haul's stance, beat it,,NEXT, because there was a glut of drivers, good drivers, and a bad one didn't need to be tolerated. Today, this driver won't be fired for this, there's no "other party suing", and merely equipment damage. With the lack of drivers, it has to be a lot worse than this for dismissal. Quite frankly, I'm disappointed with some respnoses, make something up to get off the hook, and with no proof, it's entirely possible to lie your way through this and head for next disaster. I do agree, it was entirely the drivers fault, unless than guardrail jumped out in front of them, and I've never seen that. Just another example of who is doing our jobs in this country, it's not just trucking, I heard an ad on our local "oldies station", the announcer says, "if your boss won't let you listen to classic rock, just quit",,,Really? The freakin' local sports bar is closing. When have you ever heard of that? Why? Can't get anyone to work. So, THIS is why our system is so out of whack today, to compensate for these sub par workers screwups. Man, I don't know what else to say,,,

 

Oh it is. Before i got out of the post office they forced me to take a cpap test or be fired for cause. And as at the time my being fired would have hurt my team driver (dad) i took the test. Machine was $2500 because my insurance at the time wouldnt cover it. And i cant get a 2 year card now. Additionally i pay around $600 a year out of pocket for parts and i usually gotta get a new machine every 2-3 years

 

Wow! I'm seeing a lot of judgement against the driver with little evidence here. I see a lot of damage in the steering assembly. No evidence that he jumped the guardrail. Not saying it was a mechanical issue that caused it, also not saying it wasn't. I just do not have enough information to make a judgement. If it was a mechanical failure, in a narrow lane, it's entirely possible that it happened before he could even realize there was a problem. Then again, it could be a micro sleep episode. I myself, would need a report from a mechanic before throwing a driver under the bus.

 

Oh, don't worry, they'll go over this, but will ultimately be deemed "inconclusive" because of no evidence, actually to this drivers favor. I'm not bragging in the least, but I've driven a LOT of trucks, some in way worse shape than this, and NEVER had a steering part fail. I've caught extremely worn parts before they failed, but I just don't see a newer truck like this with those issues, yet. To blame an equipment failure is really a cop out, like the "mystery deer" or the "person brake checked me",,and a "wasn't me" attitude, and again, they will probably be okay, but if I was the boss, this would signal a red flag, worse things could be down the road, and bosses that deal with drivers for years, can easily see a pattern, a pattern the company could absorb years ago,, but not today.

 

Hmm, maybe the company running bias-ply on the front, THAT would explain a lot.