Got Fired Due To Accident, Who Can Help

I'm sorry but you have the wrong definition here. a "Right To Work" state means you do not have to join a union to work. It has nothing to do with firing. A "At Will" or "Employment At Will" state means the company does not need a reason to let you go. A very common mistake. I didn't know the difference either until I went to work for a company that had a terminal that half the drivers were union and the others were not.

 

Maybe the cheap companies. I was involved in a two person fatality accident and the reports went out for the fatalities but I was not at fault in anyway. We've had drivers where people have killed themselves by jumping in front of the truck and nothing negative is put into their driver records. OR any safety review after the accident report has been filed. Our safety department looks at each accident differently and they do not develop a profile on a driver. A driver could have a shift where there's more accidents than another area. We've even had driver accidents where the street signs were the cause of the accident. So not all companies think every truck accident is preventable. If a driver is at fault and he does have 1 preventable the company most likely will let him or her go. The first preventable extra training is required. We're paid more than normal to operate safely so the company expects us to. However, they give a fair shake at any investigation and never jump to conclusions. It's just one more benefit for working your way out of the cheap compmaies.

This driver was too close to the vehicle in front of him period. There's no way a truck could move 4 or 5 feet unless he was rammed by a speeding truck. The correct action was taken but I don't blame him. I blame the CDL schools for the lack of defensive driving training. They don't teach how to drive a truck or take care of it all they want is for the student to get the CDL and move on.

 

I agree with you 99.7%, the other .3% is that the companies aren't running their own programs efectively (mega companies that is)..in to much rush to get the body behind the wheel of a truck...so it isn't just the schools not teaching it also falls on the shoulders of the companies training...and the fact that there are to many "4 wheelers" behind the wheels of big rigs...who probably shouldn't be driving AT ALL, NO MATTER WHAT THE VEHICLE!

 

Husband had one week to go with high recommendation from his mentor. Last night in the snow and ice he got in a accident. Slow lane truck going slow - he was passing at 25 mph when noticed the other truck braking. He had poor visibility. Car was swerving into lanes but was sideways in his lane so he couldn't see the lights. Car staightened out, he had slowed to 5 mph by then and hit them. No one was injured. Car was damagedm truck had some damage. Wife got out screaming how she kept telling him to get new tires, his are bald and he was swerving all night.

His mentor was right next to him. They pulled over and discussed it - mentor said there was not one thing he would have done differently. He says he will be fired. Now he owes them school and is unemployable. Any advice?

 

Don't pass in bad weather ???

 

First off he may not get fired.
Secondly his mentor is an idiot for having him pass people in a snow storm.
Did this rocket scientist of a mentor get the other truck to stop and provide an extra witness, did he get a name at least?
Now your husband will have a strike against him and that will make it harder to get on at places, I wish you alot of luck, and I would be suspect of "mentors" or trainers in the future if they are telling him to pass someone on a bad night like that.

Just my opinion

 

Let me understand... The weather was so bad everyone was 25mph and below and the mentor was letting the trainee drive and pass??

It takes an experienced driver to even attempt to pass let alone drive in extreme conditions. If it's that bad my thoughts would be thinking about where to pull over.

A good trainer limits the trainees responsibility and gradually builds him up. Winter driving takes more than 6 weeks to learn. I might let one drive after the roads have been cleared and salted. First you are going to learn to drive. It's a bad decision on the trainer, the way I see it. Of course he wouldn't do it any different. He doesn't know any better. Probably needs more training himself. Since your husband was behind the wheel, he is 100% responsible. Blind leading the blind story again. Luckily nobody was killed. If you can't stop in time, you are driving too fast for conditions.

 

The truck he was passing was going 5 mph. The other trucks were going 55. Mentor concurred that he would go about 55 when he asked him. But he stayed very slow with no pressure from the mentor. Just didn't want to continue behind the 5mph.

 

If you hit someone because you can't stop, you are driving too fast. Period. It doesn't matter what the other yahoo's were doing. I wouldn't weigh the resonsibility on your husband so much as I would the trainer. But that's not how the companies look at it. Was it preventable? Yes! You said the visibility was bad. 55 mph was too fast.
How long has the mentor been driving?

Back in my training days I was sleeping when we got to the customer. Trainer was tired and asked me to back in the dock. I was about six inches off center. I was going to pull forward and realign. Trainer frantically waved me to come back. I did and broke a two foot piece of 2x4 on the already ragged out, torn weather guard. I had to pay $400 out of pocket because I was at fault even though the trainer was waving frantically. It was a $2 repair but I bought them a new one. Moral of the story, the trainee is responsible behind the wheel.

 

fooor real dude. if i'm even hesitant on traffic i'll leave so much room. i dont understand how you'd need to slam on the brakes in traffic on the highway due to traffic stopping short unless you're way too close. i do the crawl thing too just idle it in 4th or 5th. let everyone pass me i dont care.