Help I screwed up!!

Heck I made a turn in to a steep drive way for a lumber company in Tenn, hit the mailbox, they charge my co $1100 and never got fired. So don't worry to much about a little grass..

 

This story is not one of my proudest moments, but if it helps you feel better I'll tell it lol. Mind you this was a few years ago, when I too was a newbie. I was making a delivery to the Naval yard in Newport News Va (for some reason I can't remember the name of the base!). I went up the off ramp from 64 to the surface street that the base was on. Half way up the ramp there was a sign that read "all trucks must turn left" so, I got in the left lane at the top of the ramp only to see a sign that reads "all trucks over 22' must turn right". Well, I can't make the turn, so I put on the flashers and slowly started to back up. I just knew this was a bad idea. I hadn't backed up more then 10 feet before I felt the truck run into something. That something turned out to be a 90 something Chevy truck with a freshly relocated front clip. I mean totalled to the windshield up under the icc bumper. I didn't get fired. As a matter of fact, I called my dispatcher and she said "that's why we have insurance". Then the State Police show up. They tell me they are going to charge me with wreckless op. I freaked! But the cop was cool and just wrote me a ticket for inoperative lights because 1 of my reverse lights got broken in the crash. I paid $150.00 and it all went away.
I'm sure this isn't your companies first rodeo, and I would wager that you'll do fine with this. By the way, who do you drive for?

 

You just got to roll with the punches. We have all been there. I truly feel that you'll be ok. Good luck to you!

 

A company who hires driver fresh out of driving school knows that they are going to have to deal with this from time to time with new drivers. It is good of the company to be sending you to remedial training and not firing you, it will make you a better driver.

Just remember shat happens and as long as nobody gets hurt cars, signs and landscaping can be easily fixed so don't sweat it.

 

Here's another idea. Throw a few cones into your box in case you get into a situation where you need to back up towards other traffic or something. The school I just graduated from got a bunch of new cones given to them by the fire department. I'm going to ask Harold (the program coordinator) if I can grab a couple of the older cones to take with me in the truck. I figure if I get stuck somewhere and need to back up even just 10-20 feet, I'll throw on the four ways and brakes, grab the cones, head to the back and get traffic to back up, then drop a couple cones if necessary to make sure no one tries to do something stupid and drive into the path of my moving trailer

At the very least, I'd get out and go get traffic to back up so I know I didn't hit anyone. Maybe drop a cone on the side of the road just in front of the vehicle so that I know how far I can go by looking at the cone through the mirror as I back.

Hey, I know it sounds like overdoing it, but it's just way way way too easy to get into trouble with an 18 wheeler, especially when you consider the fact that just about every person in a 4 wheeler has no concept of what it's like to drive a truck. It's not their fault. They just don't know.

 

Heck I see 4 wheelers hitting orange barrels.. you think the cones will stop them???

 

lol this is true. I figure at the very least there's a better chance that I won't be blamed for the accident.

Police officer says "What happened? You decided to drive through the bright green cones in the middle of the road that the driver went out of his way to set up for YOUR safety?"

Hey, could happen lol

 

My hubby ran over a mailbox in his first 6 hours after being given his truck! We were worried that he was going to be fired, but it was fine. If your company told you that they were giving you remedial training that sounds like a good sign. Relax, you got your first incidents out of the way, the rest will get easier.