How many preventables before disciplinary action?

I'm not real sure about just flat out lying to an employer is the best course of action, but I would not volunteer information either.

 

Look, I would never advocate lying to a company, but if you make a report that report has to be tracked by the company for insurance reasons. As has been said before, never volunteer information unless directly asked. Flat tire with a bent rim? How do you know then previous driver who had that trailer didn't hit something and bend the rim before you got the trailer? Rub marks on the trailer? Are you absolutely, 100% sure you put those rub marks there?

Certainly you should accept responsibility for your actions, but don't blindly accept responsibility for other people's actions too. That is a fast track to the unemployment line. Little things happen in life. Heck, yesterday I bumped my car over a curb backing out of a badly designed parking spot. Got a nice scratch on my side skirt for my troubles, too. Should I report it to my insurance company and get to pay the higher rates, or just fix it myself?

 

Reporting a scratch on a trailer is a bad, bad idea. Just driving down the road puts scratches on a trailer. Unless you have flat out tore some #### up don't report it just make a commitment to learn from your mistake and don't repeat the same mistake.

 

Just so we're clear, neither one of you have a clue.

Major accidents... a fatality and you're gone. A bad accident just involving vehicles, they will give you a second chance- not a third. Tickets... on the 5th moving violation in three years, you're gone. Minor scratches on trailers are usually overlooked.

Now, as far as the bias against training companies. About half of our drivers at any given time have under 1 year of total experience. Yup, Prime trains. Good darn thing too, because no one would get a chance to get into the industry if SOMEONE didn't. All you supertruckers who have a problem with Prime, Roehl, Swift etc... I bet YOU wouldn't let someone with no experience into the cab of your truck, would you? Yep, the majority of people Prime brings into the new driver training program don't even get to the point that they earn a CDL... and there are still a bunch of boneheads doing stupid things. How about you lay off of the newbs, and give them a hand the next time you see them doing something stupid, and educate them a bit?

 

"The best policy is don't ask???" Come on! The best policy is to be as informed as possible!


...and I'm a bit grumpy. Taken' awhile to get served at Denny's today. GRRR! Grump, grrr...

 

Good to hear it may not be as serious as first expected.
I think you have a typo tho, in saying "Disciplinary action is not taken until after you have had 4 "preventable accidents".
I would think you mean 4 preventable "incidents", rather than "accidents".

I hope things go well for him, but would have expected a short re-training session by Prime.
None of us are faultless either, btw, and do understand things can happen while newer.
I still consider any mistake I make, however slight, unacceptable, but a learning experience.

I had an incident in early stages when pulling out of an inside dock. I saw my (open) trailer door clearance was tight (~2") before passing an I-beam at the dock opening, so I was at a crawl, then stopped inches prior to passing beam. Clearance was tight, but ok. BUT, when I eased the clutch out to move forward, a bit of slack in my door chains allowed that door to move out "just enough" to hit the I-beam, and damage the trailer door.

I felt confident I used prudent caution, by slowing, and even stopping within inches prior to the tightest point. I was careful & I did have 2" clearance. But I didn't expect or foresee (not many would) the trailer door moving "outward" just a tad, but enuf to make contact, by slowly letting clutch out to start moving forward.
Preventable incident? I didn't see it that way, but the company labeled it that way.

As well as being careful 100% of the time, always watch out for the unexpected too.

BTW, I think the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" thing got misinterpreted in the process. Sure, we ALL need to ask, that's a given.
On the "Don't tell"... well,, your mileage may vary.