I feel lower than snake crap right now.

I just need to get something out of me.

I got let go a couple of days ago. 42 years old and it's the first time I've ever been let go from a company. I should be ok till I get another job financially. I'm a trucker and I have some savings after all but man, this job was my dream job. I was running day cab for a grocery chain, home daily and off on fridays and saturdays.

We were using a trailer at one of our stores for cold storage as their cooler had gone out on them and we had to keep the reefer full. This was a very tight dock and dang near tough to see in after dark as when the store closed. I hooked up, pulled the trailer out and got it onto the street where there's light. I looked in my mirror and noticed something was...off.

I got out and looked. Someone had damaged the axle I was maybe the 5th or 6th person that had gone out to fill this trailer. I stopped, reported the damage to dispatch. Took some photos of the axle and put the trailer back where I found it.

Of course my report went up the chain. I spoke with my ops manager, terminal manager and safety about it. The verdict was, they couldn't pull any camera footage from the store for some reason so safety determined it "might" have been me that damaged it. So I was let go on Friday. I was also told no damage would be reported on my MVR and the boss was gonna keep his ear to the ground for other jobs.

My dispatcher backed me up saying it couldn't have been me. Ops and terminal manager both fought for me and they said they didn't believe it was me and they were going to find the driver that did it but safety had made up their mind. I just feel lost as hell at the moment because here I am at middle age and I've never been unemployed in my life. I feel off center. I'm taking steps though. I'm headed to the DMV next week to pick up some more endorsements and I have an appointment for a TWIC in a week but I just really had to get this stuff off my chest.

I could go back over the road, but I spent so many years watching life go by as I was chasing dollars from coast to coast I kind of dread the thought of doing it again with the concern I'll get stuck for good in it.

Like I said, sorry for the sob story. I just had to get this stuff off my chest. I'm still kind of in shock how I went from a Driver of the Month to nothing in the span of about four days.


How do you shrug this stuff off? I've met plenty of drivers who never seemed to care if they got let go but I'm having a hell of a time with it.

 

I appreciate it. Still, knowing whoever did that is still there and working while today for the first time in three years I haven't gotten a message from dispatch for a load is kinda rough. I'm really gonna miss those people.

 

Man, if those dock cameras had been working I feel this would have been a different outcome. I'm taking steps though. Gonna see about that TWIC (I'm in a port city) and going for doubles and tankers endorsement possibly tomorrow. Also applied to about 15 companies so far this weekend. Also studying for hazmat today. I've been pulling reefer my whole career. Heard there's actually some ok money in tanker work.

 

No, it looked like someone tagged something with the tandems somewhere between the store and the truck stop where it was to be fueled. The forward axle's wheels were ####ed off to the left.

You're absolutely right and normally that's what would have happened. The problem is when I say that dock is tight I really mean it. You can't really squeeze yourself back that far to take a look and you can't really see a thing because they shut off all the lights including the dock lights.

 

I reside near Mobile, AL. I'm familiar with Prairie Farms. I use to bump into them from time to time on my runs as we both delivered for Aldi.