%&^*$##...... I screwed up!

Mr. Jones does not own a company. He has been driving for 2 years and leased his first truck from Swift about 4 weeks ago. I'm so happy that he and some of you are so good you've never made any mistakes.

New drivers in training companies usually get one free pass...but it's really not free. It will go on your record. You need to find out whether you will be dinged for a preventable incident or a preventable "accident" (or collision) because they are different critters and carry different weight. May has insurance for stuff like this. Knight, also being a training company, will first, understand a little more than one of those "perfect" owner/op companies and will, second, straighten things out with May. Both companies are self insured.

We all made mistakes when we were fresh off the vine. Mine was a trailer door that swung loose of the chain latch that was supposed to hold it open. It went around and scratched the fender of a beat up old May daycab. It's a preventable incident on my record. It was preventable because I could have kept it from swinging around with a bungee cord and should have known that three months into my career.

Don't sweat it until there's a reason to. You might have to do a LCQ class. (Local Close Quarters)

Like others have said, thank you for manning up on this.

 

Mr. Jones does not own a company. He has been driving for 2 years and leased his first truck from Swift about 4 weeks ago. I'm so happy that he and some of you are so good you've never made any mistakes.


We all had the ROOKIE moment , I backed over my new BOSS's daughters car 33 years ago. As others posted you MANNED up to it and handled things in the proper manner.

 

Be ready to pee in the cup Monday at 8 ...

 

I hope you make it out ok.
Some company's will play it cool till you hit the terminal.
I also refuse to park on the end of a row. If I have too I will park nose in so my trailer is exposed on the corner. I would rather them hit that than the truck.
But really I do not like row ends. These things happen allot, it is not just you or a few others, and not just new drivers. It is all part of spacial awareness that comes with time.
And even a tired experienced driver can do it from time to time.
And many will run. They will haul butt out of the lot and hope nobody got the truck number. I have seen this several times.

 

And your response is telling me that you've apparently picked up sixty years worth of experience in the 2 years you've been driving. What's the secret?

Guy made a mistake, plain and simple. Like my old boss used to say, "you show me a man who never makes mistakes and I'll show you a man who ain't doing anything." Glad to hear they kept you on buddy.

 

The first time I had an accident was in a truck. I was blind side backing going about 2 mph, idle speed in my companies parking lot. I knew I was getting close and then I felt a small bump. I knew what I did right away. I pulled forward about three feet and then got out to look. I had backed into the corner of a customer truck. I called security, then my boss, and then my boss again. Security came down and wrote what happened on a regular notepad, no form or nothing. My boss when I called him just said Ok. I thought about it for a while and called him back and told him that he might want to come down and look at it and take pictures, he didn't want to but I talked him into it. It was kind of sad I had to tell him to come down and look at it. I put two dents in the corner of the truck, the biggest one was the size of a fist. I never heard anything about it since and that was two years ago.

The other incedent was not my fault. I was stopped at a rest area and one of the other two guy traveling with me pulls up beside me in a truck and I notice that he is getting close. He clears my trailer with his truck, but he doesn't clear my trailer with the front on his trailer and he wacks the hinges on my trailer with the corner of his. One bent hinge on mine and two holes in his trailer. I still give him crap over that and he gives me crap about the previous story. We looked at the damage and continued on our way. We talked to the boss about it when we got back an hour later. Once again no concern on his part, but we did end up fixing the trailer hinge the next day. The holes/dents did not go all the way through on the other trailer. So far I have been pretty lucky with my boss being the way that he is. Although I will ask the DOT manager about my record the next time I see her.

 

Chromedome has it right. A company will play you until you get to the terminal. Your DM knows nothing. It's up to safety. It all depends on the company and time with them. I've seen many fired for first offense just because they were new employees. Someone that has been with a company a couple years has more leniency. To tell you yes or no is shear speculation. The fact that it happened on private property instead of on the road is in your favor. If DOT is ever involved especially with the CSA2010, you can plan your exit.
If they keep you, you can expect some payroll deductions, a drug test maybe, counseling and/or extended probation.

The fact you manned up gets any drivers respect. %#*# happens and you learn from it. You turn, your eyes are watching 360 degrees. To over pinhook is better than not. The lot being full, most likely they are parked outside the lines making your turns even more difficult. The beginning and end of your shifts are when most accidents happen. We all have to operate tired and you have to try and get off the road before that point. Though you wanted to get closer, you can get up earlier to finish a trip out. A 10 hour break is the same no matter what time you start it. It's just a matter of shortening your driving day which sometimes you have to do to stay safe. Just because 11 hours are available doesn't mean you have to push yourself to the brink. Next time stop at the rest area. A few bucks cost you alot more. Lesson learned.

Good luck and let us know the out come. You sound like a good person that deserves a second chance. You should be alright but none of us can read your safety guys mind. If your DM quietly routes you towards a terminal, you can expect something is up.

 

Glad things worked out for you, and I think it says something about your company the way they handled it.


I think what you experienced happens to almost everyone when they start driving, whether they hit something or not. When you first start, you are so nervous and uncomfortable with driving a truck that you pay attention to everything. Later, when you get experience, you can relax because you have a better understanding and feel of what is happening, along with the experience to know how to handle certain situations.

You have just hit what I consider the most dangerous stage of driving a truck. Just starting to get comfortable with what is going on, so that you are not so hyper sensitive to everything going on around you, but not so experienced that you really deserve the level of comfort you will feel. Leaves you not paying attention as much as you should being a noob and will have you driving a little beyond your abilities, putting you in situations you shouldn't be in (not watching your mirrors, not realizing that you are following to close, etc.).

I see it with a lot of drivers, and I experienced it myself by taking out a mailbox three days after getting my CDL. It's hard for many people, but you need to keep forcing yourself to remember to pay attention to every thing, then remember and put into practice what you learned in school and your companies safety training.

I expect that this will be a blessing for you, as the reminder of it will put a little fear into you and keep you on your toes. I bet you think of this experience every time you make a turn for a long time to come, which will keep you out of trouble. This little learning experience could very easily stop something big from happening in your future.

Sounds to me like you have a great attitude about what happened, and will learn what you need to from it. I expect that you'll go a long way towards becoming a great driver, and I wish you the best.

 

Sorry to hear that man. I hope everything works out for you and they won't let you go. Also just one small tip. At the later hour you more likely to find a spot at some oddball truck stop than at a big brand like Pilot. I try to avoid them as much as I can and only go there when I need fuel or a shower.