Is it over before it even began? Options?

Welcome, you awoke a sleeping giant, but Chinatowns references are sound, once you figure out what's going on. 1st, I agree with him, we've heard much, MUCH worse, and they found jobs. Makes your situation a walk in the park. I read, CDL B infractions DO transfer over to an existing CDL A, but the record of incidents is sketchy in that regard, possibly to your advantage. No ticket, no tow, I think if a you keepa you big mouth shut, you'll be fine. Not sure why you'd get fired for that, unless there's more, but depends how far the new company wants to go, I suppose, I'm telling ya', and Chinatown will agree, the horrors that have come through here over the years, lately so many more, I think you'll be ok. Just don't let that happen again,, Good luck, keep us posted, eh?

 

No matter what you were driving, if the truck was towed, then that's the problem.

Now that said, don't overthink this (you are), just start apply, China has given you some leads, just start apply NOW.

There should be enough B class work to get you working.

 

Not sure what the dollar amount for damages are but back in the day most companies would give a rookie a $2000 “rookie mistake“ or something like you described. Now, if you had hit a different vehicle or if you did significant damage that might be a different story. But companies would usually expect a brand new driver to bang something up once or twice in first year. As long as it was very minimal. So you probably are ok. The thing you’re up against is the overall market for truck drivers right now is that basically an all-time low. Companies aren’t hiring like they used to right now. But if you’re persistent, you’ll find something.

 

The damaged highway fence/guards would probably blow past any damage allocation pretty fast.

I would be most concerned if the insurance company puts up a derogatory flag. May put the OP into working for self insured employers for now.

 

Every trucking company application will ask about accidents. Some applications ask 'have you ever had an accident' and many ask a different question. They ask 'have you had any accidents in the last X years'. Typically they ask about last 5 years. The key is to answer the exact question that was asked. Now in your case, any accident question is likely to sink your application. Typically, after an accident you will need to work at a worse company than where you just worked. Lying on an application is grounds for immediate termination, so don't do that if possible.

Only some trucking companies use HireRight/DAC Reports. But every trucking company asks about accidents. Also every trucking company is required by FMCSA to try and contact last employer to get info about a driver. So the DAC/HireRight is kind of irrelevant since most employers will disclose accident of their drivers. If I was in your shoes, I would likely try something else for at least a year. There's no need to think everything is over and become homeless, you may just need to work in something else for 1-2 years. That may open up something better than trucking for you. I do admire you aren't making excuses. That's the most important thing in my opinion. None of us are perfect. You will never forget the lesson you learn from this event. Maybe @Chinatown knows of something for you. If there were no violations/tickets then it will likely not show up on PSP report. It will show up on MVR. If insurance spent money to fix things then it will be known by every insurance carrier and you couldn't hide it anyway.

 

The driver market is slow right now, but it looks like the Feds are about to change that soon as they boot illegal alien drivers and tighten up requirements on all drivers. This will leave just American and 2 categories of visa CDL drivers, H-2A and B, IIRC. The Delilah Bill may tighten up the market for drivers, which is what will boost hiring again.

 

I started driving in 2007. On my second solo trip in the truck I pulled a major dumb and ripped the door off my trailer pulling out of a dock. I was pretty convinced I was about to get fired. When I called my Driver Manager and told him what happened he laughed and said "if that's the worst thing you do in this job you'll be just fine". He was right. I got a mandatory close quarters training course and the proverbial slap on the wrist and almost 19 years later I haven't done anything that stupid since.

The key here is you're owning up to your mistake and it sounds like you learned from it. That actually means alot to a good potential employer. Keep looking for the right gig, be honest about your situation and you'll find a good company sooner rather than later.