Made my First Mistake

Oh my god you're an idiot. Real professionals don't do things like this. At least not that we will tell anyway......lol. You're fine. It happens. Be safe.

 

human nature such that it is
only allows us to learn by our own mistakes

 

Nothing to sweat over....wait until you drop a loaded trl of beer onto your frame, thinking you were connected and reeled up the legs......took about 45 min to lower legs and wind it up to get it above the frame to get back under it....... SOB (I have heard of this happening but will never admit to such) .

 

If this is the worst thing you ever do you are pretty darn near perfect.. I have 18 years and I did this exact same thing last Friday night.

Had a hot load hooked up everytime I put air to the trailer my PSI would drop from 125 to 60 in seconds... couldn't find the air leak... decided to drop the trailer and hook to another one to check if it was the trailer or the truck... unhooked...Heard an air leak on the truck fixed it in like 5 minutes... hooked back up to the trailer.. and it did it again.. I disconnected the lines took the time to dolly down.... Then I saw the mechanic come in they yard and head for the shop.. So I went to hook everything back up and drag it around to the shop.. Long story short psi would not get above 75.. so I unhooked everything but the air lines and electrical.. Ripped my plug off of my light cord... Fixed it myself but it happens don't worry to much...

Stupid yea.. but it is forgivable.. Good luck

 

Been there, did that lol. Way back in 1979. I'll never forget it. I hooked up to a really heavy load and pulled out. When I was turning out of the drive, it fell on my frame. Took over an hour to crank it up to get under it. That was before companies used air ride, so it was a real pain. Plus, I damaged the gear so when I cranked it back up again with all the weight on it, and the gear wouldn't crank back down to drop the trailer again. That's a mistake you never make twice.

 

Everyone does something like that at some point, and if that's the worst that happens to you, you're in good shape. I do have one suggestion to you, though.

It may sound stupid, but I before I would pull away from a trailer, I would count and look, 1, 2, 3. Three things have to be done. 1) lower landing gear 2) pull fifth wheel 3) disconnect air and electric lines.

It might sound silly, but sometimes things are on your mind and you could forget (I learned to do this when I shuttled trailers all day). So if you count 1, 2, 3, you know that you are clear to pull out. Be gentle pulling out and you are on your way.

And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS remember DO NOT RUSH!!! Most incidents and accidents happen when you rush, or when it is late in the day and you are tired. This is the most important lesson out of all of this. KEEP YOUR MIND CLEAR AND CALM.

I am glad that what happened to you is basically meaningless, but it is a warning sign for you. Remember, rushing only gets you into trouble faster.

Be safe, brother.

 

The ONLY thing serious about this is if they are actually calling it a preventable accident. Preventable yes, accident no. I'd fight that tooth and nail,

 

The put erasers on everybodys pencils, if called into the office look at the pencil holder and if any pencil eraser, has been used ask if it was a preventable mistake?
Just a thought!

 

No one is perfect , we are human mistakes happen.

 

I did when the "Claims guy called me." He was saying that it was a "Minor Vehicle Accident." I thought that was something when you actually have a accident or hit something with the tractor. When I called Safety The guy was very rude, and said " Your really splitting straws here." I told him that there was damage to the airlines but not the vehicle I guess that's what I get for working at big time trucking mill......WERNER. He also said it what just something that would be seen on my company record and that because the police and the severity weren't bad or involved it wouldn't be something to worry about. I'm actually done there now, Going to a much smaller outfit hauling bulk tanks but this happened about 3 weeks ago before I left on good terms with them. I'm just hoping they didnt do anything to my DAC or whatever else they might be able to do to ruin a truckers career, because let's be honest...they could give to F's about me.


I guess that leads to my next question. Where can I see my DAC or anything that might pertain to this on my record at?