Need Help On My Next Move

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Really? No damage?

Do you know how much a hydrant replacement can cost.

Had a driver who hit one avoiding an accident, my insurance covered the cost and they sent me an itemized statement of settlement, the total was $27,349. they had to dig it all up, repair the pipe and the replace the hydrant. Hydrants don't just give way, they are not designed to give way. If you hit it with the trailer, the trailer was damaged, no doubt about that, and you got away with just paying for the fine which is pretty lucky.

 

Not sure how much seat time you have, or what’s available in Florida but I’d suggest looking for ag work or local LTL work. A lot of ag work is seasonal and they always need drivers so it’s a way to get your foot back in the door. You’ll likely need doubles endorsement if don’t already have. When one crop is coming to an end, another is usually ready and you can jump around for a couple months to get some seat time before looking for the next step in advancement. Otherwise LTL. You’ll probably have better luck with a company like R+L or DHE or Oak Harbor or a smaller regional LTL company. A lot of them will say they require 2 years of experience, but my experience is that it’s up to the terminal manager how much experience they’re willing to let in the door. You may have to settle with driving a class B truck for awhile to prove yourself and doing the #### deliveries. You’ll need to get all your endorsements if don’t have already. IMHO, tenacity, the desire and how much this means to you will tip the scale one way or the other.
The last thing I’d mention is that if your hitting the hydrant did not result in a moving violation or something that will show up on your DMV printout you’re in a better position than it may appear. Every potential employer will find out about your incident from WE when they do pre employment check. I’d suggest being upfront with the hiring person and say you had an incident where you hit a hydrant, but I didn’t get any isolation resulting in points on my license. Remember it’s the insurance companies who determine whether you’re hire able or not. Having a DMV record with no points carries a lot of weight. And because a lot of the LTL companies have their own insurance, they are in a better position to bend the rules. Hopefully, you learned from your mistake and can use it as a positive experience in whatever direction you may go. Good luck!

 

I think what's hurting you is the fact that you didn't report in time. Knowing Western, they would have kept you on had you reported immediately after you hit the hydrant. I had 2 backing accidents when I worked there, and I told them immediately what happened. One of which, I did major damage to a truck. It's like they didn't hear a thing I told them. Both times they charged me 500 bucks, but they only took 50 out at a time. Major trucking companies understand that things happen, but some companies may shy away because of uncertainty about your integrity. I'm not attacking you personally, don't get me wrong. When prospective employers need clarification on a firing, how Western tells them may impact their decision. It's pretty difficult to get fired from a trucking job in my view so CFI and others are probably needing to hear exactly what happened from their vantage point. I'd try a moving company. I knew this guy who I got to know at Western. He got started with KLLM. He jack knifed and was let go. Covan Moving took him on and he stayed there til he got to Western. I'd take anything that will get you some goof experience, and don't worry a out bad reviews. At the end of the day, it's a out what you put in it no matter where you work.

 

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Keep trying a company will take you eventually. Maybe it might be at the 1 year point but eventually someone will take you.