Small problem..well maybe a Large problem.

I think the other driver failed you by not sitting up there with you on duty teaching you about Wyoming. There are a bunch of things up there that will go wrong in a heartbeat weather wise. It is not a place for flat newbies (No offense..)

If you were with me as your trainer and I understood you aint ever been through wyoming in your life, I will be up there with you doing wyoming school. You can search my posts and attached pictures because they are from there.

With that said, the damage is done. You will be out of work for a while. No one will hire you with damage on your history. Not for a while. eventually you will find another trucking job.

It's part of your education, blood, sweat and tears plus occasionally a totaled truck.

 

I'm just wondering how many of you drivers, not owners but driver know how much that damage cost to get repaired?

To give you a little idea of how much, here is a short list of possible damage could include an axle and spring, drum and brake parts, hood and all trim, headlight, bumper, and if the damage hit the engine, turbo, exhaust manifold, all related hardware too. Oh cac and radiator.

Plus check the frame for a twist and all the labor to take it apart and put it together.

I have a figure, I know becuase I had a truck that did this, the dash cam did exonerate the driver but never the less the insurance did not total the truck put.

 

This is important advice @Gently

@scottied67 you might want to post a video about passing in a high broadside gusting wind. I run these kind of winds regularly.

Here's a thumbnail of the challenge.

Traveling in the right lane the crown of the road (at the zipper) would normally have you pulling the steering wheel slightly to the left. However, with a gusting broadside wind from the right you have to have a loose grip on the wheel and noodle arms to quickly make adjustments to the right and back left again to track a straight line.

Now you need to pass another truck.

You "dip your toe" into the hammer lane, to borrow Scottie67's phrase, get all the way in the left lane, and now you are wanting to pull the wheel to the right if there is no wind and then right a lot more if there is a gust.

As you approach the truck you are passing you start hitting the vortices coming off the back of his trailer. Those vortices are being pushed downwind, into your lane. You will start getting really active with the steering wheel to track a straight line ON THE LEFT FOG LINE. I don't care if the pavement drops off just on the other side of that fog line, you stay ON THE FOG LINE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PASS.

Why? Because you have no idea whether you are passing a rookie, an overconfident driver with one hand on the wheel, or a distracted driver. Stay WELL CLEAR until you complete the pass.

As you get even with the trailer you are passing you will then get hit by vortices coming over the top of that trailer. It will knock you both left and right. Stay loose, concentrate on your line on that left fog line, and be ready to move the steering wheel dramatically at times to keep your line.

Now you approach the nose of the truck you are passing. That's when you get hit by a hard blast, the wake of the nose. DON'T OVER CORRECT, but do be prepared to pull hard right.

Then you come even and that wake disappears for a moment. Then the second bow wake hits you just ahead of him. HOLD THAT FOG LINE.

Now you are coming clear and the gusting wind starts hammering you again. Hold that fog line until you are clear of the truck you are passing. I never look in my passenger side mirror until that truck disappears from my hood globe mirror. I can see it out of my peripheral vision without turning my head. Only when it disappears from that mirror do I look into my passenger side mirror to start judging when it is safe to get back over.

Be aware that going under bridges or other wind barriers the sudden absence of wind can suck you back to the right.

Never ever over correct. It's a good idea to practice lane changes if there's no traffic around. Get used to riding the fog lines on both sides in all conditions.

 

Here's the question i'd ask you if you were employing you would you fire you? That sounds fairly serious, i do emphasize with you about your driver trainer that would be hard to bare and i think companies should be abit more considerate and understand what trainee's have to put up with having said that there's the other side of the coin where the trainer's have to also put up with the trainee's, companies need to make sure that the trainers are decent and fair with new employee's.

 

Try these, but do the online applications first, then follow with a phone call and say, "I'm checking on my job application."
USA Truck
Roadtex Transportation
TransAm
Freymiller
Senn Freight Lines
Southern Refrigerated Transport
Carolina Southern Inc. www.carolinasoutherninc.com
Carolina Cargo - teams to west coast/pacific northwest every week.
Carolina Logistics - www.carolinalogistics.net

 

Get a copy of your MVR motor vehicle record and your HireRight report. Your incident should include the FACTS already in those 2 reports and almost nothing else. Wyoming, winter, blown tire, towed away. If those reports don't mention hitting back of other truck, never mention it. Hitting a truck is one thing. Hitting the rear of another truck is a whole other level of serious. A blown tire while passing and a hard-### cop is an easier & shorter explanation. Nobody is going to listen to your story. They assume all drivers are lying.

 

You don't need the added pressure of dealing with leasing a truck, so stick with being a company driver at TransAm.

 

The one Company Mack that I totaled in Rockville Maryland at the Fuel and Feed Operation back in 1988 or so, that one was over 10,000 dollars in damage. The hood needed replacing, the left steer and associated front end needed replacing and parts of the engine on the left side was also damaged. They fired me for that particular whoopsie.

When you lose a steer tire in a explosive failure today in one of the modern trucks you can expect to not only lose your hood and everything on it, the stuff on either side of your engine will be damaged as well. If that was the left side that blew, then the engine ECM is there on the block. Nothing but chips and plastic. Those are about 1500 dollars plus a goodly amount of labor etc to replace. I have never lost the steer tires in my lifetime. And I am thankful for that.

I have also totaled trucks in a very heavy haul. Ive lost axles coming out with both duals. Ive lost frames entire front ends Ive done it all. Sometimes they fired me sometimes they did not. The last wreck I had was in HD in CT when I took out and destroyed 10K in store inventory at the lot rather than wreck two rows of cars. It's a classic damed if you do and damed if you don't so I took out the less expensive problem in working on getting out.

In short I am very expensive. There are times I come back with a truck so damaged it is totaled and written off. If I still have a job after that remains to be seen.