Terminated for accidents - What can I do to fix this?

Here is what I do when I go to back in somewhere, I approach where I want to back and I turn my 4 way lights on. Then I take a look and see if I see any hazzard's that may be in my way I look for polls sings, and cars. If something is in my way then that's it games off were not doing that maneuver. If I see a car, but it is not in my way, what I will say to my self is okay remember there is a black Cadillac parked over there. So I know okay there is a black Cadillac parked over there. Or like say I am coming up to a store on the street and there is a car parked fairly far behind me, what I do is tell my self remember that car is parked there and even when I know I'm far enough away I get out and take a look go back and back a little more and then get out and look again and usually by the second time I say "that's close enough". Obviously it's a little different for me as a beer truck driver, because I don't really have to hit any docks, but that's what I do take a good look at the lot before I back into it and you know make a mental note of all the objects in the lot.

 

The sad fact is 3 incidents in a year is generally a blackball in the industry for at least 12-18 months.....maybe longer

 

No, not at a dock. I pull a flatbed and take my time backing into a building to be loaded/unloaded by overhead crane, but in an open yard, I have been in R-H a few times.

 

Here is a company that says they will hire with no more than 3 preventable accidents in the last 3 years. So I assume you can go up to 3.

If it were me I would call this company, I would be very truthful and explain to them you are very passionate about making this work.

I would develop a well thought out plan of action or routine that would prevent such incidents from ever happening again. Then I would talk about this plan with any new potential employers. Having a plan will help stress to the employer that your serious and may persuade them to give you a chance.

Sounds to me your just not taking enough time. Your thinking you got this and the next thing you know your saying oops. You just need spend some extra time accessing each situation. I bet you would do really well if you thought you were hauling some nuclear explosives. One wrong bump and you go boom. I bet your driving habits would significantly improve with that on your mind. With 3 dings on your report in such a short time, I would adopt this way of thinking.

On second look, that job posting requires 1 year of otr. I'd call them anyway, you don't have anything to lose. If they don't hire you I would just shotgun it and apply everywhere. Find a headhunter and let them find you work.

 

Dear cshellzbynow-

Don’t ask for help on a public forum if you don’t want people’s opinions. You hit three things in just about three months, that’s not good driving. You can’t go around hitting something every month and say you are a safe driver, a safe driver would not have your driving record, period the end.

And while it might be true that everyone will at some point clip some object, there is a great deal of difference between someone who hits one object in five years and someone who hits something every month. Also, the idea that everyone is out there hitting things and not reporting it seems quite suspect to me. That seems more like you trying to justify your own actions by implying everyone is just as bad, which is at best the whimsical rambling of a driver trying to justify her own actions by degrading others.

People might be stern or harsh, but that’s life, you asked what you could do and some people think the answer is finding a new carrier. If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question, some posters will be kinder than others but there will be no pity party or rush to blame others here, people are going to hold you accountable for what happened while you were driving.

Your posts are somewhat rambling and rather hard to follow; at least a mild attempt at decent grammar would help you convey your point a little better and might get you the responses you want. You could also stop blaming other people, you are a grown up, you chose to drive underprepared. You also chose to keep driving after your first two incidents and only stopped after your third because Swift fired you.

If it was up to you, you would likely be out on the road busting trailers left and right and blaming your training for your continued bad driving. That bothers people, they don’t see you as being able to understand you are the sole responsible party for everything that has happened to you, and don’t think a driver who constantly hits things and refuses to take sole reasonability for doing so should be behind the wheel.

I myself am undecided, I think you could learn but doubt you have the reasoning skills and personal responsibility required to do so. I am basing this on your lack of situational and spatial awareness coupled with the inability to compose a coherent thought or take full accountability for your mistakes.

You need to understand that you made a choice to drive when you should have stopped and found better training; you now have to deal with the consequence of that choice. I am sure there are plenty of Swift drivers who are actually safe drivers who do not appreciate the scorn that is heaped upon them because of the actions of poor drivers like you. The same is likely true at all the mega carriers that hire new drivers.

You are also further perpetuating the myth that all new drivers, or “the new breed,” as we are often called, are whiny incapable children that can’t drive and refuse to accept the blame for their mistakes. People regard new drivers this way because of the new drivers like you.

If all you had done was come to this forum, admit you screwed up and asked for help finding a company that would still take you, we would have all been more than happy to help. Instead, you have offered plenty of excuses but taken little accountability for what occurred when you were behind the wheel.

Rambling off in blurbs of text that lack any semblance of formatting and grammar simply because you do not like someone’s response to a question you asked is rather uncalled for, if you ask me.

 

Well I just found out some info that makes me regret what I said to Shaggy in post 56. When the OP came on here introducing herself, I neglected to look at her profile or past posts. I believed she was both new to the forum, and new to trucking. After doing a little looking though, I see that she has been around for a while, and this is not something that "just happened."

Now I'm not judging the OP, and I hope she finds the help that she needs. But I do now see where others were coming from with their posts.

I hope that clears the air a bit.

 

Im sure you get where I was going with that post.

 

I knida "pick up" on her from the beginning. Saw it coming, from far, far away.

Nor_Cal said it, as I would have and I think I did more than once.