First Blow To My Company Paid Training School

In getting all my ducks in a row early, I contacted Prime today. They were my first choice for their paid training program. I was made aware by their recruiter that I was disqualified cause I have a 20 over the limit speeding ticket. I was not doing this recklessly! I had a drunk couple in my uber & had (wrongly) hoped that the cop would be sympathetic enough to help me out of my situation. I knew the cop would be there cause it's a favorite speed trap for them. Not making excuses, just a series of bad luck events after the fact, to bring home the lesson that I made the wrong decision, to handle it that way.

I understand that it's an insurance carrier issue. That said, this rejection sent me into a more determined pace of applying at 3 other companies. I'm currently applied to & in communication with a recruiter with Knight, applied to PAM & applied to Swift. Better to know what I'm facing now rather than when my current taxi insurance expires at the end of Feb. & I have to scramble with everything then.

I'm very grateful to everyone here who've given myself, & others like myself, advice that has helped my decision making process!

Unfortunately that ticket is going to make it tough but someone will give you a shot. You should have fought it with an attorney and tried to at least get it reduced.

Let me see if I got this straight. You deliberately drove 20+ mph over the speed limit (which is reckless driving no matter how you want to slice it) because you had a drunk couple in your Uber??? Did this couple get drunk in your Uber? Apparently you picked them up impaired to begin with.. oh and BTW, when people consume adult beverages, isn't that what they should do? Call a cab or an Uber to get home instead of driving under the influence?

So this is nothing more than bad decisions on your part. Many companies won't even give you the time of day until you have 3 years of clean MVR. All hope is not lost however. I've known people charged with reckless driving to be able to go through PAM Transport, CR england, and a couple other companies. Apply to all the company sponsored school and see what kind of offers you get. You'll get 2 or so. Pick one and make the best of it. You can be successful with ANY company if you are a go getter and prove yourself to be a safe, reliable driver.

My daughter was interested in getting her CDL and had wanted to go to Roehl. She had a reckless driving conviction also. She was rejected by Roehl but received offers from PAM and CR England. Ultimately she decided to wait to have a clean license, but life happens and she now has a 4 month old and I doubt she'll bother to get her CDL at all now. Anywho a couple of companies will give you a chance, but you won't be have many choices on companies.

Good luck and let us know where you end up.

Unfortunately that ticket is going to make it tough but someone will give you a shot. You should have fought it with an attorney and tried to at least get it reduced.

I did Brett, one that I had used many times before wth good results. Let me give you background. The cops always hang out at the end of this long tunnel, under 1st Ave that stretches from 41st St. until 48th St. After he pulled me over, the couple left my vehicle, I explained my predicament & he told me he would’ve thrown them out of my car considering it was brand new at the time. I responded that I wished I could have. I assumed he knew it was illegal for me to do that & that’s why I hoped he would more understanding. His direct response after nmulling it over with his partner/superior was “ we’ll let the judge decide.”

The officer postponed the first court date & I postponed the next. I hired the lawyer & was told, by the office manager, not to worry about the upcoming court date cause the lawyer would postpone that one too. The date came, I was informed by mail that the judge wouldn’t allow the lawyer to postpone this appearance! First time ever this has happened to me. It’s a long running practice to postpone court dates as many times as possible until this option has been exhausted, with the hope that the officer loses his notes, doesn’t remember the details, at which point the citation is dismissed.

Well, apparently, the lawyer was never informed, by the office manager, of the details or the judge didn’t take kindly to the fact that I didn’t appear. Either way, I was found guilty, paid a reduced fine & receive 4 points instead of 6. The judge didn’t reduce the infraction, in NYC, they never do that. (I was shocked to find out this happens when this was offered as an option outside of NYC) I was so frustrated, angry, etc., I never filed an appeal to just give my side of the story & give myself another chance to beat this.

Like I said, just a series of bad decisions on my part. Lesson learned.

Well all you can do is move forward from here. I'm sure you won't use reckless driving as a strategy in the future, right? You have to do everything you can to keep that license clean.

Let me see if I got this straight. You deliberately drove 20+ mph over the speed limit (which is reckless driving no matter how you want to slice it) because you had a drunk couple in your Uber??? Did this couple get drunk in your Uber? Apparently you picked them up impaired to begin with.. oh and BTW, when people consume adult beverages, isn't that what they should do? Call a cab or an Uber to get home instead of driving under the influence?

So this is nothing more than bad decisions on your part. Many companies won't even give you the time of day until you have 3 years of clean MVR. All hope is not lost however. I've known people charged with reckless driving to be able to go through PAM Transport, CR england, and a couple other companies. Apply to all the company sponsored school and see what kind of offers you get. You'll get 2 or so. Pick one and make the best of it. You can be successful with ANY company if you are a go getter and prove yourself to be a safe, reliable driver.

My daughter was interested in getting her CDL and had wanted to go to Roehl. She had a reckless driving conviction also. She was rejected by Roehl but received offers from PAM and CR England. Ultimately she decided to wait to have a clean license, but life happens and she now has a 4 month old and I doubt she'll bother to get her CDL at all now. Anywho a couple of companies will give you a chance, but you won't be have many choices on companies.

Good luck and let us know where you end up.

Hey Susan! Yes that’s what they’re supposed to do. My situation was this. They didn’t appear that over the top when they initially entered my car, which was brand new at the time. After getting under way is when he proceeded to start smoking an e-cig, which is illegal in a public vehicle. Then she started dry heaving in the backseat, directly behind me. The further I drove the more frequent she would dry heave. I thought she was about to blow by the time I got to that tunnel due to the frequency of her gagging & hiccuping.

Another thing was that I didn’t work nights any longer just cause of these situations being all too frequent. I was a corporate driver in the past & most grown folks can hold their “adult beverages”. Uber has a much younger demographic & they’re not as responsible as their adult counterparts. I had been driving corporate since ‘96 with 3 incidents of people throwing up in my car. I had only been driving with Uber a few months with 1 kid throwing up & this one almost being the second.

I said that I wasn’t being reckless due to that fact that I deliberately did it: 1) in the tunnel, ahead of any traffic instead of swerving in & out of traffic. 2) with the intent of having the officer help me out of a bad situation (which, as he stated, he would’ve had the superior not been there). I didn’t get into the details in my original post cause I wasn’t trying to make excuses.

I know the trucking company’s insurance company doesn’t see it that way. I know I f’ed up. Like I said, just a series of bad luck (& bonehead) mistakes on my part. I’ve disqualified myself from Prime which gives the best pay while training but I’m now in contact with Knight & Swift while waiting on PAM to respond to my application. I’ll contact CR England last if need be. Shoot, I’ll go to Roadmaster & get my CDL through them first if I have to.

Good luck with your daughter’s situation. I’ll keep a special intention in my prayers for you & your family. Never give up hope! Sometimes having the responsibility of a child can be quite the motivational factor some kids need. Such is the case with my niece.

Thank you both for the encouragement. After reading many diaries, I knew I had to set plan B in motion. Prime was plan A but being disqualified is not a dead end. I’ll let y’all know how it goes, with my 3 options, when I start my diary.

The more i read of this thread, the more terrified i get. you used that same lawyers many times, and know the procedures for court dates? But you are a safe driver? How often are you in traffic court....cause in 26 yrs of driving, i went once....when i was 19.

As far as driving drunks around....that is part of the job. You still need to do it safely. you chose to drive strangers around in your brand new car. these are the things that happen. Choosing to drive 20+mph over the speed limit is always a choice and always reckless driving by law. If driving a truck and speeding 20+ mph you would be fired immediately regardless of your work history. and would it be your dispatchers fault for not understanding the load requirements?

"it was the drunks fault i had to do it.....the courts fault for not notifying the lawyer....it was the judges fault for not allowing another postponement".

seriously ponder your words and actions. apply to every company which unfortunately will probably resukt in a company that pays much less than Prime. good luck