Comments By Jrod

Sorry - I missed your last line. Going local that early might be tough - local is all backing, docking for the most part. Granted some modalities are different, but local drivers need to be just as good going backwards as forwards. Again, a minor ding shouldn't hurt you at all, just don't start racking them up! And lots of drivers are going to be applying for the local position, so be prepared for that. Apply a lot of places, because 6-12 months of experience + 1 accident rarely will be the top of the application pile. However, every places is different, so I wish you only the best!

Hi,so I’ve been driving with a company for 3 months first gig,still wet behind the ears.. my question is how tough will it be to get hired somewhere else with one minor preventable accident on my DAC report? Pulled inside shipper(right lane) bobtailing at time and semi (left lane) came a bit too close to my left mirror,to avoid the mirror to mirror collision I moved further over to the right. my right mirror on passenger side hit pole attached to gate.. only damage was a cracked westcoast mirror.. at the time I thought it was more important to report it then to just simply get it fixed on my own Like I said still a rookie.. now it’s on my DAC for 7yrs. Do I have any chance a being hired anywhere else?? Also I’m still at former company just really looking to get somewhere local within 7months..but now I’m worried that I won’t be able too!

As long as there isn't a pattern, most companies understand that there are going to be 1-2 accidents that first year. Its how you handle it.

I'm more concerned that you left your company and are looking around already if you have only been driving 3 months though. I'm assuming they didn't fire you for that accident, so what happened? Weak work history is going to be a bigger hurdle for you getting on with a good carrier than a mirror strike during your first year on the road.

But like I said - some people just get an idea stuck in their heads (I happen to be one of them), and you have to look at this from ALL THE ANGLES before jumping in. DON'T LET YOUR NEXT EMPLOYER SUCK YOU INTO LEASING (and many PUSH IT HARD - again - the COMPANY BENEFITS WAY MORE THAN THE DRIVER DOES).

Best of luck to you - keep us posted. I have YET TO HEAR of someone that jumped into leasing (especially this early in the game) that came back and told us HOW GREAT IT WAS.

Rick

Lease benefits:

For the Driver: 3% more income on average! For the Company: No truck payment, no fuel payment, no worries about repairs costs...

Great Advice from PJ!

OS I agree with you. From stories I have heard over and over it always seems drivers expect the worst when they turn in their notice. That is all too common in our society. Jump to expecting a negative instead of a positive outcome.

If you look at it logically it makes no sense for a company to take a chance on a driver abandoning their equipment. That will cost the company big dollars to get recovered. Recovering that cost will probably be difficult and cost the company even more to pursue recovery. Logically I can not see why anyone would want that.

As you pointed out with load schedules and freight lanes it can be difficult to hit an exact date.

My personal belief is it is up to me how I handle a situation, noone else’s. I always try to do the right thing and treat others the way I want to be treated. If others, IE the company in this instance, that is up too them to do the right thing, not me. However if they don’t it only effects me a very short time and move on.

I have been asked to return to every driving job I have had in the past 7 years. Had I been hard headed or worse when I left, that would have never happened.

I'm interested in see what folks have to say here.

Me personally? I'll get it as soon as I'm eligible. I'll be the your lab rat if you're worried. The sooner we can get through this, the better. Hopefully in 2022, we can all sit back, remember those we lost, and laugh about the ridiculous situations this virus put us in.

Quoted for Truth!

If I come out of home time and say I would like to turn my truck in will this negatively affect future employment? Or maybe I can give 1 week notice instead of 2 weeks?

I think your future company would respect you for wanted to provide 2 weeks notice. I'd be surprised if they didn't support it by adjusting your timeline. In the back of their minds, they hope you would show them the same courtesy if you leave.

I just accepted a local position at another company and I'm supposed to start mid December. I'm currently on the road with home time scheduled for the 6th. I'm supposed to start the new job on the 16th.

I'm worried that if I put my notice in they'll tell me to turn the truck in before I can get home and unload my stuff and would have to leave most of it behind.

I also need a couple days before the job to do prehire drug screen and orientation classes.

If I come out of home time and say I would like to turn my truck in will this negatively affect future employment? Or maybe I can give 1 week notice instead of 2 weeks?

It will vary from carrier to carrier. Some don't care, especially with your most recent because they want a warm body in a truck ASAP, but at my company, its sort of a big deal to give notice. But the time is whatever your company requires/asks for. 1 weeks? 2 weeks? Before your next dispatch?

But dumping & running has caused many awkward discussions for me on drivers we've "approved" and then have to take back when the owner/president calls our owner/president and says "this guy just straight up bailed on me".

A good rule of thumb is "Be professional, even when those around you are not".

I recieved my CDL on 19 June, 2020.

Attended Trans Am trucking orientation 29 June, 2020.

After three days of orientation it was clear that Trans Am offered no "Trainer" on the road. No "trainer" at all. They said they once did but no longer offer a trainer.

Ok, here I am a brand new holder of a CDL with less than 100 miles on the street and those miles with a drivers school instructor and the state examiner. No solo time at all..........nothing at all.

Trans Am offers a week (more or less) orientation then if you pass orientation you have a truck by yourself, solo, no training at all. On the street with a truck, solo.

No way was I ready to be on the road with up to 80,000 pounds, seventy feet or so with no training.

Trans Am told me that they once did offer a trainer but no longer do. I was told that I could sign a "Voluntary Withdrawal" which I did sign.

To me the Trans Am policy was at least dangerous and irresponsible and I was not ready nor prepared to be on the road by myself.

Since that time I've signed on with CFI . A week of orientation A test drive with a CFI trainer to be sure I have at least a basic driving knowledge/skill. Three or four weeks on the road with a Trainer that CFI calls a "Finisher" Then after the time on the road with a "Finisher" I'll have a written test and a driving test, which includes an "obstacle course" and some backing skills before I'm considered safe/reasonably competent.

CFI's program is to me outstanding. I need the training and I want the training.

Ok, here's my rub with Trans Am. They report me that I was employed by them. I left orientation after three days. I recieved not one penny compensation from Trans Am nor any type of compensation/pay , nothing what so ever. I recieved not a penny nor did I want anything at all from them. I didn't ask for anything, didn't want nor expect anything, recieved nothing after three days only of orientation, but am reported as was empolyed by them.

This is causing me an issue.

I'm not all that crazy about Trans Am Trucking. They have the policies that work for them but those policies I will not agree to . I didn't agree to the program and declined Trans Am employment however they report me as an ex employee.

Of course I'm contesting any so called employment with Trans Am Trucking.

Now that I'm in the industry for about a month I'm learning that some of Trans Am's policies are very much Trans Am's and not industry standards per se.

Any past experiances with Trans Am like mine?

Basically, as soon as you pee in a cup, you "worked" there. DOT requires all future employers to collect all pre-employment & random drug screen from all previous "employers". If you don't list TransAm, and the company you applied to finds out later (or on the DAC), they could be on the hook for not obtaining the required D&A testing results from TransAm, and they can terminate you for "falsified application".

As someone who hires truckers for a living, just put that on your application. "Never finished orientation, Not a good fit for me". Unless you have 4-5-6 similar situations, most places won't hold it against you.

With friends like that, who needs drug dealers.

Remember when ladies only had to worry about unattended drinks at the club getting roofied? Now folks are just giving away free drugs!?

College age me is jealous. 25 years later, current me...not as much. I would be very upset.

Prospects are going to be low. If you find a carrier, stick with them for at least 36-60 months and then about 80% of the job market will open back up for you. You & your friend definitely made it much harder to have a smooth start in trucking.

Let me start this with: I don't like driver facing cameras, and my company does NOT have them.

I sit in the office all day, so its different, I do get that. There is no camera in my bedroom at home where I live. But while I'm at the office, 60 hours of my week usually, my boss is able to see me, he could stand behind me all day if he was so inclined to do so. I'm constantly able to be monitored on multiple security cameras if my boss so desired to as well. There is no "triggering event" that turns on those cameras, they are always rolling (mostly watching the doors and hallways, but like most businesses, the cameras cover the while inside and outside of the property, including us office drones. I don't live in the office, so I understand it is vastly different than driver cams, and this is a sensitive subject, but I do get it. While I'm working, I have 0 privacy.

Could the cameras be hardwired (by Lynx/Manufacturer) to ONLY be accessible when the driver is listed as "On-Duty" or in the event of an accident?

It seems like its coming (like eLogs) no matter what. We can fight it tooth and nail until we are eventually disappointed and bitter... OR... we can find out how to make it work best for both drivers and bean-counters. Maybe drivers should also have a log-in and have 100% access to all recordings from their truck? Maybe we should be focusing on the fact that taking a drink or having a smoke are NOT activities that are going away, and they need to be 100% acceptable and not held against a driver.

TL;DR - Instead of denying the fact that tomorrow is coming, maybe we should make plans for how to best deal with tomorrow?

Personally, I have always joked that if I was a driver with a Driver Cam, I'd either be constantly naked or wear ridiculous outfits and make sure my nose picking skills were Oscar worthy. (To be fair, I'm sort of a weirdo)