I Got Fired, Now What Do I Do?
Topic 12876 | Page 1
Just curious, how minor? Ill be starting hopefully in a few weeks.
Erik that unfortunately is a loaded question. The facts are by having 3 "minor" parking lot accidents your employer was faced with the realization you are too big of a liability to retain. Details such as insurance claims, what types of accidents and such are missing. I guess the answer to your question is it's probably going to be an extremely big mountain to climb for you. So when you start evaluating your job status please ask yourself is driving in your best interest. I am not trying to bash you but not everyone is cut out for this. Hopefully others that are starting see this post and ask themselves the same question. Just remember this last statement
Accidents- In trucking there are no small accidents. The physical damage may be small but the consequences to your CDL are the same.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
It depends on several things. First of all you say minor on private property. Were any DOT reportable?? If not did the company put them on your DAC report?? Alot of companies will accept 2 or 3 depending on circumstances. Just have to start applying and see what you can find
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
U need to slow down in parking lots. I see people race around in them going way to fast all the time.and they end up runing in to other trucks.
U need to slow down in parking lots. I see people race around in them going way to fast all the time.and they end up runing in to other trucks.
Most parking lot accidents are not from speed, they are from forgetting your vehicle is 60 feet long.
Just last week I forgot, and came within 6 inches of crunching another truck's front bumper while driving slowly. (I caught myself when I looked in the mirror, backed up and adjusted my steering. The other driver was not amused.)
Errol they never find it amusing when your about to back in to their truck lol...
My accidents weren't speed related. One I jumped the king pin and put a hole in the refer unit. The other I clipped a truck's front end because it was too dark to see it in my convex mirror. The other one the brakes weren't set and it rolled into a parked vehicle. Brian may be right. Trucking isn't right for everyone and that's the question I'm asking myself now. I put so much into it. I would hate to think it was all for nothing.
The other one the brakes weren't set and it rolled into a parked vehicle.
That's probably the one that sent you over the edge right there. That's kind of a big deal, and from the perspective of a safety department, pretty elementary. Combined with the other 2 preventable incidents, I can see why they let you go. I hope it all works out for you.
Also, I found the way you worded that quite revealing. Instead of taking ownership and saying "I forgot to set the brakes which caused the truck to roll into a parked vehicle," you put the blame squarely on the truck and removed any human responsibility from the equation. A subtle difference, yes, but if that's any indication of the attitude you took when you spoke to your company about it, I'm sure they were, uh... "less than thrilled."
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I've been OTR for a little over five months and had three very minor accidents in parking lots. I now lost my job and wondering how bad are my chances of getting hired again.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.