1st Backing Incident & Question

Was backing up at 5am into a loading dock up in Rouses Point NY a few days ago. Backed into a traffic sign and knocked it over. Why did they put it so close to the stupid dock I have no idea. Store manager even said "don't worry, other drivers have knocked it over plenty of times too". There was no one around but I figured let me still do the responsible thing and so I called my claims dept and they advised me to call the local police for an incident report. State police came out and took the report. Trooper sighted me for "unsafe backing". He saw that I didn't have anything else on my driving record and was like "sorry i gotta do this to you man". He was actually a pretty cool about it. Mind you I called the cops on myself. LOL So now that this is on my driving record, how do I explain this to another potential employer. This is my very first incident ever and I have no clue how to answer if asked have I ever been involved in an accident? Is this considered an accident, moving violation or what? Thank you.

I'm learning that as a rookie the response might be "is that all you hit". I say that cause no one got hurt.. there was no damage to your vehicle or anyone elses....no major repairs. And not to pick on anyone... but look at what the rookies here do.... including me. It will stay on your record but drive safely and I'm sure in time it will be seen for what it is.

If you think hitting stuff is normal that is a bad mindset to be in IMO.

There is never a good reason you hit something, if you are not 100% sure you are not going to hit something GET OUT AND LOOK... GOAL do it often.

Incidents are not the end of the world but they can limit future options, for instance Wal Mart wants a 100% clean record anything on it and you are off their list basically.

Like i said not the end of the world but be careful, do 100 pull ups if it means not hitting something.

Boomshaker, the citation you received is categorized as a moving violation in the State of Pennsylvania and carries 3 points. Depending on how your company views this, it may or may not be considered a preventable accident, but possibly an incident. You should really ask your employer how and/or if they plan on posting it to your DAC report.

Agree with Eckoh here. Next time do yourself a huge favor and GOAL! Regardless of how insignificant the store employee thought this was, you had no idea that sign was there. Stopping, pulling your breaks, putting on your four-ways, and doing your GOAL will only take a minute of your time and could save you an incredible amount of grief, wasted time, and in this case money.

I will give you props for sharing this...a valuable lesson for everyone. Be safe.

Thanks for all the responses. And it was absolutely my fault for not getting out and look. I thought I saw it clearly when I pulled out in the street. But when I went to back up, it disappeared from view that fast. It was a quick and hard lesson to learn about G.O.A.L. I won't make that mistake again.

That right there is the most important part of this. When you make a mistake, and you will, learn from them. Just try to limit the mistakes and make sure they aren't serious ones.

It was a quick and hard lesson to learn about G.O.A.L. I won't make that mistake again.