Accident On Scale

I just started driving a little over a month ago and things has been going well until recently I was driving on a scale and my tire hit the curb. Bust the tire and damaged the rim. Does this type of thing happen starting out or is it just me?

It can happen to anyone. Just try to be more careful and watch those tandems.

Thanks.

It can happen to anyone. Just try to be more careful and watch those tandems.

I just started driving a little over a month ago and things has been going well until recently I waa driving on a scale and my tire hit the curb. Bust the tire and damaged the rim. Does these type of thing's happen starting out or is it just me?

This is the start of my 4th month solo and I did the same thing last month but at the fuel island. Always watch them mirrors. Especially in the parking lot. It's a common mistake, you will be ok. Better to damage a wheel then to take off somebody's nose!

Much, appreciated I'm just worried cause I'm still in training

I just started driving a little over a month ago and things has been going well until recently I waa driving on a scale and my tire hit the curb. Bust the tire and damaged the rim. Does these type of thing's happen starting out or is it just me?

This is the start of my 4th month solo and I did the same thing last month but at the fuel island. Always watch them mirrors. Especially in the parking lot. It's a common mistake, you will be ok. Better to damage a wheel then to take off somebody's nose!

Don't worry about it. They expect you to do things like that while in training. Just learn from it. Good luck.

Change your approach to the scale, you are coming in too tight, swing wider to straighten everything out before you get into the concrete barriers and curbs. Slow down, take your time and watch your wagon.

You'll be ok. Learn from it and move on.

Yes, your company really does expect a few bumps on the way to being a great trucker. Just don't get carried away with it!

As for aiming for fuels islands, truck scales or pull throughs, remember this: you are not driving a truck, you are dragging the tandems around. Whatever you do with the steer axle, your goal is to get the tandems lined up in the right place.

Figuring out your off-tracking is sometimes very difficult for a new driver. Both forward and reverse. Off -tracking is the different path that your rear tandems will take as compared to your tractor's tires. Even cars have off-tracking. People who are used to driving sports cars can have a difficult time learning to drive a full-sized van or pickup truck, for example.

Off-tracking gets worse as the tires are farther from your steers. If you are hauling a double or triple, off-tracking gets much worse for the rearmost axle.

The best thing that you can do for preventing off-tracking issues is to use ALL the room safely available to you. If you are approaching a scale or fuel island from an angle and have fifty feet between island or scale and the curb, use all fifty feet. Don't make the turn tighter than you have to.

Once you learn your off-tracking better, and know how far beyond the lane you need to go before straightening, you can start using less space if you want to.

There is the matter of mirrors, however. What you did was preventable. You should have noted the curb and watched your tandems approach it. However, as has been said by others, this is a common mistake that should get you no more than a slap on the wrist as a trainee.

You learn more by making mistakes than by avoiding them. Making mistakes is more painful.

Hang in there New School. Most incidents with new drivers happen in parking lots. You just have to watch those mirrors, move very slowly, and get out and look when you're backing into places.

And in case safety wants to speak with you about this, make sure you're very humble and apologetic. They expect new drivers to make some small mistakes but most importantly they expect you to care deeply about being a safe driver and learn from everything you do. If you take the approach, "Oh what's the big deal? I bumped a curb" or you start making excuses it's going to look really bad. They're going to think you're not safety conscious enough to become a true professional out there.

So make sure you let them know you feel terrible about it, you've definitely learned from it, and you're going to do everything in your power to make sure it never happens again. It seems to me like you are taking it seriously and that's great. You should. No one wants to make a mistake but if you approach it with the right attitude you'll learn from it and you'll be a better driver because of it.

Take your time out there. Watch your mirrors at all times and get out and look when you're backing up.