Will Any Company Take Someone With Multiple Accidents In A Short Amount Of Time?

I've only been trucking for 4 months, and I got let go yesterday for too many accidents in a short period of time.

The first accident happened when I was still in training and had to team drive. I was tired and there was road construction. I was driving late at night in a narrow lane and hit the divider. I ended up tearing up one of the outside tandem tires and the rim and I had to get it fixed.

The next time I was coming from a shipper and I misjudged a turn coming out of the driveway. As I did that, I wound up in a ditch and was stuck for about 2 or 3 hours until a wrecker came and pulled me out.

The third time, I was pulling into a Love's to park for the night. I was having a hard time finding somewhere to park. As I was trying to make a turn to circle the lot again there was a truck parked in front of me that shouldn't have been there. I thought I could make the turn in spite of it, so I tried it. I was wrong. I turned into the truck next to me and tore its front end up very greatly. It was horrible. What made all of this bad was the fact that I got the trailer from a lot that had the tandems all the way to the back and I didn't slide the tandems where they should've been before I got into the lot. I was going to slide them in the right spot when I parked. (I now realize how stupid that was.)

Now I obviously need another trucking job. I was wondering what I should do when I apply for another job. I'm afraid I'll have a hard time getting a job or won't get one at all.

You will have a very tough time getting another truckking job. Maybe you can convince a company to train you again from the start. You were either very poorly trained or have very poor judgement. Sorry to be so blunt. Good luck.

If your given another chance, own up to your mistakes and explain how you plan to prevent it from happening again. Good luck. Keep us posted

Oomph.

I been trucking 6 months now since finishing training... u remind me of my buddy from cdl school who got into several accidents... all preventable stuff but u know... it's easy to make bad judgements... and I think you weren't well trained.

Look man, iono about your prospects at a new job but listen to me here, you'll look like a dumb rookie doing it but...

ALWAYS TAKE YOUR TURNS WIDE.

Seriously! Drivers sometimes look at me like... "why r u turning into the far lane like that...?!?!?" but u know what I never hit nothing that way and the only things I run over is the occasional curb and I make sure to slow wayyyyy down so those tandems run over that curb at no more than 5mph and it doesn't damage nothing! I'm sure it stresses them to drag up onto the curb and then "jump down" but w/e man at least I didn't hit the traffic signal like my buddy...

Also, and this has saved my butt a bazillion times:

GOAL means Get Out And Look!

I don't care if I'm holding up traffic. I did that under the BQE making deliveries to a costco... in brooklyn. freaking hadn't turned wide enuff, had to back up and all these drivers were yelling at me but I didn't care because it was 10x better than hitting the parked cars bcuz I misjudged how wide to take that freaking turn!

Cops actually appreciate u holding up traffic a few minutes if it means they don't hafta spend 30 minutes taking an accident report.

I'll tell you one more thing...

If you're dumb like me and ignore low clearance signs when you're aggravated and lost until you're literally 20 feet from the bridge... well, I always stop before I get to the bridge in those situations and look to see if physically I can make it... (during training there was a USG plant that had a 12" bridge as the only way in, but technically u could squeeze under).... never can... so I hafta back up but hey if the cops gotta come direct traffic so u can back out they never get mad cuz they're always like, and u hear how grateful they are, "well sh*t at least u didn't hit the bridge most drivers hit it!".

So you see, I don't have the best driving practices and my navigation seriously sucks but I take wide turns, I get out and look, and I make sure to stop in front of a bridge if it looks too low and this is how I have avoided accidents. I'm late a lot but the loads *do* get there and my company is happy I haven't hit anything or gotten any tickets! Also they're glad I stuck around this long... for some reason most trainees don't last more than a week out of training. I guess I'm lazy *and* stubborn :p

Also, let the jerks in the little sedans dart in front of you... you can't beat them you're too big and slow so just take it easy!

And if you're really sleepy, pull over and nap for an hour or two... you might be late but if you're swerving and getting microsleep to hell with the customer if you go off the road they won't get their merchandise AT ALL!

Good luck finding a new job. JB Hunt took my friend with his 3 accidents in 6 months.

Also, Western Express wouldn't have even fired him, they just gave him very little miles and so he quit but you could still check there too!

You're probably not going to find any company recruiter beating down your door with that many preventable accidents in only four months. That would be too many in a twenty year career. Best thing I'd recommend is to start applying to as many different firms as you can stand. Be honest on all the applications, and be prepared to hear many negative responses. Are you sure this is the career path you truly want? You've dug a very deep hole in a short period of timel which will be tough to climb out. Good luck.

New Englander wrote:

Good luck finding a new job. JB Hunt took my friend with his 3 accidents in 6 months.

Doubtful. Hunt requires a clean driving record and typically a year of experience. Nothing clean about 3 preventables in less than a year. Stop with the BS. It's not going to fly here.

First, I suggest really giving some hard thought as to whether this is the right career for you.

From your descriptions of your accidents, I am guessing that you would need to figure out a way to be more patient, more cautious...slow down and take care not to be reckless.

Regarding accident #1 - If you are too tired to be driving, do not drive...stop.

Accident #2 - there is no room in this business for a driver that misjudges a turn and ends up in a ditch - that indicates recklessness, carelessness, etc. We must plan turns in advance, check our space, watch where all parts of the truck and trailer are going, and if we cannot make the turn, we do not try to force it.

Accident #3 - same as #2. There is no room in this business for thinking we can make a turn and giving it a try only to ram into something. When turning we have to make sure we can see space between the trailer and the adjacent object(s)...if no space, turn wider if there is room or stop if there isn't.

There could be a company that might give you another chance if you indicate to them that you have learned from your mistakes, realize that you need more training, and ask if you can enter their training program and start over. One suggestion to try is Western Express. Good luck.

I've only been trucking for 4 months, and I got let go yesterday for too many accidents in a short period of time.

The first accident happened when I was still in training and had to team drive. I was tired and there was road construction. I was driving late at night in a narrow lane and hit the divider. I ended up tearing up one of the outside tandem tires and the rim and I had to get it fixed.

The next time I was coming from a shipper and I misjudged a turn coming out of the driveway. As I did that, I wound up in a ditch and was stuck for about 2 or 3 hours until a wrecker came and pulled me out.

The third time, I was pulling into a Love's to park for the night. I was having a hard time finding somewhere to park. As I was trying to make a turn to circle the lot again there was a truck parked in front of me that shouldn't have been there. I thought I could make the turn in spite of it, so I tried it. I was wrong. I turned into the truck next to me and tore its front end up very greatly. It was horrible. What made all of this bad was the fact that I got the trailer from a lot that had the tandems all the way to the back and I didn't slide the tandems where they should've been before I got into the lot. I was going to slide them in the right spot when I parked. (I now realize how stupid that was.)

Now I obviously need another trucking job. I was wondering what I should do when I apply for another job. I'm afraid I'll have a hard time getting a job or won't get one at all.