One Big Oops

don't let this oops mistake happen to you be very careful out there on the road.

december 13th of 2013 im doing my dedicated run got load n good time making great time down to d.c metro.yay get unloaded in good time out by 2130,ok here is where the oops comes in i got 2 small towns to go through before i get back on the loop to head back to pa. easy right ok well when im in the one town theres a split when ya take the rte im to take ya get put in left lane of a one way roadway with the other direction having 2 lanes also devided by a yellow line. spped limit is 25 mph.

so im doing 25 and noone is to be seen next thing im behind a car doing 22 ok ill adjust so i do,2 cars come up and pass me on right side ok seen them go they still moving i can see them so im thinking by now on experience of these 2 towns cars fly through here after dark and i am one not to hang in the left lane anywhere.so i proceed to check mirrors and then look in front of me noone to be seen except the rears of the 2 ahead of me now in a distance and the tag a long in front of me goin 22 mph.

and one behind me by a distance of bout 500 yrds,so i go over to the right im almost in the lane completely and i hear a bang and feel my truck slow extremely,i pull away thinkin omg i blew a steer my first time what do i do so i touch the brake to my surprise at that very second a car spins around my nose and now is against my bumper ,well i now know it wasnt a steer it was the tail/or side of a car i have got into,so i slam the brake and clutch at same time oops,car goes shootin like a sling shot over the other lane in front of i dnt know how many cars and stops on a curb.

so now im thinkin get to him and see f hes alive,i get there and hes out of the car walking and asking if im ok,while hes on the phone.then he asked who i drive for so i tell him and i asked him did ya call the police i notice ya got ur phone out and i was more worried bout you and injuries first. he tells me yea they on the way phew.so i wait for them we both tell our side of what happened i take photos and all that fun stuff.

and he says to the cop im ok so the cop askd if he thinks his car is driveable he says yea so the cop said ok we dnt need a tow truck,at that moment the guy says i want a tow truck,well here we go i know im burnt crisp now,so tow truck comes and hes talkin to me and next we here fire whistles omg the tow man went off he was just complainin like ya wouldnt believe bout this guy. so an ambulance shows up and wala he goes in the meat wagon. ok so addrenaline left and now pain sets in i suppose.

so i go back to the yrd and do our policy stuff and get sent home till today i am to call them well i call at 0700 to see if i get a truck,i get told we will call ya when we know more,well i get the call and am told ya got 1 of to choices quit or be terminated,well ok wth to do now.but ill bounce back im sure.

i just wanted to post this bc you may and will get an attitude of it wnt happen to me but let me tell ya there is a very small blind spot on your right dont forget that bc its a fraction of a second and that one second can cost a career.

Oh man Crazy Rebel that just sucks! I'm really sorry to hear that. Man, in the 15 years I drove there had to be 100 times I didn't get into a wreck but only by the grace of God or pure dumb luck.

Anyone that's been out there driving for a while has made so many mistakes we know we shouldn't have made but most of the time we just got plain lucky and nothing happened. This time you just weren't as lucky.

But as with everything, this too shall pass. You'll be a better driver for it. And having the courage to come here and share that story means a whole lot of drivers - both experienced and new ones coming into the industry - are going to be that much sharper, that much more aware than they would have been otherwise. Thanks so much for reminding the veterans and warning the rookies about just how quickly things happen out there. And without warning. In fact, most of the worst wrecks I've ever witnessed were on beautiful, dry, sunny days in light traffic. You just never know.

Well you know we're all behind ya and there's no doubt you'll be out there again in no time rackin' up the miles! Keep your head up and get some applications out there if you haven't already. I remind myself every day to "Live now and look forward". That's the way to handle this too. What's done is done. Drop it and forget it. Focus on what you have to do right now to get where you want to go moving forward. If you want to get back out there right away then get after it. Life's too short to worry about stuff you can't change or can't control. And like a recent commercial says, "Only a fool trips on what's behind them." I love that attitude. Live now and look forward.

Oh man Crazy Rebel that just sucks! I'm really sorry to hear that. Man, in the 15 years I drove there had to be 100 times I didn't get into a wreck but only by the grace of God or pure dumb luck.

Anyone that's been out there driving for a while has made so many mistakes we know we shouldn't have made but most of the time we just got plain lucky and nothing happened. This time you just weren't as lucky.

But as with everything, this too shall pass. You'll be a better driver for it. And having the courage to come here and share that story means a whole lot of drivers - both experienced and new ones coming into the industry - are going to be that much sharper, that much more aware than they would have been otherwise. Thanks so much for reminding the veterans and warning the rookies about just how quickly things happen out there. And without warning. In fact, most of the worst wrecks I've ever witnessed were on beautiful, dry, sunny days in light traffic. You just never know.

Well you know we're all behind ya and there's no doubt you'll be out there again in no time rackin' up the miles! Keep your head up and get some applications out there if you haven't already. I remind myself every day to "Live now and look forward". That's the way to handle this too. What's done is done. Drop it and forget it. Focus on what you have to do right now to get where you want to go moving forward. If you want to get back out there right away then get after it. Life's too short to worry about stuff you can't change or can't control. And like a recent commercial says, "Only a fool trips on what's behind them." I love that attitude. Live now and look forward.

oh i been fillin out apps and talkin to recruiters all day on phone been hearin some good and some bad but it won't let me get down i came from a family of drivers and i got lots of so to say diesel blood runnin in my veins

Have you applied @ May's Trucking?.. I have heard good stuff about them from my school Advisor..

Website http://www.maytrucking.com/drivers_entry_level_drivers_contact_a_recruiter.php

Have you applied @ May's Trucking?.. I have heard good stuff about them from my school Advisor..

Website http://www.maytrucking.com/drivers_entry_level_drivers_contact_a_recruiter.php

not yet but will in morning ty bud i appreciate

Man I'm sorry to hear that Crazy Rebel!

I know exactly what you're talking about because I've come within a mere split second of the same thing happening to me at least twice. There is a small blind spot that you've really got to double check before moving over.

We all wish you the best and want you to know if there is anything we could do to help you, then please let us know. Hang in there, cause you're one of the folks I've been hoping to meet out there on the road.

Im sorry this happened to you. I just got my CDL and haven't quite picked a company yet. Is this typical in the trucking industry that that one little accident and you get fired?

Is this typical in the trucking industry that that one little accident and you get fired?

It varies dramatically from company to company and situation to situation. I once worked for a company that fired me for being early to an appointment and yet I had spoken to drivers at the same company that had rolled trucks or hit bridges and didn't lose their job.

My story about getting fired is in my book Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving. That's a link to the free version we have here on the website so have a look!

But basically we were told not to go into a particular shipper more than 15 minutes early because people were parking on the roadway (they have a small lot) and the fire chief told them they were going to get fined. Well my dispatcher never relayed the message and I went in 30 minutes early. The company brought me to the terminal and told me they had to let me go. After explaining my side of it and reviewing the Qualcomm messages they saw I had no way of knowing this so I kept my job. But I couldn't help but laugh at the irony that after 12 years and 1.2 million miles of safe driving I was fired for arriving early to a customer while others had hit bridges and rolled trucks and were still employees.

That's trucking and that's life at the big companies. Very little of it makes sense or is predictable. But yes, assume that one "little" accident (if you can call any accident in a 70 foot long 80,000 pound vehicle small) and you'll be fired.

Sorry to hear this happened to you. I'm sure you will bounce back in no time. You have offered a lot of solid advise on here. You couldn't so that without the experiance to back it up right? I'm sure one of these companies will find you to be a great catch and real you in.

Have you applied @ May's Trucking?.. I have heard good stuff about them from my school Advisor..

Website http://www.maytrucking.com/drivers_entry_level_drivers_contact_a_recruiter.php

not yet but will in morning ty bud i appreciate

Here's another one to check out. Been talking to a recruiter for a while seem like an ok company. https://meltonapps.com/app Good Luck