First Accident, Am I Going To Be Fired?
Topic 29066 | Page 1
Welcome to the forum.
No it isn't likely you'll be fired for this, especially if you've proven to be a dependable driver otherwise. As a company that trains new drivers, Prime expects a certain number of accidents to happen.
The important thing is for you to take complete ownership of the accident, admitting and accepting your fault in it as well as showing what you've learned from it to prevent this happening in the future.
Safety may give you a call, or they may even have you come in for a sit-down meeting or some additional training. In either case, don't try to shift the blame to anything other than your own momentary lapse of attention. Your attitude and willingness to learn from a mistake will be what keeps your job. Good luck.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Thank you Turtle for your reply. It’s definitely my fault and I’ve taken full blame. I reported it to safety, my dispatcher is off for the weekend. I’ll definitely learn from this mistake. I believe I’d fit into that category of a “dependable driver”, as I’ve never been late for an appointment and haven’t taken a day off since starting this career in December 19. Hopefully that will be enough for prime to keep me around.
Thanks again.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Uncle T Prime has no reason to get rid of you after that. The biggest thing is don't blame the other driver for parking over the line and crooked, it being dark or any other bizarre reason we've heard. They expect you to have minor incidents and it sounds like it's relatively minor damage to the other truck. By taking ownership and saying what you will do to prevent it in the future shows that you care and aren't just blowing it off. The only time I've heard of rookies that went through Paid CDL Training Programs being fired after an incident is when they refuse to take ownership for the mistake, texting, rollovers or rear ending another vehicle.
Take a deep breath, it will be ok but you likely will have a couple more discussions about it whether it's on the phone or in person. It's rather common for rookies to have a couple mishaps their first year. They expect it. They also expect you to learn from it and not repeat the same mistakes.
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.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
I work for Prime and one month out I knocked and axle off a loaded trailer. You arent getting fired. Most cases that are really bad they offer to put you back in training but I seriously doubt you will get more than a "be careful next time".
Let me know ifnyou have issues and i will see what I can do. As a member of Prime Driver Advisory Board I have a little pull
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Hello, I’m a rookie driver for prime. Prime helped me get my CDL which I’m forever grateful for. I’ve been otr for roughly 10 months. This morning I was pulling out of a spot at a truck stop going about 3 mph, my trailer swung and the trailer tail caught the side of someone’s truck. It cracked his right side fender, part of his hood, and door mirror. I feel terrible this happened to the truck driver. There’s very minor damage to my trailer. I’m afraid because I don’t know what to expect. This is my first time getting into an accident and after reporting it to my company, I don’t know what the procedure is. Police wasn’t called so I didn’t get a ticket. What should I be expecting next? Any advice would help. Is it possible I could get fired? I love my job :(
Thanks.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.