Accident Without Citation Deemed “At Fault,” Black-Balling Me

You don't need a citation or property damage for the accident to be reported. If there is one or more of the three below, it will be reported

1) a death

2) an injury that requires treatment away from the scene

3) towed vehicles

Since they gave you fentanyl, I'm assuming you left the scene in ambulance and the motorcycle was towed. It's reportable.

You're at fault because there were no other vehicles involved and it wasn't due to road conditions or the weather.

Nobody will hire you because the report says you were riding on the shoulder and hit a guardrail. On paper, it sounds like reckless behavior.

Thanks for the reply.

I can understand it being of concern to a recruiter or safety officer and it meriting further investigation, but denying someone with a spotless history otherwise worries me about the culture of these companies overall. Seems strange to assume that I’d be a law abiding member of society who has maintained constant employment and professional licenses since college who then decided to start acting foolishly suddenly. Any investigation further into my history as a professional or into my personal life would only uncover desirable information in relation to potential employment.

I get it, they receive thousands of applications a week and toss anything in the can that doesn’t check every single box they have. Too bad the school I attended didn't warn me. They certainly knew about this accident.

Hopefully someone in a similar situation will read this thread and be more informed than I was about what to expect from the recruitment process.

For what it’s worth, I’ve applied to Western Express and a few others that weren’t my first choice and I appreciate everyone’s input.

Also, I’ve now been accepted for orientation at a company next week and I’m excited about working for them and appreciate the opportunity, but given my experience thus far the other irons will stay in the fire for now. This carrier that accepted me knows about the accident and we talked it over, the same as the other carriers. I even double checked. I’ll report back on another thread once I get started there and it seems like this issue won’t get in the way again.

You don't need a citation or property damage for the accident to be reported. If there is one or more of the three below, it will be reported

1) a death

2) an injury that requires treatment away from the scene

3) towed vehicles

Since they gave you fentanyl, I'm assuming you left the scene in ambulance and the motorcycle was towed. It's reportable.

You're at fault because there were no other vehicles involved and it wasn't due to road conditions or the weather.

Nobody will hire you because the report says you were riding on the shoulder and hit a guardrail. On paper, it sounds like reckless behavior.

I've riden motorcycles and road raced for many decades. Various states handle single rider crashes differently. In CO for instance, a single rider is charged with reckless driving in the event of a crash as its assumed the rider was riding reckless enough to crash. Unfair? Probably, but it's just the reality of it.

There may be some avenues to remedy the accident report through legal means. It will cost you time, energy and money. I'd recommend calling Law Tigers or a similar rider advocate law group and seeing if you can get the report removed or changed to no fault.

I hit a patch of oil on cold tires. At the time, I allegedly may have been doing in excess of 135 mph in a 45 zone. The resultant high side, left me with some head trauma, a broken shoulder, cracked hip and some road rash and burns from body armor panels melting into my skin. I was transported for care and in the hospital for a couple days.

The officer charged me with reckless driving and filled out an accident report listed as at fault. Both of which I went to court on with evidence showing the oil patch, etc. In my case, the judge dismissed the charge and changed the accident report to no fault as the officer didn't show up to court and of all things a different officer did but was for a different case. The judge seemed very irritated with both the officers. I got very very lucky.

Thanks for the reply.

I can understand it being of concern to a recruiter or safety officer and it meriting further investigation, but denying someone with a spotless history otherwise worries me about the culture of these companies overall. Seems strange to assume that I’d be a law abiding member of society who has maintained constant employment and professional licenses since college who then decided to start acting foolishly suddenly. Any investigation further into my history as a professional or into my personal life would only uncover desirable information in relation to potential employment.

I get it, they receive thousands of applications a week and toss anything in the can that doesn’t check every single box they have. Too bad the school I attended didn't warn me. They certainly knew about this accident.

Hopefully someone in a similar situation will read this thread and be more informed than I was about what to expect from the recruitment process.

For what it’s worth, I’ve applied to Western Express and a few others that weren’t my first choice and I appreciate everyone’s input.

Also, I’ve now been accepted for orientation at a company next week and I’m excited about working for them and appreciate the opportunity, but given my experience thus far the other irons will stay in the fire for now. This carrier that accepted me knows about the accident and we talked it over, the same as the other carriers. I even double checked. I’ll report back on another thread once I get started there and it seems like this issue won’t get in the way again.

You don't need a citation or property damage for the accident to be reported. If there is one or more of the three below, it will be reported

1) a death

2) an injury that requires treatment away from the scene

3) towed vehicles

Since they gave you fentanyl, I'm assuming you left the scene in ambulance and the motorcycle was towed. It's reportable.

You're at fault because there were no other vehicles involved and it wasn't due to road conditions or the weather.

Nobody will hire you because the report says you were riding on the shoulder and hit a guardrail. On paper, it sounds like reckless behavior.

Best wishes, and welcome to the forum!

G'Town kinda nailed it, but I sure hope this works out for you; please let us know!

As Ms. Laura said, if you'll add AT LEAST your state to your profile, should this fall through, some of us have some 'little known' 2nd chance companies.

Again, thanks & good luck!

~ Anne ~

I can understand it being of concern to a recruiter or safety officer and it meriting further investigation, but denying someone with a spotless history otherwise worries me about the culture of these companies overall. Seems strange to assume that I’d be a law abiding member of society who has maintained constant employment and professional licenses since college who then decided to start acting foolishly suddenly. Any investigation further into my history as a professional or into my personal life would only uncover desirable information in relation to potential employment.

It’s strange that you’d prefer they basically ignore what happened… within the last year. Although I’m happy you found a company willing to give you a chance, I do not agree with your overall summation.

This is a driving job. Your most current driving record, MVR is your primary resume and matters more than your professional or personal integrity in an unrelated field. Unfortunately you are in tight competition with candidates maintaining spotless driving records. That’s reality. The three rejections indicate they had better qualified candidates.

It’s not a negative reflection on any company’s culture…quite the contrary. It’s a basic part of the vetting process. They want to invest their training dollars on the best qualified candidates with the highest probability of success, safe operation and the lowest liability risk. That right there is part of every trucking company culture… as it should be and must be. “Safety”. It trumps everything else and must be foremost in every professional drivers approach and thought process.

Good luck with your opportunity. You’ll likely succeed. I mean that sincerely.