Fired On Day One Of Training. Co Seeking CDL Reimbursement. Help!

I went to Swift Transportation School in Richmond VA. They paid for my CDL License. After getting my license I went to Syracuse NY to be trained to drive their trucks.

On my first day I went I was driving their truck with a Trainer in the passenger seat. He was on the phone and not giving my instructions and I clipped a parked car. They fired me the next day because of the accident. Now they are seeking reimbursement for the CDL training. I told them I am still willing to work for them and cannot pay back the cost of training.

Is there anything I can do? It doesn't seem fair to fire my on my first day and then want the CDL training cost back. Help.

Unfortunately for you, it is fair to terminate you for hitting a stationary object. It is also legal for them to come after their money, because you DID get your CDL.

What I don't see, is you taking responsibility for the fact that YOU hit a parked car. This is not the fault of the trainer. (Yeah he could have been paying closer attention, but the responsibility lies with you.)

Good luck to you in this market. All you can do is apply everywhere.

The only thing that bothers me here is the part about the trainer being on the phone at the time. I know that when I trained, the trainer was not allowed to be on the phone when I was driving. Was it a hand held device? This could possibly be a mitigating factor here, I’m not sure.

A company like Swift probably has some sort of appeals process where this incident could be reviewed and possibly reversed. The trainer’s phone record could be looked at to see if he was really on the phone.

And how bad was the car “clipped”?

I understand all about a driver accepting responsibility, but if I were Jefferson I would fight like hell to keep my job with Swift.

Yes he should have been checking his mirrors, and keeping his head on a swivel, and paying full attention to his surroundings outside his truck. BUT, driving on day 1? did your trainer drive at first for a while before turning it over to you??

Typically, the trainer, will drive the first-2nd-3rd day giving and showing him how to drive and all that. My trainer, drove a bit, then wanted me to drive, so he could watch me, and see how I did. Actually, not to brag, but he said I did better than most my first time, and from then on I drove my shifts to get used to the hours behind the wheel.

Maybe appeal this decision, as the job market is in a rut, and companies can be extra picky hiring new drivers, ESPECIALLY, after your "clipping" a parked car YIKES!! Good luck whatever comes of this unfortunate incident....But YOU must own up to your mistake, and not put blame on someone else....You did it, you own it period

Good Luck

Ok, I’m going to give you the perspective from a trainer here. Tidbit of background, I am the head trainer at the terminal I am part of for the company I work for. We have approximately 75 drivers and every driver will have to train with me at some in their training before they can be signed off and released for dispatch. Ok now on to the meat and potatoes!

There’s a few things here that concern me. First and foremost yes you need to accepted responsibility. However, you are not the only one to blame. It’s really both you and your trainer’s fault, now let me explain before I get shunned.

My company would view it as such. The driver is not a “qualified” driver meaning he or she is not ready to be released solo for dispatch. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the trainer to insure the safety of him and the trainee, as well as the well-being of everyone around them up to and including the environment(will elaborate if needed but not necessary for this instance). Therefore, the trainer should have not had his or her phone out and instead paying attention to all surroundings and taking extra caution to the needs of your training. This is a major problem in the industry is the lack and I really emphasize the word QUALITY trainers! With that being said, keep in mind, you do need to take responsibility for your actions however, the trainer should not be getting off Scott, clean and clear here. I can guarantee you the trainer would have some explaining to do where I work.

OK, let’s get to a couple key things you need to take away from this: One, except the responsibility and move on from it learn from your mistake. Guess what, you’re human just like the rest of us here. I can guarantee you at some point in time in every one of our careers. I’ll bet you almost everybody has had a preventable accident at some point in time or another, keep your head up, take a deep breath, learn from it and move on Secondly, currently not trying to beat a dead horse here, but you’re unemployed with a debt to repay back to swift. Now, this is an area I don’t have a lot of expertise in as I have worked for one company, and one company only. But when a debt Hass to be repaid, the money has to be coming in, so get a hold of swift and try to appeal the decision and if that doesn’t work look for local dump truck jobs or something they can at least get the income coming back in. I know it may not be what you want but you got to have something coming in in order to settle this debt. Let me explain why. And if somebody has some information on this, it might be worthwhile to jump in and give this individual a heads up but I was under the impression if you were under contract with another carrier That allows you to go through their CDL program and you do not finish the obligation at the terms of that contract. I was thinking that is enough right there to keep you are in eligible from hiring on to another company. Now please somebody that might have a little more experience on this step in and correct me if I’m wrong ! Two years ago, I would’ve told you to consider looking at a different carrier, but with the freight slowing down all across-the-board in believe you me, it is all across-the-board, someone has already said it in another post. Somewhere carriers can be a little more picky and choosy on who they hire and that’s exactly what they are doing. I was at a meeting with safety, training, And recruiting a month ago and we used to take well qualified candidates out of a driving school with a recommendation from the course instructor to come to our company and we have now quit doing that because we do not have the freight available to bring on new graduates like that we are able to be more selective on who we hire. So, with that being said, you might be stuck until either you get the deck cleared up or is Swift agrees to bring you back. I’m not gonna lie. I think it’s a little extreme that they let you go right off the bat, but I also understand there are circumstances as well. Some of the questions they could be asking them selves is this the first of many preventable accidents that could happen or is this just a fluke like I said, with freight, being slow across the board they may not be willing to take the chance. But, this is no reason to get discouraged, because if there is a will, there is a way trust me on that! When I got my CDL, I had a job lined up with Schneider national however, I’m on doing the final background, check and MVR check I had a situation in which I didn’t think was going to really affect me much due to the ruling. Unfortunately it did. I applied to nearly 50 different companies at the end of the day. I had three that were willing to take me. Of course after doing the research, asking the questions thinking about which company would be best for me. I chose the company I am currently at and have not looked back for seven years and at this particular point in time I have no desire to change. Had I waited until now to start driving there is a very good chance. I could be in the boat of thank you but no thanks. So, in conclusion, I feel that what my point is as you need to really come to terms of what happened, learn from it plead with Swift to give you another chance if they are even allowed to because insurance may say no and if not take a deep breath and realize we’re human we make mistakes, and the sun will come up tomorrow. To be continued.

OK now that I have a fresh sheet, let’s continue. I really take this “situation“ to heart only because I had a really bad instructor when I started driving. The instructor was in it for the money and that was it. He continued on to train multiple other drivers that in the long run did not succeed. Meanwhile, the money line his pockets, and that’s all the driver cared about today, said driver is no longer a trainer after a major accident due to not following simple procedures, so this is why I take a very strong interest in trying to reach out to new drivers that are thinking about getting in the industry as well as drivers that are in training already. I like to see people succeed, so when you’re coming on here and talking about a driver instructor that is more concerned about his phone Dan what is going on with you as the trainee, the equipment, and the outside surrounding environment. Personally, in my opinion, it’s an unsafe environment. I personally feel you need to bring something up to swift about it or file a complaint assuming that’s even an option at this point. I don’t know where you stand at this point with your employment with him or if you have even tried to appeal. For other members reading this, I truly apologize I know this may be completely off-topic, or I may have derailed this post, and I promise it is not what I was intending to do but like I said earlier, the lack of good quality trainers in this industry is becoming a nightmare and I would like to think at some point in time everybody, if not close to a good majority people can relate.

OP, best of luck to you in the future. Keep us updated as to what happens like others have said take responsibility for your actions and apply everywhere. In order to land a good quality paying job you’re going to need the experience. If you have any other questions or concerns reach out to these guys, I’ve been working through the shadows here since I started driving just not been actively participating in the forum over the last seven years. There is a wealth of knowledge here, and even though these individuals may seem like they are harping on you, I promise you they are just laying it out there as it is. Hence the name of this website “trucking truth“. nobody is going to hold anything back.

Given how bad the market is currently, I'd see if you couldn't market yourself to Swift to resume work with them.

I'd refrain from saying anything about the trainer, own up to the mistake, present a game plan on how you would prevent it from occurring.

Then ask if it's possible to perhaps take the Top Gun program (again if you already did). Offer to enroll in whatever safety programs you can and be humble and genuine. By thinking outside the box and a bit of relationship building, you might be able to get back in there. I would write a very professional email and follow it up with conversations.

Not bashing on you. But you need to understand that you where behind the wheel and not your trainer, so the fault is on you. The trainer and you should have had your heads on a swivel looking all around. The trainer has too get a feeling on what your abilities are and advise you on what you are doing correctly and what needs improvement. Coaching you onward and doing more observation as your time goes forward until he releases you to the next trainer or you go solo. As for the debt, you signed a contract with Swift and you will need to honor it. You did not complete 12 months employment with them so you owe them the amount for your training. I doubt any of the mega companies will touch you until you have repaid that debit and get atleast a year of safe driving under your belt. Look at the various class B jobs out there. Driving dump trucks and garbage trucks etc. One thing that gets beginning drivers in trouble is, they focus too much on the tractor and not enough on the trailer. Truth be told, their job is to drive the trailer.