Accidents Happen
Topic 3409 | Page 1
And as no police or DOT where involved I'm still classed as clean.....that's if I did want to move on to another company....right?
As far as staying with Swift is sounds like you're just fine. But that incident will likely be put on your DAC since the company has written it up. If you have a year of OTR under your belt and that's your only incident you'll qualify to work almost anywhere. But you will have to get a copy of your DAC at some point to see if it's on there and you'll likely have to report it on future applications.
Congrats on getting through this winter! Indeed one of the worst anyone can remember. But the road has a way of reaching up and biting you on the *ss the moment you let your guard down. The laws of physics show no mercy.
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
How does a flat tire turn into an accident? Isn't flat tires common? Even rubbing a curb on occasion? In my one year of driving I've had two flats on my trailer before I even left the yard and one blow out going down the freeway. My company didn't even talk to me I just called our roadside assistance and never heard anything about it. Are most companies as strict as Swift when it comes to a flat tire? Even from rubbing a curb? Seems extreme to me.
Are most companies as strict as Swift when it comes to a flat tire? Even from rubbing a curb? Seems extreme to me.
Chris, you've been out there for a year already so you know how many gray areas there are in trucking. Because of that, black and white statements like "honesty is the best policy" aren't always accurate. I mean, you're not going to walk into a scale house and voluntarily tell the DOT everything they can write you up for, correct? That would not be wise!
Well Sheffield Mick found himself in one of those positions. He could have easily just told the company he had a flat tire and taken it to a shop for repairs. Nobody would have thought anything of it. But he also knows that lying to your company or the DOT can get you in a world of trouble. So he decided the best policy was to be honest with his company about how it happened. So naturally the company is going to take note of all of the details they're given and handle the situation by the book.
This is the kind of stuff you just can't teach new drivers, ya know what I mean? I'd bet a million bucks if the same thing happened to Sheffield tomorrow he'd simply tell the company he has a flat tire and doesn't know how it happened. Is that the "right" thing to do? It depends on who you ask. The company would tell you they'll fire you for falsifying anything. And yet at the same time they'll tell you they'll fire you if you make too many mistakes. So do you admit to your mistakes and chance getting fired or do you lie about what happened and chance getting fired?
That's the reality in trucking. You're constantly taking calculated risks. You're regularly finding yourself in gray areas out there. And experience is the only way to learn a lot of these lessons.
For instance, they put a load on you that's right at the maximum weight. You're almost certain your axle weights are going to be off by a little bit, but the only way to get it legal is to drive it illegally to the next truck stop scale. If you get caught, you pay the fine. What is a driver supposed to do? You're in a risky situation and nobody has a solution for it. It's simply up to the driver to take the chance of getting fined even though he has no other choice.
To make this situation worse, I suspect hitting the curb isn't what flattened the tire. If it was a $70 repair and there was no tire damage it sounds like hitting the curb knocked the tire off the rim, which means it was probably flat already but still on the bead. Hitting the curb knocked it off the bead. So Sheffield probably ran over something to flatten the tire or the tire was already flat.
Sheffield, if hitting a curb is considered an accident then every truck driver in America has about 100 accidents a year. It sounds like your job is safe and after a short game of "pleasing the safety people" you'll be back out there doing your thing. I would definitely ask about your DAC report though and get a copy of it to see what they've put on there. Maybe they won't put anything on there, maybe they will. If they do, you just want to make sure the report is accurate. You wouldn't want it to simply say, "Preventable accident" without an explanation of exactly what happened.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
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.DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Sheffield, if hitting a curb is considered an accident then every truck driver in America has about 100 accidents a year. It sounds like your job is safe and after a short game of "pleasing the safety people" you'll be back out there doing your thing. I would definitely ask about your DAC report though and get a copy of it to see what they've put on there. Maybe they won't put anything on there, maybe they will. If they do, you just want to make sure the report is accurate. You wouldn't want it to simply say, "Preventable accident" without an explanation of exactly what happened.
Thanks Brett/Chris, I've already taken one of the tests and past. I have also had other tires blow out and never had a problem Chris. With this one it was the damage to the rim on the hub that caught me out. Like I said I could have fixed it and made it disappear, but the trailer was brand new and I wanted it done the right way. I will ask about my DAC report and see if anything is on there.....I'm sure my DM told me that nothing has been recorded......but it's always worth me checking.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
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.DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
Sorry to hear that Mick! I'm sure you'll be fine though. This is a very very small incident.
Sheffield, you've got the right attitude and work ethic, you'll see this will all be fine. Trucking companies love guys like you - hang in there it just gets better.
You did the right thing i got my start at swift so did my friend he curbed one at night looked at the rim saw it bent in didn't report it and the next driver saw it on his pre trip reported it my friend got a qualcom message he was underload at the time message said come to closest terminal. He got terminated. It was his home terminal but not the terminal he picked up the tractor at. his dac reports abandoning equipment. reason being swift policy is the tractor needs returned by the driver to the shop in which you received the equipment. not the closest one. If he just reported the curbing he may drive today instead of asking do you want fries with that.>
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
If a company says "Report to the NEAREST terminal ," then fires said driver, I do NOT think they can say "employee abandoned truck." Your friend needs to get that fixed on his DAC.
Dave
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
Got into some bad news this week......I managed to burst a tire on my trailer by going over the curb with it. I now know I could have gotten away with this and fixed it myself. But I followed the company rules and called it in......big mistake. In Swift this is known as a crash and carry's points to it. I got 12 points to go with my already 10 points for the police ticket I got which now gives me a grand total of 22. I now have to take a truck test and a safety test on a simulator. Swift pride themselves on getting their drivers up to speed on everything.....yea I know.....Swift don't have the best reputation out there as far as careful, cautious drivers are concerned. The tire damage came to all of $70 to repair (no damage to tire and just a ding in the hub) and I now get three days suspension and written up. The thing that gets me the most about this, is that I drove without incident throughout the worse winter in North America for thirty years.....without a problem
The good news is that I'm really ok with it....they know me now and I pull my weight, do the miles, get there on time and don't ***** and moan. Back at my own terminal today the staff (and safety manager) where joking with me about it....which means that my feet are firmly under the table. And as no police or DOT where involved I'm still classed as clean.....that's if I did want to move on to another company....right?
I wonder if this is something new with swift?? I haddn't heard of this being considered a "crash" when I was with them 2 years ago...
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
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Got into some bad news this week......I managed to burst a tire on my trailer by going over the curb with it. I now know I could have gotten away with this and fixed it myself. But I followed the company rules and called it in......big mistake. In Swift this is known as a crash and carry's points to it. I got 12 points to go with my already 10 points for the police ticket I got which now gives me a grand total of 22. I now have to take a truck test and a safety test on a simulator. Swift pride themselves on getting their drivers up to speed on everything.....yea I know.....Swift don't have the best reputation out there as far as careful, cautious drivers are concerned. The tire damage came to all of $70 to repair (no damage to tire and just a ding in the hub) and I now get three days suspension and written up. The thing that gets me the most about this, is that I drove without incident throughout the worse winter in North America for thirty years.....without a problem
The good news is that I'm really ok with it....they know me now and I pull my weight, do the miles, get there on time and don't ***** and moan. Back at my own terminal today the staff (and safety manager) where joking with me about it....which means that my feet are firmly under the table. And as no police or DOT where involved I'm still classed as clean.....that's if I did want to move on to another company....right?
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices