Accident affecting job possibilities

[pacificjohn]

I had a lane-change accident back in April that cost insurance a few thousand $$$ (I'll have to get back on a total). Before that, I had no preventable accidents and it has really messed up my job search. Other than this accident, I have a spotless record but it seems like nobody wants to touch me with a 53' pole. Any ideas or suggestions as to how to get another driving job? Thank you for ur advice. :sad:

[slowmoe20]

How much driving exp. do you have?

[pacificjohn]

Forgot to mention that....about 2 years, 1 OTR and 1 local. :?

[GMAN]

Having a moving violation, especially a preventable accident can affect your job search for a while. Most companies primarily seem to look at the last 3 years. Each carrier makes their own policy concerning accidents and moving violations. It is likely due more to the insurance companies than the carriers. I suggest you continue knocking on doors until one opens. There are a few recruiters on this board. You may want to pm Sheepdancer or Twilight Flyer. Both are recruiters. There are a few others, but they have been around for a while. A recruiter could best provide an answer for you. Good luck.

[slowmoe20]

With the experience you have I am sure you can find someone but the problem may be that they may not be someone you want to work for but you may have to for awhile to get your record straightened out.

[cdreid]

what are you looking for? And how bad was the preventable? Bodily injury? Reckless drivng? Any charges etc?

You probably arent going to get that .50 a mile home weekends driving a 2007 pete job... but there should be Tons of companies that would love to hire you. Heck use the classa job search thing.. then try to duck the jbhunt calls :shock:

[pacificjohn]

I did put out the online app and JB Hunt was the first company to get back to me so they beat the flood. Marten did call me but I'm not goin for 48 solo....don't wanna be stuck on the eastern seaboard with an emergency at home and a 3+ day drive home alone. Is JB Hunt really that bad? I'm goin into this job thinking that it is whatever I make of it and as of the short term, at least my bills will be paid. Other than that, just keeping my mind open and hoping to clear up the accident on my record with another year or two of good driving. Oh yeah....having driven for Swift, I think I should deal with JB Hunt positively after that Swift experience (bad experience but combination of rookie mistakes and a dispatcher who couldn't care less about me). Thanks for all the advice! 8)

[cdreid]

isnt THAT bad.

The biggest problem jb has is they'll put anything in a truck.. and thus have a LOT of very bad drivers. They also of course have some great drivers.

JB seems to "punish" drivers. IE you are ever late or unpopular w dispatch they leave you sitting. They seem to sit a LOT. Their lease drivers seem to be their favorites which makes sense as theyre screwing them (they keep all the money they require lease drivers to put into special accounts i understand).
Oh.. and theyre slooow. Godawful slow. This from a guy in a 65mph truck.. (their company drivers).

On the positive side: If you can think of a kind of run or way to run.. they have it. I know some drivers who make great money with them (mostly otr lease drivers). Their trucks are nice and well maintained.. if you can stomach freightshakers. Noone can fault their equipment.

I think the bigest problem w jb is their turnover is so astronomical they treat drivers like numbers. And a lot of the newbies take all the company "training" bs seriously. And dont figure out that if you want 2500+ a week in 5 days or 3k in 7 days your gonna have to run HARD and be creative with the comic book. In other words lazyasses and whiners.

It will be what you make it. And you can always go elsewhere. When they see you quit jb theyre not gonna think "oh no a jobhopper" theyre gonna think "what took him so long"