Truck Driving Jobs

One · #1 06-26-2011, 01:45 AM

I'd like to say i have a great safety record, nothing but minor damage to my name, but while talking to companies I find that many count not at fault accidents just like a dot reportable...what gives? I got rear ended in my pov, not my fault, but in this crazy state it still goes on my MVR (!) and is counted against me. So now i have to list 3 accidents including a fatality wreck, non of wich were even preventables and one was in my pov...
Recruiters count incidents and see 'fatality' and seem to give up right there as if i was a freaking liability.

GMAN · #2 06-26-2011, 02:12 AM

It has never made sense to me that most companies will count all accidents the same, whether the driver is at fault or not. I don't see why any accident should appear on a drivers MVR unless he was cited.

One · #3 07-07-2011, 12:58 AM

I got some insight! CSA2010 is to blame! Even not at fault accidents are counted against carriers! sigh!

Fozzy · #4 07-07-2011, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One

I got some insight! CSA2010 is to blame! Even not at fault accidents are counted against carriers! sigh!

This has a lot more to do with the legal ramifications of a manager hiring someone with a poor or even perceivable bad driving record. I just got an email about it the other day from corporate. There are far far too many drivers out there to accept the risk of losing a lawsuit and having your company going bankrupt by hiring someone with accidents on their records. Say you hire a driver who has a couple of accidents or tickets on their record and he or she gets involved in a fatal accident.. the driver (especially if they were killed in the accident) leaves nothing to cross examine and no one to blame except the manager and the company for "daring" to put the driver out there in the first place.. welcome to the prime effect of the "deep pocket / Jackpot justice" system.

One · #5 07-10-2011, 02:38 PM

hmm, i see what you mean, but this keeps raising the standards to where to get a job soon you will have to be a blank slate. Some of these cos. wanted me when i had 6 mos exp.- now they dont like me no more. With only 1 minor preventable and only a couple of non- preventables, no tickets on mvr, I think is a sign of a good driver.

Fozzy · #6 07-16-2011, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One

hmm, i see what you mean, but this keeps raising the standards to where to get a job soon you will have to be a blank slate. Some of these cos. wanted me when i had 6 mos exp.- now they dont like me no more. With only 1 minor preventable and only a couple of non- preventables, no tickets on mvr, I think is a sign of a good driver.

You may be the best driver in the world.. to the insurance companies and to some manager who might end up getting sued for millions for "allowing" you get into one of his trucks, the candidate with zero history might just win. I'm not saying that companies are all this paranoid.. but seeing some of the things that I've seen in the last few years.. its almost getting to the point where we have to be. We lost a good driver a while back who was one of the best in the business... he was sitting at a traffic light and some doped up woman lost consciousness behind the wheel of her car and ran into the back of his trailer.. she was injured and the baby in her car in the car seat was ok.. the whole experience of this (the woman of course lawyered up and tried to sue) just made the driver say "to hell with it". After our company and our insurance company went through all the protection process that they had to to make sure that all of our bases where legally covered (remember he was sitting completely still at a red light).. he just felt that it was no longer worth it. Be careful out there drivers!!

One · #7 07-17-2011, 05:05 PM

In my experience in a courtroom, if one lawyer wants to bring driving history in as evidence, the other lawyer may do so too, so a clean MVR and 1 minor preventable in 10 years of driving would be a pretty good defense. Just like if you get accused of murder twice and tried in court and aquitted, the third time they cannot act like you were conviced twice b4 and give you life in prision under the 3 strikes rule. Usually your history is not even permissable unless both parties agree, then the judge may allow it. ...Often hiring managers just do not know enough about the law to know if they are opening themselves up for liability or not..logically you should be more exposed with a rookie driver than one with 10 years exp. and a track record.