Truck Driving Jobs

mbreeze36 · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 15

yesterday i was just in an accident the company i drive for had the truck and trlr towed so they could get the black off of it sometime tommorrow b4 anyone ask the truck and trlr had cosmetic damage nothing major as far as the 4 wheeler well they walked away from it but their car was totaled i was not given a citation nor ticket but my question is this when i asked today will i or am i going to b terminated i was told i had to talk to the accident supervisor and my fm im just wondering if i will b terminated over this

flood · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 607 Location: tennesse

we will need more info as to what happened before we can help you

RottsATruckin · Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 178 Location: Traer IA

I’m going to proceed as if this is not a “troll’
First there is no way for us to know if you’ll be terminated, none.
We are not your employer, only they know what they’re willing to put up with.
What are the details of the accident? was it preventable, was it your fault, has this happened before, how good of an employee are you? These things will at least give us enough info to make an educated guess as to what our own companies might do.
If you sent in a hand written accident report please tell me it doesn’t look like the above post, (no capitalization, no punctuation, improper syntax and tons of misspelled words) you need not be a literary genius but know this, that report is a legal document that will be available to anybody and if poorly written and taken out of context could mean the difference between having a job and going to jail.
If the accident was a minor one such as backing into a car or bumping one during a lane change you may not get fired if you have the right attitude (admit you screwed up, you’ll learn from your mistakes yada-yada) but if you were speeding/following too close, well you may be SOL.
Good luck.

mbreeze36 · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 15

well ok here u go i was going south on i65 in kentucky i passed this 4 wheeler i got down the road a bit after passing them i put on signal b4 going to change lanes i check all my mirrors didnt c anything so i proceed to get back in the right lane well they had sped up and were in my blind spot at the passenger side steer tire i didnt know it and then that is when the accident ocurred after i made contact i push on brakes the car came in the front the tractor hit the front whipped back around and the fished tailed then flipped on the top slid into a rock wall they walked away with no injurys thankfully and i wasnt cited nor given a ticket to my surprise as well as my companies but after all this they the company had the truck and trlr towed so that the info on the black box could b gotten but i asked the accident dept if im going to terminated over this they said i had to talk to their supervisor as well as my fleet mgr do u think i will b termnated over this accident

Uturn2001 · Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:24 pm Post subject:

I agree with the above posters. There is no way to know what your company may or may not do since we have not been given enough information. It is likely too that your company may not have enough info as of yet to make a decision either.

I will tell you this much though. It is not uncommon for several days to pass before a company will give you the word as to what if any action will be taken as a result of an accident. Many companies have a review board that will investigate an accident and then make recommendations. Also the company's insurance company may actually have the last word as to whether or not you get to keep your current job.

Finally, and I do hate to tell you this, do not think you are totally out of the woods yet when it comes to getting a citation. It is still possible that the police or the state/district attorney may decide, upon further review and investigation, to issue one or more citations in the near future. Sometimes accidents are very clear cut and sometimes not.

If you do get terminated do not think this is the end of your career. If your driving and work record is in good shape otherwise should be able to find a company willing to give you a shot so long as you do not lie or otherwise try to cover up this incident.

mbreeze36 · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 15

no wasnt speeding can only go 65 ky's speed limit is 70 did everything your suppose to do in a lane change signal and etc and everyone i spoke yesterday including the dot officer acted as though they told them it was their fault no i didnt make out an accident report the officer told i could get 1 from bowling green ky post if i wanted to he was nice about whole thing even afterwards i was shook up alil watching a car go sliding on its top then hit a rock wall thought o my god someone just died scares u know

mbreeze36 · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 15

well i was told kentucky doesnt give out citations nor tickets after everything was over with that came from the dot officer who told my company this to everyones suprise and the insurance adjustor came and looked at it and even found out that the people where laughing and joking and walking around the hositpal that was good for me to hear

RottsATruckin · Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 178 Location: Traer IA

As a fellow driver I’d say you are “at fault” also known as a “preventable accident” I don’t know if you have the same mirrors on your truck as I did, but on mine I have only one blind spot (directly behind my trailer) I can see cars all along my truck and would have no excuse for hitting one during a lane change.
The company may take several days, if not weeks to determine if they should fire you or not.
The company I drove for would give a good driver (who has the proper attitude) another chance, but that’s one company.
Unless you drive a red truck that’s based out of Missoula MT, I have no idea what your company will do.
When I pass somebody I always stay aware of their proximity to my truck, if they’re suddenly gone from view then I don’t move back over until I thoroughly check my mirrors, signal and then slowly move back into that lane.

That being said, I’ve always wanted to do that to those stupid drivers who speed up and sit in our blind spots. :wink:
BOL

Uturn2001 · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:23 am Post subject:

Just a word of advice. any time you are in an accident you always need to fill out an accident report and take photos.

If your company does not provide you with an accident kit you can buy them at any truck stop.

mike3fan · Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Posts: 1715 Location: michigan

mbreeze36 wrote: did everything your suppose to do in a lane change signal and etc and everyone i spoke yesterday including the dot officer acted as though they told them it was their fault

Ummm.no you didn't do everything you are supposed to do,you were not aware of other vehicles around you and you made an improper lane change(lane was occupied with another vehicle) also no matter what anyone tells you,you are at fault and it is considered a preventable accident.whether or not you recieve a ticket or are terminated these facts are true.

I have no idea if your company will terminate you or not,but I would have to guess yes.

As other posters have said it your responsibity as a professional driver to be aware of your surroundings at all times,I always keep my eye on that car I am passing to make sure where they are and to insure that they do not speed up and cause an exact instance which you had,I always expect them to do just what they did to you.

matcat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 560 Location: Sumter, SC

Well I will tell you this much, after my accident I drove for 3 weeks before my company decided to fire me! And I will tell you another thing, you will have a real tough time finding a job if you do get fired.

Ultimately that is a preventable, even without the hood mounted mirrors, you should be able to see almost all of both sides of your truck because I have yet to see a modern tractor that didn't have fish eye mirrors on the regular mirrors. And as others have stated, especially when passing you need to keep and eye on the vehicles you are passing! You have to know where they are at all times, same thing if a vehicle passes you, keep an eye on them because if for some reason you need to get over, you need to know if you can or not.

Like that other driver said, if they disappear from site stay in your lane until you can see them, if they don't reappear slowly come on over, if they are there they will let you know it!

This is one reason why whenever I did do lane changes I would take my time doing them, so that if I missed site of something that I could always get back over to where I was.

Chasing Daylight · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 131 Location: SE Arizona

I sure can't speak for your company. But I can't think of one off the top of my head that wouldn't give you the axe for this. You clipped a car with your passenger side steer. This tells me a few things.

1. You didn't check your passenger side fish eye, or it was out of adjustment.

2. You didn't check the site glass window on the bottom of your passenger side door (remember that one?)

3. You didn't look down your hood to the left, as the nose of the car was likely ahead of your bumper if you flipped it.

4. you were in a 65mph truck in a 70mph zone, you had no business in the left lane, unless there was an accident or emergency vehicle ahead.

5. The car you hit did exactly what a million other cars have done a million other times, you should have expected it.

I don't mean to sound harsh. And I wasn't in the truck, so maybe there is something I don't know (maybe the company was too cheap to have fish eyes on the front of the truck, or somesuch.) But, no matter how you cut it, this one was preventible, and it's gonna be hard to come out of it unscathed.

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