had my interview with the Pumpkin today with Becky, my recruiter. Everything went well except she wouldnt offer me the conditional hire until I faxed a copy of an accident report that I had in 2004. The accident was not my fault and I wasnt charged. Havent had a ticket in over 7 years (knock on wood). Is this common? Do they normally ask for this before they offer? She said she wanted it to make sure that the ducks were in a row so it wouldnt slow me down in the future while in school. She wanted to get it now. She said that from every thing that we talked about, she sees no problem with me getting hired, but she wants that report first. Now Im nervous. Im anxious and Im scared that I wont get the job for some reason. Is it normal for them to ask for this? Please, someone, reassure me that it is normal and that when I fax it to her she will offer me. Im traveling 100 miles tomorrow to get the report from the state the accident was in. I could get it mailed, but that could take 2-3 weeks. Cant wait that long.

Any thoughts?

Yes that is normal. Also, they cannot TECHNICALLY offer you a job until you pass a drug test and background check. They can invite you to come to thier school but that does not mean that you have the job.

They are known to be a bit ridicilous about that kinda stuff. They turned me down because I admitted to a not at fault accident EVEN THOUGH it WAS NOT even on my report! Thats what honesty got me eh?

Sure...sounds on the level...perfectly normal.
They are required to Know any accident you've been involved in-- going back 10years--she has to see the actual report and CONFIRM you were
not at fault---basically because they're not allowed to "take your word for it"---
You can consider yourself lucky too----some companies will recruit a driver- he will quit a job- take a long bus ride--then some little thing like this will cause the whole deal to fall through. This is a much better way,
let her get all these "ducks" in a row before you ride.

I know that technically they cant offer, but they do offer "conditional" hire pending the drug and physical check. this is what they didnt do today and everyone else said that they offered them on the spot. I get a little nervous about stuff like this when Im not offered on the spot like that. Just wanted to make sure it was normal. I called the DMV to make SURE I wasnt at fault in that accident, and i wasnt...just like I already knew, but like i said, i was and am still nervous!

That is what she said...she said she didnt want this to come up later when i was in training and wanted to make sure we were good on it. This makes me feel MUCH better. Still nervous, because I have terrible luck, but still feel better.

Here is the thing to remember regarding accident reports and this goes for tenured drivers as well as trainees.

If an accident report shows up on your MVR, it does not say if you were at fault or not. It is simply indicating that there is an accident report attached to your name/license number, nothing more.

If you have an accident at any time, get a copy of that report and put it in your file. When you apply for a driving job with any company, they will ask you for a copy of it. As long as it was not your fault, you have nothing to worry about. I have hired drivers with fatality accidents in the past...as long as it wasn't their fault and we have the report on file AND the driver is not suffering any PTSD relating to it, then it's not a problem.

Once again, if it's not your fault, you have nothing to worry about. It's simply the company's way of having all their ducks in a row, so to speak.

Great advice, Twilight Flyer! I wil keep better records from this point forward! You never know when you will need something.

Very great advice...and perfect Idea/plan..you've got to CYA. Keep a copy of every ticket(hopefully You won't get any)--

Let me tell you why:

Lets say you're zipping around Atlanta Loop 285---get a ticket for being in the NO TRUCK LANE--
You pay the ticket, then a month later when it's reported back to your STATE- they put you down for a LANE CHANGE violation....

a dangerous/ improper lane change is a SERIOUS VIOLATION---you now need the copy of the ticket to prove-- it was just a "wrong lane" ticket.

In trucking truer words have seldom been spoken.