[Ford390pwr]

Originally Posted by 01WS6

I checked my companies handbook and there really is no mention about what to do about reporting an accident that occured in your personal vehicle.

I do not believe that the carrier needs to have a policy that requires you to report an accident in your POV. In my studying for my CDL knowledge test I read the following:

Nationwide CDL Rules affecting commercial drivers in all states.
You must notify your employer within 30 days of any traffic violations (except parking). This is true no matter what type of vehicle you were driving.

Am I reading this wrong?

[Rev.Vassago]

No, you're reading it correctly.

[golfhobo]

I have still not fully scanned the regs concerning "accidents" (especially in your POV) but.... here is the reg currently being discussed:

Subpart C—Notification requirements and employer responsibilities §383.31 Notification of convictions for driver violations. (a) Each person who operates a commercial motor vehicle, who has a commercial driver’s license issued by a State or jurisdiction, and who is convicted of violating, in any type of motor vehicle, a State or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control (other than a parking violation) in a State or jurisdiction other than the one which issued his/her license, shall notify an official designated by the State or jurisdiction which issued such license, of such conviction. The notification must be made within 30 days after the date that person has been convicted.

(b) Each person who operates a commercial motor vehicle, who has a commercial driver’s license issued by a State or jurisdiction, and who is convicted of violating, in any type of motor vehicle, a State or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control (other than a parking violation), shall notify his/her current employer of such conviction. The notification must be made within 30 days after the date that the person has been convicted. If the driver is not currently employed, he/she must notify the State or jurisdiction which issued the license according to §383.31(a).

(c) Notification. The notification to the State official and employer must be made in writing and contain the following information:
(c)(1) Driver’s full name;
(c)(2) Driver’s license number;
(c)(3) Date of conviction;
(c)(4) The specific criminal or other offense(s), serious traffic violation(s), and other violation(s) of State or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, for which the person was convicted and any suspension, revocation, or cancellation of certain driving privileges which resulted from such conviction(s);
(c)(5) Indication whether the violation was in a commercial motor vehicle;
(c)(6) Location of offense; and
(c)(7) Driver’s signature.

............

The gist of that is.... if you are convicted of a traffic violation within the state that issued your licence, you only need to notify your employer within 30 days OF THE CONVICTION. Outside the state.... you have to notify the employer AND your DMV.

Until I find (or the Rev provides) a reg stating otherwise.... an accident in your POV that does NOT result in a conviction of a traffic violation does NOT require notification to anyone (except maybe your personal insurance company.)

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by Ford390pwr

I do not believe that the carrier needs to have a policy that requires you to report an accident in your POV. In my studying for my CDL knowledge test I read the following:

Nationwide CDL Rules affecting commercial drivers in all states.
You must notify your employer within 30 days of any traffic violations (except parking). This is true no matter what type of vehicle you were driving.

Am I reading this wrong?

You MAY very well be. Your CDL manual is referring to TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS (which MAY follow an accident) whereas the quote you included in your post mentioned ONLY reporting of ACCIDENTS in your POV.

[phillip63]

The law is the law , and rules are the rules , and if you cant read ,write and understand the basic english language, you all get what you deserve.

" you must report all traffic fines , convictions and forfeitures with in 24 hours or the next business day to holders of a cdl in the employ of a commercial carrier"

end of story and pay attention to the wording.

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by phillip63

The law is the law , and rules are the rules , and if you cant read ,write and understand the basic english language, you all get what you deserve.

" you must report all traffic fines , convictions and forfeitures with in 24 hours or the next business day to holders of a cdl in the employ of a commercial carrier"

end of story and pay attention to the wording.

Okay... I paid attention to the wording. WHERE did it mention an accident that DIDN'T result in a citation, fine, conviction or forfeiture? And WHY would I need to report the things you DID mention TO a CDL holder?

Please give the reference for the quote you cited. I don't believe I've ever read those words on the FMCSA site.

You joined this board THIS month of THIS year, and have 2 whole posts.... and you think you are Paul Harvey now?

[Twilight Flyer]

OK, I’m sticking my head into a CAD discussion for a brief shining moment, since I still do follow the board at times – usually when I get an e-mail that Kevin is complaining again. :roll:

So here’s the straight skinny on what everyone is discussing. I’ve been in the office side of the trucking business for nearly 8 years and I’ve ordered and reviewed thousands and thousands of MVRS and DAC reports. So I speak from experience and know what I’m talking about.

An accident report on an MVR does not and never will indicate fault. All an MVR accident report does is indicate that there was some sort of accident report filled out by a “qualified” LEO that is now attached to your CDL/DL and is residing in a file cabinet or on a website or in some database somewhere. And it will always be there. The only legitimate reason for an accident report NOT to show up on an MVR will be due to clerical error, although I have seen instances where it took quite some time for the accident report to show up on the MVR. But over the years, I’ve spoken to many drivers that have dropped a lot of dollars on lawyers that said they could get an accident report removed from an MVR, all to no avail. It might happen, but I’ve never seen it.

Now, regarding that actual accident report – to a trucking company that sees it on the MVR, it means they will want a copy of it. Period. As far as the deer hit, no sweat. Make sure you have a copy of it and fax it to any potential employer that asks. I worked a guy several years ago that had 7 accidents on his 3 year MVR…all of them were animal hits – deer, dog, horses (3 of them to be exact…right on a PA highway in the fog). But he had reports on all 7 of them and never had a single problem. It happens.

However, the rear ender is going to be a headache in more ways than one.

Many times, an accident on an MVR will be accompanied by a separate MVR entry for a moving violation and that will usually indicate fault right there. In the original posters case, his MVR will ALWAYS show the accident – well, at least for the length of the state’s records keeping. Some states let things fall off after 3 years, some 5, some 7, some 10, and at least 3 of them are forever MVRS (MO, SC, and MA), meaning nothing ever drops off. But for the length of that MVR record, that accident report will show as a listing, regardless of the outcome of the court case. Again, it is only a pointer to a document, nothing more.

But again with the OP, he will also have that charge for careless driving listed on his MVR, happening on the same date as the accident. Any safety person or recruiter with a barely functioning brain will be able to put 2 and 2 together and that will be the end of that. Hmmm….accident…careless driving…same date…NEXT! Now you see where this is going.

Even worse, in the case of the OP, the fact that the accident report indicates he was at fault, will be a problem. EVEN if he gets the charge of careless driving dismissed in court and removed from his MVR, that accident report cannot be changed. It is an official document. What the OP needs to do IF he gets the charge dismissed is append a copy of the ruling to a copy of the accident report that he should have available to him at all times, if he plans on looking for another driving job. When a potential company asks about it, he can fax it all right over. End of story and no problem.

But…plead to a lesser charge and your screwed. Lose the case and your screwed. Either way, there will be a moving violation or miscellaneous charge on your MVR that will be tied to that accident report by the date. Whether that charge is careless driving or an equipment violation or a jaywalking ticket, it’s going to indicate to any interested party that the accident report was correct and the driver simply plead it down to avoid points and the inevitable insurance rate hike.

Your only hope with future employers is to not plea bargain, but to get that moving violation complete removed. Then hold on to the “victory” and supply it when asked.

However, all of that doesn’t even touch the fact that you haven’t reported it to your company yet. That alone will probably end up getting you terminated and slapped with a company policy violation at the very least, regardless of the outcome, because they will see those accident reports when they pull your next MVR. Had you reported it immediately, told your safety director exactly what had happened and what you were doing, he most likely would have simply told you to keep him informed and that would have been the end of it. Even losing the court case would most likely not have effected your employment. You see, it’s gone beyond the accident and the charge – now it’s all about trust. The fact that you didn’t report it immediately conjures up images of someone trying to hide something and right or wrong, that is exactly the perception you are giving to any interested party. To the posters of this board, the majority probably believes you and sympathizes with you. But to a safety director, who is ultimately responsible for who he leaves in a company’s truck, that’s going to be a major red flag and likely result in an immediate termination. I’m not casting judgment…just stating the probables.

I’ve said this before for the years I’ve been part of CAD – in this industry, full disclosure is always your best bet. Doing so now is probably going to be too late. But good luck with it. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out.

You may all now carry on.

[RostyC]

Hey TF. Hope all is well.

That's all I have to say on this subject.

[01WS6]

Originally Posted by Twilight Flyer

OK, I’m sticking my head into a CAD discussion for a brief shining moment, since I still do follow the board at times – usually when I get an e-mail that Kevin is complaining again. :roll:

So here’s the straight skinny on what everyone is discussing. I’ve been in the office side of the trucking business for nearly 8 years and I’ve ordered and reviewed thousands and thousands of MVRS and DAC reports. So I speak from experience and know what I’m talking about.

An accident report on an MVR does not and never will indicate fault. All an MVR accident report does is indicate that there was some sort of accident report filled out by a “qualified” LEO that is now attached to your CDL/DL and is residing in a file cabinet or on a website or in some database somewhere. And it will always be there. The only legitimate reason for an accident report NOT to show up on an MVR will be due to clerical error, although I have seen instances where it took quite some time for the accident report to show up on the MVR. But over the years, I’ve spoken to many drivers that have dropped a lot of dollars on lawyers that said they could get an accident report removed from an MVR, all to no avail. It might happen, but I’ve never seen it.

Now, regarding that actual accident report – to a trucking company that sees it on the MVR, it means they will want a copy of it. Period. As far as the deer hit, no sweat. Make sure you have a copy of it and fax it to any potential employer that asks. I worked a guy several years ago that had 7 accidents on his 3 year MVR…all of them were animal hits – deer, dog, horses (3 of them to be exact…right on a PA highway in the fog). But he had reports on all 7 of them and never had a single problem. It happens.

However, the rear ender is going to be a headache in more ways than one.

Many times, an accident on an MVR will be accompanied by a separate MVR entry for a moving violation and that will usually indicate fault right there. In the original posters case, his MVR will ALWAYS show the accident – well, at least for the length of the state’s records keeping. Some states let things fall off after 3 years, some 5, some 7, some 10, and at least 3 of them are forever MVRS (MO, SC, and MA), meaning nothing ever drops off. But for the length of that MVR record, that accident report will show as a listing, regardless of the outcome of the court case. Again, it is only a pointer to a document, nothing more.

But again with the OP, he will also have that charge for careless driving listed on his MVR, happening on the same date as the accident. Any safety person or recruiter with a barely functioning brain will be able to put 2 and 2 together and that will be the end of that. Hmmm….accident…careless driving…same date…NEXT! Now you see where this is going.

Even worse, in the case of the OP, the fact that the accident report indicates he was at fault, will be a problem. EVEN if he gets the charge of careless driving dismissed in court and removed from his MVR, that accident report cannot be changed. It is an official document. What the OP needs to do IF he gets the charge dismissed is append a copy of the ruling to a copy of the accident report that he should have available to him at all times, if he plans on looking for another driving job. When a potential company asks about it, he can fax it all right over. End of story and no problem.

But…plead to a lesser charge and your screwed. Lose the case and your screwed. Either way, there will be a moving violation or miscellaneous charge on your MVR that will be tied to that accident report by the date. Whether that charge is careless driving or an equipment violation or a jaywalking ticket, it’s going to indicate to any interested party that the accident report was correct and the driver simply plead it down to avoid points and the inevitable insurance rate hike.

Your only hope with future employers is to not plea bargain, but to get that moving violation complete removed. Then hold on to the “victory” and supply it when asked.

However, all of that doesn’t even touch the fact that you haven’t reported it to your company yet. That alone will probably end up getting you terminated and slapped with a company policy violation at the very least, regardless of the outcome, because they will see those accident reports when they pull your next MVR. Had you reported it immediately, told your safety director exactly what had happened and what you were doing, he most likely would have simply told you to keep him informed and that would have been the end of it. Even losing the court case would most likely not have effected your employment. You see, it’s gone beyond the accident and the charge – now it’s all about trust. The fact that you didn’t report it immediately conjures up images of someone trying to hide something and right or wrong, that is exactly the perception you are giving to any interested party. To the posters of this board, the majority probably believes you and sympathizes with you. But to a safety director, who is ultimately responsible for who he leaves in a company’s truck, that’s going to be a major red flag and likely result in an immediate termination. I’m not casting judgment…just stating the probables.

I’ve said this before for the years I’ve been part of CAD – in this industry, full disclosure is always your best bet. Doing so now is probably going to be too late. But good luck with it. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out.

You may all now carry on.

Your information has been very helpfull, but I have a few questions: Is the fact that this all happenned in my personal vehicle and not a company vehicle going to help me at all? I know that any accident in a company vehicle needs to be reported asap but my companies employee handbook states nothing about an accident in a personal vehicle. Or is it a DOT regulation that ANY accident in ANY type of vehicle needs to be reported to the carrier?

[dobry4u]

Originally Posted by Twilight Flyer

OK, I’m sticking my head into a CAD discussion for a brief shining moment, since I still do follow the board at times – usually when I get an e-mail that Kevin is complaining again. :roll:

That would get you frequent flyer's points. :lol2:

Good to hear from you and always a privilege to get your sound, logical, and on the mark advice. :thumbsup: