screwed up with a u turn
 

i was in a little town in ohio. i was lost and was on a road i couldn't turn around in. i found an area to do so and there was no traffic. well, i start to turn around. i stopped an checked again for traffic. so i continued. guess what? someone tried cutting behind me and i didn't see them until i saw my i.c.c. bar scrapping their rear quarter panel.

so, i get a ticket for "no u-turn" and get fired from my job i just started.

crst won't touch me for three years, j.b. hunt won't touch me for 3-6 months.

i am so friggin depressed now. i had a squeaky clean record for a whole year and finally got out of the low level trucking companies so i could be home with my family. now i have to go back to where i left and be out on the road for weeks at a time. dammit, i am so mad at myself.

any words of comfort?

If you haven't yet paid the ticket, you may be able to get a lawyer to fight it and perhaps plead it down to a lesser offense or get it dismissed altogether. You really need to protect your CDL. You may just need to wait it out and use this as a learning experience. Unfortunately, cars will run in back of you while backing or try to pass when making a right hand turn. There isn't an IQ test for obtaining a driver's license. How long have you been driving?

I learned the hard way about what people will do, back in 92 I was in Cleveland Oh, and while moving around in a grocery store parking lot I watched a guy drive right into my trailer tires. Guess he couldn't see the big orange truck they were attached to. That cost me a suspended license, which leads to the second learning lessen, always mail your proof of insurance by certified mail. The state of Ohio said they never received anything and just suspended not questions or notification.

Sorry for the long story but just cya and double check everything to make sure you protect the cdl.

sorry it happened. Like GMAN said-Get a lawyer and see what he/she can do for you.

getting a lawyer
 

yeah, i'd like to get one, but i have no money to do so. i caled the clerks office and they said i can mail in a payment and i will get two points on my record.

i'm so disgusted right now. my wife is despondent. we were planning to refinance the house, move to a house she wanted (the house we live in wa mine and my ex's), and look for a local job. i have been driving over the road now for a year, and have missed either other, and left her raising my kids. now this has happened. i can go back to my old employer where i never really quit from and don't say anything about it.

but, then it is a fed. reg. i report it to my employer, whom i was not driving their truck. but when they find out i am sure they will fire me. but if i tell them now, they will fire me. i can't win here. if something happened to me on the road while driving their truck and i didn't say anything, i will be in a much bigger fire than i am in now.

this just keeps compiling. now my wife is talking about getting a divorce because she is so depressed over all this. a whole year of having no husband (we just got married and spent my first anniversary with her at home and me in a crst truck)

Before you go and get your undies all in a tear jerking wad why dont you get off your pity pot and start applying to all sorts of companies. There are hundreds, hell thousands of trucking companies out there, many of them looking for drivers and there are many who have regional runs that will get you home every week and if you live along a major freight route you might even make it home once in a while through the week.

What ever you do, do not lie about your driving and/or work record. This is a sure fire way to not get hired or not to get fired once the truth comes out.

Like they was sayin' . . .
 

. . . you don't have a job . . you ain't got no money . . throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Tell the judge you believe you have a defense but you can't afford a lawyer. Judges understand. They were (are) all lawyers and they don't feel the community is being properly represented unless you have a lawyer. Be humble, be sincere and be honest. U turn laws are vague, at best. Your CDL IS your lively-hood and the judge needs to hear it from you.

Were there any "no U-turn" signs? Were there any "no passing" signs? Get pictures of the area, and get a lawyer.

Is your trailer clearly marked with warning of wide turns?

Like Gman said, protect your CDL. Getting a lesser offense, MAY save you from a "preventable."

Keep your chin up. As for your wife.... I don't know. Sounds like a lack of committment. Maybe y'all need to have a talk.... one you should have had earlier.

There are always options. Look into them... and tell her you are doing so to save the marriage.

Other than that, I would say... don't EVER go down a road you aren't sure of again. And always 'consider' the swing of your trailer. Get out and LOOK, if you have any questions. But, I seriously don't think you saw the situation as a hazard. 4wheelers are nothing but PESTS!

Best of luck to ya! Let us know how it turns out!

As a driver-trainee, I was headed in to The Gorge (I-40 in Tennessee-North Carolina) and my trainer didn't give me any warning about speed linits and the left lane restriction). I had a string of coal barges in the right lane, didn't see the speed limit change sign. When I finished the passing manover, I moved to the right lane. State bear nailed me for 59 in a 50 zone, and lane violation. The last sign I saw said "speed limit 60".

I reported the ticket to my employer. They said "bring the ticket to us, we'll see it gets paid".

12 months later, I'm in a DOT inspection in Missouri, and I get nailed for suspended CDL (I didn't know: nothing in Fed regs to inform driver of suspension).

Turns out, my former employer didn't pay up as they said they would, I didn't follow up as I should have.

Ended up costing me $400 to clear that up.

A year later, in Detroit, I killed a telephone pole (it had been clipped many times, just needed one more clip to break it). The Detroit cop writting me up said, "Do what you got to do to get into these places". Well, "do what you go to do" in that place would have been a sharp left across 6 lanes of traffic, blocking them all, so that I could back in. I boo-bood and tried to nose in (didn't realise until later that there was no room to turn around once I got in).

All I can say, with regard to U-turn, is "learn to spot the bear" before he/she spots you. Then "do what you got to do" and suffer the consequences.

Re: getting a lawyer
 

Than go get it! $3-500,is a small price to pay, for your livelihood!

we all do stupid u turns its a matter of learning where to and not to attempt one. when i was a newer driver i attempted one and got stuck in the grass resulting in blocking most of the highway. The chain of events worked like this.
got stuck
got wrecker
got ticket
got lawyer
never happened.

Things happen like this, i was in the middle of BFE in Maryland. When i got to an intersection, saw a no truck sign in front of me on the route that my former company gave me, saw another to my left, another to my right and saw the last one in my rear view mirror.

Informed my company of this and they told me to take it anyway. I forwared them if i get a ticket for this, i'm not signing it. By the time i got there, loaded and on my way, i was back in a "legal" truck route and there was a full blown smokey on my tail with no lights flashing.

All i can say is, get a lawyer, knock it down to a lesser charge, if not expunged entirely and you will be good to go.

Some of those truck routes really stink. I was doing a backhaul once in this hilly area of the city, some roads went under a low train track, others over it. Truck route I was following would have turned me around the opposite direction, I looked down the road didn't see any no truck signs so I took it. Sure enough "Clearence 12'5"". I had to pull into this small company lot and ask the guys outside smoking if they would block traffic while I backed out into the street to turn around.

Kind of embarassing, but would have been more embarassing had I not asked them to guide me and hit some one...

Even if you could get the citation reversed, it seems pretty obvious that your company is considering this a "preventable" accident (which has nothing to do with the citation). So, even without the citation, you will still have a preventable accident on your record, which is really what the other companies are looking at.

At TMC any u-turn, ticketed or not, is a termination offense.

Even one in Jersey? :shock:

Re: screwed up with a u turn
 

Believe me, all drivers come unstuck some day.
Just forget it and learn from it.
I,ve driven all over Europe and for some of the most prestigious companies around(Allelly,s heavy haulage... G.C.S.Johnson Heavy haulage. .. Richard Long international etc etc etc.)
I,ve come unstuck more than once and so did all my workmates.
Nobody is perfect.
I,m damn frigging good, but not perfect :wink:
You,re a good driver too!
You got the same licence I got! :wink:

I'd get it dropped, or probation. I've said it quite a bit on here, but the county would rather have you pay a fine and be on your way than give you a smudge on your driving record.

NOt all companies use DAC, remember :wink: :lol: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: good one, Rev.

Termination for U Turns is pretty standard.
But, what about you turn off the road into a drive. Then back out on the road to reverse your direction. Is that illegal? Seems no different than backing your car out of the driveway.

Re: Like they was sayin' . . .
 

This is a possibility... I have had a similar situation go well in court. However, I was driving a pickup w/ a livestock trailer; not a rig.

You can still plead not guilty and ask for time to secure representation; If the judge won't budge. You can continue this out for some time if it will buy you the time you need to Refi the house. BE LOOKING FOR A NEW POSSITION THE ENTIRE TIME.

Chin up man... anxiety blocks learning and creativity; something you can't be at a loss for right now!

Just my .02 worth, sorry bout the wife...

Good luck man.

As it is with "most companies".

I've never made a u-turn ...But I've employed many 1pt turns . :lol:

There is not, to my knowledge, any prohibition against pulling off the road into a driveway and backing out again onto the roadway. I have seen company policies that show a "U-turn" on a street or a road to be a termination offense....but it was always limited to a u-turn. No mention of going into a drive and backing out to reverse direction. Its not "illegal" trafficwise, whereas....in many places u-turns are illegal.

Using a drive to reverse directions...is a maneuver best done with tremendous caution. You are extremely vulnerable to being hit while backing back out on to the roadway...from either direction. Whenever I have to reverse direction....as in the case of one of my deliveries.... I make use of a parking lot big enough to do so 8)

I just did a u-turn in Winston-Salem at 3:00 AM across 4 lanes of traffic due to bad directions...If there was a better choice i would have taken it but since there was not, i took the only one i knew about.

Really from what I see the problem you are having right now is not the ticket, its being fired for a safety related reason. Unfortunately, even if you get the ticket cleared, its been my experience that many companies still wont hire you because you were fired.
Also for the record, you mentioned JB hunt wont touch you for 3 to 6 months. It will be 6 months. And only 6 months if you have been driving for someone else for those 6 months clean with no problems.

Okay.... we've finally found a subject I apparently know NOTHING about. :lol: :lol: [Belay that response, Rev! :lol: ]

I was NEVER told in CDL school that a CMV was NOT allowed to make a U-turn IF it was allowed for other vehicles at that location. I don't REMEMBER seeing anything in my CDL manual about it.

Someone PLEASE cite any reg, law or whatever info you have to support this claim, as I make them quite OFTEN! :shock:

They said nothing about the law. They said everything about company policy. Most companies will terminate if you are caught making a u-turn.

Okay, Rev.... I caught the distinction, and I said I never heard any reg or rationale that would support it. Since I don't work for one of "most companies," and there are no regs against it, I am just wondering WHY "most companies" would terminate you for doing NOTHING wrong??

I mean, I could understand IF you crunched a "civilian" while doing it, or MAYBE even IF you got cited because there was a no U-turn sign.... but otherwise?? Just for MAKING a U-turn??

What is their reasoning?? Just because they "said so?"

Have you ever seen the trailer, that was stuck in the center median, with the trailer axles down in the mud, the landing gear dug into the ground, and the trailer sitting on the tractor's frame and drive tires? Have you ever seen a trailer cross-ways of a city street, with a car wedged under the trailer frame?

Those are the 2 most common scenerio's where a driver made a "legal" U-turn, and caused major problems, thus the policy and termination.

Back in the mid-90's a Schneider National unit, took a wrong turn down by the Kingdome, ended up in Pioneer Square, which is part of downtown Seattle. the driver decided he could make a U-turn in an intersection, and caused over $3 million in damages to a 100 year old structure. Looked real funny on TV, watching them throw bricks off the roof of the trailer, so they could move it away from where it was at. The structure that the trailer hit was like a "gazebo" that was made out of cast-iron, built in 1889. The driver got the trailer into the side of a building, trying to get away from the "gazebo". The building he hit second is where the bricks came from. I remember the incident well...just can not remember the name of that dang structure for the life of me.

I wonder if doing a U-Turn with a bobtail is ok. U-turn with a full size trailer takes some skill, and is also a bit risky, because you can't see it once you're in the turn. But bobtail.. it's like driving a car. In any case, maybe you can convince the court that you had no option other than to do a u-turn

I was coming out of a place where I had to do a hard hook to the right, so I needed to be all the way up against the left curb, facing the wrong way against the ENTER ONLY arrow.

I was watching to my left for traffic coming down, and to my right for traffic stopped at the light, to make sure I didn't pull out into someone in my blind spot. Somewhere between looking here and there, I lost a green SUV who went right in front of me in my blind spot, and decided to turn, and try to drive through my trailer to avoid stopping at the red light.

She realized she had nowhere to go (duh) but didn't have enough sense to back up, honk her horn, anything. Eventually I was clear to my left and right, and I pulled out. A glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of my eye got my attention, and I saw her standing up as she got out of her SUV, which was rocked back on the left rear wheel, from where my trailer was about to flip it over.

My company's insurance agent got a kick out of this one. I didn't get the ticket.

WHAT???? Look out your left window! You'll see everything from the DOT bumper to the reefer unit! :shock: :lol:

Use common sense when doing U-turns, however, they are not illegal, unless posted. FIGHT THAT DAMN TICKET. Just because a cop gives you a ticket and says your at fault doesn't mean it's so.

I had a woman rear-end me once. The cop gave me a ticket for no-turn signal (even though I wasn't turning), and said the accident was my fault. I went to the prosecutor and it took me an entire 20 seconds to convince her the ticket was BS, and to drop it. Then the state sent me a letter saying the accident wasn't my fault.

A MUST WHEN DRIVING A TRUCK - Always carry a disposable camera with you for accidents. As soon as you use it, go buy another.

I got two tickets the other day, one for being in the left lane, the other for expired plates. The expired plate ticket was BS. Anyhow, all I did was place a phone call to the county traffic prosecutor, he agreed with me on the bogus plate ticket. I told him I would be happy to pay the license plate ticket, if he would drop the left lane violation (which was a moving violation). He however, informed me, that he would place both tickets on deferral, and so long as I didn't get any more tickets in that county for six months, they would be dropped forever. He even said he understood the job we have to do, and that we gotta keep moving to make money.

Not everyone hates truckers. Not everyone wants to take you down. Not every state thinks that rest areas are a place for DOT officers to inspect truckers, like Ohio.

Now quit crying and FIGHT THAT TICKET!!!

Really, so like when i turned my tender trailer around on a couty road in a intersection because i missed my turn is banned by many companies? I personally dont find a U-Turn as such to be very dangerous, unless you have a bit of traffic. The road was open to i just whipped it around and continued back one mile... I'm quite sure when i swing too wide and have to back up a bit to swing the tractors nose away from the curb is a shit ton more dangerous than that u-turn...