Companies that will hire a driver with a rollover accident.
 

It's been awhile since I last posted here, but here it goes.
I was involved in a rollover accident in Utah, back in October.
I drove with Swift(ha ha ha) and thought they were a good company up until they sacked me for the accident.
I never intended to stay in trucking forever, but I didn't want it to end that way either.
Needless to say, I've been going through a few, other big companies and I get the same response.
"Can't hire you until you get an accident-free, year of driving."
Same thing goes for Swift if I want to get back with them.
Problem is, they tell me to find some "Mom and Pop" companies that might take a chance by letting me redeem myself.
These companies tend to stay below even the most, primitive radar systems and seem to be hard to find.
I also have a total of 14 months under my belt, and a trucking school bill from another company that has to be paid off.
Please, somebody throw me a bone as far as "forgiving" companies go.

Re: Companies that will hire a driver with a rollover accide
 

Mom and Pop companies tend to be stricter than the mega carriers, people who give you that advice have never driven for one. the ones that do hire just anyone are usually outlaw companies that you should stay away from.
with 14 months experience and a rollover already, you are going to have a real hard time finding a decent job. At the small company I work for, they couldnt hire you even if they wanted to. the insurance is strict, if you have a rollover or a right turn crash or a following too close ticket or wreck, they wont cover you.. period..

Thanx for the response.
I'm obviously going to be getting alot of "no's" and whatnot.
I shouldn't have tried to push myself too hard, now this is what I get.
Some people are even saying it's time to find a different career path.
I tell them, "basically, another 25 years ahead of trying out and fvcking up."
Essentially, that means trying out too many different career choices, spending money on all sorts of training, and you learn only one thing.
I DON'T LIKE ANY OF THESE CAREERS!!
If that's the case, I better find something before I'm too old to earn any retirement.

For the most part people are responsible for their own retirement any more. The days of getting a pension for spending 20 years or more with one company are quickly coming to an end.

What every working person should do is set up a IRA and put money away for the day they do retire. If you work for a company with a matching 401k use it too and then when you leave that company and your next one does not have a 401k then roll the money into your IRA.

Reading this post and seeing the situation that Strider is in, do not feel bad Strider, i am in the same boat. I have been told the same thing from every top name carrier out there.

In my current situation, i could go back to being a janitor (scrubbing toliets), the problem i face is that all janitorial companies want a "high school education" and i have "beyond high school" with my cdl.

I can simpathize with you Strider, start applying at any truck stop that has a mechnical shop where you can help out, work for a towing company, or you can work at a local company that operates dump trucks. Keep your chin up, Strider and keep looking for any sort of local work.

I'm also still in the process of getting into Calif. Dept of Corrections as a Correctional Officer.
Only thing is the fact that this job takes too much, damned time to get into
due to psych checks and other, trivial bull$h!t.
I'm in excellent physical shape though, so I'm going to keep at this.
As far as driving is concerned, I'll keep at the search lightly.

Bentstrider-Rock Hard Transportation, Fontana, California 10763 Poplar Ave. Fontana. 1-909-355-0050 Dirt Haulers, some freight. They are not picky, heck they love anyone that casts a shadow....BTW, your accident @Swift WILL screw you up on the background for CDC. Terminations are not looked upon kindly...Have family member employed@HR for them in Rancho Cucamonga, do NOT lie about it during background (not saying you would...). Former long-time Hesperia resident until I got smart, retired and got the hell out of the High Desert. BOL ! Oh and a psychological exam to work in a prison is not considered "trivial".....

Well, I'm not taking "no" for an answer.
In the meantime, I'll keep pushing myself back into driving, into CDCR, and if I'm meant to be some, loser, egghead, then USC Engineering School.
The last one being the ultimate, failed-at-life-it-sucks-now option.
Only because in every movie, or book I've read, engineers always end up getting killed or beat to death.

Guess the only other reason I miss it now is because I could start working whenever I felt like it.
Now I have regular schedules to deal with.
No matter what career I find myself getting into, no matter how important
or high-paying it is, it's never going to compare with driving a truck.
I'm just not sure if I'll be able to find that type of extreme flexibility/autonomy in the other, sucky fields I've chosen as back-up.

If you could manage to go to a company and actually talk face to face with the safety man, you may get somewhere. tell him you are willing to take a refresher course or a training period or something like that (only if you are)
I think that's the best chance you have.

Thanx, I might go ahead and try that one.
As I said, if I could get a chance to prove myself for one more year, then get back to Swift and finish another year with them, accident-free, I'll be able to move on with my life and put this all behind me.

I spoke with the HR guys @Swift Headquarters about my accident.
I was told that I could keep applying every six months within the next two years.
Essentially, they were saying that even if I can't find any other driving experience within two years, they say that should be long enough after the rollover to reconsider me for rehire.
I'll only go back with Swift/"trucking in general" if I find my pessimistic attitude towards other careers is true.

SMX outta Fort Dodge, IA.

http://www.smxc.com


When I was in orientation, met a guy who said he was at maverick before where he had a roll over.

I'm not sure, but you may try Arrow out of Tulsa, Ok.

Thanks for the additional suggestions.
Swift treated me fairly well.
My original intention was to drive OTR with them for awhile, then switch over to a part-time format while taking some college courses for a degree.
As much as I complained about college, I'm just trying to open up other doors.
In the meantime, I feel that I must drive the truck again to erase the thought of a "failed mission" from my mind.
Not to mention it could more than assist me in finally getting that $3600+ school-fee for CRST's training, "out-of-sight, out-of-mind".
If these two still say no, I'll go ahead and keep Swift in the crosshairs for the next 6mo-2years.
I say if I haven't gotten in CDCR by then and I'm at least still going to college and completing courses, I'll do what I have to get back with them and erase the accident from my mind.
At least in 1-2 years of waiting, I could get the most-difficult college courses(Algebra, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry) out of the way, and then finish easy stuff(English, History, Humanities) while enjoying myself and keeping safe on the road.
I'll just think of this anew, as the "Frat Party w/a constant case of roadtrip".

Re: Companies that will hire a driver with a rollover accide
 

I must RESPECTFULLY disagree with Fredog here. I guess I DO work for one of these smaller companies (and SOME might even call them outlaw. I don't KNOW if I would say that, though.)

They gave me a chance when many others would NOT. I have been with them a few years, and they have even overlooked "another" little mishap of mine. I ALSO know that they have retained drivers who've had "at fault" accidents. (no personal injury.)

They hired ME right out of CDL mill ( I mean school. ) So, with 14 months under your belt, you would have had an even BETTER chance than me (without the accident.)

Yes, they are somewhat under the radar, but CDL schools KNOW about them. Ask some of the schools in your area.... even if you didn't ATTEND there. Check the local paper for ads and CALL them. You can ALSO get a list of EVERY company within your state off the internet. Just do a little googling.

If you have a CDL, you CAN find a company to hire you, and get that one year accident free on your record...... and INTO your mind!

I HAVE some comments about your Psychological outlook on all this, but I'll save it for a following post. I don't know WHY, (yes I do,) but your situation intrigues me, and I'm gonna GIVE you the advice you seek. You may not LIKE everything I've got to say..... but it is meant well.

I don't know if you are even still reading this thread, or ON this forum. But, I'm home all week, so YOU win the prize! :lol:

Hobo

Re: Companies that will hire a driver with a rollover accide
 

Hey, I'm still looking and still working.
The results aren't promising, but I'm going to keep plugging away until I drop dead.
That's how determined I am to get back into it.
As far as going back to school goes, not quite sure on that one.
I took a few college courses, passed them and became stressed out from that.
I was told by a counselor back in high school to just finish up high school and don't even try college.
Seeing how angry I was with schoolwork back then, college will probably just turn me into someone no one will really like.
I'll essentially become one of those office workers that doesn't really socialize.
That's okay, no Heimlich for them when they choke.
Another thing to consider is the fact that I'm not a loner, but I don't socialize with people in the same work-field I'm in.
And that's why I've come to respect trucking as a career.
I'll talk to people and never get used to them, because I won't be seeing that same face everyday.
Unlike an office.

Rolloevers and Termination
 

Termination is standard for rollover accidents. Other than mechanical, a rollover is always caused by speed and not having the vehicle under control.

Keep digging, someone will hire you.

Re: Rolloevers and Termination
 

I talked to a few companies, England and CRST(Ugh) were willing to give me a shot after a year went by.
Swift told me to keep trying every six months for the next two years, after the accident.
I'll post app's with some of the temp-to-hire agencies around here as well.
The whole entire motivation for this is that I want to pay of my $3600, school-bill, plus a few other bills, before finally saying "the journey's over".
It's kind of kind of hard to concentrate with so much debt under my belt, at the age I'm at right now.
I honestly do want to get back into school, but I personally see "federal student aid" as a bit, "socialist".
So, I'd much rather work and say, "I paid my own way."

I'va also decided to get a doubles/triples endorsement tacked onto my license.
Perhaps I'll have better luck hauling rocks.
Only reason I'm still plugging away with trying to get back into trucking is the work environment.
I can handle the public, I just never got along well with coworkers.

Mbadriver....
I had a rollover in 11-07 and my company wanted me to stay with them. They even asked me to become O/O via lease purchase program.

Bentstrider.... I've spoken to System Ttransport. I am just waiting to get cleared of my injuries before going with them.

good luck.

pb

Re: Rolloevers and Termination
 

Not necessarily - a good friend of mine was literally blown off of I-90 outside of Bozeman a few weeks ago. 80 mph winds blew his truck (and about five others) right off the road.

Is this them?
http://www.trans-system.com/index.html

I've studied some CDL manuals over the past, few weeks.
I'm going to go ahead and get my doubles/triples endorsement tacked on shortly.
I feel if I want to fund any other career options, driving some powder truck might be the ticket.
Nothing wrong with going to school, but I don't particularly care for
student/hipsters living off of gov't aid, and Starbucks checks.
Neither do I want to join them!!

Re: Rolloevers and Termination
 

At Werner if you were blown over by wind ,and the weather was documetable they would not terminate you they would list the incident as non -preventable ...However because the truck is going to need a wrecker it is going to show on your DAC as DOT non-preventable where as most companies do not report non-dot non-preventable to DAC/USIS . And one could say that you were aware of the weather ,but in some places not driving b/c it's windy would mean avoiding those states for entire seasons .

Well, got the doubles/triples added, so here I go again.
As I said, once I'm back into it, 2 full years, then I'll officially put it behind me.
After that, I'll start plugging away at a BSN.

I dont think getting a doubles/triples endorsement is going to help very much. The way companies are going to look at it is, why let him pull doubles if he has a hard time pulling one trailer.

They handle a lot differently and are not as forgiving as a single tractor if you screw up.

Well, this was a fatigue-related matter.
So, I'm pretty deep in the hole as far as that one goes.
Anywho, plenty of owner-op's I've come across that may give me a chance.
Only thing I have to remember is get enough rest/sleep.
As true with any other career that has been fired towards me.
Asleep at the wheel=crash
Asleep while engineering a bridge component=collapse
Asleep while performing an operation=malpractice lawsuit.

Not trying to be funny, but I'm just stating that my weakness is over-commiting, and throwing everything else to the side.
Anywho, persistence is eventually going to pay off in on way or another.
And I'll be saving up my future, college funds, while those fratboys are flooding those late-night, college-loan commercial hotlines.

If you had your own truck and someone came to you and said, "Will you hire me? I had a rollover accident and fatigue related issues, but I have 14 months of experience" would you hire that person? Probably not, because if something happened, the owner is going to take a pretty big hit to his bottom line.

This probably isn't the right career for you if you think you're going to make big bucks or if you think you need to do it to prove something to yourself or to fix your ego.

Also, Company's that can't afford to lose drivers, or have an open position (like delivery drivers, or someone with a specific route that's been around awhile and knows ins and outs or can cut through office politics) will usually keep a driver even if he screws up big. In 2003 I hit the same car twice, but I kept my job because it's not easy finding someone who will hand unload a 53' ft trailer full of biohazardous waste.


I'm not trying to be a dick, just being realistic.

If you want to pull Reefer Try Henderson they may give you a try they have a regional plan out of CA or you can run OTR.

Ha Ha Ha.
Maybe not "big bucks", but much more comfortable than the job I'm doing right now.
And if I wanted to have a job with a big ego, I would rather have gone to college, straight out of high school, and became a doctor.
Aside from punk-lawyers, I could've put people in their place quite fast.

Patient-"You suck."
Myself, if doctor-"No prescription for you dipwad!!"

Oh, and I spoke with Robertson's Transport today.
I told them about the accident and they said that as long as there were no points on my H6, that they would be able to train/hire me.
Since I still don't have any points, it looks like there's still hope for me after all.
The job is also local, and shift-work.
A plus and a minus, but I'll still be able to shuffle in a college class, or two and not have to resort to Socialist-Aid.

Did anyone hire you?
 

Just curious...did you ever find a job? My husband rolled his truck after he hit the mud on a rain soaked median and tried to bring the truck back onto the highway. Rookie mistake but it cost him his job, his confidence and his career. He did pest control for a while till the company went belly up, now he is back calling trucking companies and seeing if one will hire him. Some mistakes just can't be forgiven it seems. Trucking is such an dangerous job, with absolutely no room for error. The companies expect so much out of their drivers, but there is no second chances!

Well, I stumbled onto a host of local companies, some of them posted on an EDD website.
I tried out this team-operation in Van Nuys, but the first-seaters they had available were all ex-cons for the most part, drug-abusers at that, so I left after a week.
I'm going to continue looking into a few other companies I spotted while I also try and get my old, security posting back.

If anything, I'll probably have to go to school and get a degree of some sort.
Best part of that is I could always seek out part-time work that pays $20,000-30,000/year, just for having a piece of paper.

All i can say is GoodLuck man. Keep trying and somewhere doors will open.

Well, I've been with this smaller, rail-container hauling company out of Montebello for the last month.
It's been working out very good, and the runs are healthy enough for me.
It's local, but 1 month down, 5 more to go before I'm able to get my old position back.

To sum it all up, persistence pays off in the end.

Well, keeping things in line, I've had six months with this current carrier and I'm not really feeling them.
I've tried to get on with some larger, Qualcomm-equipped companies and Swift keeps sending them the negative feedback in regards to the accidents I've had.

Currently, I have zero accidents listed on my MVR/DMV H6 printout, and I ordered a report from DAC/USIS that showed, "We have no information on you at this time.".

There were two, minor backing accidents that were non-DOT reportable and were assumingly rectified after taking a few, Smith-system courses.

Then there was the rollover which was DOT-reportable, but it's been more than a year, and still no record of it on my MVR/H6.

However, Swift seems to be intent on not wanting me to drive anywhere else, and with the economy in such a rough state, that seems to have produced "no dice" as far as trying to get back on with them.

For now, as repeated in other posts, I'm sticking to this 40 unit, community college, EMT-Basic-to-Paramedic certification program.

At least here, I'll get to focus on studying with other individuals trying to go to school for a better career.

Instead of say, a university where I would probably end up going to jail for attacking a hippie.

There ARE no "hippies" left at universities. Well..... maybe at Berkely. ;)

I'm not 100% against a university-education, I'm just disappointed they lead to office/desk jobs 80% of the time.
As far as UC Berkeley goes, I'm not Mormon, but BYU should over-run that God-Awful place and reform it.

Not to get off subject, but I also hate when I'm not only suggested to apply to a university, but one in "No-Cal".

Sorry, but I'll stick to desert areas where no one debates packing heat.

bentstrider said:

Only because 80% of graduates will take the first "office job" they can get! Think outside the box. Architectural engineering, Civil engineering, Structural engineering brings to mind Resort development or some major project like, say.... Hoover Dam.

Geophysical, Geological, Metallurgy, Earth Sciences..... outdoor work in the oil exploration field.

Oceanography, Marine Biology, Forestry, Climatology..... all outdoor workplaces.

I could go on.... but, I think you get my drift.

Independent thought NEEDS no "reformation." The very root of the word implies forced manipulation to mold something or someone to CONform to ones own ideals. If you feel the need to play GOD, try Playdough!

I did neither. I referred to Berkely ONLY in jest. But one could do worse than "NO-CAL" for a location to live, study, or work in.

O.J. would tell you otherwise concerning Nevada. I suggest you try Baghdad U. :lol2:

I didn't see any smilies in your post, but I assume you were just having fun, as I was/am. If not.... oh, well. :roll:

Nice suggestions, but my math-level is currently nowhere near it should be to get into those programs.

It would probably take at least 3-4 years of refreshing and repeating courses to get me up to speed.
Last I checked, there were at least 6-8 different math courses required for any "hard-science" degree.

Then there would also be the threat of a recently graduated, 34-37 year old engineer wanting to choke out the 22 year old PhD bossing him around.

Hopefully by the time that ever happens, trucking will still be around, then I could just ditch that and go back to company driving :).

And I also plan on paying out of pocket for any schooling I receive, I dunno about you, but financial aid is just a form of welfare/socialism that needs to be eliminated, ASAP!!

Hence getting the EMT-B certification first.