3 accidents in under 3 months and you think you don't deserve a "Unsatisfactory Safety Record"? Seriously?
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06/14 - Had backing incident, in Home Depot Drop Yard, in West Columbia, SC. Scrapes were put on our trailer and another trailer. Trainer was standing outside of the truck. I DID get out and check to see how I was doing, while he stood there talking on the phone. I thought I was doing fine, but ended up catching the corner of the trailer next to us, on the passenger side, with the side of our trailer. He contacted my Student Driver Manager. Then, proceeded to help a driver, from another company, help him get into his spot. Yet, he was just so busy talking on the phone, while I was backing up, to even help me out in any way, shape, or form. That was my first acc/inc.
I understand he's there to train you, but after 2 months you should have a better idea of how to back a trailer into a space.
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06/30 - Got lost out near Hopewell, PA (east of I-99 and north of I-70/76, in western PA), on my way to Swedesboro, NJ. As you can imagine, I wasn't supposed to be near that area. I had missed my turn east near State College, PA, that would have taken me on 322 east. However, I was a sign that said 22 east. And, I didn't realize they were both the same road. So, when I got down to Highway 30, I turned east and followed the road. I couldn't find anywhere to turn around. So, I followed it until I came to Highway 915 north. I followed the road. And, boy, is that one steep-a** road!!! Anyhow, I got to the intersection of 915 N and 26 W, where there's an old-time steel bridge. My tandems had been all of the way to the back of the trailer. Which, I NEVER was told that they shouldn't or couldn't be to haul a load. So, when I got to the bridge, with the tandems all of the way back, I didn't make it around the corner. I was going so SLOW that I only put some black scuff marks on the driver's side of the trailer. YES, the Safety Department at Swift's Jonestown, PA Terminal did look at the trailer and verified that there were only scuff marks on the side. NO other damage was done. That was my 2nd acc/inc.
So why were they? Is that the trainers fault as well?
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08/08 - Accident in Flying J Truck Stop parking lot, in Winchester, WV. I was having a hard time backing into a spot. So, another truck driver asked me to go around the parking lot and head over to an area where there were two open spots, next to each other. I proceeded to do so. However, a truck was parked at the end of the driving lane, next to the scales. He wouldn't move. I mis-judged the amount of space between a legally parked truck and his illegally parked truck. I caught the legally parked truck's front end, with my trailer, and did some fender and light area damage. The Flying J Personnel and other truck drivers were all in agreement that "had that illegally parked truck not been there, the accident would have NEVER happened". The Flying J Personnel signed a note stating that the illegally parked truck's owner had continued rufusing to move his truck well before the accident had happened. It wasn't until the accident that he finally moved his truck.
The problem with this one is that you should've known by now that you couldn't get into this space safely and moved on to another. Instead, you blame another driver for being parked where he was. It doesn't matter - if you can't safely park in a certain spot, you move to one that you can. Period.