Profile For Todd A.

I ha e a similar situation maybe I can help. I was fired for 3 preventable accidents in one month after having 6 months with no issues. First I was in Phoenix getting into the left turn lane in a surface street. There was a flatbed in the lane to the right of me and his left wheel was on the line I pulled up along side him and our mirrors colided. No police involvement or anything we just exchanged information and went on our way.

Less than a week later, I'm in a fuel island and I was backing up so I could reach the DEF hose and I hear this guy honk. I think must be hinking because I got too close. Because I didn't feel anything. Sure enough, I barely tapped the front of his truck, the kind of damage that you can fix with a paint brush. He decided to tell his company and it went on my company record.

3 weeks later I'm backing into a parking spot that is unlit at midnight, and it's snowing pretty heavily and I was really tired. I got out and looked. There where 3 empty spaces and I missjudged the distance of the guy on my right and ended up slamming into him pretty hard. After that I ended up getting fired. I know it sounds bad, and it is but not all is lost. Luckily I worked for May trucking at the time and they don't put anything on your DAC report unless someone gets killed or injured. They are also self insured which means they can decide who they hire. So that is a good place to start. Companies that are self insured. May trucking and NAVAJO are 2 that i know of. NAVAJO actually started my orientation and I passed their road test but we couldn't move forward because I take adderall for adult ADD.

There are also companies tha look at only your mvr instead of your DAC report. These are your mom and pop companies. Usually they want to see more experience than 6 months. I was actually able to get my foot in the door with an Arizona based hay hauler called southwest farm supplies. The trainer refused to train me because I use the clutch sometimes when I shift, and he recommended to his boss that I don't drive for them. Then I found a company called KW international (not to be confused with kkw) they are a Korean forwarding company that moves Korean goods across the U.S. They took a long time to process me but they eventually hired me and I am writing this from the sleeper as my team mate drives.

When you get fired for accidents your options are severely limited So you have to settle and put up with some bull. With kw the thing that sucks is almost everyone there only speaks English as a second language and you have to drive team for the first month or so before you can go solo. But the fact that they are based in Korea means they have Korean insurance which I'm imagining has different rules considering they were willing to hire me. Find a company that will hire you and show at least 6 months of clean driving and companies like swift, western express, interstate May and a few others I can't remember will hire you.

Thanks John, that is very interesting and helpful, I empathize with you.

Just curious how fast were you driving when it was pouring down rain? Many places the posted speed limits are "when conditions permitted" A heavy torrential downpour would have me driving well below the speed limit with my hazards on.

I was actually going only one mile under the speed limit, but it was not raining anymore, there was a lot of standing water, poor drainage in Dallas area. I thought I was actually going slower than that, but they knew my exact speed thru the qualcomm later. I drove all last winter in much worse rain and snow, I don't know if there was a tire problem that I missed, but I never had any problems like this where I just started skidding out of control. The thing that I don't get is that Covenant doesn't report any of the accidents minor or otherwise to DAC unless they fire you, it seems to me they are just protecting themselves, their insurances rates and CSA scores until they sever ties with you. It seems they should report any accidents they want to as they happen, not only if they fire you.

Thanks, Old School. Will do that.

I was recently fired from Covenant, my first job, started in January. I had 2 minor accidents in parking lots with minor damage in March and April then in October during the heavy rains in Dallas I lost control and jackknifed, probably totaled truck and empty trailer, no injury, no citations. A recruiter told me that I should look for a job with a mom and pop company because none of the big names will hire me for at least a year of safe driving. Any advice or companies that may hire me?