3 Non-preventables = No Job?

I have been working for a major reefer company who I obtained my CDL through. I completed my year contract with them and have always aspired to be a Line-Haul driver after I got through my first year. During my first year of driving I had 1 minor backing incident that was preventable (rookie mistake misjudging where a mudflap hanger was poking out doh!) Also I have been hit twice, once at a truckstop while parked in designated parking spot and in Off-duty status (non-preventable on my end) and once at a shipper by some yahoo that worked at the shipper who had been watching to much fast n furious and lost control and struck my parked truck while I was asleep in the Sleeper berth. I parked where directed by security staff and even got a signed statement from him that I was told to park there and had all my marker lights on.

I ended up getting transported to the hospital and was treated for lower lumbar strain, was cleared by company approved doctor and released to drive after a week (this too was a non-preventable on my end) So fast forward to the end of my year driving with no more incidents, and I finally put in an app. with my desired LTL company of choice. I was called in for an interview/road test/drug test/ background and work history verification and was given a contingent offer of employment. I was very excited as this company pays very well and I would have been home every week for two days!! horray!!

I was called three days later and told They needed to schedule a lift test due to the disclosed back injury from that shipper's employee who hit me (see above) The appointment for the lift test was scheduled. On that same day I picked up a trailer and started having tire problems down the road, I pulled over, contacted the road assist department of my current employer, sent pictures, was told to keep rolling despite my request for a new tire. Well...as you would probably guess, 3 miles down the road, tire blew, went onto the interstate , I pulled over, was setting cones out and some 4-wheeler runs off the road to dodge the obstructing and rested tire. Being a rookie and not knowing better, and following the honor code, I told my company, they told me to contact police, when patrol arrives I claim the tire (now I know too late that was a mistake) This event goes down as my 3rd non-preventable, not at fault, no citations issued incident.

The next day I call and send emails to the future prospective employer of this situation, was called the next day by them and told that corporate had decided to rescind my contingent offer, with no explanation, so.....bye-bye dream job, this has lead me to believe that I'm not even hireable at this point. I'm extremely discouraged, want out of OTR , and am considering going back to welding (a job where peeing in a cup and passing a weld test= hired with no other federal DOT laws to stop me from said employment) Does anyone have any advice for someone who paid their dues and got screwed? Please help!!

Come on, no one has any advice or input on this??

Be patient. The best thing I can say is call the "dream" company and ask them how long you have to wait to reapply. Check with the safety department of the current company to see if they can offer any further training to help you avoid these non-preventables. Many companies believe there are no non-preventables. GOALs can help to avoid most backing accidents. It is always your butt on the line when sitting in the driver's seat. You can refuse to drive if you don't feel safe. In your most recent tire incident, you did't have to run. A company can not make you run when you don't feel safe. If I felt my truck was not safe to operate, I would tell my company it needs to be fixed before I can safely operate. The dream company may feel you need more expierence. There are other local driving jobs. You left welding for a reason. If you feel you would rather weld then weld. I like not getting buned or falshed and not inhaling all the poison welding fumes and grinding dust. I also like the lack of aches and pains I have driving. This is my $0.02. It's your life to live.

Pshh I really don't know man. If you're telling the truth about everything, then I would do what Big Scott said and ask how long before I can reapply. I would also apply to other similar companies--linehaul companies tend to all have yards in the same areas so I'm sure there are other linehaul companies nearby. Perhaps one of them would be more understanding.

If you're leaving anything out of this story, please let us know so we can give better advice.

thanks for the advice Big Scott yea that minor back incident happened in my first month of being out by myself and has never happened sinse nor will it ever happen again I learned very quickly that GOAL was a mandatory thing when I have doubts. do you guys think the reason that the LTL company resigned the offer because I got a non-preventable accident during the application process? And yes this is an entirely true story I did my very best to include any and all details of any questions that may arise to my story but I am being honest with the facts here I believe I am a safe driver and that I have very terrible luck like with most everything else in my life and I try not to let it break my positivity but I appreciate the responses and will definitely be asking when I am eligible to reapply. also anything that I am listing here as a non-preventable event has always occurred while I am in off-duty or sleeper berth status and parked somewhere so my company fully acknowledges them as non-preventable.

Well good luck. Keep being positive. Get rid of the belief that you have bad luck. Believing is seeing. While stuff happens, hopefully it's minor bs. Always pay attention to where and how you park. Make sure you're straight in a spot or dock, When possible use pull through parking, or park backed up to a wall or grass (think back row of truck stop), make sure your nose doesn't stick out to far. Etc, etc. Like pianoman said, apply to other local and linehaul companies in your area. Stay positive.

Ok, if I am understanding this correctly, you have had 3 non preventables and you didn't get hired by this company because of them, correct? Also you stated you had one preventable before any of these others, right? How long ago was the preventable? I think that may have gotten you on the application. Also, I just dont see how a company would not hire you based on Non Preventables. Non Preventables are just that. You couldn't have done anything to avoid it. They were just situations where you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Get back with them and see when you can reapply. Also order your DAC report and PSP report. KNOW what is on those documents before applying for any more truckin jobs. See if your previous company put those accidents on there or is just the preventable you had on there.

all of the above was correct the preventable incident occurred after one month of me driving on my own so it was at the beginning of the last year of driving I did indeed order my PSP scores and my DAC report prior to applying as well as A 10 year MVR I came in and took a road test took a drug test had my picture taken for my badge and had already previously disclosed my preventable and two non-preventable incidents on the application and was told by the terminal manager that he did not see anything on my record that looked like it would disqualify me from employment there however after I was already a submitted applicant and had that non-preventable occur in the third instance I contacted this company immediately to notify them about the non-preventable and had already been given a contingent offer of employment after I called and told them about the non-preventable incident that happened after I was asked submitted applicant two days later I got a call saying that corporate didn't give me any reasons on why they were taking away the contingent job offer I am still driving with my current company and I am completely baffled as to why they would decide to have me come in and do all of that stuff for them and give me a contingent job offer and then conveniently take it away a day after I notified them of that third nonpreventable incident that occurred

I am completely baffled as to why they would decide to have me come in and do all of that stuff for them and give me a contingent job offer and then conveniently take it away a day after I notified them of that third non preventable incident that occurred

Reread that sentence and see if you can come up with a reason. I'll bet you can.

Here's the thing.....I read everything you wrote and I understand that sometimes things happen out there which are beyond our control. I was asleep at a truck stop one time and someone forgot to set their brakes and their truck rolled down a hill into mine, smashing the fiberglass hood. I was asleep in a designated spot. What can you do, right? Life happens sometimes.

The thing is, I had one non-preventable incident and zero preventable incidents in 15 years of driving. You've had four total incidents in one year. That's going to scare anyone, ya know what I mean? If I had a company and you applied I think I would pass also. You've just had way too many incidents happening that involve you in a short amount of time, regardless of whose fault it was.

I would suggest sticking with the company you're with a while longer and really think over all of those incidents. Was there anything you could have done to prevent any of them? Could you have parked in a different spot? Could you have watched people who were backing in near you? Could you have done anything to avoid any of it?

You don't have to answer any of that here. I just want you to think things over so you can become more aware of all of the things that can go wrong out there and all of the things you can do to prevent them.

For instance, I never used to park at the end of a row in any truck stop. I didn't want people coming around the corner and having to avoid hitting me. I'd park in the second spot in line, but not at the end of the row. Too many trucks get their noses ripped off that way.

Also, whenever I knew someone was backing into a spot next to me I would watch closely. Several times I prevented someone from backing into me. I could see it coming and hit the horn to let them know before they hit me. Then I would help them get backed in safely for my own good!

I know you're sleeping sometimes but if you happen to be awake, sit and watch. Sometimes I'd stay in the truck for a little while knowing someone was going to park next to me in a few minutes. I'd rather keep an eye on them and then go inside knowing I can eat in peace.

The very best professionals are the ones who are so good they can anticipate and avoid problems before they can even happen. That kind of savvy takes years of experience to develop. Keep working at it every day out there. Watch everything, analyze everything. You'll get better and better at it over time.

Thanks brett, that is exactly the impression I was under as well being that I am a first-year driver and having so many incidents regardless of who's fault it is yes there were definitely times that I could have done things differently for instants my first non-preventable was exactly as you described with parking on the end of a row and having somebody come by and rub their trailer smear across the front and of my engine compartment and other times where I am not in control like when a shipper specifically instructed me to park somewhere but regardless I am still discouraged because I wanted to become an LTL truck driver by putting my on the road experience to good use I'd like to think that I am a safe driver and that I do everything possible to prevent these types of events but you're right there are always things that can be done differently and hindsight and that's part of the learning process they only bad thing is when you have to learn things the hard way and it burns you from achieving your goals or at least postpones them for a significant amount of time they on the road lifestyle is great for people who are able to maintain their families on the road but I am not one of those people while I do enjoy the on the road lifestyle it is too difficult to keep things at home together for me everybody is different but I do appreciate everyone's words of encouragement on this forum and appreciate the responses I have received from this thread all of it has been helpful information and that's about it for this one thanks a lot guys be safe out there