Lost My First Trucking Job, Rather Resigned ( A Longish Post Sorry For Length)

Moe, by saying the government should regulate traing better you are kind of trying to by pass some blame. Unfortunately there are companies that do that, here in Chicago there are a bunch of them who will get people right out of school on Monday and have them solo pulling containers by Tuesday morning. People ruin careers by taking this approach I hope you'll find a new and better home soon.

The fact they said their insurance doesn't cover that made me wonder if they even had you on insurance at all, most insurance companies want 1 to 2 years experience. If they did get you on their insurance it had to be costing them a fair bit of money and I bet they didn't report your accident so their rates wouldn't get affected.

I apologize then, I'll learn and move on. About insurance , they deducted 25 per paycheck to cover their insurance costs a total of about $200. I learned my lesson, no more smaller carriers. I applied to May today.

Thanks

Moe, by saying the government should regulate traing better you are kind of trying to by pass some blame. Unfortunately there are companies that do that, here in Chicago there are a bunch of them who will get people right out of school on Monday and have them solo pulling containers by Tuesday morning. People ruin careers by taking this approach I hope you'll find a new and better home soon.

The fact they said their insurance doesn't cover that made me wonder if they even had you on insurance at all, most insurance companies want 1 to 2 years experience. If they did get you on their insurance it had to be costing them a fair bit of money and I bet they didn't report your accident so their rates wouldn't get affected.

Banks

I think maybe your being a little too tough on Moe.

The reason I say that is the fact that I could be him.

I may be being hard on him, but that's because he's blaming the government for lack of training, even though more training wouldn't have prevented any of this. Calling in and reporting an accident isn't taking responsibility for it. Taking the blame and understanding what you did wrong. Then you learn from it and grow.

I suggest to you that maybe advice for him to consider going forward might be a pretty good suggestion?

Hindsight as it was once said being 20/20 gives all of us a great opportunity to look back but Moe needs to look forward.

What advice can I give him that he hasn't received over and over again. He's been given solid advice by everyone on these forums and he ignored all of it.

I understand hindsight is 20/20, but he's not looking at it right. He's passing the blame and that's the wrong attitude to have. I'm not trying to be harsh, but he has to understand the mistakes he made. It wasn't just the accident he had, it was everything before that and everything after it. And his accident was not a oops accident, he could've killed someone. That's a very big deal. If somebody was standing there, he'd be sitting in prison right now. He has to understand that.

It boggles my mind that some trucking companies actually expect their employees to pay for damages.

When I started back in 1988, I had a situation where I couldn't get out due to an oversized vehicle and a concrete post. So I let a non company driver back my truck out of the situation, he wasn't watching me and backed over a brand new, temporary registered Fiero. May Trucking took $1,743.62 out of my check. Because I realized winter was coming and had never gone out with a trainer, I decided to take winter off. The following summer I came back on the road with a small company. It was team driving, so ran with different guys until I met my husband. He trained me to drive in winter and how to back into docks and other places. However he wanted to be a cowboy on cattle ranches and I followed him on different jobs until 1996 when he had 2 traumatic brain injuries about 40 hours apart.

When I came back out on the road in 2014, I went to Sage trucking school and got hired on by a husband & wife company that had 4 trucks. They sent me out with my brother that had 6 months OTR experience with England. After 2.5 months I ran solo. This guy and his wife both have CDLs. He took out $1,100 over several paychecks for cracking a fairing. Since I had to pay for that car when I drove for May...granted that was 22 years previous, I figured all accidents came out of a person's paycheck. I didn't have any more fender benders or anything else until a year ago when I backed into a truck putting 1/2 egg size ding in the sleeper. The guy said his company would probably not collect on it, but they did. When I told my boss to take it out of my paycheck if it wasn't too much or several paychecks if it was, he replied that it was against the law. The first incident happened in the spring of 2015 and what made me irritated was that the truck, a 2011 International, was turned in shortly after due to the MaxxForce motor requiring lots of maintenance. But it made me careful about doing a tight turn. As for backing into that truck, I take my time....even if I have to pee like a Russian racehorse ;-)

Laura

Actually, guys n gals ~ the Guberment IS to blame for a LOT of BS in this industry, and many ... more ... as of late. Read Brett's posts, read Dave W.'s, read Jrod's also. PJ's kicked in a bit, as well.. Yessir. (Sure wish Rickipedia would show back up.) You ever read any of the O/O publilcations? Not promoting, nor advertising. We are not O/O's, nor have never been. Landline, Overdrive, etc..... all about the Guvvy having their fingers in our 'CDL LIVES' with no knowledge. I'm a walking dictionary when it comes to this stuff, to keep the hubby apprised. YES there should be mandatory training for 160 hour minimum...here's the latest : There is no minimum number of hours that driver-trainees must spend on the BTW elements of the Class A, Class B, or P or S endorsement curricula. The training provider must not issue the certification information unless the driver-trainee demonstrates proficiency in performing all required BTW skills. Canada has better mandates; look at Glenn's bio.

Moses, we care...and SOME of us agree with you. Your training may have been subpar; and this is the reason we (TT) recommends company paid training. . You know.

Mr. Banks, did you see the link I added to this thread?!?!??! Don't preach to a choir that you are not in, good sir. Yay, you drive combos. My hubby did for 2 years for FedEx (teams from CLE to SAC.) Not much backing in those 2 years, so he reported. Pintlehooks, dollies, yada .. extra lines, GOT it. I helped him study in 2003, btw... from many websites, and good ole' paperbacks. Passed 1st time; had been driving CDL B for 8 years prior. Okay, so... we're old.

Got guts, want glory? READ this. The Life, Death, and Resurrection of My Truck Driving Career

I'm not a mod, I'm not Brett, I'm NOBODY but a trucker's wife....and my OWN man has made mistakes, and faltered a time or 2. I have NEVER been ANYTHING but SUPPORTIVE during those moments; even as I wondered how we would even EAT the following week. Things DID work out, as I am betting dollars AND donuts, they will for Moses.

This hitting a man when he's down crap really rakes my coals.

Again, Mr. Banks: READ above. ^^^ (Link I posted prior.) <<< Someday, I'll post my hubby's conundrum, with his permission (and photos and whatnot.)

Nobody was born with a gear shifter (10,13,18 or even 5 in a PV) .. in hand. Nor, a CDL.

I think we can all agree that the way Moe handled everything was far from perfect. We've all had moments where we've allowed our frustrations to get the best of us and we behave in a way that's not consistent with our true beliefs. It took a lot of courage for Moe to talk openly about his struggles and mistakes to help others learn from it. For that Moe, Thank You. It's hard to completely get a feel for something based off words but re-reading your initial post it did somewhat come across as not understanding the severity of the incident. As I said before we all make bonehead mistakes and that's how we become a safer driver. I can almost guarantee you'll never make that mistake again.

You took a path into trucking that you felt was the best fit for you against the advice of many people on this forum. I can't fault you for that. Myself and a few others did the exact same regardless of how risky we were told it would be. There were numerous times I personally got lucky. Had i not been so lucky it's quite possible my career would be in a different place right now. This forum is meant to help encourage those facing setbacks not to give up. Moe probably wishes he could do a million things different but what's done is done. The best course of action is move forward but don't forget the lessons learned.

Have you gotten a copy of your DAC to see what exactly is on it?

So Annie, not to make light of anything or brush over anything. Yes I learned my lesson and since we all generally agree that I have learned my lesson, could I get back to the important question.

Annie, is your Husband's truck Optimus prime in disguise? Are you two in fact hiding a shape shifting alien bent on preventing a rogue faction of his species from bringing an interplanetary alien civil war to our door? Given that the way 2020 has been inquiring minds want to know

I appreciate your support and input. At this point I just wanted to bring a little lightheartedness to this post. Thats all hope I don't offend

Thank you ma'am

Actually, guys n gals ~ the Guberment IS to blame for a LOT of BS in this industry, and many ... more ... as of late. Read Brett's posts, read Dave W.'s, read Jrod's also. PJ's kicked in a bit, as well.. Yessir. (Sure wish Rickipedia would show back up.) You ever read any of the O/O publilcations? Not promoting, nor advertising. We are not O/O's, nor have never been. Landline, Overdrive, etc..... all about the Guvvy having their fingers in our 'CDL LIVES' with no knowledge. I'm a walking dictionary when it comes to this stuff, to keep the hubby apprised. YES there should be mandatory training for 160 hour minimum...here's the latest : There is no minimum number of hours that driver-trainees must spend on the BTW elements of the Class A, Class B, or P or S endorsement curricula. The training provider must not issue the certification information unless the driver-trainee demonstrates proficiency in performing all required BTW skills. Canada has better mandates; look at Glenn's bio.

Moses, we care...and SOME of us agree with you. Your training may have been subpar; and this is the reason we (TT) recommends company paid training. . You know.

Mr. Banks, did you see the link I added to this thread?!?!??! Don't preach to a choir that you are not in, good sir. Yay, you drive combos. My hubby did for 2 years for FedEx (teams from CLE to SAC.) Not much backing in those 2 years, so he reported. Pintlehooks, dollies, yada .. extra lines, GOT it. I helped him study in 2003, btw... from many websites, and good ole' paperbacks. Passed 1st time; had been driving CDL B for 8 years prior. Okay, so... we're old.

Got guts, want glory? READ this. The Life, Death, and Resurrection of My Truck Driving Career

I'm not a mod, I'm not Brett, I'm NOBODY but a trucker's wife....and my OWN man has made mistakes, and faltered a time or 2. I have NEVER been ANYTHING but SUPPORTIVE during those moments; even as I wondered how we would even EAT the following week. Things DID work out, as I am betting dollars AND donuts, they will for Moses.

This hitting a man when he's down crap really rakes my coals.

Again, Mr. Banks: READ above. ^^^ (Link I posted prior.) <<< Someday, I'll post my hubby's conundrum, with his permission (and photos and whatnot.)

Nobody was born with a gear shifter (10,13,18 or even 5 in a PV) .. in hand. Nor, a CDL.

You are right Rob, I did learn a lot. Namely, of checking and double-checking procedures. Had I simply stopped more and paid attention, this could have been prevented and likely I'd still be driving today.

Whats done is done for me all I can do is move forward. Fortunately, I have enough saved to last several months if I need to. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

As Banks said where one door closes another opens.

I think we can all agree that the way Moe handled everything was far from perfect. We've all had moments where we've allowed our frustrations to get the best of us and we behave in a way that's not consistent with our true beliefs. It took a lot of courage for Moe to talk openly about his struggles and mistakes to help others learn from it. For that Moe, Thank You. It's hard to completely get a feel for something based off words but re-reading your initial post it did somewhat come across as not understanding the severity of the incident. As I said before we all make bonehead mistakes and that's how we become a safer driver. I can almost guarantee you'll never make that mistake again.

You took a path into trucking that you felt was the best fit for you against the advice of many people on this forum. I can't fault you for that. Myself and a few others did the exact same regardless of how risky we were told it would be. There were numerous times I personally got lucky. Had i not been so lucky it's quite possible my career would be in a different place right now. This forum is meant to help encourage those facing setbacks not to give up. Moe probably wishes he could do a million things different but what's done is done. The best course of action is move forward but don't forget the lessons learned.

Have you gotten a copy of your DAC to see what exactly is on it?

So Annie, not to make light of anything or brush over anything. Yes I learned my lesson and since we all generally agree that I have learned my lesson, could I get back to the important question.

Annie, is your Husband's truck Optimus prime in disguise? Are you two in fact hiding a shape shifting alien bent on preventing a rogue faction of his species from bringing an interplanetary alien civil war to our door? Given that the way 2020 has been inquiring minds want to know

I appreciate your support and input. At this point I just wanted to bring a little lightheartedness to this post. Thats all hope I don't offend

Thank you ma'am

Actually, guys n gals ~ the Guberment IS to blame for a LOT of BS in this industry, and many ... more ... as of late. Read Brett's posts, read Dave W.'s, read Jrod's also. PJ's kicked in a bit, as well.. Yessir. (Sure wish Rickipedia would show back up.) You ever read any of the O/O publilcations? Not promoting, nor advertising. We are not O/O's, nor have never been. Landline, Overdrive, etc..... all about the Guvvy having their fingers in our 'CDL LIVES' with no knowledge. I'm a walking dictionary when it comes to this stuff, to keep the hubby apprised. YES there should be mandatory training for 160 hour minimum...here's the latest : There is no minimum number of hours that driver-trainees must spend on the BTW elements of the Class A, Class B, or P or S endorsement curricula. The training provider must not issue the certification information unless the driver-trainee demonstrates proficiency in performing all required BTW skills. Canada has better mandates; look at Glenn's bio.

Moses, we care...and SOME of us agree with you. Your training may have been subpar; and this is the reason we (TT) recommends company paid training. . You know.

Mr. Banks, did you see the link I added to this thread?!?!??! Don't preach to a choir that you are not in, good sir. Yay, you drive combos. My hubby did for 2 years for FedEx (teams from CLE to SAC.) Not much backing in those 2 years, so he reported. Pintlehooks, dollies, yada .. extra lines, GOT it. I helped him study in 2003, btw... from many websites, and good ole' paperbacks. Passed 1st time; had been driving CDL B for 8 years prior. Okay, so... we're old.

Got guts, want glory? READ this. The Life, Death, and Resurrection of My Truck Driving Career

I'm not a mod, I'm not Brett, I'm NOBODY but a trucker's wife....and my OWN man has made mistakes, and faltered a time or 2. I have NEVER been ANYTHING but SUPPORTIVE during those moments; even as I wondered how we would even EAT the following week. Things DID work out, as I am betting dollars AND donuts, they will for Moses.

This hitting a man when he's down crap really rakes my coals.

Again, Mr. Banks: READ above. ^^^ (Link I posted prior.) <<< Someday, I'll post my hubby's conundrum, with his permission (and photos and whatnot.)

Nobody was born with a gear shifter (10,13,18 or even 5 in a PV) .. in hand. Nor, a CDL.

ROFLMAO, Moses~! ;) Rob T., great post sir.

Only 'Prime' that we have is Amazon, sorry ~! :(

Okay if you REALLY have to see it: Here's our 'FABulous truck; similar to Don H.'s but ours is twin screw. . . . READY ???? Ready ???? ready?!?!?!?

Simple, sweet...Mack attack~!

Always wishing you the best, Moe~!

Anne the ole Pete is very cool.