Schneider

I have officially completed my first week. Not just with Schneider, but with driving in general. I have a quick question. So a few days ago, I was in a small yard in a tight spot. I didn’t want to blind side back, so I went to maneuver the rig so I could sight back. Again, the lot was small and I ended up jack-knifing my trailer and the top “bat-wing” or whatever you call it popped off. I was thinking, no big deal, it’s a piece of plastic. After calling my DBL and then getting transferred to maintenance and then safety, I now I have to do a safety class. That’s fine. I understand.

Now TONIGHT, I was at a dock and FINALLY got unloaded and was pulling out. It was dark and didn’t take in mind the turn radius difference with my tandems slid all the way back. 🤦‍♂️ Long story short, I nudged the trailer next to me just enough to where the landing gear shifted a little. The forklift operator obviously noticed and was hesitant about loading it (I don’t blame him.) Other guy came out and was cool and said they would just have a yard jockey lift it since the landing gear can shift. Welp, my luck, the bolt snapped off. Even though they kept saying all they had to do was replace the bolt, the security lady said it was still “damage” and took my information.

I just simply want to know the likelihood of me getting fired. I don’t care to hear about how I shouldn’t be driving or anything like that. I’m new and human and messed up. I own up to my mistakes and know what I did wrong. I know words don’t carry weight with these massive companies, but any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

And I’ll save y’all the keystrokes, I suck. I’m a rookie. I get it.

Thanks

The mega carriers seem to have a 3 strike rule so you may not get fired. Prime would.offer to put you back in training.

Both of these occured by not swinging wide enough and they will expect you to learn from that. Any incident is considered and incident that must be reported, otherwise they cant trust you. So yes even a nudge of someone else's property is damage. The customer would have been blamed for the broken bolt. Someone had to fix it and take time out of their job. You bet schneider will be getting a bill for that.

Tell them what you learned, but don't be flippant. In this writing you sound sarcastic and "no big deal". Truth is, if they cannot trust you to handle the rig in a parking lot or yard, how are you going to handle 70mph hills and curves? That is their logic.

Truth....most rookies have yard damage not road accidents. Live and learn. Good luck

Thanks for the reply! I’m definitely calling them tomorrow to report it.

And I didn’t mean to sound sarcastic. I’ve been in the Army for 10 years and the equivalent in the Army to what I’ve done so far is mind-blowing! 😂

But I know, this is a totally different profession. And I thank all of you experienced truckers out there because y’all really don’t get the recognition you deserve!

I really don’t think I’ll make it long in this industry, but again, thank you for all that y’all do!

The mega carriers seem to have a 3 strike rule so you may not get fired. Prime would.offer to put you back in training.

Both of these occured by not swinging wide enough and they will expect you to learn from that. Any incident is considered and incident that must be reported, otherwise they cant trust you. So yes even a nudge of someone else's property is damage. The customer would have been blamed for the broken bolt. Someone had to fix it and take time out of their job. You bet schneider will be getting a bill for that.

Tell them what you learned, but don't be flippant. In this writing you sound sarcastic and "no big deal". Truth is, if they cannot trust you to handle the rig in a parking lot or yard, how are you going to handle 70mph hills and curves? That is their logic.

Truth....most rookies have yard damage not road accidents. Live and learn. Good luck

Geez what a first week! Sounds like you have more than one problem, you aren't watching your mirrors! You didn't SEE your trailer slamming into the back of your truck, you didn't SEE your trailer hitting another trailer! There are plenty of places u can't swing wide enough in one movement. You'll have to stop and readjust for space u have. If u don't learn to watch your mirrors u will continue to hit things!

No, Schneider won’t fire you over these two preventable accidents. When you sit down with an OSR to talk about what happened, just be humble and don’t make excuses. Don’t make excuses such as, “it was dark,” or, “ the tandems were slid all the way back.” You’ll do some slow maneuvering around the lot or a course, and after that you’ll be back on the road. The majority of accidents happen at slow speeds, and this does seem to be your weakness. Slow your pace. As Donna pointed out, make better use of your mirrors. As long as you are watching your mirrors, these types of accidents should never occur.

You probably won’t get fired. You’re probably rushing yourself when you need to relax and just take your time. I’ve never took my time and messed up, but when I rush myself I get into pickles