Can I Get Hired After A Rollover?

I was recently terminated by my company after I had a rollover accident and careless driving citation. Firstly, I thank God that I didn’t hurt/kill anyone and no one else was involved! Secondly, I am thankful my fiancé and I made it out alive and had no injuries.

I hit a patch of black ice and lost control of the truck. I was hauling two pups and they were extremely light (9,000 in the lead, 7,000 in the rear) and traveling about 65mph in a 75 mph speed limit zone. Road conditions were wet and the temperature dropped from about 38 to about 31 degrees. I had driven the speed limit through these conditions plenty of times with no problems, and this time I was the slowest truck and vehicle on the interstate. Based on my 10 months of CDL driving experience I thought everything was fine. I had done a proper pretrip, trip planned, I was well rested, I wasn’t driving distracted, I also stopped to check weather reports and road conditions about 60 miles before the accident. I understand the severity of an accident like this and take full accountability for the accident. Im actually embarrassed that I was so negligent and wasn’t even aware of it at the time. In retrospect I should have been driving AT LEAST 1/3 of the speed limit less/slower than the posted speed limit and eventually stopping at the nearest safe haven. Maybe even traveled at half of the speed limit to account for how light my trailers were. I learned a hard lesson In situational awareness as a professional driver I should have been more aware of conditions.

I completely understand the decision to terminate me. I was going to just hang it up and do something else. After reading a few threads here about second chances I decided not to give up just yet. My fiancé and I gave up our home and jobs to start a career in trucking. We love the lifestyle and really don’t want to do anything else. I learned so much from my mistakes that I feel like a safer driver because of this experience. With that said, I decided to make an account to ask a question that I hadn’t seen asked or answered. Hopefully this helps someone else in the future as well.

The Question: If no company will give me a chance, could we get insured for an authority with a rollover on my MVR/DAC/PSP and a careless driving citation?

My fiancé’s driving record is clean and she also has 10 months of experience. We both have doubles/triples, tanker, and hazmat endorsements.

Starting our own authority isn’t our first choice but we are considering it if it’s an option and if no one will hire me or allow us to lease on. We are blessed to have saved up a decent amount of cash from our time otr and some family and friends willing to loan/gift us some cash to get us started if necessary. We are also willing to live in the truck to to offset high insurance premiums that’ll likely come with my newly damaged driving record.

We’re open to any advice or alternative ideas. Even the condescending comments are welcome. I know I screwed up, just looking to move forward. Thanks in advance to those who will give constructive criticism and advice.

God bless!

I think it will be extremely difficult to impossible to find insurance to start your own company. 10 months accident free is a nice start but it is really nothing in the grand scheme, plus it was all canceled out with the roll over. Honestly, it would be a really bad time to start out on your own anyway given the market.

I would keep applying at 2nd chance companies, such as CR England, CRST, Western Express, Dutch Maid Logistics, Central Transport. Hopefully one of them will bite.

What company were you with? I'd also add Trans Am to the list to check out. There are companies that will hire you with a rollover but you're going to likely make less than you previously were. Did you fight the careless citation? If all else fails check Craigslist.

Yes, I was so close to that year mark but back at square one now. I’m in agreement with you on both insurance and the freight market at the moment. Might be a dumb question but would going back to school help at all with job prospects?

I’ll apply to all of the companies you listed. Thanks for your feedback!

I think it will be extremely difficult to impossible to find insurance to start your own company. 10 months accident free is a nice start but it is really nothing in the grand scheme, plus it was all canceled out with the roll over. Honestly, it would be a really bad time to start out on your own anyway given the market.

I would keep applying at 2nd chance companies, such as CR England, CRST, Western Express, Dutch Maid Logistics, Central Transport. Hopefully one of them will bite.

What company were you with? I'd also add Trans Am to the list to check out. There are companies that will hire you with a rollover but you're going to likely make less than you previously were. Did you fight the careless citation? If all else fails check Craigslist.

would going back to school help at all with job prospects?

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't waste the money on a school unless a company puts in writing that it'll guarantee you a job. I graduated from a private driving school and I doubt there's anything taught there that would make you more attentive or better equipped to avoid the same situation in the future.

I hope this helps.

I was with Covenant. You make a good point about taking a pay cut. I wouldn’t expect anything less. The most important thing to me is proving that I can be a safe driver. We fell in love with the lifestyle, money will come, plus we don’t have many expenses at less than $1000 month.

I do plan to fight the careless driving citation. I will be speaking with the legal service plan that I paid into with Covenant. I feel confident that I can win.

I will also look into Trans am. Thanks for the feedback!

What company were you with? I'd also add Trans Am to the list to check out. There are companies that will hire you with a rollover but you're going to likely make less than you previously were. Did you fight the careless citation? If all else fails check Craigslist.

It does help! I could pitch a company that if they guaranteed they’ll hire me once I finished that I would go back to school. It’s a long shot and I don’t see anyone biting but it’s definitely thinking outside the box. I’ve got nothing to lose at this point.

Thanks for your feedback!

would going back to school help at all with job prospects?

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't waste the money on a school unless a company puts in writing that it'll guarantee you a job. I graduated from a private driving school and I doubt there's anything taught there that would make you more attentive or better equipped to avoid the same situation in the future.

I hope this helps.

School means nothing. Negotiate for a longer training period with that particular company. It's winter. Stay in training the whole winter.

Try Pam also. They took someone from the forum who messed up. We had a driver who rolled a log truck and got a job again.

Using this site and the Driver Pulse app by Tenstreet, I would apply at every company possible. You may get a bite, but I would say to expect all rejections for quite a while. Time will heal that ding to your record. In the meantime, apply everywhere, keep CDL active, keep your med cert up-to-date, and keep your record clean from this point.

Time will heal that ding to your record

A roll over is more of a dent than a ding.