I got in a lil fender bender at a truck stop no police no one hurt and fresh out of school and 1st week training what’s the repercussions for this type of incident usually
Ps I cracked the headlight and pulled a corner of his cattle guard forward with the metal bumper of my trailer at the fuel island
It’s not the end of the world man but it doesn’t bode well that you’ve already gotten into an accident in one of the easier spaces you will regularly be navigating.
You need to take it as a serious wake up call to pay attention to your surroundings because one more incident like this and you’re either going to get the boot or be skating on very thin ice.
Straight to the maximum security prison in Colorado
Into the underground facility next to the joker and bane....
ADX Florence
Used to live there. Quiet community. Rude neighbors though.
Could you imagine 😂😂😂😂😂
Do I get the cell next to Pablo?
You get Ted Kaczynski's old cell
So off to Western Express?
Push it against a telephone pole slowly bend it back
Id run it up against one of those concrete filled metal poles instead. Telephone poles are surprisingly easy to knock over
And how do you know sir? /s
It’ll snap. They’re good for a single bend.
Or one of those concrete barriers at fuel stops. But put a towel on it first so it doesn't get damaged from contact.
Eeeh concrete barrier is better. It's designed to be hit, right?
LOL! Rookies would likely end up leaving the hood behind, though.
1st week training? What was your trainer doing? How did you get so close to another truck? Tandems ahead and tail swing got it?
At least it's minor. I had a TMC truck take the entire hood off a Peterbilt in VA because he ran his spread axle flatbed across the front of the truck when turning out of the fuel island.
Ta in West Virginia. Trainer guided me. I was going slow! Felt I couldn’t go forward he asked if I was hooked on something I told him I couldn’t have been. We both thought it was ice. I was told to back up nd push forward to gain traction when I did the damage happened. I was definitely paying attention and going slow! I’m with covenant btw.
Your trainer should have been walking around the truck while guiding you. When you got close, he should have asked if you could see it and then make you get out and look. Doesn't sound like the trainer is taking his job seriously. It should also reflect badly on him since he was guiding you. Not that you aren't at fault, but the trainer should be held to a higher standard.
I wish i ever got a trainer when i was a bit more wet behind the ears :D Oh well, have learned a lot of my mistakes as well
It's possible that your trailer slid. The big humps of ice in fuel islands do tend to do that.
You need to get out and look man. We've all fucked up. The sooner you realize your own level of accountability, the sooner youre gonna get ahead of this type of occurrence. Youre the operator. I think your trainer is complicit in this to a certain degree, but you need to be accountable for your actions. You sitting in the driver's seat saying "I couldnt have been hooked on something" is half assing it. We have enough drivers out there half assing it making it a literal pain in the balls for the ones take this occupation seriously. Get out and look. Be aware of your surroundings. Be aware of how fast they can change even at slow speeds. Thankfully this scenario is strictly minor equipment damage. Realize that couldve been a person you hooked and damaged.
I know it was my fault 🤦🏽♂️ I never said it wasn’t I was explaining what happened in detail…
How did this happen at the fuel island? Plenty of space in every fuel spot I've gone to in the last 20+ years...
There's a few in The Northeast where I can see someone not paying attention and doing this.
Dude have you not seen the truck stop signs flattered on both sides of a 200ft wide driveway. There's a fucking ton of under skilled people in this profession
Bend it back It will be alright
Well it's better that it happens now. Companies should at least expect new drivers to fuck up. I mean, it's not good though. I would expect them to put you back on the truck with a trainer. If you were with a trainer well the trainer is going to be the one who takes the brunt of the blame.
Sounds like OP was with a trainer. The trainer should have been outside of the truck the moment they were unsure of what was going on. I would like to be a fly on the wall for that phone call with safety.
Ah, I misread it I thought they said it was a week off the trainers truck. For real though, it's definitely the trainers fuck up, mostly. One week with a permit and I bet the trainer was sleeping. At least that's how it went for me.
Personally, just fortunate I am a second generation truck driver. Probably would have fucked more shit up otherwise. But I have a million and one issues with how drivers are being trained. Rookies training rookies is just dumb, imo.
I agree with you 100%. There is way too much of that in this industry these days. Twice now I've had to back in another Driver's truck because they were struggling so badly, and one of the times they had a trainer who couldn't figure it out. Trainer said he'd been driving for 8 months.
Exactly, they just want warm bodies in the seat, that's it. The The FMCSA really needs to establish requirements for being a trainer. Like at least a few years otr or regional. Instead of letting companies just dangle a slight pay raise to people that have barely been out on the road and only care about making that little bit more and not training.
Stop getting too damn close to other people’s trucks and pay attention to where your truck and trailer is when making turns, backing up and etc. My truck has been hit many times by other drivers and it’s such a pain having to lose time off work and lose income to find a repair shop and get the truck fixed just because someone else didn’t pay attention.
The guard worked as intended/designed.
If you're with a mega, this is probably your 1 and only incident before termination. If you do it again, you're gone.
If you're with a small operation, they'll probably tell you to pay the repairs yourself or you're gone now.
"Another driver hit and run my truck" <-- try this
Let's go to the instant replay to verify this.
Dumb move, that
satire my boy
Surprised company didn’t want a police report. Quite a few have it mandatory.
Eh not a big deal just stop hitting peoples shit and you’ll be fine I’ve been in two accidents still making money just don’t make it a habit
Something like this is 100% operator error, my company would give a new driver a second chance, but you would be on a short leash.
I’d get a strap, park to the left of one of those safety polls at the truckstop, tighten it to poll, pull it up and to the left little by little and get it straightened. Then buy a headlight at any dealer, replace it and buff off the scratches just as much as possible.
Not the end of the world, but let this be a lesson learned to pay attention to surroundings. Find a heavy concrete barrier, and push it against that to bend it back.
Buff right out no problem
just bend it back an fourth real quick like till the som_b falls off and send it. otherwise hp will get you before you wipe out some ass trying to over take you on a right hand
Pay attention, stay calm going forward
I'm having trouble picturing how you got tangled-up with the Mansfield bar on your own trailer at a fuel island. Were portals involved? Are you a licensed portal operator?
He was to my right and when I turned right to line up with the fuel line my trailer bumper snagged it. My trainer told me I wasn’t far up enough and to account for trailer swing next time. Not to worry about it he has had students do way worse and the company kept them
Oh, I misread and thought that was your tractor. Makes more sense now. Being someone else's tractor certainly makes it more difficult to bend it back and try to fix things on the cheap, probably an insurance claim that'll cost your employer a potential premium increase unless the other driver is okay handling things out-of-pocket. I don't think I'd recommend starting down that path, though, I have a feeling it'll cost more than you'd think it would.
Shit happens, though, and at least there were no injuries. This is probably your one and only mulligan with the company for a long time, just be extra careful.
It'll buff right out
Wym how bad, it’s bent the other way…
Will be executed as soon as you return back to dispatch
Most companies I worked for will forgive an accident especially if it's this minor. But if you don't report it and they find out, it's usually automatic termination.
Is that truck shared or assigned to you? You might be able to just bend it back and pay out of pocket to have the light replaced. No one will ask questions over a little scratched paint
Not too bad. I think the hood is repairable so only paint repair would be needed. The light is about 400 and is easy to replace. The deer guard is a few thousand. This might count as a dot recordable since the vehicle is no longer legal to drive, but it won't remain that way for long.
Guard like that is about a grand, but that specific style is now discontinued.
If you were alone: That's probably the hood, bumper and guard. Likely $10,000. You'll be in for the full deductible, which is likely $3500 and an accident on your CDL. Hard to say what you're carrier will do. Some are forgiving, others not. They hired you as "green" so I'd suspect they'll keep you. But it can't happen again. No speeding tickets, no scale infractions for at least a year. And that'll be on your abstract for 5yrs
You say your trainer was in the truck?!? And he instructed you to back up and push again after you said you thought you were stuck on something? They should fire the trainer.
Straight to jail jk you’re gonna be fine driver you live and you learn like you said no one got hurt and that’s always the most important and sometimes even impressive thing.
You mean you are not fired yet if not when you get that truck back you are fired and probably going to jail for asking reddit how bad like you are going to get the right answer here
Tis but a scratch
rachet strap around steer tire and then rail, put in reverse.
Just tell them after dropping off the students the darn thing wouldn't go back in place. Must be faulty.
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES
Citation: W. Va. Code § 17C-5-99 Charge: Fender Bender — Failure to Admit the Obvious
Description: Driver caused a low-speed collision and stated, “That ain’t from me,” despite visible bumper evidence.
Penalty:
First offense: Mandatory traffic safety talk entitled “Hollers Ain’t Brakes.”
Second offense: Temporary suspension of the phrase “It’ll buff out.”
Third offense: Assignment to Automotive Death Row, defined as indefinite waiting at the DMV while numbers are called out of order. No bodily harm permitted
How was the other guy about it? Upset? Cool? Whatever?
Those cattle guards are meant to take the hit, from the front anyways. The damage to the fender doesn't seem too bad.
In a simple world, I'd just give the guy however much those cattle guards cost, plus some extra for the trouble as an apology and compensation—but unfortunately we don't live in a simple world and there's insurance and companies to deal with :/
Duuuude, you’re going to prison for life for sure!
That'll buff out
Just find a parking Ballard and nose up to it real gently, you can get it looking pretty good that way
Find yourself a yellow concrete pole and bend it back into place some
If you had a welder and a grinder that could be fixed.