First, thanks golfhobo for the great post. I am information junkie and I feel the more I know the more prepared I can be. Believe me, I just ignore the people who make the Burger king comments, although it does scare me a little bit. My husband has filed for unemployment and is looking for work in the meantime. He is a carpenter but with the construction industry taking a dive, he turned to trucking, which he ended up really liking. So he does have other options (he's never worked fast food a day in his life), but this was traumatic and he really wants to get back in the saddle. Hopefully, someone will give him a chance!

 

The explanation was in another post chuck which I hope this works: http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...asc&highlight=
Mighty3 made this thread to let everyone know what happened afterward.

Mighty3 I really hope he can find something he likes!

 

I could give a million excuses on why this accident happened, but they would just be excuses. It is what it is, (and maybe after hearing about Mickey D's, I'll go apply there! ) Thanks again to the ones who gave their support and advice. Now it's time to look up the MVR and DAC and see exactly what's on there. He's a newbie anyway, so the job selection was never that great to begin with. So at this point, he needs someone to give him a chance and have a year of clean driving for someone. Believe me, the dump trucks are starting to sound good at this point!

 

Like it or not, Kip hits on the crux of the matter. The driver could have just as easily crossed the center line and taken out a family of 5 and those of you defending him would be crucifying him instead. Those that are doing that now are simply looking at the bigger picture, nothing more.

Bottom line is this. I agree that accidents are just that, accidents. People don't generally go out there and purposefully roll their truck or hit a car head on. But this accident was preventable. Had he been paying attention, it would never have happened.

His options are extremely limited. He has 9 months of experience and a major preventable roll-over on his record. It will be on his MVR, requiring any company to have a copy of the accident report. It will be on his DAC or on a verification of employment fax from the company. There is no getting around it; no circumventing the seriousness of it.

Most companies, major and non, will not even look at him, especially with the industry in the shape it's in right now. People might make fast food jokes, but that stems from them asking themselves - "what if this guy crossed the center line instead and it was my family in the car he hit."

I see it all the time - drivers out there not paying attention and giving the industry a bad name. A thousand drivers driving safely and carefully are ignored for the one guy not paying attention that has a major preventable accident.

Yeah, it's a tough pill to swallow, but it rests squarely on the driver's shoulders and no one else's. Any of the few companies that will take the chance and hire him will pay him peanut shells, if that. He'll end up driving junky equipment and the next time he rolls the truck, it will be because of faulty equipment, no brakes, worn and blown steers, etc. And guess what? It'll be preventable then, too.

In the end, he is better off and will make more money flipping burgers or stocking shelves. Do something outside of the industry for 3 years, put it behind him, then start again with a reputable company. And at that point, he needs to be paying better attention because the next time, it'll put him out of the industry for good.

 

A better thing to do right now would be to get a certification in welding and/or Diesel repair.
Like myself, he probably wants to stay in the industry and needs some time for the "smoke to clear" after such an embarassment.
In fact, if the O.P.'s husband went to a local, community college for his license, they'll most likely have a Diesel certification that will only take a year to complete.

 

I don't think it's 'defending' him but we're not talking to him directly it's the WIFE of the driver. What's the point in hacking into her when she had nothing to do with it? She came here to get advice from experienced drivers, not to get lashed by some drivers that only come up with CB Channel 19 talk.