need a job

what do you do if u got banned from a spill due to faulty equipment and only 6 months local driving job. no one will hire me. over the road.

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Response from Vicki:

Thank you for your question. Although we address truck driving jobs and trucking companies on our website, we do so from the standpoint of helping prospective and current truck drivers save money.

Nevertheless, please allow me to try to provide a bit of help. It's going to be a tad difficult because you did not provide your name or email address.

You said that you need a job because you were "banned from a spill due to faulty equipment and only 6 months local driving job." I interpret this to mean that you were "fired" from your job and that the job you had was a local truck driving job. You did not provide any details about the substance that got spilled (liquid, solid, hazardous or not), what the circumstances of the spill involved or anything about the equipment other than the fact that it was "faulty."

If you have a commercial driver's license (CDL) with the appropriate qualification for the truck you were driving and the appropriate endorsement for the product you were hauling;

If you followed all of your company's procedures for loading, transporting and hauling the product;

If you did a thorough inspection of your equipment before you left (assuming the spill happened in transit) and the equipment was in good working condition at that time;

If you underwent a drug screening following the spill and came back showing no drugs;

If you can prove that the equipment failed in such a way as was beyond your control;

Then it seems to me that you should be able to appeal your dismissal with your former employer.

I was once involved in a situation as a professional truck driver that was beyond my control. I appealed what was going to be put on my record as a "preventable accident," which the trucking company "committee" (if that's the word for it) during the appeals process decided was indeed "unpreventable."

Yes, sometimes equipment fails -- and in transit. The many pieces of rubber seen on the road is evidence of tires failing in transit.

Please evaluate your situation truthfully. Did you do everything you were supposed to do to prevent the situation? If so, then I suggest you appeal the decision with your former employer.

Bear in mind that these days, trucking companies have a greater stake in making sure their employees are complying with CSA, as infractions on the part of drivers can reflect on them.

Preventable accidents are black marks against drivers. It is wise to find out just exactly what has been said about you by requesting a copy of your DAC report, which you can do here. If you can also do so, also request a copy of your personnel file, particularly anything related to the spill.

If you do not have success in appealing the decision made about you and you believe you're totally innocent in the matter, you can contact an attorney (such as through a low-cost legal services plan) to have a letter or phone call made in your behalf.

Although we don't believe in borrowing trouble, it is possible that what happened to you has happened to others. You might want to do some research in online trucking forums about your former trucking company to see if others have experienced the same thing you have with that company. Sometimes trucking companies exploit their drivers and leave them in very vulnerable positions. Such companies need to be taken to task for their abusive practices. If it is the case that your former company is known as a "abuser," then you don't really want your old job back.

It may be painful, but if none of your resources lands you a job in trucking, you may need a job outside trucking just to get back among the employed.

Trucking applications typically ask questions about preventable accidents and moving violations, but may ask about them for only a certain amount of time in the past (such as the last 5 years). Once you're past the time frame stated, accidents and moving violations may not need to be disclosed. Always be truthful and accurate on trucking applications. Note that former employers may be contacted regarding your employment with them. Anything that doesn't match up may reflect negatively on you.

We hope this helps. When you get back on the road, we wish you safety and lots of money saving opportunities.

Best regards,
Vicki Simons

http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/