Careless driving citation

your a rookie driver running northeast regional freight.You need a brand new rand McNally map.
A smartphone, a good working CB radio and common sense.If you don't have time to look at a map
and find out where the restricted routs and low bridges are then don't waste your money on a lawyer,
You won't have a CDL much longer anyways.
Call the customer for directions period.You don't know enough to just wing it!
Nobody can hide from google. If your company won't give you the customers number then run the company's name and address thru google.you'll find some number in there that will get you to who you need to talk to for directions, and tell them your in a tractor trailer not a car.
Your company giving you a re-fresher course ain't gonna solve the problem.
Trip planning is your problem and that takes time. Time you said that you don't have.
make time,if takes half your 10 hour break to figure out how to get into and out of someplace then
thats what you got to do.Saying you don't have time to plan a trip is basically pleading guilty to the careless driving ticket.On a side note get out of the northeast.

 

I work in the NYC tri-state area I will never use a gps, my best resource is other drivers who i trust, I have no problem calling anyone (including the shipper/receiver) who can get me out of a tight spot. Lately out of town drivers are continuing to blame their gps when striking low clearances. The police do not care why you did it and you will get all the fines you deserve. This occurs everyday in NYC!

BTW if any dispatcher/fleet manager/safety manger/anyone told me I was not allowed to call the shipper/receiver I would go with my typical response... I can do your job can you do mine!!!! This statement is usually followed by silence...

Also when you get that sick feeling that you are lost or stuck STOP THE TRUCK, use every resource possible to find the easiest way out do not keep guessing that you will find that miracle spot that takes you right out to a major hwy. Breath... and breath again and remember you are safe until you hit something...

 

Had the exact same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago in Kentucky..... Mine was worse because not only was it my first day driving at Western express, it was my first day driving OTR...... The difference being I got out and looked before I backed up, since it was a busy street that I was going to be backing up on I stopped a pick up truck offered him money to buy his morning cup of coffee for him to keep his truck right where it was as I backed up- he agreed, and I kept my license clean, and all it cost me was $5.00..... Could have woken up my codriver, but I was a little too embarrassed that I relied strictly on my Qualcomm GPS ........ I had nobody to blame but myself, but I refused to make matters worse by not GOAL and risk my license......good luck and stay safe.

 

I'm going to take a guess why they don't want drivers calling customers. It comes from salespeople who have gotten caught in the old, I'll be there in the morning, and the customer saying I cancelled that order, don't bring it here. Now it's stuck on a truck, there is a problem to solve, a bill to pay, and a lost commission . I used to work for an equipment rental company had that policy. The driver is totally responsible for absolutely everything about that truck, where it goes, and what it hits, regardless of any bodies policy's. Always watch your back in NJ. Get your first source of directions, verify them with a second source , then check your road atlas just to be sure your directions look right. If anything doesn't check out, if something doesn't look or feel right, call the shipper / receiver and ask. You don't ever have to say your new at this or a rookie even, just tell them this my first time in this area, I just want to be sure this is the way you want your trucks routed in or the safest way in. After you start doing this you are going to be surprised how many times a helpful person will tell you don't pay attention to your map or gps, this is the way you need to come in here. Never forget, you will make more money getting there late with no tickets or accidents then you will on time with a couple dents and a ticket. When the crap hits the fan it always hits the driver first .

Adam

 

Oh well live and learn right? You still have a job so just get into the habit of writing your route down. Maybe buy some city maps too. The atlas is worthless as I am sure you know

I was under a wide load in downtown Ottawa. City permit routed me into a residential area...NO TRUCK signs everywhere. So I set the brakes right there in that narrow street and called the cops. Dispatch put me into traffic dept and the first thing she said was:
"Don't you have a map of the Ottawa truck routes? You know they are on the city website right?" "No I don't have a map (felt kinda dumb) but I do have a oversize permit and this is where they routed me."
"Oh, they did that again? I wish they would just ask us."

So she gave me permission to turn left on the no truck route. She thanked me for calling before something went bad. I got her name and number and got out of there.

Another time in Schenechtady. Turned right off of Aqueduct St or something and there sits a low railway underpass. Walked up to measure. No way. I was a little worried becasue I thought I missed the warning sign or I thought I was on a no truck route but I called the cops becasue the only way out was to back up 1/8 mile. Cops showed up and blocked traffic for me. They blamed the city for not signing it better. "We do this 2-3 times a week", she said.

Trust me driver, no matter how good you are, you are never the first.

 

Part of what you need to be learning as a new trucker is how to pay attention to all those road signs everybody ignores, and when to park the truck and get help. You need to develop a feel for when things 'ain't right'', no matter what somebody on the phone tells you, another driver, the GPS, qcomm, or the voice of God coming out of the headliner of your truck.

I saw a Western Express truck a few weeks ago, sitting in an intersection, no flashers on, blocking traffic while he looked dazed and confused. I have no idea if he was lost, out of fuel, or taking a ten hour break.


You better check to see how many points are connected to the 'careless driving' charge in that state. In some states 'careless driving' and 'reckless driving' carry some stiff points.

We all do stupid stuff. I still do, but I learned not to compound the stupid thing I did, by trying to fix it with more stupid stuff.

 

Always have a back up GPS. I used the navigation on QUalcomm and a Rand McNally GPS. They will both route you different ways. IT's funny, some times the QC Navigation will try and get me to turn down streets that are restricted, but the Rand McNally wont. Then, the Rand McNally will try and have me turn a block early on a small street, while the QC GPS will try to have me turn on a larger main street.

I got into a bind in Tennessee where I followed my GPS and both were sending me down a weight restricted street. I went the other way and re-routed, but before I went I pulled out my atlas and referenced the roads I was going to the restricted routes. No problem.

I suck at navigating, and I would be lost with out my GPS. Even before GPS, when I printed out map quest maps, I would get lost in my car.

I've been in many situations where I've had to back up, drive over curbs with my steer tires, get out and walk down a street before I get in deeper trouble. From down town Kansas City, MO to small towns in Pennsylvania...I would not and will not go into certain cities, specifically NYC. Although I'm a good driver and safe driver, I have the worst tendency to miss turns, get lost and end up in predicaments like you. Sure, you can have a map and instructions, but these streets its easy to miss signs or drive past them, then those directions are useless because you're off course. Then, you try to get back on course and you end up in a situation like the OP. It's best to stop and look at the map, but many times you can't do that with out blocking the road.

Back to it, I was trying to deliver to a Home Depot near Kansas City, just trying to read the signs is confusing. The interstates and roads intersect and change quickly, if you're in the wrong lane you miss your turn. People don't want to let you over. I may be a good driver, but I'm a horrid navigator and if it wasn't for GPS, I wouldn't be driving a truck unless it was a dedicated route with the same points.

 

We once had one pull into an FFE yard in NJ, very tight yard in some spots. I honestly have ZERO clue why the guard post even let him through to turn around when the road goes both ways back to a through truck road. Another driver and I are standing outside, smoking and swapping stories. We see the WE driver come in and both of us are staring at this guy; he seemed lost on the yard (and it's a small yard.) Which would make sense, I've never seen another truck outside of FFE (save for market day) on this FFE yard.

He starts driving towards the south docks, pretty ###### tight in there, and TRIED TO PULL A U TURN. He caught a reefer unit with the end of his trailer and LOPPED THE SOB OFF THE TRUCK. There was a guy in the trailer, too, breaking down freight. It was this huge ordeal that myself and the other driver got ropped into, the yard manager was screaming at us "Why didn't you try to stop him from making a maneuver like that!?" What the hell were we supposed to do? We thought this guy knew what he was doing- I've seen plenty of drivers hock a U back there to get setup, but not quite as wide and I never tried it myself specifically for the worry that I might do what this idiot had done.
It got messy when the cops arrived and this drivers very-very-very southern wife began arguing with the cops.

Haha, anyhow, OP- I sent you a PM.

 

I agree with the drivers who've advised you to get an attorney. Yes, OOIDA can probably recommend something. Also, you can google Open Road Drivers Plan. They can help you with finding an attorney in the area where you got the citation.. They are basically a drivers insurance business, but I don't think you have to join to get a referral/recommendation for an attorney. But, if you're not a member, you'll have to pay the attorney directly.. In any case, get an attorney.. They might not be able to get the citation dismissed, but they might be able to get the charge reduced, or have the traffic magistrate/Judge withhold adjudication.(this will keep any points off your license.) Remember, a careless driving conviction is a Very Serious Moving Citation, and will follow you for at least 3 years, and up to 5 years. One more thing. Whenever possible, call the customer, see if they have a directions recording, or ask someone in shipping/receiving. And map out your own routing with that and a good Atlas.. That is an essential part of the trip planning an experienced driver will do to protect himself. Western Express may want you to trust their GPS/navigation system, but look where it got you when it failed.. Good Luck to You.. P.S. If you don't have time to do a trip plan, you can expect to get more tickets.

 

That doesn't seem a very specific reason. In my book a driver should rarely or never have to call a customer for directions. In many if not most cases dozens if not hundreds of the company's drivers have been there before, picking up and/or delivering every day, week, or month, for months or years.

"I'm a professional driver, just the 100th from my company to need the same directions my company should have provided me". That doesn't make ANY sense, not to mention getting directions from clerks interrupted in their jobs, or maybe still distracted by it, who see no distinction between the needs of a truck and their 4-wheeler... IF they can provide directions from anywhere but their home.

Directions for their drivers are the responsibility of the carrier. Maybe that's just me.