Getting a job after accidents.

I had posted a bunch in here last year about getting my cdl and an OTR job, so to save everybody from having to search for and read my old posts, here is a recap:

After spending 15 years in warehouses, an opportunity came up for me last year to go to school to get a CDL with my employer paying 90% of the cost. I had always liked trucks and thought it could be my ticket out of warehouse work. Make money, buy my own truck, live happily driving around the country.

Had no problems getting the CDL at all. Started working for Schneider in August last year, had no trouble going through orientation at all. Shifting, backing, road driving, etc all fine.

Got an OTR position and went out at the start of September.
All was fine and dandy for a while.

Then while driving through Mississippi in November I had an accident.
I had spent the night at a small gas station off the hiway. At 4:30 AM I was heading out. It was foggy, dark, the roads were empty. I came up to the stop sign and was about to make my left hand turn onto the hiway. I saw a vehicle in the far off distance, no big deal I thought, he's a couple hundred yards away. Started pulling out across the hiway with my 42k load. Road onto the hiway was an incline so it was slow going, get my nose just about across the East bound lanes when there was a bang and sparks across the front of my truck. Looked over just in time to see an SUV rolling in the grass center median. The guy admitted to the cops that he was doing 90 and tried to go around the front of me as I was pulling out. I bumped his passenger side as a result and sent him spinning. He was uninjured (was out and walking around, refused a checkup from the EMS) and although my bumper was a mangled, my Columbia was still drivable. I didn't get any citations from the police for it and after an officer got my info I was free to go. Safety department yelled at me, saying it was preventable because I could have stopped to let him pass, which I agreed with. Had some minor retraining and a road test, which impressed the trainer.

Then in January I had another accident. Had been running for about 4 weeks and was running recaps. I was a bit burnt out, even planning to take a 34 after completing my load and decided to not run more then 2 weeks without a 34 hour restart since it didn't feel safe. But, I didn't make it that long. Was driving though a construction zone, there was no shoulder and the lane was narrow with the guard rail right against the line. I drifted a few inches to the right and brushed the guard rail. I recovered with no trouble, but the steering was messed up. Was able to continue a mile down the road to an emergency pull off, leaving skid marks the whole way from my front tires. The tie rod got bent when the lugs on the passenger side steer caught the guardrail. When the drivers side tire was pointing straight, the passenger side would point towards 1 o'clock. Tires on the passenger side of the truck and trailer had gauges in the sidewalls as a result of the guard rail and the skirting on the side of the cab was scraped but intact. Heard the officer talking on the phone saying the guard rail didn't need to be replaced, it was just 'chewed up'. I did get cited for lane control as a result of the accident and the truck had to be towed to a nearby OC.

I got terminated for safety violations.
Can't get unemployment either due to 'disregarding company safety rules'

Now, I live in South East PA in an area with dozens of major warehouses 15 mins away so finding a new warehouse job wont be hard (yes, I know it's already been 2 months, lol). But, I really hate the thought of going back to a warehouse. I was hoping to get out of that kind of work.

But, is there even any chance of me getting back into rig with 2 preventable accidents in such a short time or would it be better to just wait a few years before attempting?

If the only option is a company that treats drivers like crap and pays less then I would make just driving a forklift at a warehouse, then I'd rather wait.

 

That thought also crossed my mind. lol

 

Yea, I should remove that pic since I'm no longer with schneider.
It was one of my first loads, maybe my 2nd or 3rd and I forgot to slide them when leaving the shipper. Realized my mistake with the first right turn I had to make. Travel was mostly on side-routes and after about an hour on that road I found that large pull off area (big enough for several semis) so stopped there, took the picture, slid my tandems, and took my 30 min break.