is the driver at fault if....

I think your company would decide if it goes on your record.The mega companies,chances are they'll put it on your record.You better come up with solid proof pictures and a good story to make it believable that you're not at fault.

 

It's a hit and run. Hopefully the truck stop has cameras and caught something. If it were to go on your record it should be recorded as a non-preventable.

I'm sure it's happened thousands of times a year at the least.

 

It is usally just considered an incident depending on how much damage.If I'm not mistaked for it to be considered a DOT recordaable accident there has to be an injury or a vehicle has to be towed because of the amount of damage.I have been backed into several times over the years and it was never considered my fault.

 

Which driver?

 

There was a post a few days ago about a guy that got fired for falsifying an accident report...he said truck got hit while he was inside the truck stop, if I remember correctly...company seems to think he did the damage and tried to cover it up by claiming hit and run. Seems a lot depends on your company...and your track record with said company.

 

Get a Dash Camera, if something happens to front of your truck you got video proof and record. Same with brake checks

 

Seems like in the vast majority of cases where you have one trailer backed into another trailer at a truck stop, there isn't likely to be much, if any damage. Unless someone is backing at a ridiculously high speed.

OTOH, your question:

the answer is an unqualified YES. No matter what happens, it IS the driver's fault.

 

Assuming you were parked legally, in a spot, not next to the scale or something, you shouldn't be a fault. If you work for a ###### company, they may charge you the insurance deductible. If you feel a jolt on your truck and its not windy, jump out in ur underware if you have to to try and find who hit you.

It should not go on nay reports as a preventable acident for you assuming yout were not moving and you were parked legally.

Now same situation, but your parked in the sholder of an exit ramp. Your totaly at fault and even liable for injeries and damage to other truck since you were parked in an unsafe location. Parked at a T/S but not in a spot (on side or nrear scale) is a gray area. You should not be there, but in a well lit truck stop the other driver should be able to navigate around you or ask you to move. Youc oudl have some fault for being parked poorly though

 

You are asking questions using terms that you are misunderstanding. At Fault is a legal term. It means that the driver did something illegal that caused an accident. Sleeping in a sleeper, provided you are legally parked would not be considered an At Fault accident. The next term you will hear is the term Preventable Accident. That is the one that professional drivers (all truck drivers other then Swifties) have to deal with. If there is anything you could have done to have prevented the accident then it is a preventable accident. In your example we would need more information to make that determination. Did you park in a spot that was likely to get you hit when there were other places available, such as near the scale or in a high traffic area. The companies safety committee will make that call. It is not based on legal standards. Then you mentioned the DAC reports. Dac is a report issued by a company called Hireright. They publish what companies want them to publish. If the company, and by company I mean someone working at the company, doesn't like you (say you get their daughter pregnant) then they will tell DAC that you hit an unknown stationary object and then lied to cover up your involvement in the incident. It is up to you to Prove that the report is incorrect. Good luck.

In 2007, I was coming out of Denver. It was April and along comes one of their little snow storms. Clear sky and then white out. An ORANGE truck belonging to Schneider merges into my lane without clearing my front bumper. I am forced into the soft shoulder. My truck is destroyed and the trailer along with it. A highway patrol officer witnessed the accident and gave the Schneider driver a ticket. The company that I worked for fired me and put it in my DAC report as a "Jack Knife." Hire Right refuses to correct the report. My choice is to go to court but as I have not missed a day of work because of it, I have no damages. I would also have to prove that the term Jack Knife is incorrect. I believe the truck and trailer maintained a straight line but there are no pictures of it. So I can't prove anything other then the accident was not my fault. DAC doesn't say it was my fault only that I was involved in a Jack Knife.

So to sum up, your example could be used to point out the randomness of accident reports in this industry. Anything happens to your truck, your person, your load, or the public in general and it is a crap shoot.

Get multiple dashcams if you want but it doesn't change a thing. Companies can fire you and ruin your life just cause. Again, it isn't the company it is people who work for the company. You will many times run into those who should never have been given power.