Been shutdown for a week now 1200 miles from home because someone backed into my truck.
Posted by ZmanslAsher@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 104 comments
Shop is estimating that it won’t be fixed until the 30th at the earliest, and my company has just stuck me in a hotel until they figure out a way to get me to a terminal with all my stuff.
deadpat03@reddit
Dude they should have that fixed in one day. I see no frame damage only body and bumper.
jjlj2010@reddit
Time to switch companies....
burpinsoldier69@reddit
A repair like that is gonna takes at least a couple weeks at min.
deadpat03@reddit
Na my dude that's like a 2-hour repair. Replace the hood plastic bumper body work is done in 2 hours take it in for an alignment then check the frame for damage once done. Doesn't look like the frame was hit so chances are just body work. I've seen it done at a love's parking lot 100 times.
SuperChaos002@reddit
Minor scuff. Just needs a little polish and you're fine.
grumpus_ryche@reddit
Couple rolls of duct tape will take care of that!
OldeBulldog80@reddit
I feel ya. I'm on day 7 in a hotel when the truck stopped building air pressure again after just getting out of dealership for the same issue. Of course the truck started working once it was in the shop so they were chasing ghosts for days, found an error code for a solenoid between air compressor and air dryer. Now Bendix is sending new air dryer as well. Probably stuck until Wednesday.
jtaran@reddit
This is why I like local ltl. More money than OTR paid for everything you do and you go home everyday
Bla6k@reddit
You should start looking for another company.
Coastalvitamins@reddit
Awe. I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have enough food and water?
Dazac@reddit
Rip that shit off and hit the road. Or get yourself home and bill the company. Hope you're getting good breakdown pay.
MikeMcAwesome91@reddit
Id be securing all that shit thats hanging and driving it as is
EgotisticJet5@reddit
Is your company unable to send you to an airport to fly home?
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
They are more so trying to find ways of getting me moving again, but they haven’t rented me a car to drive to a terminal and even get a temporary truck. I’m about 4 hours away from a terminal to my north and south, but those terminals apparently don’t have trucks that I could even barrow.
1josehuncho@reddit
*borrow but I understand you’re a trucker
ohgeebus_notagain@reddit
No offense, but vowels are not as important as getting this man back to making money for his family. Maybe focus on the important things in life instead of insulting people
Allemaengel@reddit
I was an English teacher in a past life and my mother was as well.
I grew up in a rural, blue-collar area and have always made it a point to never, ever correct someone else's grammar unless involving one of my students. Just poor etiquette.
ohgeebus_notagain@reddit
Correcting someone else's grammar on reddit is so common that I wouldn't have bat an eyelash if it hadn't been for the trucker comment insinuating that the commenter would be too dumb to understand the difference.
Allemaengel@reddit
Good point. That was amazingly rude.
1josehuncho@reddit
Respect, my apologies if I offended anyone. Have a good night, safe travels.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
No worries, corrections are how we learn, being honest, spelling is something I’ve always had problems with, I show signs of dyslexia, but have never been diagnosed. My auto correct on my phone does a lot of heavy lifting sometimes.
ohgeebus_notagain@reddit
Autocorrect gives me the worst corrections sometimes! I typed "Antoinette" not "Paul"! How in the fuck did the iPhone even get that? Be careful out there
Yam_What_I_Yam@reddit
We’re getting way off the subject here, but I remember when I got my first iPhone around 2011-12 I think, but I could text without even looking at the phone and it would be correct 90% of the time. Even back then I’d say “when Steve Jobs dies iPhone will go to shit”. Sure enough, without his pursuit of quality it went to shit almost instantly. I have a theory that they make things like autocorrect so terrible bc so many people will get so frustrated that they throw their phone, break it, then have to get a new one. OP: I saw this post last night and literally woke up this morning thinking, “I hope that dude got home”. I hate this for you, man.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I had something similar happen the other day, my sister had sent me a pic of my nephew and I went to say “he’s gotten so big” and my phone decided to say “he’s gotten so hip” and I have no clue what my phone was thinking in that moment.
snoopy_muffin38472@reddit
This guy
1josehuncho@reddit
What about me? I’ve already apologized to the community. Either accept it or SMD.
MiguelSTG@reddit
They could have gotten you to any terminal within a week. Are they paying you while you are not driving?
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I get breakdown pay, and I’m thinking the reason why they haven’t gotten me to a terminal yet is because the terminal managers at each terminal get to pick who gets the trucks, and the 2 terminals near me are holding their trucks for other drivers.
forkystabbyveggie@reddit
You're working for a trash company.
I've been that same distance from a terminal with a wrecked truck. They send a wrecker towing my replacement and then take the crashed one back.
Spend this time looking for a better carrier
MiguelSTG@reddit
After a week, and could easily be two more, that breakdown pay better be substantial. They should had already gotten you home knowing it will be three weeks or more. Getting you home would save the company from having to pay for the hotel room.
EgotisticJet5@reddit
Wow that sucks, I’m guessing using a Lyft or Uber is too expensive? Would it be possible if they could just have another driver who is close by to just pick you up and drop you off at a terminal?
Canelosaurio@reddit
Asking the right questions
fr33bird317@reddit
Ouch. That sucks.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
Adding even more fuel to the fire, the other driver ran. And I wasn’t able to get any info such as company, or license plates.
TruckerBiscuit@reddit
Oh fuck. Sorry bro. No dashcam?
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
The dashcam supposedly has collision sensors, and I did hit the manual record button after the fact, but in my attempt to get to the driver (he was exiting the lot when I got out) I hadn’t pushed it until a few minutes later.
DaSaw@reddit
Never ever ever chase the other driver. What are you going to do, kick his ass? Extract payment from him physically? All you need is the license plate number. The insurance company, the police, and the courts do the rest.
jetting_along@reddit
You can see a dashcam if you zoom in near the passenger sun visor. Looks like it may only be a running cam
TruckerBiscuit@reddit
This is a good advertisement for having your own dashcam I guess.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
Sound advice, definitely gonna get myself a new one once I’m back on the road.
KillerCookie23@reddit
Hate that man. I had a team drivers truck back into my truck and they broke my headlight. They saw me get up from my sleeper to see what happened and they panicked when they saw me and drove off. At least I was in a company truck but it still upsets me that people can’t own up to their accident.
Cheap_Speaker_5481@reddit
If you ain't getting paid like you are rolling then use all that free time to find a local gig
CrashCrosby@reddit
Dude….. you could unplug that headlight and tie the wires up ….. and get that broken piece off maybe sawzall? Then the truck is drive able…. Just stay away from WS and go home
musicalmadness1@reddit
Duct tape a flashlight makes a good headlight lol.
Individual_fire1328@reddit
Time to bounce they don’t gaf about you
Nearby-Border-5899@reddit
Nah bro, after 3 days im like move me or im going to go home myself, fuck off. Why are truckers some of the most spineless folks istg stand on business my guy....like others have said unless the breakdown pay is substantial like a few hundred dollars off your avg weekly pay, id keep it moving.
otr-trucker87@reddit
Are you getting paid for this?
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I get breakdown pay, but it’s nowhere near what I could be making if I was running. I’m just annoyed that Im stuck in a hotel in the middle of nowhere Virginia.
darthgeek@reddit
Are you at the truck stop in Raphine? It's not the worst place, and the gas station (Smileys) across the street has some decent BBQ.
Roanoke, VA is about an hour south and has Amtrak, Greyhound and an airport.
You could potentially get an Uber or Lyft to there for ~$100.
Mammoth_Scene_7754@reddit
Was just going to ask this ain’t really any petro in Va except Raphine and glade
FinzClortho@reddit
Tell them you want a weekly average of your last 3 months pay instead of breakdown. You can argue that breakdown pay is for being down 1 day, not a week. I was with a mega carrier briefly, but broke down 3 weeks straight and they paid me an average pay instead of company mandated breakdown pay.
otr-trucker87@reddit
At least you get breakdown pay for chilling in a hotel. Probably not enough to pay the bills though
20milliondollarapi@reddit
Either they are paying me or sending me home. That’s for sure. Ideally both.
otr-trucker87@reddit
I broke down once on the road. They reimbursed me for the hotel expense and then paid me for layover pay. Picked me up in a four wheel vehicle.
I even got paid for the mileage in the four wheel vehicle that I road in.
20milliondollarapi@reddit
Yea that’s basically what I would expect.
otr-trucker87@reddit
Should be nothing less than
ValuableShoulder5059@reddit
This is why I try to nose in when possible.
1986silverback@reddit
And I hope you're getting pain for every minute there. Or you're an idiot
trucksarekewl@reddit
What kinda dogshit company is this lol
Indentured-peasant@reddit
Damn, you could’ve walked to a terminal a few times over by now
Roblack4040@reddit
Do they have you in a hotel?
Firm-Cable-1026@reddit
i’m so sorry this happened to you :( take care and keep us updated. safe travels and hopefully you get to hop on the plane an get everything paid
whiskey-1@reddit
That’s pretty wild that they’re making you wait. This happened to me a few weeks ago, same deal, someone backed into me at a truck stop.
My company had another one of our trucks towed out to me and I was back on the road in maybe a day and a half and I even got breakdown pay.
Nero-Danteson@reddit
OP drives for Knight. Knight's probably trying to get one of the terminals near them to get him another truck
RefinedPhoenix@reddit
I once when I was new backed into the trailer behind me. No damage but it sent a shockwave through to the guys truck and he got out from his sleep and checked.
I’ve also had like 3 truckers within the course of a year hit my cab, 2 mirrors and 1 cow plow.
CannibalAnus@reddit
Can you still make your delivery
Some dispatcher probably asking 🥶
Exact-Leadership-521@reddit
We'll take a look at it and fix anything major when your back, after unloading and making the reload appointment
Lucky_Exchange5007@reddit
Happened to me coming off my home time, Just the hood alone was going to take a month to replace. Company flew me back to HQ and I was in a truck immediately.
InformalPlane5@reddit
You better than me
MegaDuck71@reddit
He got you on his sight side 😤🤯. I am assuming you are a good enough driver to never let a blind side parking spot next to you (when picking spots) and this happens. My condolences. Yikes! We all make mistakes but this is a wild one by that driver.
Ur_Fav_Step-Redditor@reddit
You’re better than me, bc I would have duct taped the light housing back in place and drove it to the yard. Theres plenty of daylight and even if the turn signal is busted 9/10 cops wouldnt do anything if you’re taking it straight to a shop already. 1/10 could only give you a fix it ticket just to be pedantic. Man you either take action or sit back and let life happen to you. Charlotte isnt that far from Raphine. I’ve driven much further returning broken equipment before.
One-Hold1340@reddit
Superglue that shit back on and keep moving driver. Lol
Some bad luck, but it’s the game. You win some and you lose some. Hopefully the road gods give many miles after this.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I don’t think that would have been possible, headlight itself was smashed and bulb mounts were broken, so even if I could remount the headlight assembly, my headlights would fall out of the assembly.
One-Hold1340@reddit
You’re a company driver. protect your license and your health. I was just trying to lighten the load. Lol
Hopefully your company takes care of you regardless. The bills don’t stop they should understand that, so if they don’t definitely find a new company to work for ASAP.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
They still wanted me to drive it to a shop an hour away with it like that, I kindly declined and told them I was not comfortable driving that truck until it was road legal, even if not fully there cosmetically.
Ill_Shallot_6853@reddit
I would have if there weren't any weigh stations along the way especially since You have no proof of what happened. You should feel fortunate they automatically believed You.
Moist_Tortoise@reddit
I would take advantage of walking around the hotel area if anything is around. Sucks to suck but try to make the most out of it you know.
kit_eubanks@reddit
Definitely wasn't a love tap, I've been there done that someone hit my truck I was down for 2 weeks I wasn't a happy camper
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I wasn’t happy either, still am not, I’m too much of a busy body to be sitting here, it makes me anxious when I feel like I could be working but I’m not, even when my 11 is at 0.
BrBafan@reddit
Just a few weeks ago my truck broke down and my company had me spend 8 days in a hotel instead of getting me 3 hours away to get a different truck. Got the truck back and 3 hours later just as I'm about to get to that terminal my yoke that they just put back on fails with oil going everywhere. I'm talking top of the cab to the back of the mudflaps covered. Got towed the last 8 miles to the terminal and got my new truck the next day. I hated the whole experience. Hopefully it gets better for you soon.
Actual-Technician536@reddit
Hope they pay breakdown pay.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
They do pay breakdown pay, but it’s not great. I’m hoping they can get me into a new truck, or into a temp truck until mine is back up.
Actual-Technician536@reddit
What company do you work for?
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I got my CDL in February this year, and since have been working for Knight, to get some OTR experience under my belt.
Actual-Technician536@reddit
I hear Knights not a bad company.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
They have treated me nice so far, my only complaint is the hold time for our breakdown and Afterhours calls, but the terminals are nice. And they had been keeping me moving so far. I’ve been driving 8 months and had cleared almost 75k miles.
FluffyBananaHammock@reddit
Did you ask the truck stop if they have video of the incident? Most Pilots, Loves and TAs have video for situations like this.
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
The truck stop didn’t have any camera facing where I was parked.
Minimum-Jacket-705@reddit
Raphine, VA?
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
On the money
DuelerESO@reddit
Did this happen at a pilot in Tennessee? I was there and I saw this same color truck the damage was on the driver side but I figured the image is flipped in the picture. Very crappy situation due to others negligence hope it gets resolved sooner than later for you!
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
I was at a petro in raphine Virginia.
Naborsx21@reddit
I'd buy a ticket home, tell them to figure out how to get me back.
Paying for hotels gets more expensive than transporting you after like day 3. Idk why they'd go down that moneypit route
Traditional_Ad_1360@reddit
I feel your pain, spent a month one week waiting for repair caused by drunk drive.
CND1983Huh@reddit
I spent a year 1 day drinking Fireball.
Wadester58@reddit
Rip that shit off and at daylight head for the house. Shutdown at night good hard ride and you will home in bed
bunssnowman@reddit
Dont wait for the company to get you home with your stuff. You figure it out and send the bill to the highest person in HR that you can.
JayGT1@reddit
I would of got some twine and duct tape and brought it all back up and tied Off .. got that headlamp working and fuckem all ...
Adventurous_Let_1081@reddit
Just put some duct tape on it, you'll be fine.
nekaiser@reddit
“Can you still make Monday at 0800?”
Ornery_Ads@reddit
Perk of home daily...
You'd never be in a truck stop to start, and if something did happen, you'd be dragged back to the yard with a wrecker, and be in a backup truck for your next shift.
Safe_Fail_568@reddit
You’re about to find out how much the company you work for likes and respects you
ZmanslAsher@reddit (OP)
Ain’t that the truth, I gotta call my dispatch first thing tomorrow to see if I’m getting out of here this week.
buttweasel76@reddit
Nothing a few zip ties couldnt fix....