Company information:
Covenant Transport
400 Birmingham Highway
Chattanooga, Tennessee
United States
Phone: 423-821-1212
www.covenanttransport.com
I recently applied at a well known, high paying LTL company around where I live. Upon filing the application, I was told that I had 'missed some things' on my application, and needed to re-confirm it. After going back and double checking everything, I submitted the application again. Once I did, I was told that I was disqualified for accidents on my record, which I did not report.
These 'accidents' were not accidents, and it reflects back that I have a poor driving record. In the first of these so-called accidents, I was driving down an interstate around 9pm, and a car in front of the truck in front of me kicked up a recap. It went underneath the truck in front of me. When it came out from him, and ripped out all of his air lines, and went underneath my truck, and ripped out the trailer air lines. I pulled over, and Covenant instructed my trainer (I was a 'student driver' at the time), to have the police called. We were then sent on our way. My trainer had made sure that they were NOT going to charge us for the accident. Per Covenant's policy, if you have an accident, they charge you $500, taken out in $25 weekly increments. I was never charged any type of fee for that. I also was unaware of any 'accident' being reported to my USIS/DAC report.
The second 'accident' that happened, I made a delivery with a trailer, and the shippers requirement was to drop the trailer. The area around it was VERY VERY tight, and a tractor trailer with a 53 foot trailer with a conventional tractor/70' sleeper was not able to fit into the doors. I had called Covenant to tell them that I could not fit. I was told to 'do what I had to do to get it in the door'. I asked a driver with a day cab from a different company if he could put it in the door. He told me he could, and I disconnected from the trailer.
After it was unloaded, I attempted to hook to the trailer again, and it would not hook at all. The jaws had become locked shut, like they are with a hooked trailer. I tried to release the 5th wheel, but it was locked in there somehow. I was instructed to take the trailer to a shop to have them release the 5th wheel. It was released and I was on my way again.
These accidents reportedly happened in '04 and '05. I was not aware of this on my report until now, when I applied at another employer, due to being laid off from my present employer. The employer I applied with told me that there were accidents I didn't report. He told we they were 'preventable/chargeable', and is considered 'falsifying an application'. So, I'm disqualified from the job that I otherwise probably would have had. Thanks to Covenant Transport reporting what I believe to be false information on a government report that is used to determine an eligibility of an applicant.
