Rescinded Job Offer.

[Congobrother]

Hello you all, i have a big question. Recently, i attended a open hire session for conductors in Columbia, Sc. I was selected to be hired. I was going through with the background portion of the pre-employment process when my job offer was rescinded by HR right before i was due to go in for my medical exams. They said that based on my "self-reported" background and driving record my job offer was rescinded. My driving record is kinda crappy from the last five years. I've had my license suspended twice(2010 and 2014, both paid for), 2 seatbelt violations(2010, 2013), 1 failure to yield violation(2013)and 2 failure to obey official traffic signal violations(in both in 2013) which is information i disclosed with them. I've never had a car accident, dui, nor do i require a SR22 car insurance and at the end of this year, it'll be whole years ive gone without another ticket. The fall off period would be in 2018 for all my 2013 violatons and this year for my 2010 violations. But i refuse to wait three more.years.for driving violations to fall off a requested time period when i know people who have far worse driving records who.are on the railroad now. What is it that i can do to get another chance at being selected and hired out?

[mmi16]

Railroads - NS especially - view your record as being indicative of someone that isn't concerned with following rules. Following rules is critical in the rail industry - not only can you kill or seriously injure yourself, you can do the same to countless others.

For a number of years NS prided themselves as being the safest railroad in the country - they take safety seriously; your record indicates that you don't.

[Congobrother]

I understand but at the end of the day, we all make mistakes especially as licensed drivers. A mistake doesnt mean you follow rules.

[8th Notch]

But i refuse to wait three more.years.for driving violations to fall off a requested time period when i know people who have far worse driving records who.are on the railroad now. What is it that i can do to get another chance at being selected and hired out?

Now these people you know with far worse driving records, were they already working for the railroad prior or no? No one is perfect however you are coming into an industry that is all about safety and as mentioned above, your driving record shows otherwise... If you have had reckless habits with a motor vehicle then why should the railroad want you on or around millions of dollars of equipment or in a place that you can lose your life? I think the biggest red flags are the license suspensions since the railroad can say well if his license gets suspended again how is he going to get to work? Not trying to put you down, you just have to look at the railroads way of thinking. Good luck and keep trying!

[Congobrother]

It dont think it should matter if they were hired on with bad records or got them while working, they should be held to the same standards. After this next january the 2010 violation(seatbelt and suspension)will fall off the requested period officially. I'm thinking about going to the South Carolina Railroad Museum and joining their crew to gain experience and FRA certifications so it'll make me a VERY competitive choice in the coming years.

[8th Notch]

Again not trying to put you down but if a person is already employed by a railroad and receives a traffic violation then it is totally different because the railroad cannot punish you (unless it's a DUI). You are on the outside looking in so you have something to prove not the person that already has a job with the R.R. Speeding tickets are usually ok and other minor violations but you have multiple violations of the same kid which does show that you cannot (or haven't in the past) followed rules. That's how the R.R is, I do commend you for being up front and honest with them about it, a lot of people wouldn't do the same.

[Congobrother]

Of course, can lie about that, that'll put me out for a loong time. They say i can reapply at anytime in the future, i just need to get those violations expunged from my background or wait til basically 2019 so they'll fall off the five year request period. In the meanwhile, im joing the train crew at the railroad museum to gain experience and FRA Certifications. Its only two years into the five year request period so maybe they'll let me on bored after three or four years.

[scottychaos]

I understand but at the end of the day, we all make mistakes especially as licensed drivers. A mistake doesnt mean you follow rules.

yeah, but your driving record is waaaaaaaay worse than average.
I think you meant to say " A mistake doesnt mean you *dont* follow rules."
but most of those things aren't "mistakes", they were deliberate choices made to not obey the law...and yes, they do actually mean that you don't follow rules.
and if you got caught for that many, that also means you did those kinds of things *constantly*...because you don't get caught every time.

I have been driving for 30 years..I have had two speeding tickets in 30 years, and both were over 20 years ago..
that's it, nothing else..
not saying that to brag, but just to make the point..

I agree with NS's decision to not hire you..and mm nailed it with:

they take safety seriously; your record indicates that you don't.

im sure thats exactly what NS was thinking..
sorry, but choices have consequences..

Scot

[Congobrother]

I think i was hit hard with those tickets because i wasa taxi cab driver when i got them but anywho, im hoping i can turning things around in the next few years.

[NYS&W142Fan]

With the newer FRA rules, all Engineers and eventually all Conductors will have to provide Driver abstracts of their Driving Record. I know a few who squeaked in under the radar, but will have to clean up their records before their certificates are renewed.

[Gadfly]

I think i was hit hard with those tickets because i was a taxi cab driver when i got them but anywho, im hoping i can turning things around in the next few years.

Truly about the only thing you can do is wait for the points/tickets to drop off your record. I can't see any way to "sneak" past this. Take it as a lesson learned and a reveal as to how one's actions have consequences we can't know in the future. This denial of employment was a consequence of previous actions, so now, you must pay the "price": a job you wanted and failed to receive due to said actions. If you remain ticket-free, you should have no problem since, after all, NS was ready to hire you until the violations were made known. So I wish you the best from one who has come and gone.

Gadfly
NS Retired

[Aji-tater]

You have a record which reads like a catalog of driving violations, and you wonder why you are not wanted in a safety-sensitive environment? Should NS entrust, say, a 100 car train of highly flammable crude oil or ethanol, to somebody who does not care enough about safety to even use a seatbelt (twice, no less!) ? They have to consider not only whether you will hurt yourself, but whether you have the likelihood of hurting or killing the public at large. Actions have consequences, and NS is rightly declining to endanger their equipment, employees and the public with someone who has demonstrated numerous times a disregard for rules, regulations and common sense. Since you asked for input, here's mine: I feel NS made the right call and you'd be better off in a different line of work.

[COEN77]

I understand but at the end of the day, we all make mistakes especially as licensed drivers. A mistake doesnt mean you follow rules.

LOL! None of your violations were mistakes. Your face should be on a poster in every Drivers Ed class under the "don't" list. If one can't follow simple rules then that's a big red flag. The railroad is all about rules.

[truck6018]

You were hit hard because you were a taxi driver? Are taxi drivers supposed to be held to a lesser standard than everyone else? If anything, I think they should be held at a higher standard because you are responsive for the lives of others you are driving around.

The things you mentions were a result of your own actions, not "mistakes". A mistake is a head light out that you didn't realize. Failure to yield and traffic light tickets are things you chose to do. Not putting you seat belt on is something you chose to do. Worst of all, none of these are one time things, multiple violations are a pattern, not a mistake. All this after you had your license suspended not once, but twice. Paid for or not, it still happened.

If you ever get hired by a railroad, don't even think about a signal violation. You will, at a minimum, get 30 days on the street, no questions asked.

[Marnos]

You were hit hard because you were a taxi driver? Are taxi drivers supposed to be held to a lesser standard than everyone else? If anything, I think they should be held at a higher standard because you are responsive for the lives of others you are driving around.

The things you mentions were a result of your own actions, not "mistakes". A mistake is a head light out that you didn't realize. Failure to yield and traffic light tickets are things you chose to do. Not putting you seat belt on is something you chose to do. Worst of all, none of these are one time things, multiple violations are a pattern, not a mistake. All this after you had your license suspended not once, but twice. Paid for or not, it still happened.

If you ever get hired by a railroad, don't even think about a signal violation. You will, at a minimum, get 30 days on the street, no questions asked.

Yeah, has to be frustrating but I'm surprised you were risking getting your driver's license yanked and jeopardizing your current livelihood.

Since obtaining a Class A CDL, I have become a LOT more careful with my driving, even in my personal vehichle. Gotta accept that in the eyes of the law you are a "Professional Driver" and thereby held to a higher standard than the rest of the public. Until I eventually land a job as a rr conductor, my cdl is my best option to earn decent money so I have to avoid losing it by doing dumb stuff.

You are going to have to really watch your p's and q's EVERY time you get behind the wheel of a vehicle, if you want to hire on with rr's. That much I know for certain.

The railroads fall under FTSB regulations, which are pretty serious and very strict on certain things. Those FTSB people don't play. Just getting a speeding ticket in your own car, on your own time can put you in a bad situation with a company that falls under FTSB regulations.

Get a reckless operation or DUI and you're likely done for life. FTSB doesn't play around.