Being a lorry driver can be a double edged sword re insurance.
If you establish an accident free record at work and in your own cars, then companies like Cornmarket will insure you at stupidly cheap costs, because you are proving day in day out that you are a good risk, remember we are covering probably ten or more times the mileage of the average car driver.
On the other hand, being a lorry driver doing ten times the mileage means we are exposed to far more risk of accident than the average driver, so if you are unlucky or clumsy or incompetent and have bashes at work, then it will affect your own personal insurance…should you choose to report such instances.
I personally would report work accidents to my own insurer, and vice versa, you do not want to find out the hard way in the event of a serious prang where deemed at fault that a claim for several hundred thousand or possibly several million if you, Heaven forbid, caused a fatal, ended up with the insurer washing their hands of you, or suing you for the whole claim, leading to loss of home chattels goods etc and a claim on a substantial part of your earnings/pension for the rest of your natural to pay the debt off.
We have regular licence checks and part of our disclosure which we sign is to report any accidents or prosecutions that we have had from our own private motoring, yes its more ■■■■■■■■ but something i would not consider lying about.
3 accidents in 3 days sounds like the result of someone flying about in a lorry who thinks they are still in a Corsa with a big bore exhaust and sporting a reversed baseball cap, you’d better sharpen your act up matey or your name is going to be flashing up red lights in insurance databases everywhere, your own renewals are going to be in monopoly figures and your lorry driving days curtailed quickly.
3 in 3 days? I agree with above, it sounds like you aren’t respecting the size and weight of the vehicle your driving. Its not just that though, you had an accident in a van. Whilst these are only minor bumps, how long before you do some real damage? As newbies, yes we have bumps etc but you need to step back and slow down. Its easier to explain why your 10 minutes late because you were checking if you could get to the drop than trying to explain to your boss why he has a large bill and an angry member of the public on the phone.
lol i understand people think he’s a ■■■■ But I must be green still being so new to driving i dont see what he has done wrong… I started watching his videos many many many months ago. i dont watch him vlog now but rather watch fastasfox and luke c in a HGV… jay gets so much stick from people i just want to understand if i need to jump on the bandwagon or not
Ergot2005:
lol i understand people think he’s a [zb] But I must be green still being so new to driving i dont see what he has done wrong… I started watching his videos many many many months ago. i dont watch him vlog now but rather watch fastasfox and luke c in a HGV… jay gets so much stick from people i just want to understand if i need to jump on the bandwagon or not
The reason he got the stick was because he’s a hot head. There was a few videos where he intentionally put himself in a position where an accident was the result. He used his vehicle to intimidate other road users and that for many drivers is a red flag. We already have an image problem and we don’t need it to get worse. Jay has a lot of viewers who are looking to get into HGV driving and there is the big risk they will adopt the same hot head attitude.
Ergot2005:
lol i understand people think he’s a [zb] But I must be green still being so new to driving i dont see what he has done wrong… I started watching his videos many many many months ago. i dont watch him vlog now but rather watch fastasfox and luke c in a HGV… jay gets so much stick from people i just want to understand if i need to jump on the bandwagon or not
The reason he got the stick was because he’s a hot head. There was a few videos where he intentionally put himself in a position where an accident was the result. He used his vehicle to intimidate other road users and that for many drivers is a red flag. We already have an image problem and we don’t need it to get worse. Jay has a lot of viewers who are looking to get into HGV driving and there is the big risk they will adopt the same hot head attitude.
Ergot2005:
lol i understand people think he’s a [zb] But I must be green still being so new to driving i dont see what he has done wrong… I started watching his videos many many many months ago. i dont watch him vlog now but rather watch fastasfox and luke c in a HGV… jay gets so much stick from people i just want to understand if i need to jump on the bandwagon or not
The reason he got the stick was because he’s a hot head. There was a few videos where he intentionally put himself in a position where an accident was the result. He used his vehicle to intimidate other road users and that for many drivers is a red flag. We already have an image problem and we don’t need it to get worse. Jay has a lot of viewers who are looking to get into HGV driving and there is the big risk they will adopt the same hot head attitude.
enough said. i understand
And he came on here giving it large offering handbags in the carpark!
3 accidents in 3 days?! That’s more impressive then Evils track record I believe . That’s either really unlucky or you are not driving as you should be, or for the situation you are in. Just take a step back slow it down and think through every situation that arises.
ash 001:
3 accidents in 3 days?! That’s more impressive then Evils track record I believe . That’s either really unlucky or you are not driving as you should be, or for the situation you are in. Just take a step back slow it down and think through every situation that arises.
Oh so you decide to show your face, what’s wrong, did she blow you out for the night? (Or get a puncture? )
I’ve got a few records, even some Depeche Mode ones! But I can’t match that…
But we did have a bloke when I was Van driving on the pallets who had 3 accidents in one day damaging 6 cars (3 in one hit). He didn’t get a chance to see if he could top it!
I thought I would show my face just to abuse you, I am done now don’t panic. She only blew me out for one night . I am winding you up you have nothing on this guy, he is actually impressive lol! I think they should have given him the benefit of the doubt lmao
Blimey hope the OP aint suicidal by now.
Although honesty is the best policy I aint very honest so would lie my ■■■ off in the hope I dont get caught.
On the flipside they say everything happens in 3’s so hopefully there wont be any more accidents. Always best to come clean but I prefer the truth to be dragged out of me than give it willingly.
Anyway the wifes got her best mate coming round in a sec so must dash as im hoping for a 3 way accident myself.
Evil8Beezle:
What a lot of green Newbie’s don’t appreciate when they first pass, is that not only are they learning the skill and requirements of driving an oversized and heavy vehicle, they are also having to adapt their decision making process. They are nervous, excited and want to get the job done like a regular/pro, as that is what they gauge themselves by…
Well sorry Newbie’s but that’s an unrealistic expectation!
You SHOULD be slower than a regular driver, you SHOULD be cautious and prepared to accept it’s beyond your capabilities. Not once did I get chastised for bringing a pallet back saying I didn’t like the look of the access… It’s a lot better than saying; can I have the accident forms please? So what if a drop went out the next day on a different or smaller truck, no one will hold that against you. However staring at the battle scars of your truck will eat away at you…
Newbies have to learn their capabilities, both in driving ability and decision making.
As long as you’re learning, that’s all that matters…
So make a mistake once and move on. Just don’t repeat it!
Hit car whilst turning = too fast, couldn’t tell what was about to happen and stop before it did.
Trees took out mirrors = too fast, by the time the road narrowed it was too late, wouldn’t have done so much damage at a lower speed.
Broke fence panel = manoeuvre too fast, either trying to backtrack down a road or trying to turn around at a drop without trying to find somewhere appropriate.
Mate take the weights off your foot and learn to breath. I haven’t been driving class one long and I only work through agencies (it’s my part time job), and I have made plenty of mistakes, but never once had a near miss or accident.
People expect you to be slower, and you should be, they can jump up and down all they like but at the end of the day if you cost them money in insurance/repairs they will be mega peeved. You roll back into the yard an hour after the regular driver with an immaculate truck (or at least the same as it went out) they really don’t care.
On the plus side though, I work for 4 different agencies and not one of them has asked me about crashes or insurance, so you really can just change agencies and start again.
I can see where we get the bad name from though, doesn’t bother me much though, I find I’m being asked for in person a fair bit now because I take pride in my driving. Trust me pal, slow down. Learn the ropes, it’s your career but more importantly it’s your licence, you lose that you lose all of them, which sees you working in town getting the bus or cycling everyday.
Reputation whilst limping means a lot in this game, whether a new agency asks you about previous accidents or not, which I’ve also never been asked… But all you have to do is turn up equipped, presentable, sober! coherent, and responsibly go about the job competently with the minimum of fuss and no accidents. That’s it!
It doesn’t mean you won’t have incidents, but it’s your overall approach and perception by management or TM, that defines your reputation. Accidents do happen, but the more you have, the more your reputation suffers, and maybe your employment if limping… Other factors also influence your reputation, like if you’re out the gate without a hope of doing your checks, and securing your load. Yes that person maybe keen, but they are clearly not responsible…
Where a GOOD reputation pays dividends though, is where a firm you’ve previously limped will drop a driver if they know you want a bit of work!
Only the 1st accident would be the subject of an insurance claim, the others would be down to the fleet manager to pay for out of the companies slush fund.
Chap needs to be more careful and take his time, we have all been there, he is feeling the pressure trying to do well as a newbie.
As far as i am concerned if i have an accident at work i report it and thats the end of it, it has nothing do do with my private insurance, the company never comes back and lets you know what action has been taken nor do you ask.
You could have a whack and no action is taken or the company makes a private arrangement as they want to keep their costs down for next year or there is no claim cos the other driver had no insurance or did not pursue it, anything could happen.
I would not be reporting anything to anyone unless i have something on paper that a claim was paid out in a case that i was involved in, then i know it has definatly been recorded, otherwise it just slips down that grey area in the back of the sofa…
Agencies rarely ask about accidents cos they dont want to hear the answer.
. That’s either really unlucky or you are not driving as you should be, or for the situation you are in. Just take a step back slow it down and think through every situation that arises.
(Or get a puncture? 
But I can’t match that…
