I had a freelance driver in my truck last week. It has come back with a shattered mirror casing and mudguard missing. Probably about £300 of damage in total, so not enough to warrant a insurance claim, but definetly enough to put a big dent into the profit margin for the job. The driver has admitted fault, apparently he got to close to a bank while driving along a country road. Is it reasonable to ask him to pay for the damage?
No,that’s what insurance is for…if you seem it to be not a big enough cost to claim through insurance then that’s upto you.
If the driver dropped his phone while getting out of your cab would you be ok to pay for a new phone for him?
Would he have worked for the same rate if you had made it clear that he would be paying for damage?
Depends how he hires himself out i’d have thought, billing you properly as a self employed driver (one man agency) he should be charging enough to cover his own insurance.
On the other hand if he’s a temp bum on seat you’re paying a typical days wages to then IMO you’ve employed him for the day with all the risks associated.
In my view stuff like mirrors, steps, mudguards are a consumable item that’s the cost of running trucks. Obviously within reason not if it’s a constant stream of minor vehicle damage from a genuinely poor driver. It’s maybe a bit different if you’re fixing it in house with cheap pattern parts like me, so might be less cost than for a lot.
To look at it from a different angle, I find, if you have some draconian attitude to any, even minor, vehicle damage and hit the roof what can happen is drivers start being so over-careful that you lose productivity and customers are unhappy when they refuse to reverse in if it means shoving the cab in the hedge a bit.
whelmic:
I had a freelance driver in my truck last week. It has come back with a shattered mirror casing and mudguard missing. Probably about £300 of damage in total, so not enough to warrant a insurance claim, but definetly enough to put a big dent into the profit margin for the job. The driver has admitted fault, apparently he got to close to a bank while driving along a country road. Is it reasonable to ask him to pay for the damage?
No, it’s not reasonable. If you don’t want your truck to get damaged, don’t send it down country roads.
This is one of the many pitfalls with putting an unknown driver on a truck, sometimes it’s not worth the bother, which you usually find out later!
Here we go again same old chestnut back to haunt TNUK!, you employ the driver you stand the risk that’s whats being boss is about, if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen, end of story (BTW I have a driver working for me)
Yes this is an old chestnut.
What driver in his right mind would ever want to pay for damage to the gaffer’s truck? May as well sit in the house.
I understand the issue entirely and have forked out for driver’s damage more times than I care to count. However remember that drivers are paid to drive and not to come to work with policies to cover their insurance or wallets to cover damage…that’s your job as the boss to provide.
Best you can realistically do is to pay your regular drivers a ‘non damage bonus’ every pay day and then withhold it for an agreed period when they do damage a vehicle. This gives them an incentive to drive a bit more carefully and gives you some money to pay the excess on your policies or buy new bits. It also incentivises your drivers via peer pressure as their colleagues all know they’ve then automatically lost their bonus when they bump the wagon…embarassing as well as losing some cash.
I’m down to one truck and two trailers now,I drive it myself and do very little damage simply because I am the one who has to pay for it and have the hassle of repairing it etc,so I am careful and don’t make careless mistakes! I deliver to construction sites and windfarms everyday and the risks of damaging the unit and trailer are very high.
Up until 12 years ago I was a partner in a business running 14 trucks,a mixture of artics and 8w tippers,most of the work was delivering to construction sites and the amount of careless damage was ridiculous. I’m talking about damaged lights,steps,bumpers,crash barriers,tyres/rims,damaging landing gear from not dropping loaded trailers properly etc,all caused by carelessness .Mirrors are going to get damaged at some stage or other as overhanging trees and bushes are an unavoidable problem.
The amount of careless damage got so bad that my weekends were spend repairng lights,bumpers, steps etc,I was driving nearly full time myself and going to the same places as the drivers but not doing any damage. I’m not claiming to be a better driver than anyone else but I am far more careful simply because I’d rather spend my wekends having a life than fixing damaged trucks and trailers,plus the cost of repairs eats into the profit that is marginal as it is.
My solution was to put a note in every drivers wage packet stating that any damage caused to the truck or trailer by carlessness on their part would be deducted from their wages over an agreed amount of time depending on the cost. If a vehicle was damaged on a site by an excavator,crane etc then it was the drivers responsibility to get the foreman to sign for the damage,they wouldn’t always pay but it took the blame off the driver. They had the option to accept this or leave,none of them left.
The result was, that from that day on very little damage was done! One or two drivers continued to do careless damage and when the cost was deducted from their wages they soon learned. Why should any driver that is getting a decent and fair rate of pay think they can damage vehicles and walk away without any consequenses? Sure it’s going to happen from time to time,we’ve all done it,everyone makes mistakes but when it happens regulary then the only way to make a driver more careful is to deduct it from his pay,if he or she doesn’t like it then I’m sorry but they can go and damage someone else’s equipment,simple as that!
I think the “no damage bonus” is an excellent incentive. I used to drive for an online grocery company who did this which was paid quarterly which was always a nice little bonus on the wage packet (usually about £300) and did make me drive better - not that I ever knocked the van, but knowing the bonus was available, it made you think twice about some tricky manoeuvres.
Scannyfanny:
Yes this is an old chestnut.What driver in his right mind would ever want to pay for damage to the gaffer’s truck? May as well sit in the house.
I understand the issue entirely and have forked out for driver’s damage more times than I care to count. However remember that drivers are paid to drive and not to come to work with policies to cover their insurance or wallets to cover damage…that’s your job as the boss to provide.
Best you can realistically do is to pay your regular drivers a ‘non damage bonus’ every pay day and then withhold it for an agreed period when they do damage a vehicle. This gives them an incentive to drive a bit more carefully and gives you some money to pay the excess on your policies or buy new bits. It also incentivises your drivers via peer pressure as their colleagues all know they’ve then automatically lost their bonus when they bump the wagon…embarassing as well as losing some cash.
Spot on that man, you talk sense
The other alternative is to employ decent drivers that have pride in their work and truck, a tall order I know
Adam27:
I think the “no damage bonus” is an excellent incentive. I used to drive for an online grocery company who did this which was paid quarterly which was always a nice little bonus on the wage packet (usually about £300) and did make me drive better - not that I ever knocked the van, but knowing the bonus was available, it made you think twice about some tricky manoeuvres.
And that proves my point!
The fact that you had an incentive not to do damage “made you think twice about some tricky manoeuvres” same as having to pay for damage,it’ll make you think twice and therefore be more careful.
Transc:
Adam27:
I think the “no damage bonus” is an excellent incentive. I used to drive for an online grocery company who did this which was paid quarterly which was always a nice little bonus on the wage packet (usually about £300) and did make me drive better - not that I ever knocked the van, but knowing the bonus was available, it made you think twice about some tricky manoeuvres.And that proves my point!
The fact that you had an incentive not to do damage “made you think twice about some tricky manoeuvres” same as having to pay for damage,it’ll make you think twice and therefore be more careful.
No, it doesn’t necessarily, some drivers do have pride in their work and truck, so will benefit, the others may see the error of their ways. Do not tar everyone with the same brush, that attitude is why why have enough unnecessary ■■■■■ as it is, making out lives harder and more stressful, not easier
More ■■■■■ and stress, more problems, not less
You want to charge me for damage to your truck if I make a mistake? Then yes - I will leave. You want me to come and fix your central heating too??
The Sarge:
You want to charge me for damage to your truck if I make a mistake? Then yes - I will leave. You want me to come and fix your central heating too??
I’m talking about damage caused by carelessness,if you read my post you’ll see that I say everyone makes mistakes,that’s just life,I’m talking about continuous needless damage caused by a ‘who cares? I don’t have to pay for it attitude’ and there are plenty of drivers with that attitude! Of course their are good drivers who take care and do little damage,but sadly they are not in the majority.
If you came to fix my central heating and carelessly damaged the boiler,would I have to pay for that too■■?
DAFMAD:
Scannyfanny:
Yes this is an old chestnut.What driver in his right mind would ever want to pay for damage to the gaffer’s truck? May as well sit in the house.
I understand the issue entirely and have forked out for driver’s damage more times than I care to count. However remember that drivers are paid to drive and not to come to work with policies to cover their insurance or wallets to cover damage…that’s your job as the boss to provide.
Best you can realistically do is to pay your regular drivers a ‘non damage bonus’ every pay day and then withhold it for an agreed period when they do damage a vehicle. This gives them an incentive to drive a bit more carefully and gives you some money to pay the excess on your policies or buy new bits. It also incentivises your drivers via peer pressure as their colleagues all know they’ve then automatically lost their bonus when they bump the wagon…embarassing as well as losing some cash.
Spot on that man, you talk sense
The other alternative is to employ decent drivers that have pride in their work and truck, a tall order I know
the problem nowadays is decent drivers are getting very thin on the ground, plenty steering wheel attendants who dont give a monkeys so is it any wonder that employers want to charge for damage.
place i work at has the damage clause in the contract and every trailer i pick up gets checked, pics taken and any damage is reported to the office before i leave with it.
Paying a bonus which is worth having is an extremely good way of keeping drivers in line. You can get the job done the way you want it done and not dodged around by the shirkers and the careless. I know of a company which pays a good daily bonus, however there are something in the region of twenty different ways to lose it. It is also far easier to introduce such a bonus scheme without causing upset etc than it is to dictate an ‘or else you will pay’ clause into conditions of employment.
No, it doesn’t necessarily, some drivers do have pride in their work and truck, so will benefit, the others may see the error of their ways. Do not tar everyone with the same brush, that attitude is why why have enough unnecessary [zb] as it is, making out lives harder and more stressful, not easier
More [zb] and stress, more problems, not less
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Most certainly not tarring everyone with the same brush,and yes driving can be stressful and hard,but put yourself in the shoes of the man that has to pay for careless damage,he can’t walk away at the end of his shift and go home to his family and know that when he comes back to work the vehicle will be fixed and ready to go,he has to organise the repair (small operators will do a lot of that themselves in the evenings or weekends) and pay for it,eating away at the vehicles income.
So maybe look at it from the owners perspective for a change…
Accident damage bonuses can be a useful tool. But they can also be a double-edged sword if they form a significant part of the drivers’ regular income, as there can be a temptation to not report minor damage, or even to conceal it. This is especially true if the trucks don’t always have the same driver.