12 months before you get any employee rights unless its racist sexist or proven bullying 
Mr B:
Iām really sorry youāre having a hard time of it. No matter what anyone says driving a artic isnāt easy and [zb] ups do happen. Mine was leaving brake of when i put red line on and wrote 2 parked new cars off!
Did you do the whole running round the front/back of the wagon and trying to stop it with your bare hands routine? Always makes me laugh that one. 
I take it you know to pull the red line straight off next time? And there will be a next time. I did it other night. Not done it for years. Usually Iām so paranoid about it I double check the park brake as Iāve said previously but the one night I didnāt, Iād left it off. 
slackeye:
hi thanks for the replies the company was called vernon land transport only a small haulage outfit 5 arctics and about 4 ridgids so i can see why he sacked me i dont hold no bad feelings to the guy it was my first real job in the industry least i learnt a lot ,the hard way mindlike you say i am going to sign with the agencies,stick to class 2 and 7.5 while i look for other work,never been unemployed so i will do anything im not proud and in time get back on the arctics ,i would love a night trunking job to be honest or work on the bins i have learnt the hard way you cnt rush about in a vehicle that size be it a 7.5 or artctic mind you tipper drivers must be another breed
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Conor:
Mr B:
Iām really sorry youāre having a hard time of it. No matter what anyone says driving a artic isnāt easy and [zb] ups do happen. Mine was leaving brake of when i put red line on and wrote 2 parked new cars off!Did you do the whole running round the front/back of the wagon and trying to stop it with your bare hands routine? Always makes me laugh that one.
I take it you know to pull the red line straight off next time? And there will be a next time. I did it other night. Not done it for years. Usually Iām so paranoid about it I double check the park brake as Iāve said previously but the one night I didnāt, Iād left it off.
Ha ha. I did standing on the catwalk wondering why the trailer next to me was going backwards silently. lol
Iād just passed my test and iād remembered to half twist the locking ring and in my panic couldnāt release it.
I think i was lucky to keep my job but mistakes happen when they put pressure on you to get the job done.
Some of the items posted on this site recently have amazed me.
No wonder we are treated like fools.Why not go the whole hog and buy the truck for the boss?
Anyone that thinks a driver should pay for damage is an idiot.
Get yourself down the Citizens Advice Slackeye, and take your contract with you. I doubt just having you in and sacking you (if thats what has happened) would be following anyoneās procedures to the letter and in situations like this, following them to the letter is what the employer has got to do.
animal:
Depends on the damage and how it was caused but my ex boss would make you pay for the damage by takin it out weekly from your wage
please dont say you actually signed a contract giving him the rights to do this? if I was presented with a contract with than on it to sign then you wouldnāt see me for dust! or did he just do it because he (and you from the sounds of it) thought it was OK?
animal:
If it was driver negligence then it should be down to the driverā¦
no, it should be down to the insurance company. thats what they are there for.
Sir LANs-a-lot:
slackeye:
hi thanks for the replies the company was called vernon land transport only a small haulage outfit 5 arctics and about 4 ridgids so i can see why he sacked me i dont hold no bad feelings to the guy it was my first real job in the industry least i learnt a lot ,the hard way mind
take it your a tipper driver
really gutted for you but like has been said a company that treats its drivers like that aint worth working for, some of the damage thats been done in JRT hasnt got drivers fired, lol whilst shunting a bloke started with us was always doing damage wheather it be trailers or shunt units, and they put him through his tests lol still with us and still doing damage, lastest IIRC was my CF when he clobbered one of our trampers wing mirrors whilst the poor sod was sleeping, These things happen and thats what he pays insurance for.
Only damage i have caused was while shunting pushed a barn door inside the trailer using a loading bay, boss werent too pleased, got his revenge by making me tranship the whole trailer, had a close call the other day near swindon truck stop though, focus decided to cut me up on the roundabout lol he wont do that again
sometimes you view posts like this one,but you dareānt replyā¦but just as an afterthought,what would our ātrucking ancestorsā of made of this guy 30/40yrs agoā¦unions/we all have bumps/the company insurance will pay etcā¦ DISCLAIMER: nothing personal & yes iāve had my moments & am not driver of the year.
sometimes you view posts like this one,but you dareānt replyā¦but just as an afterthought,what would our ātrucking ancestorsā of made of this guy 30/40yrs agoā¦unions/we all have bumps/the company insurance will pay etcā¦
not sure what you are trying to say!
do you mean that truckers of 30/40 years ago would view the comments āunions/we all have bumps/ company insurance will pay etcā as modern truckers being wimps?
del949:
sometimes you view posts like this one,but you dareānt replyā¦but just as an afterthought,what would our ātrucking ancestorsā of made of this guy 30/40yrs agoā¦unions/we all have bumps/the company insurance will pay etcā¦
not sure what you are trying to say!
do you mean that truckers of 30/40 years ago would view the comments āunions/we all have bumps/ company insurance will pay etcā as modern truckers being wimps?
not at all del,but the quote ānanny stateā springs to mindā¦it was more of a political statementā¦after speaking to a couple of guys with 40+years under there beltā¦like i said i donāt wish to offend the person in question.
slackeye from what youve mentioned about your incidents the main thing that jumps out at me is you seem to be time concious push on mode Great if youve got the skill and experience.
as it seems you dont , YOU GET THERE WHEN YOU GET THERE end off.
you are driving a killing machine and to have so many incidents .
TIME YOU SLOWED DOWN.driving a Big motor is about more than loud music and poseing.
if you survive for 20 plus years at this game youll know what i mean.
engage the brain before the foot goes down.
its not about training as some suggest its about commonsense.
I started as a new driver with Hanbury Davies a few years back,it was like demolition Derby every week with me ,how I didnāt get the sack I dont know.
i think it was my great personality, work ethic and honest blue eyes that helpe me keep my job. 
little enis:
I employed a selection of drivers over a 7 year period and in that time the accident rate was frightning, infact out of the total of 14 drivers I would only recommend 2 to other employers. I personaly knew each and every driver and they were all experienced.I paid a good wages, bought the best trucks all new and always enforced the law to the letter. The problem I have since learned is down to training and training alone. The only way that standards will be raised is by testing and training your work force to the highest level. The trouble with that theory is no one invests in Road Haulage and in particular the drivers and that is why accident rates are so high. Further more No and again I mean No driver should ever have to pay for damage that he may be responcible for, what ever are employers these days like? Shame on them.
[/quoteIāve been in a similar situation, and I couldnāt agree more.
theres two in the same yard he is on about one or the other had a driver die in there when he got crushed by his trailer one morning 
dreva:
theres two in the same yard he is on about one or the other had a driver die in there when he got crushed by his trailer one morning
He was an experienced driver whoād left his parking and trailer brake off while getting under a trailer!!!
When i first passed my test i was told to stop using the trailer brake because it annoyed other drivers having to squeeze between trailers to release it!!!
slackeye:
hi feeling a bit down and worried right now i have been working for a genaral haulage firm the past 16 months ihad my class 1 when i started and was on class 2 until april then was put on the arctics , i was doing well , bit slow at leaning but ok i thought then i had a bump i got lost and tried to turn round in the rd i caught the front bumper and cracked it was a mess to be honest i was not sacked but put back on the class 2 and my wages were docked every week towards the damage, well i caught the back of a car bumper in thee ridgid yesterday he was turning right i was turning left insted of just waiting i pulled up along side him and i knew i was stupid b4 i made my move! scratch just caught him i told boss got number and so on so this morning i was sacked i dunno what to do, even if i should do wagon driving again i know the reason been i was rushing and thats that when i passed i did not rush i dunno what to do
Just learn from it mate. It will knock your confidence, you just have to take your time, sod anyone else. I mean that as in let them wait for your delivery or you to manoevre, just don;t be rushed or pushed.
Mr B:
dreva:
theres two in the same yard he is on about one or the other had a driver die in there when he got crushed by his trailer one morningHe was an experienced driver whoād left his parking and trailer brake off while getting under a trailer!!!
When i first passed my test i was told to stop using the trailer brake because it annoyed other drivers having to squeeze between trailers to release it!!!
rushing me thinks
well i signd up with a few agencys yetserday ,so see what happens i wont be rushing about anymore thats for sure ,what do you say when they ask why you left your previous job?i just said it didnt work out cos and my ex boss said if any one called he would say that , to be honest i dont want to drive a arctic straight away just class 2 then in a few months see how i feel .
the accident you were on about happened nearly 2 years ago ,the guy was very experienced in there yard the trucks are parked tight togeather, one morning it happened he coupled up 2 a trailer without the parking brake on , and he left the brake of the unit, the whole thing was moving so he tried to reach up in the cab and press the foot pedel with his hand and was crushed by the door has it hit another unit he was about 4" wide half in the unit half out when they found him in the morning.
i just hope i get work i mean if you guys that have loads of experince are finding it hard well i am well and truly fcked! 
slackeye your learning the hard way ,i think it probably has something to do with the state of the job i used to love, or you there is not a guarantee in the world that someone with 20+ years experience will leave there family at the start of there week and not have a niggling doubt that they ll end up in the hospital (or better dead insurance job lol) .
the diffrence is old hands got there training from DRIVERS .
(il put my hard hat on ) not many of them about.
i know of 4 cases where thee drivers head became detached from the body when they were hooking up.
think its time you started asking for advice ,i still ask the older hands
if i dont know i ask