27 years, never paid a penny and I’ve worked for Reed Boardall who apparently charge drivers. I can only come to the conclusion that for those who say they do it’ll be the drivers who seem to always be having dings that’ll get a bill but someone who has one once in a blue moon will be told it’s OK. I have a mate who basically doesn’t give a toss and is always damaging the wagon or the static caravans he is pulling. When he tells you how it’s done it’s caused by nothing more than not caring and his attitude is so blase it’s unreal. Even when he dropped one off the back on the A165 and ended up on the local news for the chaos it caused he didn’t care. Has DILLIGAF on a numberplate in his cab window, plays up to that 100%. And it’s drivers like him, and there appears to be quite a few, that result in companies having damage bills so high they have to recoup the money from somewhere.
I wouldn’t pay for anything on a company truck, even punctures, what next, buying your own bulbs and Carnet TIR, there are too many drivers paying to park someone else’s vehicle from their wages.
If I owned the vehicle and a driver drilled holes in the dashboard or fitted a Spastics steering wheel knob I would charge them for the damage.
Many moons ago I inherited a 2 year old Scania 213M from a driver who had it from new, I noticed a rattling coming from the gear stick and apparently the driver had left his hand on the gear stick which did for the bearing at the bottom(?)
The fitters refused to replace this and bugger it was annoying so I turned the radio up, fast forward three months and several defects sheets later I was stopped by the owner of the company as I pulled into the Melton yard. “Driver your turbo is whistling why are you driving that truck” I replied “ I cannot hear the whistling turbo over the radio” this made him go red so I thought I would add some detail. I showed him all the defect sheets and filled him in on what I was told by the fitters, he made me take another truck and he took the keys off me I don’t know what was said to the fitters but it was fixed the next night 
Typical fitter blaming the driver for non fare ware and tear or as I put it bits falling off! If they spend less money or get some back from the drivers they will get a bonus at the end of the year.
Some operate an accident damage bonus, either an annual bonus which can be a comfy £1500 ish (i know the bloke who pays like this) payable at Christmas and if you have damage then this gets eaten into, the driver loses part of the bonus not all for an incident…
Another operator has a monthly damage bonus, which works out about the same gross per year, at fault and that month’s bonus is toast.
Both these are on top of already decent average wages.
I think damage bonuses are a sensible policy (as are attendance bonuses etc), those who can’t be arsed get hit in the pocket but from a designated bonus.
The state of some fleet motors these companies need to do something, maybe being a bit more particular when recruiting would help 
I’ve never paid for any damage, and never personally been on a damage bonus.
Juddian:
Some operate an accident damage bonus, either an annual bonus which can be a comfy £1500 ish (i know the bloke who pays like this) payable at Christmas and if you have damage then this gets eaten into, the driver loses part of the bonus not all for an incident…
Another operator has a monthly damage bonus, which works out about the same gross per year, at fault and that month’s bonus is toast.
Both these are on top of already decent average wages.I think damage bonuses are a sensible policy (as are attendance bonuses etc), those who can’t be arsed get hit in the pocket but from a designated bonus.
The state of some fleet motors these companies need to do something, maybe being a bit more particular when recruiting would helpI’ve never paid for any damage, and never personally been on a damage bonus.
They brought in a damage and attendance bonus into my place in September, £750 every 3 months, but you lose £150 for every absence or piece of damage.
All that happened was drivers stopped reporting any damage or defects. In the first 3 months I found two broken taillight clusters and a snapped suzie, all of which the driver responsible had known about because the broken cases were left in the cab and the suzie had been removed. Even things light blown bulbs didn’t get reported because idiots thought they would be held responsible for that and lose bonus!
They are now looking to take the bonus away (we were told it would only be for 6 months as a trial), but that they are looking to replace it with an 8% payrise, which would actually see us about £100 better off every quarter that we would be if we collected the full bonus!
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Wheel Nut:
I wouldn’t pay for anything on a company truck, even punctures, what next, buying your own bulbs and Carnet TIR, there are too many drivers paying to park someone else’s vehicle from their wages.If I owned the vehicle and a driver drilled holes in the dashboard or fitted a Spastics steering wheel knob I would charge them for the damage.
Absolutely. Amazing how a driver’s attitude varies on the employer.
Appreciate it’s not relevant to the post, but are deadman’s handles really still used!!! Thought that they were called that for a reason?
Time to up-sticks, and walk methinks…
It takes a bit of front to argue back at any boss demand for “Damages” saying “I ain’t paying for that, Gov - and if you wanna sack me - then sack me.” (whilst putting on your coat, and clearing your locker whislt awaiting his seemingly inevitable reply…)
Then, on some odd occasions - you might just have called Bosses bluff, and he/she says “Ok, you win - we’ll put it through the inurance like we do for all the other drivers that have damaged kit here over the years.”…
If you don’t push back every now and then - you’ll be a doormat forever.
Never ever heard of it in all the years I was on the road although like Juddian worked for a couple of companies (one being petroleum) that paid a decent bonus to any driver who did no damage to their vehicle every 6 weeks if my memory serves me well. TBH there were very few damages to any of the trucks because almost every driver took respect in their driving and their vehicle. The odd little scrape from a couple but never any major damage whilst I was there. Drivers did not come and go. Only remember one going because he was bad but none ever went on their own accord. Changed days I think.
Terry Cooksey:
. I know I wouldn’t accept it as a driver, nor would I look to enforce it as a TM.
Unfortunately even if you don’t like it, as a TM you will most likely have to enforce whatever the owner wishes
carryfast-yeti:
i’ve never worked for an outfit that charges a driver for damages in my 43 years,and counting, truckin’. nearest i come to it was a small outfit tipper operation who paid a small yearly bonus if you didn’t have any ‘own fault’ damage.
Tilcon were like that, gave you £25 taxable bonus at Christmas if there was no damage throughout the year but if somebody caught a mudguard or you were involved in an accident that wasn’t even your fault you didn’t get it. One small haulier had a driver who rebuilt the gearbox of his Bedford at his own house rather than tell his boss that a gear had stripped. 
Pete.
I’ve had my new lorry taken off me in past & given a old ratty one when I returned from a month on the sick , childish , I could understand if you were off for a cough / headache but when you’ve been in hospital & then need time to recuperate( they’ve got all the proof of this ) then as I say it’s childish
But not always company , just some idiot in the t/o, though it does come back on him when he tries to get you to pick up a load where they specify lorry must have cameras & the ratty old lorry he’s given you hasn’t got any or a strapped load , and all your straps are in the lorry he took off you
The weak minded and equally weak spined drivers deserve all they get.
Get charged for some damage?? Simply wait a couple of days and smash the crap out of the wagon somewhere unlit with no cctv.
Failing that, screwdriver in the bottom of the fuel tank (obviously just after you have put 400l in). I believe some Scania’s have VERY expensive LED headllights that take 30 seconds to take off, be careful that no one ‘nicks’ them whilst you are in the services on your legal break…
If you want to observe what a strong spine looks like, check out the incredible bravery of the people of Ukraine.
We never did it. Luckily we had very few incidents and those that we had were minor.
Most importantly, we had good drivers and there’s no point ■■■■■■■ off a driver for the sake of a few 100 quid.
eagerbeaver:
If you want to observe what a strong spine looks like, check out the incredible bravery of the people of Ukraine.
+1…
eagerbeaver:
The weak minded and equally weak spined drivers deserve all they get.Get charged for some damage?? Simply wait a couple of days and smash the crap out of the wagon somewhere unlit with no cctv.
Failing that, screwdriver in the bottom of the fuel tank (obviously just after you have put 400l in). I believe some Scania’s have VERY expensive LED headllights that take 30 seconds to take off, be careful that no one ‘nicks’ them whilst you are in the services on your legal break…
Talks about weak minded and spineless drivers, says to go hide somewhere where the boss won’t see when you damage the truck which is what the weak minded and spineless would do.
eagerbeaver:
If you want to observe what a strong spine looks like, check out the incredible bravery of the people of Ukraine.
I think they’re fighting for their lives/country, not sticking a screwdriver into a diesel tank to pollute the earth [emoji849]
I did a driver assessment with a big firm here in Northern Ireland. Because I was a new pass class 1 they said the insurance access was £2500 and I was liable for the first £500 of this if something happened.
Needless to say I declined the job offer and am now happily delivering meal to farm yards.
stu675:
eagerbeaver:
If you want to observe what a strong spine looks like, check out the incredible bravery of the people of Ukraine.I think they’re fighting for their lives/country, not sticking a screwdriver into a diesel tank to pollute the earth [emoji849]
He’s not talking about doing it to pollute anything - just to get “revenge”. But not actually being brave enough to do it openly.
Also being thick enough to not understand that the cost of repairs after this sort of silliness comes straight out of the profit/loss account, resulting in less money available to pay the drivers. Then again, with a proudly claimed inability to hold down a job for more than a few weeks, is there any wonder…?
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Let me break this down a little for those who are less mentally gifted. IF I decided to go full Rambo in front of an employer there would be obvious & clear criminal damage for all to see. The financial cost to me would be large, no doubt. What would be a greater cost is the ‘boss’ making an example of me and further frightening other drivers who are terrified of their other halves and/or paying their mortgage.
My father taught me to distinguish between stupidity and courage. One of his favourite phrases was regarding the various methods of removing skin from a cat
I have instigated much trouble within various lorry steering jobs that I have had and continue to do so with the companies that take the ■■■■ out of drivers. That’s one of the great joys of being an agency driver. One of my greatest joys over the last few years has been to convince full time drivers to join my agency for more money. I have split the £200 referral fee every time with each driver concerned and the word spreads quite quickly amongst remaining drivers. This has cost me many opportunities of ongoing work but I really don’t care as finding other work is as easy as tying my laces.
You see the thing is that many drivers are thick. They pick up points on their licence through stupidity & laziness, many look like they have been sleeping rough for a month and plenty believe that personal hygiene is the name of a FTSE 100 company, so it’s VERY easy to gain work for the likes of me.
On the other hand companies who are decent and treat their drivers with respect and decency get nothing but hard work & care and attention from me and their wagons get left spotless with no canvassing from me towards their drivers.
There are a couple of members on here who know me a little, but mainly no one on here knows me at all. I believe in the greater good for those around me and I am quite selfless. Drivers need to stick together to improve conditions & pay, there are various ways and methods of FORCING employers to improve things, all it takes is to be prepared to risk a little financial loss over the short term for long term gain.
As for anyone questioning my own spine, I can promise you I have tested it many times. Starting from playground bullies through primary & high school onto joining the RA as well as various other acts including pulling a guy out of an overturned car on the M62 with fuel leaking out everywhere whilst others around crapped themselves because of the risk of fire 
If Conor or Roymongo fancy their chances, please pm either Maoster or Robroy to arrange a meeting.
As for anyone else on here, I will continue to deploy my various methods in the hope of improving things for my fellow drivers including the two heroes I have just referenced. Stay safe folks and keep left unless overtaking (apart from going past Fort Dunlop as I particularly enjoy having lane 1 all to myself- my record is passing 107 vehicles 
)
The problem with either a bonus scheme or the driver having money taken for damages is all dependant upon where you are delivering and picking up from. Some drivers only ever see motorways and large RDCs and large area sites whereas like myself I often find myself in difficult sites and very tight areas to manoeuvre about. Some are near impossible being only inches of room to allow any errors to occur so in this respect it would be an unfair scheme in comparison to others. I suppose you could always refuse delivery or collection to safegaurd your bonus on certain sites but then no doubt another clause would be introduced. Minor dings/scrapes are sometimes unavoidable or difficult to avoid. It doesn’t always mean the sign of a bad driver.