First accident yesterday

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi Guys,

Had my first accident at work yesterday, absolutely gutted.

Was out in the morning in a 12ton Daf LF, working for Hermes out of Crewe, that run all went fine, got back to the depot and unloaded and was debriefing, when the TM asks me if I would run a errand in the van (Mercedes Long wheel base sprinter) to Manchester and back as a drop had failed on another run, thought bit of overtime pay so why not!

Did the drop in Manchester and following the SatNag, on the way back, the TomTom gave me a warning saying the A6103 had a lot of traffic so was taking me a back way.

Was approaching one of those traffic calming islands, you know the ones where one side has priority and the other side has to wait for no traffic, I had priority with a black Civic Type-R approaching the other way. As I was just about to enter the island area, the type R speeds up and tries to get through. To avoid a head-on collision I have to swerve to the left and straight into a nice concrete pillar…

The other car sees what’s happened by I see him speed off in the other direction, and with my shaking like a brick I had no chance of seeing the number plate :confused:

Get out and look, smashed the front nearside light cluster and nearby metal work all in, drive-able still though (just!), call the depot they say take a break and calm down and get back when you can.

Get back to the depot, they seem less bothered than I am, they say its the industry, these things happen, lets get the forms filled in and then can you run it down to GIST. No problem. They were really good in reassuring me that compared to some of the guys there who had rolled 2hr old wagons, it really wasn’t anything big!

All the other drivers were really good as well reassuring me, I was just devastated that it happened and in their wagon, would rather it had been my car! Just feel after all the work they have done letting me in (I’m only 19 and they laxed their restrictions to the agency to let me in) I have let them down. Although saying that just been booked for later in the week back there.

Still a bit uneasy about driving my car now, just a bit shaken up as I’d like to think I’m not a bad driver.

Guess as it was only metal that was hurt, with no other vehicles nor people it wasn’t too bad, still, feel bad about it?

2

Get over it or have a word with Big Vern our resident van expert,he’ll comfort you.

3

Were there no other witnesses who maybe caught the reg of the civic? My bet is the civic driver had something to hide, after all who speeds off when you’ve just caused an accident?

You could try contacting the police I the local area, you never know, the car might be known to them and they might be able to get info on the said car.

I don’t think they would be able to pin anything on the driver of the civic, maybe just a word of warning might go a long way in preventing it in the future. It could be classed as dangerous driving on their part.

4

Don’t worry too much mate, it’s only metal as you said.

But, just for the future, when I was on the busses, I avoided an accident and had a load of claims off passengers go through, mainly for shopping rather than injuries, but the boss said “in future, always hit the vehicle in the wrong - that way we’ve got someone to claim off instead of it costing us money”

Your natural instinct still takes over though and you still avoid them, but they are right in a way.

I blame fully comp insurance for everything. I see these ■■■■ heads driving like complete plonkers in cars that are on finance or cost as much as a house and think “if there was no fully comp insurance, if they screw up and write it off, and the insurance only covers 3rd parties so they have to pay for their own repairs / new car, they’d slow down”

5

Always try to learn from it.

6

Never mind mate ■■■■ happens. Hermes r a good bunch . Have u asked your Hermes depot if they have any Saturday driver jobs going. ? It’ll pay better than agency . Iam classed as a Saturday driver but work full time for them @ bolton. Give it a try when the dust has settled.

7

it drove back to the yard under it’s own steam? must try harder :laughing:

8

Dont look on it as your first accident ,it was your last accident.As your gaffer says they happen ,just be glad that they were grown up about it.

9

As long as you don’t have the same accident twice you can call it learning. Next time hold your ground it you’ve gone out already. No one is going to drive head on into you the worst you’ll get is some swearing. :slight_smile:

10

Shame you didn’t hit him but like you say, instinct takes over.

11

waynedl:
“in future, always hit the vehicle in the wrong - that way we’ve got someone to claim off instead of it costing us money”

Top advice, dont swerve, hit the ■■■■■ . they have to stop then.

12

next time dont yield, even if the other vehicle is an artic, no-one likes claims, especially if they are found to be in the wrong. Chin up fella, live and learn :smiley:

13

I also had my first accident recently, just moved into the middle lane as a woman in a Nissan decided to undertake a car in the 3rd lane and clipped my front wing, then tried to claim that she was there all along in the middle lane and that she had suffered serious personal injury…until my insurers sent her the video evidence from my screen mounted camera, best thing I ever bought after reading about them on here, recon every driver needs one.
If you had 1 of these you’d have his reg and his mush to show the cops.

14

Tarrman:
Were there no other witnesses who maybe caught the reg of the civic? My bet is the civic driver had something to hide, after all who speeds off when you’ve just caused an accident?.

You’d be surprised, me & the missus came round a corner one afternoon a few months ago to find a red Octavia overtaking another car coming towards us, she swerved to avoid it, caught the hedge and flipped us, straight in the ditch, car a write off and said c.u.n.t in the skoda was nowhere to be seen. Currently claiming through the motor insurers bureau for untraced vehicles.