Niceroadtrucker: thanks for your post enjoyed reading it and I totally agree wirh the first one why people squeeze up the inside of trucks in cars is beyond me your just asking for trouble… as for the second one owe well wupzy lol not a lot you could have done without a reverse camera he shouldnt have got so close the golden rule if you carnt see my mirrors I carnt see you car drivers forget this I think
When I first started I missed my turning down a single track country lane, no problem I thought hazards on and backed up the junction was right on a bend and as I reverse round the bend on this single track road that absolutely no one has driven down all day I’m sure I back straight onto the bonnet off a Volvo! As seen as I was 18 only just had my licence which my boss paid for I decided to keep this between me and the driver luckily it was a proper old Volvo and he got a Bonet and grill from a scrappy for it and I paid (£250 but was worth it to save me my job or the bollocking off my life).
I spend alot off my day squeezing between double parked cars etc and after 8 years off practise I know when I’m pushing my luck, if I’m pushing it a bit to hard ill just start knocking doors till I can find the cars owner to shift and if I can’t then ill give it a go. It’s always quicker to do this than exchange insurance details and have a meeting with the boss over it. I wouldn’t let it knock your confidence to much most have done it and your better to get it out the way early,you obviously care about doing it which is a good thing I’d be just as gutted scratching my truck as I would my own car and having a knock dents your ego so atleast you have the right attitude. Good luck in your future adventures and as some one once told me “an inch is a mile as long as you miss!”
Just make sure in future you try and miss 
Daddy P:
Bumping a car trying to get through a small gap is a minor but still a confidence knocker. Don’t beat yourself up but do make a conscious effort not to repeat it or get in similar situations.As a newbie you got the odds stacked against you anyway not to mention probably a transport manager half expecting you to clout something every time you go out.
There a few few experienced drivers that have had bridge strikes totalling trailers and disrupting road/rail services. I’d take the scrape along the car anytime…it can be repaired which is more that can be said for a trailer after a bridge strike!
Speaking of clouting bridges, a car recently went into one around my way. Total cost of repair/bridge inspection. £25… thousand!
Some of the places dust carts have to go just isn’t funny. You knew it was tight. Reckon that is 95% of the battle. Unlucky with the tail swing but you won’t do it again.
My first trip out after passing test I managed to get reverse not 2nd when stopped at a zebra crossing. (was nasty stiff gearbox). Car behind didn’t hoot or anything. Was hill start too and and when I felt it going backwards my automatic reaction was MORE REVS! I missed the car behind by about 2mm but was SO lucky. Oddly enough at the next lights he left about 5 meters in front! I think most have a near miss or two at first and you’re a bit unlucky that’s all.
Its all part of the job mate dont worry about it as long as you learn from your mistakes its all good!
Chas:
I drive a 26t 6 wheeler with rear mounted HIAB for a builders merchants & YES it does happen to everybody.Please remember that not every LGV driver spends most of their day on the tight narrow backstreets of a town/city where the streetmap was defined in medieval times.
Half of the driving Gods on here have never ventured far beyond an ‘A’ road.
I agree, knocks and scrapes go with the territory of really tight places and messy yards. Another thing that makes things trickier is often changing vehicle and not having the exact same wagon you drive day in day out.
Focussing too hard, like this scenario, on one side or mirror and it’s easy to do the other one is distraction. A little while back I tore the trailer curtain on some angled barbed wire on top of I gate whilst I was reversing out. Not because I can’t reverse out without hitting something but because whilst I was doing it the phone rang and I was trying to squint at the screen to see who it was and therefore wasn’t looking in the mirror.
so? don’t keep us in suspense! what happened? did you get a bollocking?
exit, that idea never occurred to me the good thing about working for agency is that when something goes wrong, they can send you somewhere else. I made my mark on Leicester that day, a little piece of modern art created on my lonesome!
I’ve never driven another bin truck since! and I’ve heard every joke about Italy and the leaning tower of pisa known to man
Hi all went to work today as normal drove my round sweet as a nut the only thing that happend was when I went in the office to get my keys this morning the gaffer gave me a sarky comment in front of all the other drivers
" dont smash this one up kid " they all giggled and smirked so I just smiled and said I wont and mutterd under my breath F**k off Tw*T… lol thanks all for your posts keep the storys coming in really enjoyed reading them
see? things worked out good! you didn’t lose your job, you didn’t even get a bollocking!
never lose your sense of humor take the sarky comment in good nature, if someone else had the bump you’d have seen the humor
have a laugh, take a bow, say " that will teach the prick for shagging my Mrs" whatever fits your personality
you’re only getting a bit of a ribbing. no point getting all bent out of shape about it.
remember that out of your whole shift you are by yourself most of the time, while you’re on the job, the gaffer and the other lads ain’t there!
Good luck to you fellow, we all learn by our mistakes, nothing to be ashamed of it happens to us all. I remember one Sunday night getting off the ferry in Dieppe chasing off the boat heading for the Customs office jumping out with T forms and Micky Permits ( this was in the 70,s ) running into the office doing the dirty deed running back jumping into the moter starting up and off… 6,inches I moved, in my rush id stopped just short of a row of concrete/ steel bollards ,in my haste I,d never noticed them. As luck would have it I didn’t cause any damage to the moter ( it was my own by the way ) Ive laughed about it with mates many times since but you feel a right arse at the time ! Put it down to experience and good luck.
If your place is anything like mine you’ll be getting stick for a fair while yet! Just laugh along with it 
.
My accidents were all 9+ months ago and I still get called ‘Tom the stuntman’ ■■■■ knows why stuntman 
Thank you for all the posts everyone have really enjoyed reading them and thank you for all the support I was expecting at least a couple of post saying your just s**t or give ya keys back for example but eveeyone been great so thank you all very much has really helped put my confidence back on track… and I wont be doing that again in a hurry
Thank you for all the posts everyone have really enjoyed reading them and thank you for all the support I was expecting at least a couple of post saying your just s**t or give ya keys back for example but eveeyone been great so thank you all very much has really helped put my confidence back on track… and I wont be doing that again in a hurry
Owe and yh I do expect stick for it and I do deserve it im normally very good about laughing about things like that but I was just in a bad mood that day because of everything its quite out of character for me to be like that tbf
samstone90:
Hi all im a new driver been driving dustcarts for about 4 weeks today I had my first prang going down a narrow road tried to squeeze between 2 parked cars and ended up taking the back quarter of the one on my offside with my swing was to busy taking care with my nearside and have payed the price… no damage to the waggon smashed the back light and bumper on the car… the gaffer understandably wasnt very happy but he hasnt sacked me
Happened to me not long a go. I was having problems getting out of a tight car park and did a few a shunts. On the 3rd shunt i taped a rear light of a ford Mondeo. Only damaged the casing but that did knock me a bit, but i made sure i carried on as i didn’t want it to affect me in anyway and made sure i learnt from it
samstone90:
Hi all im a new driver been driving dustcarts for about 4 weeks today I had my first prang going down a narrow road tried to squeeze between 2 parked cars and ended up taking the back quarter of the one on my offside with my swing was to busy taking care with my nearside and have payed the price… no damage to the waggon smashed the back light and bumper on the car… the gaffer understandably wasnt very happy but he hasnt sacked me
That happens to us all. It’s called a learning curve, and s*$&t happens, if thats all the damage you ever do, you’ll be a rare beast indeed. The important thing is to learn from it and move on. Just remember, the person who’s never done any damage has done bugger all, and thats a fact. 