'Colin, we had a Turbo go on one of the trucks last night, and another is still in for a gear box fault, so the only truck we have is a brand new truck that’s been delivered here waiting for another depot to collect it, so you’ll have to use that. Go careful, dont scratch it and bring it back in one piece.
‘Sure, no problem’
A few hours later…
‘Oh, and dustcart collecting, sat still with his hazards on, and men putting bins on i’ll go past that, he’s not moving’
So, i indicate, move out early, get alongside him, drivers side wheel about an inch from the grass, nearside mirror 2/3 inches from the cart, pleanty of room. I get about halfway and the ■■■■ decides to move, not check his mirrors, pulls outwards towards me, i stop and ‘CRUNCH’, he drives straight into my mirror. Broken casing, cracked mirror, quick blast of the horn, i pull alongside him because he’s stopped again to collect the next bins. After a full blown argument through windows, him and his two mates are blaming me for it, even though i saw with my own eyes that he was looking to his nearside when he pulled away and didnt even check his mirror.
Thankfully i had another driver with me that i was training who saw the whole thing.
Cue lots of rushing about when i get back, drop trailer, up to Scania to geta new mirror fitted before it gets sent to the depot it actually belongs to
To be honest in that situation where it was that tight I would have given him a little toot of the horn so he knew I was there before starting to pass him, not just for him but the for guys collecting the bins and working round the vehicle as well.
Still, hindsight is always 20/20 and if you were going to have a scrape it was going to be today while driving that.
Coffeeholic:
Still, hindsight is always 20/20 and if you were going to have a scrape it was going to be today while driving that.
That’s the annoying thing, somethng so stupid like that could have stopped it from happening. Force of habit i guess, i spend most of my days going through tighter gaps so dont really think anything of it. I just wish he’d checked his bloody mirror, just my bloody luck that he didn’t
New Truck Syndrome will always bite you in da ■■■ Years ago a firm I drove for replaced it’s fleet, 12 MAN 18 tonners, 3 Merc units and 2 Sed Atki Stratos units. Also, he bought 5 40’ brand new curtainsiders. On the Saturday morning the gaffer wanted a photo of all the new trucks, but the TM didn’t trust any of us with the new Stratos, so he had to move them
Pulled out of the gate, tuned left and ripped the length of the curtainsider down the back of an 18 tonner
My, how we laughed…
I was allocated a brand new (delivery milage only) SedAtki Strato (G reg) .
Collected my first trailer from the yard but some numpty had parked a car next to the gate, decided to do the same thing I’d been doing for the past 2 years in an old Iveco 190-38 in the same situation, and used the waste ground and pavement opposite to avoid the car.
To this day I dont know where the concrete block came from that took off the passenger side step !
less than a km driven … approx £200 worth of damage… walked into the office sheepishly holding the said step…to be told…ahh well new trucks get bumped as much as old ones, at least you didnt hit the car, I’ll buy the step but you can fit it…Fair enough I thought.
I proper ■■■■■■ it today, it’s now off the road Cast iron vac pump, less than a week old and it got a crack on top of it, lost all my hydraulic oil I had a nice wait for someone to drive from Essex to Swindon with a new unit, then ran out of hours half hour from the yard
Thank ■■■■ i’m off tomorrow, i dread to think what else i’d break, i seem to be on a bad streak this week
C-Kay:
I proper [zb] it today, it’s now off the road Cast iron vac pump, less than a week old and it got a crack on top of it, lost all my hydraulic oil I had a nice wait for someone to drive from Essex to Swindon with a new unit, then ran out of hours half hour from the yard
Thank [zb] i’m off tomorrow, i dread to think what else i’d break, i seem to be on a bad streak this week
It is called sods law and the origin was the buttered toast that never landed on the dry side. They have a habit of coming in threes, so whatever you do to avoid it, there is another one round the corner.
C-Kay:
I proper [zb] it today, it’s now off the road Cast iron vac pump, less than a week old and it got a crack on top of it, lost all my hydraulic oil I had a nice wait for someone to drive from Essex to Swindon with a new unit, then ran out of hours half hour from the yard
Thank [zb] i’m off tomorrow, i dread to think what else i’d break, i seem to be on a bad streak this week
It is called sods law and the origin was the buttered toast that never landed on the dry side. They have a habit of coming in threes, so whatever you do to avoid it, there is another one round the corner.
I’m going to refuse to drive it now, me and that truck just dont get on
Weirdly, a driver from another depot was in our yard and mentioned about the dustcart hitting the mirror when i’d finally got back, i cant remember his name on here though
Years ago a firm I drove for replaced it’s fleet, 12 MAN 18 tonners, 3 Merc units and 2 Sed Atki Stratos units. Also, he bought 5 40’ brand new curtainsiders. On the Saturday morning the gaffer wanted a photo of all the new trucks, but the TM didn’t trust any of us with the new Stratos, so he had to move them 
