I know this forum is filled with driving gods but I’m sure some of you have made mistakes what’s yours
I once ripped a bollard out the ground.
I was reversing back and did not notice the bollard and I was mounting the pavement. As the bollard was completely behind me and I didn’t see it. Although I should of noticed it as I drove forward to set up the reverse…
Once I got to the curb I gave it a bit more power to mount the curb. I couldn’t seem to mount the curb though… I thought this was a bit odd. The curb was not that high so I gave it a load more power and mounted the curb. When I got out the truck I noticed there was a bollard under my rear wheels.
It was really stupid because I was giving it some Welly to mount the curb… If anyone was watching it must of looked like I was doing it on purpose.
I’ll take your bollard and raise you a full tank of diesel
Screwing around in the delivery yard at Batley’s in Hull in a Volvo FH I hit a high kerb and gouged a hole in the tank and the full tank of fuel spilled out.
I once received a letter from Suffolk police requesting the insurance details after taking off 13 separate car wing mirrors on one street in Bury St.Edmunds with the frame of a Ratcliffe tail lift.
Due to spending years doing urban delivery work car wing mirrors have been the Bain of my working life, and I’ve lost count of the number of them I’ve destroyed.
First time out in an artic and driving for Hygena on agency popped one on its side on a roundabout just a mile from base. Crawling round it and the back axle apparently just touched the kerb and over she went, I got concussion cos I took a trip across the cab as nobody wore seatbelts back then as you didn’t have to in a lorry. I’d been carrying melamine kitchen worktops which were loaded long ways in the middle of the trailer up to the roof and the load shifted. Fortunately where I’d strapped it down was just across from the security hut so there was CCTV of me not only using plenty of ratchet straps but also the internals as a mate of mine had told me how bad a load it could be, the tacho showed I was going slowly and a witness behind me said I’d not even gone up the kerb. Chances are the kerb actually had little to do with it and it was on it’s way over anyway. TM came to see me in hospital the next morning and said that they’d had one go over in the yard just turning round before, not sure if that was the case or he was trying to make me feel better. After that they did alter how they loaded them though. I was back in there the week after and was in there full time on agency for a good 3-4 years.
Next one was a couple of years later when I jacknifed my mate’s truck, a lovely Scania 112 320. Driving down Hedon Rd in Hull towards the docks, gets near the maternity hospital and there’s a bus at the bus stop with a car sat behind it. Just as I’m on top of them the car decides to pull out - a Volvo 340 I can still remember it today, no indicators, no nothing so I locked up to avoid killing the arse. Being a 1986 C reg so the days before ABS, EBS and all that gubbins and having a rear lift axle which was raised round she went. Managed to get the cab off the trailer floor and didn’t think I’d done much damage but when they jacked the cab up it moved left several inches and ended up needing re-cabbing.
Touch wood for the last 20 or so years it’s been incident free.
On my first day I ripped the mirror off of a ladies Ford ■■■■■■. I also wrote off another ■■■■■■ when the driver came up the nearside on me when I swung out wide to turn left into a foundry (I was signalling left at the time but she assumed I had put the wrong signal on so ignored it!) and also had a Montego hit me on the rear corner when I was stationary in a traffic queue, the force sent the car up the bankside and when it came back down again it hit my front cab step and buckled it! It also smashed my rear lights but the copper let me continue the journey as long as I got them replaced before my next trip. That lost me my accident free bonus for that year! I was also blamed for ripping the cab door off of a Post van in Barton under Needwood, the only problem with that ‘claim’ was that I was tipping in Sheffield at the same time so that came to nothing!!
Had a woman drive into the side of me on the m6. Coming out of a industrial estate in slough bmw parked on corner ended up with a nice gouge off the trailer bumper never heard a thing about it. Oh and a street light fell over in central London.
Was working at Manchester airport in the 90s. Was trying to take a set of s teps of an aircraft. Basically instead of lowering them I sent them up.
Next thing heard a shout looked up saw a pair or cabin crew legs.
Plane was obviously grounded. And passangers were bused down to Heathrow or rerouted.
I manged to keep me.job though.
adam277:
I know this forum is filled with driving gods but I’m sure some of you have made mistakes what’s yours
I once ripped a bollard out the ground.
I was reversing back and did not notice the bollard and I was mounting the pavement. As the bollard was completely behind me and I didn’t see it. Although I should of noticed it as I drove forward to set up the reverse…
Once I got to the curb I gave it a bit more power to mount the curb. I couldn’t seem to mount the curb though… I thought this was a bit odd. The curb was not that high so I gave it a load more power and mounted the curb. When I got out the truck I noticed there was a bollard under my rear wheels.
It was really stupid because I was giving it some Welly to mount the curb… If anyone was watching it must of looked like I was doing it on purpose.
Was working at Manchester airport in the 90s. Was trying to take a set of s teps of an aircraft. Basically instead of lowering them I sent them up.
Next thing heard a shout looked up saw a pair or cabin crew legs.
Plane was obviously grounded. And passangers were bused down to Heathrow or rerouted.
I manged to keep me.job though.
did you ever find out the total cost of your mishap… it must have been very expensive
Was working at Manchester airport in the 90s. Was trying to take a set of s teps of an aircraft. Basically instead of lowering them I sent them up.
Next thing heard a shout looked up saw a pair or cabin crew legs.
Plane was obviously grounded. And passangers were bused down to Heathrow or rerouted.
I manged to keep me.job though.
did you ever find out the total cost of your mishap… it must have been very expensive
No.idea was shuttle flight to Heathrow. They run or used to run every hour.
So most went on next few flights. Or if had connecting flights were rerouted. Where possible.
As for cost who knows probably had insurance for it. But they went happy.
But i only kepr job because of union and fact I’m a hard worker was well liked
1998 or thereabouts, running out of Golden Wonder in Corby (Tayto these days). I was on agency but the TM had asked me if I’d be interested in joining them full time (a right cushy number!). Anyway, on the day in question, at about 4am, yocked onto the trailer, dog clip on, suzies on, suddenly a tremendous crash. I thought someone had run into me and leapt down to confront them…no-one was there, I’d forgotten to put the handbrake on and the unit and trailer had rolled forward and hit another unit. Worse, both units were brand new. My first thought was : “Run!” But I went in and reported it. The load had to go and I was given another unit. The run - I remember it as if it was yesterday - was Dartford and Greenford, so I had all day to relive the nightmare. When I got back, I said “I suppose that’s the job offer out of the window, then?” Was told “not necessarily, these things happen” - but strangely I never worked out of there again (apparently the damage cost £10,000). I’m not proud of what happened but happen it did. I wasn’t the first to do it and I won’t be the last. I’m still here though!
My first and worst was on the A1 near Ferrybridge. It was not motorway then.
I was driving a four-wheeler (D series Ford)South on my way home in thick fog. For a while I followed another truck, keeping his lights just in view - I think we were doing around 30, but he pulled off and I was left as the leader of a queue. I slowed a bit more and kept plodding on, even though there were cars passing me and then there was the back of a tipper right in front of me with rear lights covered in mud. I braked, but too late and ended up pinned to my seat by the steering wheel and with a broken kneecap where it hit the heater control that Ford cunningly put there for that purpose.
The fire brigade got me out and I went to Pontefract hospital to get plastered. The company had a depot in Leeds and the manager came over to check on me and then gave me a lift to the station to get a train to London.
I was off for a few weeks and they put a new cab on the truck. The cops prosecuted me for DC&A and I got a fine. IDK if they did the five car drivers who concertinaed behind me - I felt the thumps as they hit.
I forgot one in my previous post, when I was a fitter I reversed a loaded Foden eight legger over the foremans ■■■■■■ van (Escorts figure prominantly in my mishaps I see! ) and crushed the front end completely! It took a lot to stop a Foden moving with that marvellous gearbox they had and an ■■■■■■ van wasn’t any competition at all!
Jimmy McNulty:
Nearly [zb] my pants a few times but I’ve sorted the dodgy diet out and no longer eat a curry on a work night.
Not that type of accident?
It counts.
My worst experience driving was when I was in central London (Westminster area) had a kebab the night before and I was in agony with no toilet anywhere.
I was seriously close to pulling up and finding a bush for a squat.
I really thought I was going to crap myself that day. I was 100% touching cloth.
