Who has wrecked their work truck?

[thoglow]

Last Monday I got into an accident.It was early in the morning.I just didn't have time to stop and rear ended
a lady.I feel freaking bad.The anti lock breaks preformed just like they were designed however I just kept rolling.I wasn't going very fast cause the airbags didn't deploy.
Up to now I have a pretty great work record but never the less that's all for nothing now.The owner ripped me a new one.I feel like he removed all the bone Marrow from my entire body.His son the CEO just return from a 3 week vacation from out of the country.He didn't find out until Thurs night.I can't believe that I didn't loose my job.

[yellowirenut]

my first one i blew the engine...2ed one i got T-boned and took out the pole holding up the signal lights (shut down the entire intersection) 3rd one i was directed to go around city maintenance vehicle..and scraped the entire side of the truck because the city bus did not think he should have to wait for me. (scrape a city pick up and my van or have a bus plow into me) If u lost your job because of ONE mistake it sounds like u work for an ass....**** happens. If you where on your 3rd accident that was your fault then there is a problem

[shaygetz]

Sorry to hear that...

The worst I've done is forget to throw the parking brake on my cart...found it in the retention pond after lunch. Even the boss thought that was a hoot.

[air2spare]

the fact that you didn't get fired speaks volumes for the type of employee that you are... hold you head up and let it go.

[My77GMC]

i was in phoenix az durring rush hour going about 45 bumper to bumper...reached down to crank up the a/c, looked up and about 30 feet ahead was stopped brakelights. i was in a 98 chevy 3/4 ton service truck. follow the lugnut rule...i smashed not only the car in front of me but the 2 cars in front of her as well. boss showed up and all he said was "thats what insurance is for. dont do it again." the next day i moved my stuff into my first brand new service truck. it was my all time favorite. 03 chevy 1 ton. anyway sincce then ive had 4 brand new trucks. im now in alaska and have more to worry about than brake lights so im a much safer driver now. never the less it will happen again someday i just hope its not my fault when it does.

anyway...be a good mechanic and "big" problems wont matter much. whats a $50k service truck for a guy that makes you 300k in a year? makes such things more like an investment rather than an expense. but then some bosses are not intelligent enough to see things in such a light. the fact that you care shows alot about who you are.

[maintenanceguy]

Two years ago, got a new truck. Couldn't see behind me very well because the side tool boxes were taller than my old truck.

At one place, I had to pull off the road, and drive down a barely-there path through the woods to get to the the closest door to carry my tools in. When I was done, I had to back out of this winding path and couldn't see very well. Went ridiculously slow and made it out of the woods without a scratch.

Knowing I was now in the clear, I sped up and slammed into a telephone pole I couldn't see between the woods and the curb.

The damage wasn't too bad. Body shop pulled the bumper out and made the tail gate work again for $150 and now it's not a new truck anymore.

[GsxrMike]

I backed into a huge concrete ballard about two months ago. It was 11:00pm and I was 2 hrs from home after working a 16 hour day. I didn't get to pissed because some poor guy had just driven 1.5 hours to fix the cooler I had just got done repairing. Apparently the manager didn't tell anybody I was on my way and so they call someone else and when I showed up they just assumed I was the guy they called.

[corny]

I pulled between two concrete columns one day to get a round some losers who wouldnt move their cars. I was watching the people walking around on the passenger side of the van and wasnt paying attention to my side...which was where the columns were.....I ran up onto one and ate up the side of the van.....probably did more damage pulling off the column.

Ive hit a deer...still got the caved in...not bad though...spot on the front quarter panel....and Ive had a few dings etc...

Had to go up on a mountain to a tv tower a couple of weeks ago and one of my shelves broke its brackets....it beat a dent into the side panel of the van behind the drivers seat.... nothing I could do....went into a drop off in the road and that shelf broke loose and just rocked back and forth a few times....dang near beat a hole thru the panel.

bungeed it to the cage and shot some big screws back into the brackets...

[Dowadudda]

Deer love me.

[HeyBob]

I can tell huge stories about what my guys have done to service trucks.

I have only completely torn one guy up, he pulled into our parking lot like a maniac and slammed into my service truck with his, got out and told me I should have put more salt down, should have fired him on the spot!

I have had a guy almost total a new truck, my only words were I am glad everyone is OK. It was a bad one and not his fault.

Your boss may be worried about being sued, I was sued by non other than Sam Bernstein over an accident an employee had, they got almost 200k from my insurance carrier.

It's a touchy subject!

[jdavis72]

Deer love me.

Get deer whistles. Got 'em on my personal truck, and never have had a problem. My father-in-law, who drove a semi for years, swore by 'em. Just be sure to take 'em off before you drive out to your favourite hunting spot.

[beenthere]

anyway...be a good mechanic and "big" problems wont matter much. whats a $50k service truck for a guy that makes you 300k in a year?

Makes him $300,000, or grosses him $300,000???

There is a BIG difference.

[4x4freak]

I backed into the shop door once, does that count? When I was in the van I could back up until the back tire touched the concrete ramp in front of the door and that would give enough clearance between the van and the door. I swapped over to the box van and tried to do that without thinking much of it. The new truck had a little more overhang than the van and hit the door. I kicked the door back into shape except for a dent where I hit it. Nothing was ever said.

[woodsman]

I rear-ended an old lady while I was trying to merge in a construction zone. She was driving a Saturn, I looked in the side mirror to check traffic, looked back at the road and she was stopped. I didn't do any damage to her car at all but it bent the bumper up on the Chevy Express. Worst part of it all, she was on the way to the hospital to visit her dying husband. She didn't want to call the cops and neither did the boss. Got lucky I guess.

I got rear-ended at a stoplight, tore the back bumper off the same Express.

[screws]

First van (POS) blew it up second week I had it. Fourth van new windshield every year for 4 years straight boss never said anything, Fifth van 3 accidents in 3 years all the other guys fault one of them I was hit by the manager of a local rest. boy friend (learn alot that day). When I got out of that van the next guy totalled it on the highway we feel it was cursed.

[amickracing]

1st ever wreck of any kind, was driving the old POS shop truck. Pulled out of their parking lot, which was also shared with the community action parking lot (aka lots of people who chose not to work go there to get stuff to live).

I was in 1st gear of the old dodge just putzin along, the lady in front of me turned out onto the road (side street), and I looked to my left to make sure no one was coming, and she had stopped in the road and I hit her. Man you'd swore I totaled her pristine </sarcasm> '90 ford Tempo out. After she was done yelling racial slurs at this white boy I said "well we'd better call the cops", she was in and gone in no time. Next day she went over to the owner of the company and told me we ran into her and we never stopped, blah blah blah. They knew better but still paid her like $2000 for her chiropractic bills over the next month or 2.

Next wreck I had, I was turning off a major road onto a side street, some guy behind me didn't see not only a big van slowing down, nor did he see a blinker, nor did he see brake lights and ran right into me. I actually didn't feel him hit me at 1st, just wondered "hey, why is my lunch box floating in the air?". It was a pretty decent hit, I had only had my van for a couple months and just knew the back was trashed.

As I walked to the back of the van I saw his van...
his van

Then I hesitantly looked at my van....
My van
Yup, that's all that happened, chipped my bumper cover! Woohoo! he ripped into me of course, said I slowed down too fast, wasn't using my blinker, was talking on my phone, was driving recklessly... basically ran down the entire list of why it wasn't his fault. He lost btw.

Last time I ran into a big fat turkey while goin down the highway. Man he did some damage! I think it was like $1400 or so, took out the grill, radiator, ac coil, tranny cooler and the fan blade. Actually he pushed the radiator back into the fan and stopped the fan. I was 200 miles from home, I shoved the radiator out of the fan and it worked fine for a month until lease plan got me all fixed up.

Knock on wood, that's all that's happened to me.
A coworker just flipped his van a month ago and destroyed it. He's not hurt too bad, but very lucky to be alive. The 1st place I worked I saw a lot of carnage, heck one guy actually ran into a house with his van! lol

[Tiger93rsl]

Pulled out a really nice chrome bumber on a 379 Peterbuilt while backing out of a grain elevator during corn harvest 10 or so years ago, I don't remember what it cost to fix but it had to be turned into insurance to repair it thats the only work related accident I've had. Not counting 1 broken rear window (my fault) And one locked up engine, lost oil pressure and by the time I got to the closest place to shut her down the damage was already done. Seems the people cangeing the oil only changed the oil and not the filter. Got a free engine from the shop we took it too for oil changes and one guy lost his job. The filter had been on the truck for 2 years and who knows how may ten's of thousands of miles.

[thoglow]

I can tell huge stories about what my guys have done to service trucks.

I have only completely torn one guy up, he pulled into our parking lot like a maniac and slammed into my service truck with his, got out and told me I should have put more salt down, should have fired him on the spot!

I have had a guy almost total a new truck, my only words were I am glad everyone is OK. It was a bad one and not his fault.

Your boss may be worried about being sued, I was sued by non other than Sam Bernstein over an accident an employee had, they got almost 200k from my insurance carrier.

It's a touchy subject!

I was hoping to get the bosses perspective on this and your right it is a touchy subject.The accident was my fault.I'm just glad that the lady didn't get hurt.Now I have to drive my POV to work.I hope that when my van gets fixed they let me take it home again.I work far away from home alot and always can be counted on to pick up a problem call even when I'm not on call.

[bjones]

My service manager assigned a guy a brand new service truck with less than 100 miles on it. That weekend he decided to pick up his Harley Sportster at his friends house with the truck, but not before having a six pack or two with his buddy.

On the way home while driving down a winding mountain road he loses control of the van (go figure) and goes off the road, hitting a huge boulder that dislodges and rolls down a hill and smashes into a car in the driveway of the house next door totalling the car.

He hit the bolder so hard all the factory installed shelves were leaning toward the front of the van at a 45 degree angle pushing the driver seat into the steering wheel. Amazingly and thankfully, he got of the totaled van without a scratch.

The bike had only minor damage.

We lost a good tech that day...

[Some Dude]

My service manager assigned a guy a brand new service truck with less than 100 miles on it. That weekend he decided to pick up his Harley Sportster at his friends house with the truck, but not before having a six pack or two with his buddy.

On the way home while driving down a winding mountain road he loses control of the van (go figure) and goes off the road, hitting a huge boulder that dislodges and rolls down a hill and smashes into a car in the driveway of the house next door totalling the car.

He hit the bolder so hard all the factory installed shelves were leaning toward the front of the van at a 45 degree angle pushing the driver seat into the steering wheel. Amazingly and thankfully, he got of the totaled van without a scratch.

The bike had only minor damage.

We lost a good tech that day...

Thats when you pull the Harley out, wipe off the steering wheel,and let the van follow the boulder.
Get back on the Harley ride home and report your missing service van.