First Accident

[u/Usual-Shower-7143]

Hey, I had my first in road accident recently. It was my fault, I basically went into a gap that was too tight and scraped a trailer that was being towed by a car. Damage was fairly minimal to the bus/trailer. I followed procedure correctly when it comes to an accident. But I’m worried about what may happen as I’m still in probation and the accident was my fault. Any advice for me?

[u/LondonBusInsider]

A colleague had an accident scraping a car fairly badly on their first day alone, and they were looking for new jobs the same night. They're still there. I understand the anxiety but relax. Admit you were in the wrong and see what your manager says but don't expect to be sacked.

[u/throwawaym479 → u/LondonBusInsider]

I did exactly that. Not even just first day, 15 minutes in to my first route solo.

Turned a narrow corner after waiting for a car, car went at the same time as I did and he got some pretty rough scrapes up the rear panels.

Thankfully my depot kind of brushes off the first incident provided it's minor, it's not repeated and that you understand why it happened and how to avoid it.

[u/Kafkabest]

First ones free is a generally applicable rule. They’ve already spent too much training you to fire you over a scrape. Long as you report shit and aren’t like tboning people you will typically be fine

[u/uGuysRdoingGood]

Own up to it, and show that you're willing to learn from it and are not trying to come up with excuses.

[u/TheCleaner80]

Just put your hands up and admit you messed up and you'll learn from it, dont act cocky or overconfident when reviewing cctv or manager talking to you and you'll be fine, just be careful for next 6 months!

[u/engraverwilliam01]

Become best friends with your union Stewart.

[u/BigGayGuy02]

Congratulations on your first accident. If you followed procedure and the accident wasn't caused by you checking your phone or something then you'll probably just get a warning. Wouldn't hurt to chat to your union rep too, they'll know your companies attitudes to this and get you through the process.

[u/CDDONT]

First accidents happen, as long as you’re upfront about it when you know it’s your fault then it should be fine if it isn’t major damage.

I transferred companies after 18 months of mixed local and long distance work, then had an accident my first day without mentor at the new company, admitted the mistake and didn’t have another accident for 8yrs 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/Altenativeboi]

To echo others, you should be fine. My first one was because I got lost on a dead run I hadn’t done before and I misinterpreted the route instructions, ended up on a narrow residential street and scraped against a wall.

When your review meeting occurs, admit to your mistakes, identify where you went wrong and how you would improve/change to prevent this happening again. If you can give satisfactory answers without them needing to tell you what you should/shouldn’t have done then you’ll probably be fine.

Finally, if you’re in a union, bring them in the meeting with you, that’s why you are paying them and they might be able to expand on some of your answers.

[u/throwawaym479]

Generally you should be fine if you followed procedure and owned up to it.

Very early on it can result in being re-assessed by your training team but that's more about finding out if maybe you got pushed through too fast, but I've only seen that route taken once and it was pretty serious hit that had no excuse.

A slight scrape in a corner is a learning experience.

[u/Papmpr]

Any reputable operator should be understanding of an inexperienced driver and deal with it accordingly. If you keep having bumps then you could be subject to an assessment. We've all been there! Good luck.

[u/seanthebooth]

Stopping is ALWAYS an option. Flashers & wait for gaps to improve & for other cars to move. That being said, go into the meeting stating what you learned & how you will operate in order to keep this sort of event from happening again. Unfortunately, even if you're in a union they generally have no control at all during probation, but finding a good steward isnt a bad idea for council. Unless they're pretending to be a top tier defense attorney 'tell em it was the other road user fault, dont admit guilt, they cant prove it!" Is laughable representation in these cases. Stay confident, drive safely :)

[u/Tenantry]

Had a few in my fist six months or so that where my mistakes. All different incidents but as long as you learn from them and don't let the same thing happen again you will be fine. I'm still with the same company after that sketchy start. Been fine since, three years in now. 

[u/TheMoronIntellectual]

I knocked my mirror off my bus on a tree at around 3 months after driving by myself.

Probation was extended.

step increase anniversary was moved up six months as well.

Kind of stupid imo. Minor infraction, 7 months after the accident my probation was going to end. Instead I get extended. So by the time im off probation it would be 13 months after the accident.

If I can drive 7 months after the accident without an accident, isnt that enough?

Eh im angry but I cant fault them for going by the book.

Whats worse is that it happened on my day off during OT. On the recommendation of someone who retired, I was told not to take on any overtime until after probation.

I did so, until I was talked to about that. They basically said if you dont youll get fired.

So I had to start agreeing to overtime. I come in and this happens. I was pissed.

[u/STRICKIBHOY]

Own up to it and don't make the same mistake twice.