If you have an Accident. Advice to new drivers.

i agree, a cop gets squat from me

but someone who is injured as a result of an accident we had, whether it was my fault or theirs will receive all the help and apologies i can offer

now, however that plays out in court (which i dont have ANY faith in) is an entirely different matter

 

You have to understand that the law works against us. On the road, we're the enemy. I had a codriver get in an accident. A car next to him swerved into his lane hit his truck and bounced off... I was awake and watching the whole thing. Who got the ticket? Him. For not keeping a safe area around his truck. You have to be VERY careful of what you say. Remember, we live in a country where you can sue someone for your ####### spilling hot (because how else do you drink non-iced coffee) coffee on yourself, or sue for cutting yourself on someone's window while you're breaking into their house. Wrong or right means NOTHING. Your ### depends on if there was ANYTHING that you could have done to prevent that accident. The law don't care if it was your fault. The law cares about if there was any possible way to avoid it, either by yielding to being passed instead of keeping pace with the car (that's actually a law in most states, even on a 4 lane highway), or you changing lanes, or you should have stayed in the right lane at that red light you got rear-ended at... Looking at your speedometer or checking your mirror puts you at fault for an accident. By law, you have to be 100% aware of the full 360 degrees around you while NEVER taking your eyes from straight ahead on the road. And even speeding, you're not allowed to check your speedometer, but you're not allowed to speed.

Before saying anything to a cop, you want to talk to your insurance company or lawyer. Your insurance company WILL help you, because if you're at fault, that accident costs them money. If you're in an accident, or stopped for ANY reason, just shut up. Once those lights go on, the camera automatically starts recording and he has to find a reason to ticket you, or it counts against him and keeping his job. Show him your ID, there's going to be some talking so use common sense. While you're talking to him, you did everything 100% legal. No response can count as a response, that's something the guy in the video kind of forgot to point out. Keep your logs current. If you check a bulb on your pretrip and it's out, document it before you go into the store to buy a bulb. Paper logs, keep notes on every pretrip. Do your DVIR even if nothing is wrong with the truck, fill it out anyway, show that you're actually checking. For elogs, send a qualcomm message that your bulb is out and you're replacing it, which you want to do anyway so that you get payed back for the bulb. For company OTR drivers, it's a little suspicious when no trailers at all ever have a problem. If a tire is low, or starting to wear, even if it's still legal to be on the road, make sure you have a record of it.

This will all come back to haunt you if you ever have an accident. They're going to look for every little possible reason to believe that you're not the perfect driver.

And something the guy in the video didn't point out, but to remember when you're at home with your car, and even working on the truck... You don't have to do something wrong to get pulled over. They don't have to follow you and wait for you to mess up. If you live on a divided street and make a legal uturn and the cop sees it, well you might have just turned around because you saw him. If you're holding a perfectly steady speed while he's behind you, you're suspiciously observant of your speed. Or a great one, if it's snowing and he's a foot from the back of your car, at night so that you have no idea that it's a cop and you pull over to let him pass, you just pulled over in front of a cop, possibly admitting that you did something wrong. If someone is walking on the sidewalk close enough (depending on the cops mood) to the corner, you didn't yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk, that includes the middle of NYC while they have a don't walk and you have a green light. Traffic law is a business. It's designed so the cop can pretty much just decide "I want to give that car a ticket, because I don't like the color of it".

So, it's actually yeah, doing the wrong thing has tons of benefit. Even if it's your fault, even in a rear end, just shut up and talk to a lawyer. If you were driving too close not even looking out your windshield and plow through the back of someone who slammed on their brakes because a kid ran into the street... If there was ANYTHING wrong with their car, like a bulb out, missing paperwork, tire low, if you're smart they're the one getting the ticket, not you. Also another reason to ALWAYS pretrip and document it. If you're not supposed to be on the road, it's your fault, period. Because if you weren't there, that accident wouldn't have happened.

 

And photos of the "aggrieved" driver that caused the accident as they are telling and screaming at you... proof they were out of control of themselves...

 

Might makes the case for having a legal service on tap...

 

Addendum:

Never, EVER EVER EVER blow in a tube!!



Unless you see that breathalyzer come out of a SEALED package, DO NOT BLOW!!

You don't know who used it before you, whether it's been calibrated recently, or if the LEO cleaned the inside of the blow port with a q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol (which WILL ring up on YOU).

If LEO wants a blood alcohol test, INSIST on a blood test!! Period, full-stop. It is your right to demand a blood test over a blow test.

 

A classic example of what has been said and the publics perception of us.
I was driving back to the rack, as I was hauling gas at the time. Trailer was empty and as I drove by a stationary Ford Mustang who was trying to pull out of a side road, his front end hit halfway down my trailer. All I felt was a huge thud. The idiot couldn't wait for me to get by.
so I stopped and ran back, just to make sure everyone was ok
First thing out of the lad's mouth was " it's your fault,you're the truck driver, so it's always your fault" "and I've got witnesses"
i smiled at his stupidity and called for the cops. Cops arrived, looked over the scene, checked my trailer where he had hit me.
Not only was his car totaled because he pulled out too quick, but he also got the ticket......Duh!!
I smiled at him and gave him a sarcastic wave, as I drove off into the sunset.
Some people will never learn.
Oh and luckily, this was before all this CSA BS came to be.

 

I would love to agree with you, but I cannot.

We may be "...people before we are subjects of the court", but we must still protect ourselves, and there are many, MANY people who will take advantage of such a situation, take advantage of YOU and your desire to be civilized, to make a profit off you or your company/insurance. And by being decent and apologizing, you open yourself up to these unscrupulous basdagies and their nastiness.

I got this beaten into my head by my school bus company:

DO NOT ADMIT FAULT. EVER.

SAY NOTHING TO THE OTHER DRIVER.

FILL OUT THE ACCIDENT KIT, MAKE SURE TO GET THE OTHER DRIVER'S INFORMATION COMPLETELY (if they split before giving it up, or give you false information, that constitutes "hit and run", and should be treated as such).

TAKE PICTURES. LOTS OF THEM.

SAY NOTHING. SAY MORE NOTHING.

And if LEO decides to take you in, say "LAWYER", and nothing else.

Now, my company would always send two managers out to the site of the accident to handle everything, including the cops. I doubt an OTR outfit would do that, but one would think they would agree with the previous, if only to protect themselves. They'll protect you if you don't throw them under the bus during the process (which might not be avoidable); but it might be smart to have your own "trained attack shark" on a leash, just in case.

 

Are you sure? I thought one of the things About having a CDL was that you could never refuse a sobriety test of any kind.

 

Hmmmm a sobriety test!! Now there's an interesting topic
most people think and believe they have to take one.
Well, that's one of the discussions I had with a lawyer friend of mine. Luckily I've never had to worry about such things. I don't drink and drive......ever.
but he told quite sincerely.." Whatever you do, do NOT consent to a sobriety test.....ever"
And this comes from a guy who litigates in this field. He knows the law backwards. But it's like
anything else, just do your own checking around. But don't be a sheep or a goat. Why do we assume that what a cop asks for is gospel and we are supposed to conform??
Im just talking about the sob test, not the blood test. We as drivers should really know our rights..
Right?? Like I've said, cops are there to enforce the law, AND they will use every TRICK in the book to achieve that.
Education will trump ignorance anytime. I'm certainly glad I've got knowledgable friends that are willing to give me sage advice. What about you? But please.........don't take my word for it.
good luck.

 

I understand. But I think there is a difference between being and DL holder and a CDL holder. If, as a CDL holder, you refuse a field sobriety test, you automatically forfeit your CDL, possibly permanently. I could be wrong, but I'm sure this was discussed at my school one day.

I agree about sobriety tests though, They are designed for you to fail them. If you have a normal DL you should never consent to one.