Should the driver pay for equipment damage?

You asked how you could charge him for it. You described the situation and then asked how you should take it out of him. You're getting your answers. Just not the ones you want.

 

That's it right there...

 

Hell my company ConWay says there is no such thing as a non preventable. However I had one over a month back in Ft. Worth. rainy and going through a small road construction area on a secondary road. Hit a pothole that you couldn't see (water was flowing over the entire road surface and was pre-dawn). I called the company and was told road conditions such as that were our only preventable. Sometimes life happens; if you want to be a big boy, you have to be prepared for bad things occurring which can cost you a little money.

 

Actually the party at fault is whoever was responsible for the object being on the freeway . Doubtful they could be tracked down but if they could be found you could sue them .
I run tanker and we recently had a safety meeting where it was told a driver saw a small crate in the road at last minute and rather than swerve he ran over it . We were told that was the proper action to take . Swerving a tanker can cause a rollover . Even with other vehicles there may be other vehicles beside the truck to make missing the object impossible .
The others are correct that it is illegal to deduct damages from a driver's pay unless he signed an agreement when hired to pay damages and fines he was responsible for .
I once worked for a company that had drivers damaging a lot of trucks . They had all drivers sign an agreement they would be responsible for the $500 deductible if they had an at fault accident .

 

RickG is right. Would you rather have your driver run the object over, or try to miss it and roll your truck? Sounds to me like he did the best he could under the circumstances and only cost you a single rim and tire. It's your bill. Cost of doing business. Take it off your taxes.

 

Hiring an idiot is almost excusable.....But letting an idiot keep his job is not.

If Im not mistaken, Pavel is the guy had one of his drivers disappear a few days without calling or anything, and when he resurfaced he let him keep his job.

 

I have wanted to own my own truck for a long time. I have never wanted to own more than one and hire drivers. The reason is I don't want the kind of headache you are dealing with, pavel. You are responsible for your trucks, and their upkeep. Even if some of that upkeep isn't what you'd call "scheduled maintenance". Good drivers are hard to find, but even a good one can have a problem from time to time.

 

It would be interesting to know what would have happened if Pavel was behind the wheel . Could he have avoided the object ?
I work for a man that has been driving as long as I have . He rarely drives now but knows stuff happens . Just about every one of our drivers has had an incident that would have cost them their job at most other carriers but in most cases our boss will say he knows how it is . Similar things have happened to him .

 

There are laws that cover these situations.

Being a business owner, you should be familiar with those laws.

If you were to (illegally) charge him, and he contested it,

it may cost you a whole lot more than $800...............

 

A good Company Driver would offer for you to take it out of his check because he more than likely was following too close like alot of left lane cowboys do on the road today.

Every Company Driver is responsible for the equipment and should take care of it by following all laws of the road that includes not following too close.

Take it out of his check and if he is a good driver he will accept that responsibility and try real hard to make sure it doesn't happen again, but if you pay for it the driver did not learn from it and will still not care about your equipment because he knows he does not have to pay for damages.

This is the same attitude out here about idling when the temperture is between 50 and 70 outside because they don't care because they are not paying for fuel.....a sure sign of a bad driver that does not care about the Company or it's equipment.