Accident question

We had a driver who was involved in a head on, he did everything right got over as far as he could and locked up the brakes, it was on a 2 lane section of the highway going through the mountains in Canada. He had never had an accident to that point. There is no way he could have prevented the accident and did everything he was suppose to to avoid it yet some mental midget at the insurance company told him it was preventable. I went straight down to the insurance office when I heard and went over the accident and the drivers logs which are electronic with the moron, I then told him that if he still thinks the accident was preventable that maybe he should go up where the accident occured and take a good look around. We then sent a formal complaint to the head office of the insurance company. The guy is no longer doing truck accident claims, he is now doing house insurance and fire claims.

 

Wow, MH, that's crazy. I hate to sound like a broken record,( I know, that dates me) but once again, a dash cam would probably have cleared the driver without all that hassle. Sounds like ins. co.'s just won't listen to reason, hoping you give in. It's great you went that extra step. Must have felt good to get over on them.

 

Insurance companies want to save every cent they can especially if the accident is in another state or in this case country. I have driven that road so many times I can picture the curve where the accident happened in my head. I have stopped on that route to assist people who have been involved in accidents so many times that the local police, tow operators , snow plow ops, and fire, paramedics know me by my first name. It is a curvy 2 lane mountain road with no ditch or shoulder, they are working at twinning it but that is a long time happening as they have to literally move mountains to do it. Some insurance desk monkey who has never gone more than a few hundred miles from home has no clue as to what it is really like.

 

To be fair, many adjusters start at ~$200 week and a car, and it is often their job to deny every claim if they can't get a release signed for fifty bucks.

My dad was head of claims for a major insurer until the early '60s. He quit in disgust when his duties began to include denying legitimate claims, became an independent adjuster.

 

I am being fair, just shows your dad has a brain and isnt one of the desk monkeys. By definition a desk monkey is someone who doesnt use their brains for more than holding their ears in place, and think they are doing the world a great service by being stupid.

 

If you look at hiring requirements which most trucking websites have they will list no more than 2-3 accidents in a given time. One won't hurt you as bad as two. They look for patterns. Is this guy a high risk?

Wait about a month or so from the accident and pull your DAC. You might want to wait until you quit that job if you are still there. Some employers with hold off on DAC reports until you quit then they get all vindictive and stuff.

If they put preventable accident on there then I would dispute it and use the police report as evidence. According to the FMCSA it's not an accident unless the vehicle is towed or there are injuries. Otherwise it's an incident.

 

No actually, happened in 2013. 23 was the most direct route and actually the only open route. both 75 and 77 were shutdown due to snow. there were 3 loads that came out of Ohio. Me and 2 others. The other two were on the interstates(one on 75 and one on 77) shut down. The dispatcher insisted at least one load had to deliver on time. I said well if there are already 2 loads shut down what makes you think I can deliver? They said "oh youre an old pro at this you can do it", so I tried. As for tire chains, this Company has never used tire chains, at least not in the 12 years I was with them.

Didn't do a lot of damage, other than to my pride, especially getting that close to where I was delivering, and actually would have been a little early on my delivery if not for that.

 

Thanks for the defense fellows but I dont mind GPS's Question. I have questioned my judgement as well on that deal. Stuff happens. As humans we cant be perfect. It probably turned out for the best anyway, another 10 feet and theyd have had to fish me out of the river? So I consider myself lucky.

 

70s_driver, I enjoy your posts. Whether you know it or not there's wisdom in your sharing. I know that route you took. Only someone who doesn't would question you. There's really not a good way from Ohio to NE Tenn or SW Virginia.

 

OK... let's leave it at lucky.