My Driver got in Accident, carrier most likely will release.... What to do next?

[T270_Dreamin]

Well I'm a small operation, two 2006 Sprinters. One I drive part time and the other one is leased on to Panther that was involved in a accident this morning. My driver who I've had for almost 6 months rear ended a semi today early this morning. Still waiting to hear from the safety dept tomorrow and insurance etc, last I heard driver is doing ok medically. I'm not sure where things are going to go, I don't have a lot of hope that panther will continue to let her drive and the Sprinter is totaled last I heard.

Anybody that can help me out with some advice that has been involved with drivers and accidents? Some downtime is certainly needed to let driver recover and begin to look for another Sprinter. 317k is all that one is going to go.

I'd consider a new carrier and starting over fresh. Prefer to keep this driver as it is a extremely difficult task to find good drivers. I believe in second chances and it was really a determined hard working individual. We all make mistakes. This particular driver usually had 2500 mile weeks 1 to 2 times a month.

Accidents have to be the worst thing about this industry! Takes time to rebuild and recover. I suppose it is easier to loose a truck if you have 3+. Lets hope for a recovery.

 

[Murraycroexp]

That's certainly unfortunate. Is her "at fault" going to affect your insurance premiums?

 

[tknight]

I would think if at fault rates will go up but not right away
Glad she's ok the van is a plethora. Of spare parts though!

 

[T270_Dreamin]

That's certainly unfortunate. Is her "at fault" going to affect your insurance premiums?

I don't think it will, someone with more panther "premium logistics" experience could probably make a better assessment. I've only had this truck on for 21 months. Accumulated 155k in that time period. Seems like that is pretty good amount for this business. She had ran 62k+ in 5 months.

Now I understand why fleet owners have 3+ trucks moving. One goes down and you still have two moving. Tried to keep it simple and it didn't work... now I gotta figure out how to rebuild. This driver had plans to stay 2-3 maybe even more years and we all know that is a long time for ANY driver to stay in a sprinter. She was right at 5 months and we were already thinking about heaters and snow tires for next season. It wasn't something that we planned just tragedy. Hoping to hear from her later today for first time, just heard she was released from hospital this morning so that is big positive.

 

[Turtle]

The main thing, of course, is that she is OK. As for Panther keeping her on, it could happen, but generally a rear-end or an overhead means the end of that relationship.

 

[jjoerger]

Wow. 62,000 miles in 5 months as a solo in a sprinter. I'm happy to get that as a team in a straight truck.
Glad to hear she is out of the hospital and I hope she has a speedy recovery.

 

[jimlookup]

At 62000 miles in 5 months,she was averaging 2800 miles a week, every week, for 5 months. I'm guessing there was some driver fatigue here. If you could just go out and drive 400 miles a day it wouldn't be too bad, but, we all know it doesn't work like that.
I have done 9400 in 3 weeks; then I really needed a week off. But, I'm kind of old and maybe a little lazy. And, I was driving for a owner whose only demand was that I make sure I had enough rest.

 

[Daffyduck528]

2800 miles a week per person is exhausting. I'm a team driver though. Maybe sleeping in a truck that isn't moving helps you rest better though.

 

[davekc]

I would agree with Turtle. It is hard to tell whether she can continue to drive or not. A lot of factors to look at but it likely won't be long before you have your answer.

 

[divadriver01]

If you reach a certain amount of $$ then termination is automatic. I can't remember but I think it's around $17, 000 worth of damage. I'm not sure how the insurance works on the sprinters but with a straight truck, the insurance company will issue you a check for the value amount that you have the vehicle insured for if the vehicle is totaled. Keep in mind as commecial drivers we are billed for things like fire department, police dept, and power companies time. Obviously they will look at the driver's safety numbers as well. Just my 2 cents from a former panther O/O.

Sent from my SCH-S968C using EO Forums mobile app

 

[Zoli]

Panther will let the driver go 100% if he was under load. Now a big carrier I dont think will qualify the driver . Because of the accident. The insurance will pay the market value minus the 1000 deductible . If you had a lot of miles on your van you will get a small amount...

 

[Zoli]

If you reach a certain amount of $$ then termination is automatic. I can't remember but I think it's around $17, 000 worth of damage. I'm not sure how the insurance works on the sprinters but with a straight truck, the insurance company will issue you a check for the value amount that you have the vehicle insured for if the vehicle is totaled. Keep in mind as commecial drivers we are billed for things like fire department, police dept, and power companies time. Obviously they will look at the driver's safety numbers as well. Just my 2 cents from a former panther O/O


The insurance company will pay the value amount that you have the vehicle insured IF that value is lower than the market value. For example if you insured your van for 20K , but the market value is 10k , the insurance will pay 10k minus 1000 deductible. Progressive at least.

 

[T270_Dreamin]

That included deadhead and empty miles and personal miles. Not sure what the loaded amount was but I can look that up and post details. I finally got a chance to speak with her today about 36 hours after the accident she is doing ok with 2 broken ribs and small scrapes, and wants to get back on the road in 2-3 weeks. We are planning for the worst and hoping for the best. It is going to be tough to convince carrier to keep her although everything is still under review. She mentioned that the semi pulled ahead and then just stopped in the intersection and she swerved to miss it and clipped it with the driver side at about 30 miles per hour. The 1900 lb load in the back didn't help.
This week was actually a really slow week she was on here second load for 400 loaded miles (relatively small load compared to what she was capable of). She was planning to take Friday off to see family because last week she did 2500 miles. Very determined individual honest and hardworking, I had gone through 3 people that never showed to orientation and two other guys, one quit and went back to class a because his wife made him and other violated safety and was released. I was fortunate to finally come across a good driver, replacing her isn't really a option as it is extremely hard to find someone similar.... We have a certain formula and stick to it. She knows how to empty move from Nashville to Indy and chase freight early in the week. We typically will move here into KY or Indy as opposed to overcrowded Atlanta early in the week when it is harder to get loads. Her biggest load so far was 2400 miles.

 

[T270_Dreamin]

If you reach a certain amount of $$ then termination is automatic. I can't remember but I think it's around $17, 000 worth of damage. I'm not sure how the insurance works on the sprinters but with a straight truck, the insurance company will issue you a check for the value amount that you have the vehicle insured for if the vehicle is totaled. Keep in mind as commecial drivers we are billed for things like fire department, police dept, and power companies time. Obviously they will look at the driver's safety numbers as well. Just my 2 cents from a former panther O/O


The insurance company will pay the value amount that you have the vehicle insured IF that value is lower than the market value. For example if you insured your van for 20K , but the market value is 10k , the insurance will pay 10k minus 1000 deductible. Progressive at least.

I had the Sprinter insured for $13K, it had 316K + miles on it to my knowledge. It has a rooftop ac and full stereo. Ran flawlessly... going to miss it. I put the first 75k on it. 161k when bought used. Her safety rating were close to 100% she made it a habit to stop for all breaks.

 

[T270_Dreamin]

At 62000 miles in 5 months,she was averaging 2800 miles a week, every week, for 5 months. I'm guessing there was some driver fatigue here. If you could just go out and drive 400 miles a day it wouldn't be too bad, but, we all know it doesn't work like that.
I have done 9400 in 3 weeks; then I really needed a week off. But, I'm kind of old and maybe a little lazy. And, I was driving for a owner whose only demand was that I make sure I had enough rest.

Here are the stats. It may be closer to 60k. There are some miles in there unaccounted.

Loads Loaded Miles Empty Moves Empty Miles DH Miles
71 38273 24 9435 4943

 

[T270_Dreamin]

I would agree with Turtle. It is hard to tell whether she can continue to drive or not. A lot of factors to look at but it likely won't be long before you have your answer.

We are being optimistic about this and hope they will understand her side regarding how the accident occurred, as tomorrow I think we will get a answer and move on in the best way possible.

Forgot to mention that the TT that was hit took off after accident, that hopefully will work in favor.

 

[Zoli]

We are being optimistic about this and hope they will understand her side regarding how the accident occurred, as tomorrow I think we will get a answer and move on in the best way possible.

Forgot to mention that the TT that was hit took off after accident, that hopefully will work in favor.

I hope things will go well. Remember rear-ending always is the rear driver fault. I had 2 accidents with 2 different drivers with Panther they disqualify both. Insurance ...From insurance probably you will get 4-5k

 

[Casper0418]

I hope things will go well. Remember rear-ending always is the rear driver fault. I had 2 accidents with 2 different drivers with Panther they disqualify both. Insurance ...From insurance probably you will get 4-5k

That at is not entirely accurate. We have DriveCams in our trucks and a citizen pulled in front of our driver to make a turn into a parking lot and stopped in front of the truck. Our truck hit the car from behind. PD issued the cars driver a citation for illegal right hand turn. The Accident Review Board cleared the driver. Might be rare but it can happen.

 

[BobWolf]

Metal, Rubber, Plastic and glass, all machines are totally replaceable. Glad to hear your driver is O.K. She will be sore for at least two or three weeks. When I broke a couple ribs I was sore actual pain 2 weeks and achy 2 or 3 weeks Tylenol was my B.F.F.

A couple ways you can soften the impact on your insurance is.
1) Go through the other drivers insurance first. only go through yours if the other driver is uninsured however a rear ender typically you are at fault, if the other driver left the scene and fault can be shared its worth a shot.

2) Ask what the buy back is for the vehicle. Here you buy the totaled vehicle for a percentage of your settlement and it becomes yours again.
The good part is if the vehicle is a reasonable distance away, and you can properly repair the vehicle and put it back in service, you are ahead of the game. Yes, you might be out of pocket a few hundred possibly a grand But if you can make the money back it should be cheaper than buying another Sprinter. Or you can strip what is of value and scrap the rest, I have a couple grand worth of parts in my shop from a vehicle that was totaled, replaced the vehicle with a same year, make, model, and mileage and it cost me only a couple Saturdays worth of work. If its FUBAR and to far away to transport for a reasonable price you might be better off taking your lumps and letting the insurance company keep it. Only you can make that call.

Now, you do need to get a little selfish and cover your asz I know I don't like to say it either but, YOUR LIVELYHOOD AND YOUR PROPERTY ARE ON THE LINE.
1) Drug test, blood preferred but at least, breath and urine. Were they clean or dirty?
If dirty you need to call a lawyer, and suspend or fire the driver.
2) Cell phone and gadget use while driving.
3) Are you able to obtain telemetry from the vehicle and/or QUALCOMM to review driving behavior?
4) Were there any tickets written to your driver, and what for? Find out with the state DA if they are criminal or traffic infractions.

I hope it all works out for you Good luck.
Bob Wolf

 

[cheri1122]

We are being optimistic about this and hope they will understand her side regarding how the accident occurred, as tomorrow I think we will get a answer and move on in the best way possible.

Forgot to mention that the TT that was hit took off after accident, that hopefully will work in favor.

Another thing that may work in the driver's favor [or not]: if the insurance 'totals' the van and gives you a check for it, the van belongs to them, and they will examine the 'black box' to determine whether the driver's behavior caused or contributed to the accident. I don't know whether they do [or would] share that info, but it might be something that could help prove your driver's account.