Hi, I have been a bread truck driver for a few years now. I worked for a private owner and he sold his route. So I started a new route with a new private owner. He trained me for a few days and we both agreed I was good to run the route by myself. My first night I hit the top of a building because his truck is a lot higher than my old one. I called the owner and asked him what to do and he told me to just drive out of there. So I listened to him and left. He met up with me and helped me finish the rest of the route. Am I liable for the damage done to his truck? Any help would really be appreciated. I am not on the books with him at this time until I was fully ready to run the route.

I don't know what you mean by liable. His insurance company would pay for the damages. As far as the deductible, if he decides it is your responsibility and you do not pay he may very well sue you and I believe he will win. You were, of course, the driver. He had no responsibility for the accident as he had no control of the vehicle.

Hello driver:

Running the route and whether you're responsible are TWO different things.

You ARE responsible - you wrecked the truck. If you pay him, I don't see why you can't still work for him.

He should have collision insurance, but you'll be responsible for his deductible. If he doesn't have collision, you're responsible for the entire cost...

The bad news doesn't stop there. You AND he, are also responsible for the damage you did to the thing you hit. You're also guilty of leaving the scene of an accident, and that ain't good, either.

excon

I don't run his route I am just a one day a week worker for him and I was new to the route.

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Originally Posted by Breaddriver

I dont run his route I am just a one day a week worker for him and I was new to the route.

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Hello again, driver:

That just makes you real unlucky and changes NOTHING.

excon

Another thing is I have a friend that owns a body shop and offered to fix the truck but he had his uncle do it instead without giving me an estimate or anything.

It's his right to go to a professional and get the work professionally done.

You were driving. He was not. No matter what the circumstances are, you are 100% liable for the damage.

It would have been nice if he had consulted with you but he is under no obligation to do so - and if he ends up suing you for the damage you can always argue that the charge was higher than you would have had to pay - if you can prove it.

His argument will be that this is his work vehicle and he didn't have time to "fool around" getting estimates.

The Court will decide.

I always thought that as the owner you take a chance when you hire someone to work for you. I did not purposely hit the building. I also thought that being a commercial vehicle it would have to have full coverage. I was not on the books at the time and had permission to drive the truck.

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Originally Posted by Breaddriver

I always thought that as the owner you take a chance when you hire someone to work for you. I did not purposely hit the building. I also thought that being a commercial vehicle it would have to have full coverage. I was not on the books at the time and had permission to drive the truck.

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You thought wrong -

"Taking a chance" does not mean someone can hit a building and have no responsibility for the damages. In fact, what do you mean by "taking a chance"?

In a perfect World, who would you find responsible for hitting the building and the subsequent damage? The owner of the vehicle, although he didn't have custody/control of the vehicle? The owner of the vehicle because he hired you in the first place - and apparently shouldn't have? The building?

A commercial vehicle does NOT have to have full coverage, any more than a private vehicle does NOT have to have full coverage.

Being on the books or not on the books, having permission to drive or not having permission to drive changes nothing. I would recommend AGAINST the whole, "I was working off the books" argument. The fact that both of you were engaged in something illegal (working off the books) does not change the facts of the accident.

My suspicion is if you allowed someone to drive your personal vehicle and they brought it back damaged you'd have a very different opinion on this subject.

At any rate, I'm a liability investigator. What I have told you is how it is.

First off I'm 22 years old and have never been in an accident before. And accidents do happen I forget a piece of bread every now and than doesn't mean it should come out of my pay. I don't appreciate the way you said he shouldn't have hired me. So just stop talking

Hello again, driver:

What makes you think "full" coverage doesn't carry a deductible?? What makes you think the law makes him carry insurance that will only benefit HIM?? Nope. Full coverage is to make sure anybody he damages with his truck is going to be fully covered. The state doesn't care a whit about his truck.

Plus, you say he took no chances with YOU. Dude! He took a HUGE risk, and he's paying for it too. His truck is down. He needs a new part time driver. His insurance rates are going up. Plus, I did mention that he's liable for damage you caused to the structure.

But, you're going to SHARE in the costs because you were irresponsible with his property. It doesn't matter that you had permission. It doesn't matter that you were on or off the books. The only thing that matters is that YOU had an accident. Nobody is saying you did it on purpose. But, you are responsible. You were operating the truck. You could have noticed that it was bigger than your older one. You didn't. You should have. If you had done so, you might not have hit the thing. Wouldn't that be so??

Consequently, you are responsible for paying because you were irresponsible when you drove. If you drove MY car and had a wreck, I'd want you to pay for it. If I borrowed YOUR car, and wrecked it, you'd want ME to pay for it. Come on, Dude. It's not rocket science.

excon

And if he chooses to not go through his insurance company I am responsible for the full cost of the repair

No, YOU report it to his insurance company (if you have the info) OR YOU refuse to pay, he takes you to Court, the Court forces him to file with his insurance company.

You pay the deductible.

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Originally Posted by Breaddriver

and if he chooses to not go through his insurance company I am responsible for the full cost of the repair

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Hello again, driver:

Okee doakee, then... A piece of GOOD news for you...

He can make that choice if he likes. After all, his rates WILL go up if he makes a claim... But, you're only liable for his deductible. As I said earlier, if he didn't have collision, you'd be responsible for the entire cost... But, if he DOES have collision and refuses to use it, that's a different matter.

excon

If you have a CDL license as a professional driver then you would have KNOWN to GOAL (get out and look). This would have prevented you from wrecking into the building. Just because the truck was of a different height means nothing. As a professional driver it is your responsibility to GOAL period. You didn't and you wrecked into the building and then left the scene of the accident.

If you don't want this accident on your record I would suggest that you get together with the vehicle's owner and pay for the damage or pay for the deductible. Either way you are responsible for whatever damage you did to the vehicle. Working off the books is definitely no excuse or a good defense either.

I don't have a cdl the owner said I don't need one

I'm not a professional truck driver I am 22 and I do this on the weekend for some extra cash

Hello again, driver:

That's why I said you're unlucky.

But, I have MORE good news for you. You're young. This lesson is going to cost you a few bucks now, but in the long run, you'll save a bunch by knowing what you now know.

Lots of people never learn this lesson and it costs them bunches and bunches. They lose relationships too. But, you're not going to anymore. You'll take responsibility from now on.

Did I mention that you're young? That ain't BAD news.

excon

First, I have a good friend that drives a bread truck and yes of course if you lose bread it comes out of your pay check, if not, you are lucky. The load is counted and loaded, if it is missing, the driver is liable. Some companies allow a few percent of missing items, but not a lot.

But the driver is even charged back if there is too much stale bread picked up and turned back in.

So the owner of the route is eating this for you if he is not charging you back.

As for the wreck, you are liable for the deductable, I know a lot of commercial trucks have 1000 or higher deductable because of the high cost

If you have to pay for every time u short someone something you would wind up owing the owner money at the end of the route. I take out over 1,500$ dollars worth of bread for 140 bucks looks like we are going to have to go to court over this. If I hire a 18 year old kid to run my route and he gets into an accident I can't expect him to pay for the entire accident.