Apparently, up to 30 per cent of commercial truck accidents aren’t reported by their drivers. Generally these are accidents where they haven’t been at fault and the truck driver assumes that the other driver will make a claim on their insurance policy if they need to.
This is bizarre as it’s very unlikely that the same drivers would do this in their own private vehicle, whether they drive a Honda or a Ferrari, an old rust bucket or one of the eco cars UK consumers now own in bigger numbers. With their own cars, there is perhaps more of a sense of responsibility. Sometimes, not reporting an accident in a work truck may be down to embarrassment or a hope that no one will find out. But quite often the non-reporting is because the driver doesn’t know how to go about it.
The person responsible for managing a commercial fleet of trucks and drivers should brief drivers on how to go about reporting accidents. All insurance companies provide accident report forms and a copy should be kept in each truck, ready to use if and when needed. Train the drivers on how to complete these forms.
The most important thing is that the drivers think on their feet at the time of a collision. Take down as much information as possible. Gather facts – don’t accuse anyone of anything.
First off, make sure no one has been hurt. Assuming not, then make sure everyone is out of danger and then go ahead and get the other driver’s details. Note the date, time and place the accident happened. Take a note of other vehicles’ registrations and drivers’ names, whether they had passengers.
Blame shouldn’t be discussed until the police arrive. If anyone has a camera, take pictures of damage and position of the vehicles. Drivers should also note down a description of how the accident happened, and draw a diagram to illustrate it. They should contact their fleet manager and then the insurance company.
Claims that go in with full and clear details are handled much more quickly than those with sketchy information.