Well, guys, I had my 1st official "accident" if you wanna call it that. I was doing P&D in the city with a 53' van. I had come up to one of those 4-way intersections where each side has 2 lanes; one for going straight or right & the other for left turn only. I was taking a left & had a good set up. On the opposing side where I was turning, there were 2 guys in a mid-90s Jeep Cherokee. When the light turned green, I made the cut as wide as I possibly could. The guy in the Cherokee started backing up thinking I was going to hit him(I guess). Just to give him some reassurance, I cut back to the right & pulled part of the rig up on the curb. When I started cutting back in, I checked my tracking & saw it was close, but there was daylight between my trailer & his Jeep. So: I went about my business.
I made it about 1.5 miles when the Jeep came screaming out of no where & pulled up on the side of me. The guy in the passenger seat rolled his window down & says "OH! You hit us!". Hit you? I say to myself. I followed the Jeep to a vacant lot & get out. The driver said I smashed his mirror when I made the turn & "took off". The guy says "Look!"; he pulls his mirror down & the spring that holds it to the door was loose, but went right back into place when he let it go(
smashed?
). I looked @ the mirror- there was no damage to the ouside mirror housing & the mirror itself wasn't cracked or broken. The way I saw it, even if I rubbed his mirror, it would've taken out his front fender & ripped the mirror clean off.
I say; "Look, give me your insurance info & I'll call dispatch & report the accident." Suddenly the guy's demeanor changes; "Nah, I don't wanna ruin your day, I've got stuff to do, you've got stuff to do....." Then I'm like; "No, really. I don't have a problem reporting this. I'll call my dispatch right now & I'll pay for your mirror." He goes back to "It's no big deal, it's an old Jeep..."
To make a long story short, I tried everything I could to get this guy's info. He gave me a business card with his name, & the number to his desk. This wasn't going to do. I say "How about this: I'll give you my cell phone number & just so you know it's not bogus, call it so you know it's legit." The guy calls my phone to check---BINGO! @ least I have his personal cell phone number now, instead of just a business card with a name that might not even be his! So I told the guy to call me & he said he would if he "needed a new mirror". When I got back to the terminal, I told my boss about it & filled out an accident report, just to cover my butt. It's been a few weeks now & I haven't heard a thing from him.
Funny thing is: he went through all that trouble to go after me, pull me over, complain about his mirror, & then say it was no big deal & hadn't contacted me for anything yet. I think someone broke their own mirror, & found an 18-wheeled excuse to get a new one.
12-11-2009, 07:24 AM
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