Company Car Accident

mcgills38

Looking for some advice...

Recently started a new job within the last month whereby I was given a company car that the previous employee had - I have to keep this until Sep 16 when the lease is up. The car is a 62 plate car with 82000 miles on it.

Since getting it I have had to put it in the garage 4 times due to faulty brakes, wheels & cracked screen, all of these were issues which I inherited from the previous user.

Yesterday whilst I was in a meeting the handbrake snapped, the car rolled down a hill and crashed into another car. I exchanged company insurance details and got the drivers, submitted to fleet department and took charge of a hire vehicle.

I have now been told I must attend a disciplinary for having a 'crash' in a company vehicle. I find this unfair as..

1) the car has had multiple faults all ready
2) i wasn't in the car at the time, the handbrake had been applied and was still on when recovery came

What is the best way to proceed with this please?

Thanks - M

dawyldthing

What does it say in your contract regarding the car? Did the last mot bring any of the problems up?

comeandgo

i would be calling you a numpty for not having the car in gear.

mcgills38

'What does it say in your contract regarding the car? Did the last mot bring any of the problems up?' - Nothing in my contract relating to accidents. The car is due its first MOT in september/october this year, previously it has only been serviced to which no faults listed.

'i would be calling you a numpty for not having the car in gear.' - I have never left a car in gear, including my own private vehicle. That being said multiple people have since told me this is the thing to do, and therefore I will need to start doing this!

TELLIT01

Parking the car in gear is a good idea, but I will admit it's not something I do as a matter of course but would do if parking on a hill.

If you can prove that the handbrake failed then I don't see that the incident is your fault.

patman99

It now mentions leaving the car in gear when parking on a hill in the latest highway code.

This 'crash' was not your fault. You will be given the chance to put your side of the incicdent. In your case, your report would be "I was siiting in a meeting when the incident happened and was unaware of what had occured until afterwards".

You cannot be held responsible for the car rolling into another vehicle due to mechanical failure when you were not in the vehicle to take avoiding action.

sangie595

patman99 wrote: »

You cannot be held responsible for the car rolling into another vehicle due to mechanical failure when you were not in the vehicle to take avoiding action.

mcgills38 wrote: »

Recently started a new job within the last month ..... I find this unfair as..

Unfortunately, yes you can be "held responsible" because with less than two years service you can be dismissed for almost any reason or none at all.


All you can do is put your explanation and hope they are reasonable about it.

bap98189

Is this an actual disciplinary meeting, or just an investigation? In many companies it is standard practice to have an investigation after an incident or accident. Often this is to find the cause, and see if something can be done to prevent it happening again. It needn't lead to a disciplinary unless someone involved has been negligent.

19lottie82

dawyldthing wrote: »

Did the last mot bring any of the problems up?

Car is under 3 years old so there wouldn't be an MOT

maninthestreet

If the crash was due to a malfunction of the hand brake, and not because
you didn't apply it properly, then you should be not be disciplined. Who determined that the handbrake had 'snapped'??

Ozzuk

I wonder if the company insurance will have to cover the car you hit, if the handbrake snapped and it isn't down to negligence then I'm guessing they aren't liable to damage to the other car - same if a wheel comes off a lorry and hits your car.

If so, I also feel sorry for the other car owner but thats why we have insurance!

I think for your disciplinary the key question is did the handbrake snap or was it slipping/not applied properly. If snap, then not your issue.