How hard is it to drive a car?

[.:4:.]

To start. I'm talking about a small company who relies on a small fleet of service vehicles. I had a van for 6 and a half years and the only accident I had was when a tray back ute pulled in on me gouging the drivers door (not too badly) and knocking the mirror off. I nut and bolted the mirror back on and the thing looked a little ugly, the boss got the payout as I was not at fault but chose not to get it fixed as time off the road costs money. Whatever, I gave up on washing the thing because it looked ugly. I do wash the ute I have now because it has no damage. Out of the 2 other service guys in my team. The old bloke (top guy the be honest and not a bad tradesman) has never washed his van in the past year he has been working here, and has scraped 2 yellow parking bollards. If he cleaned the yellow paint off and gave the thing a wash the dents wouldn't look as bad, and you wouldn't look as bad to clients. I personally think that how you keep your car says alot about yourself. Old or new, cheap or expensive, knocked around or not, if it's clean you come across as a person who takes pride in what they are all about. I even (mind you I don't get paid to, so it's spray only) wax my ute once a month because it's straight and I don't like being seen in a filth trady ute. Then there is the young one. Good worker, but could not reverse park a car with auto park. 5 accidents last year, mostly minor, but I would refuse to drive a car that has a 2 inch gap from the top of the drivers door to where it should be. Last week his went in to be smash repaired and I got the phone call from him asking about any prior damage on my old van that he has been driving. I hoofed it over there to have a look. The damage I copped by the other ute can easily be calmed on again. The indicator I kindly gaff taped back in was new damage as well as the swipe from behind the drivers door masking what was done when I got pulled into, and the front bar was half off. Surely it cannot be that hard to drive a car. I got my p plates in 04 and have never had an at fault incident (have been rear ended before) then someone with 14 months experience has 6 in 14 months (not including the damage on his personal car that cannot pass rego) in work cars? It's coming to the point where I'm going to have to do a monthly condition report on the work ute. It's not that hard to drive.

[GO FURTHER]

I agree with you that how you present yourself to customers especially and people in general is important.

While we should not do it.... Most people tend to "judge a book by its cover" as they say.

Not only that, people you've never met, will sum you up or pre-judge you in the first 10 seconds of meeting you. So first impressions are paramount.

It's not only how well a person keeps his car tidy and clean, but also how they dress and their personal grooming.

My attitude tends to be, if a tradie rolls up to give me a quote and is unorganized, untidy, car is dirty in fine weather and he / she obviously looks they have just woken up from a hang over, then what care and attention to my job and property are they going to give me if they don't care about themselves!

Regarding the young bloke and his 6 accidents in 14 months....

A good idea your boss could implement that would make employees more responsible with company vehicles is what one company I used to work for implemented.

The first car accident you had and where you were at fault, then the company would pay the excess on the insurance.

The second accident, then they would pay half the excess and make you pay the other half.

If you had a third at fault accident and anymore, then you would pay the entire excess and any increase on the insurance premium when it came up for renewal due to your accident history.

If the repair bill was less than the excess and not going through insurance, then they would make you pay it or deduct it in instalments off your pay monthly.

This was all written into your employment contract, so there was no argument later.

To encourage the employees to keep their vehicles clean, the company would pay for at least a weekly wash at a car wash during company time.

The company realized that their "frontline troops" were the face of their brand and were a reflection on the company itself, so a clean car, attire and personal grooming was very important to maintain the public image.

P.S. - Not trying to be the grammar police here, but your post would be a lot easier to read and digest if you broke it up into sentences on new lines and spaced it apart rather than one big paragraph... People will also tend to judge you on your written words

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by BAXRSIX

I agree with you that how you present yourself to customers especially and people in general is important.

While we should not do it.... Most people tend to "judge a book by its cover" as they say.

Not only that, people you've never met, will sum you up or pre-judge you in the first 10 seconds of meeting you. So first impressions are paramount.

It's not only how well a person keeps his car tidy and clean, but also how they dress and their personal grooming.

My attitude tends to be, if a tradie rolls up to give me a quote and is unorganized, untidy, car is dirty in fine weather and he / she obviously looks they have just woken up from a hang over, then what care and attention to my job and property are they going to give me if they don't care about themselves!

Regarding the young bloke and his 6 accidents in 14 months....

A good idea your boss could implement that would make employees more responsible with company vehicles is what one company I used to work for implemented.

The first car accident you had and where you were at fault, then the company would pay the excess on the insurance.

The second accident, then they would pay half the excess and make you pay the other half.

If you had a third at fault accident and anymore, then you would pay the entire excess and any increase on the insurance premium when it came up for renewal due to your accident history.

If the repair bill was less than the excess and not going through insurance, then they would make you pay it or deduct it in instalments off your pay monthly.

This was all written into your employment contract, so there was no argument later.

To encourage the employees to keep their vehicles clean, the company would pay for at least a weekly wash at a car wash during company time.

The company realized that their "frontline troops" were the face of their brand and were a reflection on the company itself, so a clean car, attire and personal grooming was very important to maintain the public image.

P.S. - Not trying to be the grammar police here, but your post would be a lot easier to read and digest if you broke it up into sentences on new lines and spaced it apart rather than one big paragraph.

The funny thing I find in your post, is that I'm 29, and if I get the short back and sides clean shave and all the rest I look like I'm 17 again. As stupid as that sounds, being the senior (not the oldest person, but people from the fire game don't have the same experience that I do with things like cbus or timers, and I have been at the firm longer then anyone and know the buildings backwards) I gave up on short hair years ago. I'm good at communicating, but I found clients didn't trust me when I looked so young. I even had times when they requested th old bloke's do the job and they stuffed them up. There is a reason why I try to look older and communicate well. It not only gains new clients but it turns old ones into people who I consider friends. As much as it helps the company out, it makes my time at work easier dealing with people I appreciate. I don't fleace them on quotes or anything, I leave that for the people who make my job difficult

[b0son]

How often do you clean your toaster? For most people a car is an appliance, they take about as much pride in it as they would a toaster.

[commodorenutt]

I hear ya'

Back when company cars were common (before Dudd did the last ditch with the FBT that Hockey had to quickly reverse when Abbott got in - which sent shivers up accountants everywhere, and nearly killed novated leasing) where I worked it was almost impossible not to have a company car unless you were in a junior or basic internal role.

Because of this, and the limited choice, many employees (at various companies in the last 25 years) haven't cared at all about their company cars.

I was amazed when I went to get in a rep's car with him one day to go for lunch, and he moved his smelly, muddy football boots from the passenger floor, throwing them onto the back seat. The back seat was awash with empty cans, lolly wrappers, and Maccas bags. It smelt disgusting. I love my food, but that day I couldn't eat lunch. He wasn't the worst.

When I was on the road for a period, I took the view that the car is your haven, and a clean, tidy interior made it a much nicer place to be. I can't stand rubbish left in cars. I don't like eating in the car unless I absolutely must, and then wherever I get to (even if it's just a servo) the rubbish/leftovers is tossed as soon as possible.
As mentioned in a few other threads, I'm drumming the same attitude into a 6 & 2 year old at present. If we've been somewhere, take all your rubbish with you.
Nothing worse than sitting in a mobile rubbish bin, especially one that stinks.

I'm not the best at keeping up car washes. All the companies I worked for with company cars never paid for washes (I do like that concept though) so I'd do it maybe once a month. Silver was the best colour for hiding dirt. I had numerous light blue or silver cars

One company used to do "spot inspections" where HR and the fleet manager would call you up at your desk & simply say "meet you in the carpark at your car in 5 minutes" - then they'd watch out the window as the "victim" did a mad dash through the carpark in a futile attempt to get all the rubbish out before the inspection. One of the good things to come from that was a "grub ranking" where those who abused their cars the worst were first in line to be given hand-me-downs from resigning or redundant employees, rather than a new car.

In 20+ years of driving company cars some 800,000+km, I only had 4 accidents - all not my fault. Worst was a head-on with a red-light running P-plater. Another was a woman who changed lanes onto my AU. Least damage was a stop-sign runner who hit my wife driving a 3 week old car. Most recent was a loose 2400x1200 sheet of structural ply that off a truck some 6 years back.

We had a similar insurance rule at most companies - first accident in a 3 year period they'll cover, but after that you pay the entire excess. After 3 years it resets. I only know of 2 guys who were made to pay it. One guy was fooling around with married women and had 2 cars fire-bombed in 3 months. He never got a new car again.

Speeding fines were another thing - the letters would come to HR, who would dish them out to the offending drivers. I once went in to HR and the lady didn't know my name. First thing she said was "I mustn't have had to find you to give you a speed camera fine." Some guys were frequent flyers in that department....

Only one colleague has ever lost their licence - for high range drink driving. He had to be driven around by a junior rep during his ban. When he got it back, we had to send the car off to be fitted with an interlock. We eventually had to sack him after a council representative turned up to give us a bill for a rubbish truck he collected driving home one night. He hadn't turned up for work for 2 days, so we went to his house and the damaged car was parked the wrong way in the street, with the damaged side facing the kerb. He tried to claim the rubbish truck must have hit it while it was parked.... it was his 3rd & final written warning.


The comments about tidy car / tidy work are very valid, but I also think you need to add that a work vehicle is your workplace for a large proportion of the day, and YOU have the control over how it is maintained (cleanliness) so it's a reflection of your personal values & standards as well.

It never ceases to amaze me that people I have held in high regard because of the way they dress, groom, and present themselves verbally or in written form in an office environment, can shoot that to pieces by being a total grub in their company or personal car. When you get in their car & cop it, it's almost like finding out that a good-looking girl is actually a tranny.... devastating.....

[b0son]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

We had a similar insurance rule at most companies - first accident in a 3 year period they'll cover, but after that you pay the entire excess.

Not sure how legal that is, though I don't disagree with it.

Only one colleague has ever lost their licence - for high range drink driving. He had to be driven around by a junior rep during his ban.

If its normal for two people to travel together for work, ok. But otherwise, he must have been pretty good to not lose his job?

[commodorenutt]

It was for 3 months, which also spanned Christmas, where he was forced to take 4 weeks leave, so it was about 8 weeks all up.

Not so much that he was important or good at the work, but he had existing relationships with a number of key customers who employed decision makers who hailed from the same village in his childhood country. The risk of losing some 20% of sales for the state due to backlash was something we had to weigh up.

In the end, he had to be dismissed, and the junior took over his area, and despite the fears, he kept all those customers, so it was worry for nothing.

[danzvtil]

My employment contract has a clause that the employee may be liable for the increase in premium after an at fault accident if they believe the car was driven in a reckless manner. The boss has never acted on this but it's up his sleeve just in case he has a pita staff member (no one currently).
It's also written in that in the event of loss of licence employment can be terminated, as we are reps who must be mobile at all times, again, never acted on, but may be a good way to get rid of a crap employee one day.
As for vehicle appearance, we have regular checks, and are often given gentle reminders about cleaning the company cars as they are sign written and represent the business.

[dutchie393]

(when half cut, or even when not, it's so hard to read a rant when it's entirely written as one paragraph... ) .... just saying

[Sabantien]

I agree with the idea that the vehicle should be kept clean and tidy. If I ever turned up to work with the public in a uniform that was unwashed and unironed, covered in food stains, etc, I'd cop it. A work car is an extension of the uniform. (This then relates to a previous thread about people road raging in company cars)

I think for a lot of people, the company car is like a rental. Not mine, thrash it and trash it.
But I was always brought up to treat other people's property even better than I treat my own, so it's not something I could bring myself to do.

It could be the people in the OP's post just don't care about the cars so don't bother trying to drive safely. Or it could be they're awful drivers. We see plenty of those on the roads!

[Junkyard-Dog]

I really want to talk about my experiences at work with the most unprofessional boss imaginable but I sense that would be going off topic.

Anyway, I treated the work van with utmost care and attention. The boss had a GPS tracker installed and would routinely monitor our whereabouts so it's not as if we could use it for anything outside of work anyway.

[Trump]

How hard is it to drive a car... going by my trip in this morning, rather difficult for a lot of the potatoes behind the wheel...

[Tassie f100]

In response to the original question,by watching young P platers speeding,driving? and texting all at the same time,I guess it's pretty easy.As regards washing the vehicle employees generally are paid to work their trade not wash cars.If the company want to keep a tidy professional image then the vehicles should be washed at company expense,unless the driver has time between finishing a job and knock off time is a little time away.

[EVL BOS]

For some people its really hard, at my work they have the 3 strikes rule if you have more than 3 at fault accidents in a 12 or 24 month period its immediate dismissal, no if buts or maybes your out. and if its a serious crash and the car is written off or someone is injured your either fired or on final warning.

When it comes to presentation my dad has a company car and at his work its written in his contract that his car has to be cleaned on a weekly basis and they do check.

[Itsme]

I know a truck company that will make you pay for the excess if you are at fault, sounds reasonable to me.

[.:4:.]

The policy at my work is pretty black and white. If your at fault, you pay the excess. If you smash a work car out of hours, they aren't insured for private use, so work have to falsify an after hours callout if they want any form of cover, but the risk of getting done for fraud is huge. With 5 out of 8 employees under 25, and the huge amount of accidents in the past 2 years (7 by the young ones) the company excess is $2400. That's motorvation enough for me to be careful in my ute, but it's not for some. One bloke didn't even realize that a loaded trailer on the back of a hilux = brakes not work good, so ended up rear ending someone. Very clever. That was an expensive lesson in towing.

[blackf6]

Try double shifting trucks. Hot seat it once. Nek minute damage that no one knows about.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Junkyard-Dog

I really want to talk about my experiences at work with the most unprofessional boss imaginable but I sense that would be going off topic.

Anyway, I treated the work van with utmost care and attention. The boss had a GPS tracker installed and would routinely monitor our whereabouts so it's not as if we could use it for anything outside of work anyway.

There is a reason my boss chooses not to have gps trackers fitted. He doesn't want anyone to get a sense of mistrust. We all have the spoken agreement that we are allowed to use the work cars out of hours, and the 3 of us with work cars on the tools (it's part of the managers pay deal so they are allowed to in writing) all do. I do have a personal car but my brother has been driving it for years because I am helping his cause. It only got a run to the shop here or there to keep it going anyway. The 2 verbal rules on the cars being used out of hours are don't smash them and if you go up the coast on the weekend or whatever, put your own fuel in, don't use the fuel card. We do however have gps tracking on our job cards, it sends a place stamp whenever you send one in. That was only to keep one person honest who clearly was only doing a 6 hour day and many small jobs weren't getting done. Administration has no problem that the stamp on all my paperwork comes from home after hours regardless of the times on the cards. It just a scare tactic, and I'm trusted by all those above me. They know I only do it to cover excessive travel to places like brookvale from botany for 5 minute jobs, clients arc up about 2 hour charges for trivial things.

[dunga]

Originally Posted by Trump

How hard is it to drive a car... going by my trip in this morning, rather difficult for a lot of the potatoes behind the wheel...

You don't have to be able to drive to get a licence I see evidence of this every day.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by dunga

You don't have to be able to drive to get a licence I see evidence of this every day.

One of my clients is across the road from an rta. The amount of accidents by people who have only made it 2m out of the driveway after getting their reds is hilarious. Not that is funny because of some of the damage and injuries, it's more the fact that someone has just passed a driving test only to prove they really cannot drive. Some of the motorbikes that get nailed hard sends shivers up my spine.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

The funny thing I find in your post, is that I'm 29, and if I get the short back and sides clean shave and all the rest I look like I'm 17 again. As stupid as that sounds, being the senior (not the oldest person, but people from the fire game don't have the same experience that I do with things like cbus or timers, and I have been at the firm longer then anyone and know the buildings backwards) I gave up on short hair years ago. I'm good at communicating, but I found clients didn't trust me when I looked so young. I even had times when they requested th old bloke's do the job and they stuffed them up. There is a reason why I try to look older and communicate well. It not only gains new clients but it turns old ones into people who I consider friends. As much as it helps the company out, it makes my time at work easier dealing with people I appreciate. I don't fleace them on quotes or anything, I leave that for the people who make my job difficult

I know all about that. I was fully qualified in my job at age 21 after 3 years of being with the company. At age 22 I was giving a new trainee as my work partner. He was mid 40's and brand new to the industry. Every time we had to deal with a 3rd party they would start talking to him and ignore me until he pointed out he had no idea what they were talking about and directed them towards me.


As for how hard is it to drive a car. Well some people seam to just have no skill or just don't care and don't try to learn.

I have always found driving pretty easy. I remember the first time I drove on my L's. My mum asked how I knew how to do drive so well.
But some people who have had their license for 20 or more years are freaking out trying to park a small hatch front in in a space at a shopping centre car park.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Ben73

I know all about that. I was fully qualified in my job at age 21 after 3 years of being with the company. At age 22 I was giving a new trainee as my work partner. He was mid 40's and brand new to the industry. Every time we had to deal with a 3rd party they would start talking to him and ignore me until he pointed out he had no idea what they were talking about and directed them towards me.


As for how hard is it to drive a car. Well some people seam to just have no skill or just don't care and don't try to learn.

I have always found driving pretty easy. I remember the first time I drove on my L's. My mum asked how I knew how to do drive so well.
But some people who have had their license for 20 or more years are freaking out trying to park a small hatch front in in a space at a shopping centre car park.

I used to find it hilarious when I was 23 and the client would go straight to the 17 year old first year over myself and ask a technical question only to receive a puzzled look, then get referred to me. As for learning to drive, after mums anxiety attacks for teaching an L plater, after the first outing she asked how I knew how to drive. She found out when I was 25. Driving my brother up the shop since I was 12 when he was way to drunk to drive. I don't condone that at all, but I was impressionable back then and it sounded like a good idea.