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Myth or Truth...
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plastictaffy
Member
I don't doubt that GB - I bow down to your superior knowledge 
but I'm sure I heard somewhere that it MAY depend on what incidents and how severe they are.
*edit* - only read the first line of your reply and jumped the gun a bit. Story of my life.
but I'm sure I heard somewhere that it MAY depend on what incidents and how severe they are.*edit* - only read the first line of your reply and jumped the gun a bit. Story of my life.
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mtbox
Member
If you have a "top link" TOC like Virgin/XC /EC etc and they recruit for drivers, they get many drivers applying and I think if any of those drivers have a spad or serious sol incident on record, I think they would be right at the back of the list.
But I know of several drivers who have had a spad going to other companies other than the above, both to freight and TOC'S.
It also depends on circumstances, for example, how a driver handled a situation like a spad/overrun etc, did they stay calm and follow all rules and procedures, or panic and fall to pieces, or try to cover something up etc?
But I know of several drivers who have had a spad going to other companies other than the above, both to freight and TOC'S.
It also depends on circumstances, for example, how a driver handled a situation like a spad/overrun etc, did they stay calm and follow all rules and procedures, or panic and fall to pieces, or try to cover something up etc?
If you fail to follow procedures, or hide something, that's when you end up out on your ear!
It depends on how picky the company can afford to be. Not "game over", but certainly a serious handicap. The "Top Link" companies have more than enough applicants, who've clean records.
mtbox
Member
Well I should of worded that better, of course if you try to cover something up, or wilfully go against the rules, then you are highly likely to get the boot.
I have known a couple of instances though when drivers have not quite done the right thing post incident, but they held their hands up and eventually went back driving after "retraining"
It's not the point that a safety record is not clean it is the competition, a company will take a qualified driver with a clean safety record over any other and this is where the myth lies. For instance there was a role available at a depot for 2 positions, there were 22 applicants, the 2 drivers who got the jobs were the only 2 with a clean record.
JB25
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TDK I have seen you post om here many times so I think you know what you are talking about! How difficult would you say it is to keep a perfect record as a driver? So far I am coming up to two years post qualified and don't have any SoL incidents to my name. It is something I am proud of, but am fully aware that an incident can happen out of the blue.
I'd be interested to know what percentage of train drivers manage to keep a clean record.
There are many drivers with a clean record, I have done 16 years clean. It is all down to preparation and delivery of your task. I have always been slightly OCD where everything has to be correct, I read my diagram, all of it the day before I do the job so I know if there are any out of course work or station stops, I ensure I have good route knowledge and have lists for everything with mileages, I do what I am asked to do, if they say notch the power up, I notch the power up, if they say notch 5 at a caution signal I use notch 5, if they say 15mph 200m from a red I do 15mph, however I have had what is known in the trade as near misses, nothing serious but I call them wake up calls so even with the direct approach no one is infallible.
It is hard to keep a perfect record but it helps if you abide by the PDP, look ahead for instance check the weather on the way to work, check anything that is out of course, look at the notice cases etc. when things start to go wrong with your unit or anything else just stay calm and stick to the rules.
I used to investigate incidents and many could have easily been prevented by preparation, keeping to the PDP and staying calm in an out of course situation.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
This is true, if a driver does have SOL incidents on their record it does depend on the length of time since the incident (s), the severity with a SPAD or collision being the most severe and minor speeding being the least, there is a lot that goes into an investigation of a SOL incident even the drivers previous shifts, breaks, lifestyle, fatigue index to name a few and the 3 things that are asked are:
1. What happened ( easy to decipher)
2. How did it happen ( easy to decipher )
3. Why did it happen (very difficult to decipher )
Many companies will ask for the reports from incidents and if they do the driver needs to give their consent.
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