If I were looking to employ a driver, I’d sooner start with an honest man who made a mistake and admitted it than a liar who turns out to be no better.
I can forgive a man for being “economical with the truth” by playing down the circumstances, that’s human nature; but a driver who denied outright having any accidents on his record then turned out to have been trained on dodgems wouldn’t get a job with me.
My advice would be to tell the truth if you are asked, and stress the fact that you have learned from your mistake.
So you’ve got a driver who says he’s had no accidents & one who says he’s written his last truck off, who do you employ?
I’m sorry guys I like an honest man as much as the next but if you admit you’ve taken a whiz in the coffee, I ain’t going to drink it.
Silver_Surfer:
So you’ve got a driver who says he’s had no accidents & one who says he’s written his last truck off, who do you employ?
Neither till you’ve checked their references, and had them out for a driving assessment.
lizard:
…
I was sacked on the phone whilst waiting for recovery.
20 mins after I was sacked and 1 phone call later I was in a new job and ive been here 9 years now.
so don’t be disheartened just keep your chin up and something will come your way.
I was told a story about a lad I used to work with.
Has an argument with the boss over the cab phone whilst in the services.
Call ends with boss shouting “your ■■■■■■ sacked” and phone getting slammed down.
A day later gets a call on his own phone asking where he is, working for his new firm he replies.
Where’s my bloody wagon then.
I assume it’s still where it was when you sacked me.
He’d simply packed his gear booked off, stuck the keys in the visor and cadged a lift home.
Also knew a lad who’d smashed a company car to bits and left it in a field.
Logged the milage and made his way back to cam where he booked it back in.
All hell breaks loose once the police find it and start ringing round local camps.
Anyhoo back on thread.
Own up chances are you’ll need a reference.
Plus drivers are helpful it only takes someone to bump into someone you know and the whole “yeah he wrote of a wagon and that’s why he was sacked” story to come out and your in it.
Much better to tick the “have you ever been sacked” with only one tick than having to write in “yes twice one for lying and one for an accident”
Soldier z:
lizard:
…
I was sacked on the phone whilst waiting for recovery.
20 mins after I was sacked and 1 phone call later I was in a new job and ive been here 9 years now.
so don’t be disheartened just keep your chin up and something will come your way.
I was told a story about a lad I used to work with.
Has an argument with the boss over the cab phone whilst in the services.
Call ends with boss shouting “your [zb] sacked” and phone getting slammed down.
A day later gets a call on his own phone asking where he is, working for his new firm he replies.
Where’s my bloody wagon then.
I assume it’s still where it was when you sacked me.
He’d simply packed his gear booked off, stuck the keys in the visor and cadged a lift home.
"
I’m not sure I get the relevance of this bit? Surely if he been sacked it would be the bosses responsibility to get his own ■■■■ truck back? Good on him! 
Bit of a paradox this one… If the firm chose not to involve the police, they are saying this particular incident of “gross misconduct” involved no “breaking of laws the police might be interested in”… Ok, I would have it “I broke no law, so you’d be breaking the law by sacking me when there’s apparently no case to answer”.
Having an accident by itself does not constitute “gross misconduct” nor “breaking the law”.
It’s all going to be about what has not been said here. The firm will just refuse to give a reference, rather than elect to give a bad one “this guy smashes up kit” will never appear in a “reference” as far as I’m concerned.
Just tell your next prospective employer “I parted company with my last firm under a cloud. No lawbreaking was involved.”
Let them draw their own conclusions. There are not many firms who’d get snotty and turn a punter down for a job because he shagged his previous employer’s daughter/wife/bit of office skirt etc etc. (another example of what would consititute "gross misconduct that doesn’t break the law - right?) Let them think that of you from what has not been said. 
Keep quiet about it, I’ve lied to get all my jobs and not once to my knowledge has a company called for a reference, mite be different if you go and work for the likes of nd and Eddie etc, honesty gets you no where in driving.
Just a quick question that occurred to me. What’s your accident record like? If you’ve had a few and it’s cost your firm a fair bit, then they may see this one as bringing the company into disrepute due to poor driving standards, and a lot of companies class it as Gross Misconduct…However, what does their policy state under the Gross misconduct heading?
Just asking like…
as ROG says, be honest,thats all you can do and hope for the best,good luck
Surely, having a single accident - even a bad one - doesn’t constitute “gross misconduct”. Furious Driving is another matter though, but in this case, it’s seriously against the law, which isn’t the case in this thread’s argument - right?
I dunno if multiple accidents in a short duration would constitute “gross misconduct”, but I know shagging the bosses wife usually does. 
If the charge was “Gross misconduct due to the misappropriation and use of a company vehicle”…
One gets caught shagging on the bunk, and the final straw was having a ■■■ afterwards!
Thanks for all the replies and advice. I have decided to be honest, but play it down if asked a direct question of ‘ever had any accidents’. As regards to questions about previous employers and references. I will just continue to use the same references I supplied when I worked for my last job.
I don’t recall being asked any questions on interview with this firm about my previous employment as a driver i.e. accidents or why did you leave.
I went straight to an agency. The main reason is to put some employment history between my last permanent position and the next one. Although I am now back applying for jobs again.
By the way. Facts are that I fell asleep, albeit for a few seconds, about 10 minutes from getting back to depot after a night shift. Crazy thing is I had a good 50 minute break just less than an hour previous to the accident. Previous driving history regarding ‘accidents’ is that I have never had one but have had a few minor ‘incidents’ of rear light clusters being taken out by debris in the road or someone else reversing/moving their truck and taking out 2 of my curtain straps whilst I was away from my vehicle in the services.
I knew a guy who drove into the side of a car writing it off. he was speeding and didn’t look and pulled straight across into the side of her. he was sacked but had a full time job within a few days. might have been less pay or a more ■■■■ job but it was still a full time job