Hi ,
I’m a full time employee of a clay mining company .
I work 8 hour shifts and regularly drive a company 8 wheeled tipper .
We have been asked to sign an insurance document that apart from the usual stuff about correct licenses etc has a contentious paragraph .
"As the driver of a vehicle you are totally responsible for the maintenance of that vehicle ".
I am reluctant to sign my name to that for various reasons .
If the paragraph read "As the driver, you are totally responsible for the road worthiness of that vehicle " i could accept it .
But I’m unhappy signing a legal document that implies I’m the one totally responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle . There is a chain of command , none of us do any maintenance tasks other than checking oil, tyres,lights etc. I.e. A normal walk round check .
Am i right to be worried? Should I sign it ?
Thanks
Alan
I doubt that this is an actual document from an insurance company, more likely it is your employer’s interpretation by some manager.
Your understanding of your responsbility is nearer the mark. Using the checklist supplied by your employer you are legally required to carry out a dilligent check of the vehicle and its load AND to report any concerns to whomever the company has nominated as the person to whom you must report.
Someone else - The nominated Transport Manager is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is presented for its Safety Inspections according to rota and that any defects have been assessed and rectified. That person is also responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is taxed and insured and has a valid MOT.
If you search “Check Operator Licence” on google and enter the O licence number from the vehicle disc you can find out who that person is.
In the short term if it was me I would cross out the word maintenance and subsitute above your signature wording which does reflect completing daily a walk around check of the vehicle and load according to the sheet you have been given.
Should you sign it ?..NO. I wouldn’t. You’re seemingly not employed as a skilled ‘mechanic’. What does your ‘contract of employment’ say you are employed as?
I definitely would NOT sign it. The maintenance of the vehicle is not your responsibility, that responsibility lies with someone suitably qualified, your responsibility is daily checks and to report any defects in the defects book, that book has to be accessible at all times. Get 100% support from your work colleagues.
Absolutely, NO.
As a driver the only thing that you are totally responsible for are the things that you have total control over, i.e. your standard of driving ec’t, how can you be totally responsible for something you have very limited control over 
You’re responsible for doing walk round checks and making the management aware of any vehicle defects or problems that you come across during your shift but that’s all.
I doubt that the contract has come from the companies insurance company or even been requested by the insurance company, This seems like a company or manager trying to shift their responsibilities onto the drivers.
I would not sign a contract that makes me responsible for things I have no control over so I would have to say No.
No! For all the reasons given above.
Either this document has been written and distributed without the knowledge of the nominated Transport Manager, they don’t understand English, or they are incompetent. I have just checked Gov UK (check operator) for a known operator and it lists the names of the directors, the name of the TM, the addresses of the operating centres and the number of vehicles authorised at each location along with the expiry date of the licence. I wouldn’t worry too much if you are bullied into signing as it is written, because the TM and directors will have signed an undertaking that THEY are responsible as a condition of being granted the licence. This doesn’t preclude your responsibility re checks and reporting.
Thanks for all the replies . As expected I’m not alone in thinking this statement is over the top for a simple driver to sign up to . I’ve found that it isn’t an insurance document at all , but an internal document that they will use to supply certain information to the insurance company with .
I also believe that the document is mainly formatted to apply to staff members with company cars, which is a whole different argument ,although the offending statement is still a little badly worded.
I modified my copy to read as per my original thoughts, i.e. I’m responsible for walk round checks and defect reporting. The supervisor wasn’t happy but tough. Various other people either crossed it out completely or didn’t sign at all so I’m not on my own .
The next few days will tell how they decide to deal with this .
Thanks for your help .
Alan
Oh, i forgot to mention , i don’t think we have a transport manager any more. We have 2 lorries and a bunch of wheeled loaders which are all supplied by an outside firm on service contracts . I might bring up the fact that I don’t have an operator cpc at the next opportunity .
Could be the wording is wrong,
Ask your boss
I had an argument with my supervisor about it this morning . He thinks that the offending statement is just referring to my responsibilities as a driver. I tried to point out that it actually encompasses far more than that but he wouldn’t have it . He appears to believe that a walk round check is maintenance .
It may well be part of the maintenance regime but it is certainly not proper maintenance, and any defects found are not my responsibility to fix nor can I ensure they get fixed. I can only fail it again on a new walk round check .
Sounds like your employer only has a retricted O licnece so is not required to have a qualifed Transport Manager. However they are still required to meet the same obligations as any other operator which means effectively that someone is nominated as the responsible person for legal compliance re transport.
I am guessing that there is no Union at your employer since if there is, then this is a matter for them to sort out regarding the document.
Gov UK is your friend since you can find answers to help. “Guide to maintaining Roadworthiness”, “HGV Testers Manual” and “Categorisation of Defects” can all be accessed on line as can “DVSA Roadside Checks: fines and financial deposits” . These contain relatively simple descriptions of the criteria relating to defects and their assessment and severity. Themiddle two should be very helpful if you are in the situation of some suit telling you to take a vehicle out which has a defect you have just reported. You can look up the defect to see whether it fails MOT or warrants a roadside prohibition. Having done that you can ask for it to be assessed by a suitably technically qualified person.
Keep on doing what you’re doing, if you changed the wording and signed it wait and see what happens
Who owns the trucks, it reads like a sentence on a contract if someone were leasing the truck ( responsibility for all maintenance)