stop being such a big girls blouse. it's got air bags.
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Colleague's dreadful driving...
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Posted 4 months ago #
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Are you often a passenger with other drivers?
99% of the time I'm in a car it's me who is driving and when someone else is driving I usually feel uncomfortable with their driving but I put that down down being in the passenger seat and having a slightly different view.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Encourage him to bring his granny along on trips. You are statistically less likely to crash when you have an elderly female relative in the back seat.
It's a shame it has to be such a thorny issue though, critiquing someone's driving is pretty much the only thing more taboo than criticising their parenting skills. I don't think poor/fast/aggressive drivers realise how many friends and opportunities they loose. I have pool of freelancers that work for me, but no matter what their professional skills, and even though driving isn't part of the job- if I don't like the way they drive I find myself skipping past them when putting calls out for crew.
Posted 4 months ago # -
A few years ago I offered to drive when going to an early morning meeting with a colleague as I knew he usually spent his evenings stoned out of his mind and I wanted to ensure we got to the meeting safely. He also had a reputation for driving like a plank.
Said colleague promptly got into my car and decided he would criticise my driving at every available opportunity. After missing a turn off because he distracted me by going on about how crap everybody else was at driving compared to him I decided enough was enough. I pulled a hand brake turn to make a 'directional adjustment'. It was on a busy street and proved quite effective; he didn't say a word for the whole of the return journey. We also got to the meeting on time. Bad driving can work wonders sometimes.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Encourage him to bring his granny along on trips. You are statistically less likely to crash when you have an elderly female relative in the back seat.
Unfortunately his granny will be long gone. Even mine are no longer available for such duties... ...nice idea though.
It's a shame it has to be such a thorny issue though, critiquing someone's driving is pretty much the only thing more taboo than criticising their parenting skills.
you've probably hit the nail on the head there.Are you often a passenger with other drivers?
reasonably often (long taxi rides to and from airports in foreign countries, travelling with the wife, travelling with friends to go biking, travelling with other colleagues). Some of them are "interesting" but I don't think I ever remember being in a car with anyone who seemed so unaware of the other traffic around him.I'd refuse to be a passenger and if he's offended then he's offended.
mmm... not sure - if he's offended I might be out of a job.Do you have any HR or legal people, either in-house or external?
no this is a company with less than a dozen people - access to the lawyers is all through him, and so whilst I know of some big companies who do as you do (often driven by trying to keep insurance premiums down - which doesn't apply to us as we have no company vehicles) - in these times of austerity I can't imagine convincing him that it helps the business to be spending money on this stuff - he presumably doesn't perceive a problem or he would offer to book the car in my name; either that or my driving scares him so much he can't bare it!Lots of companies are revising rules about cars and their use, and going out of their way to minimise their risks under recent corporate manslaughter legislation. Ours has recently been revised, no phone use in car at all, anyone on car allowance or in company cars, or who hires them for their work has to do a driving assessment, etc. If you're not doing that then it would be a very opportune time to suggest that the company does, if you don't want to shop him explicitly.
I'm going to see if the DVLA website has any information on warning them about other people who may no longer be fit to drive, then I'll make sure long enough passes so its not obviously the scary driving this week that triggered any enquiries.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Unfortunately his granny will be long gone. Even mine are no longer available for such duties... ...nice idea though.
Hmmmm, maybe its hearses I'm thinking of, with the old lady in the back - they go pretty slowly, it would explain why there would be fewer accidents. Not so many hearses available to hire from airports though
anyone on car allowance or in company cars, or who hires them for their work has to do a driving assessment, etc. If you're not doing that then it would be a very opportune time to suggest that the company does, if you don't want to shop him explicitly.
See if there is any literature published about this, some mailing lists perhaps, order some in his name, or at least leave it lying around
Posted 4 months ago # -
Watch the film "Horrible Bosses" - there's some great ideas in there.
----------------------------------------------------Maybe suggest that the firm sponsors an Advanced Driving programme and he could take first go?
You can go down one of 2 routes - the first that many have suggested will not improve his driving - even if you are not in the car his driving will always be poor.
The 2nd is to try to improve his driving, or at least get a professional to point out his shortfalls.(I had a new recruit whose driving was awful - I put him through an Advanced Driving course and after 3 days proper tuition his driving is now acceptable. Wasn't cheap but then accidents often cost more!)
Posted 4 months ago # -
Just think how much you'd regret it if you said nothing and ended up in hospital...
I agree there's a risk he'll be offended but he can't sack you for that if you're sensitive about the way you do it. Talk about it being your preference as you're not comfortable rather than saying his driving's poor.
Keep notes of the conversation you have so that if he does sack you then you can go for the constructive dismissal route.And if he really is that bad you could be saving his life, and someone else's - he may not have realised how dangerous he is...
Posted 4 months ago # -
Question:
How will telling him his driving is poor make him improve? It's far more likely to make him defensive and it will be difficult to make the conversation constructive.
Going down the "we should improve our standard of driving within the company to lower insurance premiums blah blah" is far more likely to get him the help he needs without actually telling him he is crap.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Just think how much you'd regret it if you said nothing and ended up in hospital...
mmm... yes but I have to balance that against the possibility that I say something and then find myself unable to pay my mortgage! So whilst I find his driving bad (and possibly getting worse) the statistical evidence would be that in the last 2 yrs I have been here, he probably drives a couple of hours a week and as far as I am aware has never had an accident - certainly not a serious one.
I agree there's a risk he'll be offended but he can't sack you for that if you're sensitive about the way you do it. Talk about it being your preference as you're not comfortable rather than saying his driving's poor.
you've never worked in a small company have you! Firstly its very unlikely that you can comment on anyone else's driving without causing some offence. I can't imagine many people being anything other than defensive (unless they already believe they are crap). This is someone I work with on an almost daily basis (but fortunately travel with him much less!). He (like many small business owners) also is quite good at holding a grudge. Proving constructive dismissal is notoriously difficult, and in the meantime it doesn't pay the mortgage. In the current ecconomic climate getting fired and fighting a tribunal is probably not a good way to keep paying my mortgage. Whilst my family don't want me in hospital (I presume) they also want a roof over their heads so its not simply a case of "speaking up".
Keep notes of the conversation you have so that if he does sack you then you can go for the constructive dismissal route.Going down the "we should improve our standard of driving within the company to lower insurance premiums blah blah" is far more likely to get him the help he needs without actually telling him he is crap.
Yes if we had a company vehicle insurance policy that would be a sensible approach, but as there are no company vehicles there would be no saving to the company from such a scheme. I don't think any of the other people in the company are particularly poor either - otherwise I could potentially present it as "John's a bit dodgy isn't he, can we all do the training, and you can lead by example"...Posted 4 months ago # -
What do your colleagues think / say?
Its a difficult one given the situation but if its really that bad but shopping him to the DVLA does nothing then somehow yo have to tell him even at risk to your job. Job or health?
Posted 4 months ago # -
TJ, I'll maybe start wearing me helmet in the car!
One other person has commented to me on it. Not sure how many have been driven by him, I'll do some asking around tomorrow.
I've asked DVLA what mechanism exists to advise them.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Get a cab?
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3d5zs_mini-cab-trigger-happy-tv_fun
Maybe not...
(sorry, can't embed it as ch.4 has got all legal at Youtube)But seriously, offer to drive next time and suggests he nominates you as the driver next time he books the car. Sounds more like lack of experience/confidence and you may find that he jumps at the chance of you driving as he feels self-conscious.
Posted 4 months ago # -
How about saying you are a very bad passenger and would find it much easier if you drove?
Posted 4 months ago # -
How about saying you are a very bad passenger and would find it much easier if you drove?
I prefer to drive than be driven anyway, as I get a bit of motion sickness if I'm a passenger. Maybe just tell them you'll puke over the dashboard if you don't drive.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Don't do nothing.
We had our suspicions about an employee and was waiting for the right moment (whatever that might have been) to say something. He is now recovering (slowly) after a serious car crash. It was very close to being disasterous for him. Thankfully no-one else was involved.
We are all going to be paying for this for a while......Posted 4 months ago #
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