A Bad Day Recovered Using Driver Skill, Training and the Right Tool

Truck Driver’s Real Experience Using The Accident Plan Smart Phone App

Before the Crash

It’s a bad day at work for everyone involved.

It was 1:15 AM and Jimmy P was westbound on the 105 in Los Angeles having just loaded 9,000 gallons of unleaded from the refinery for his employer, MJ Tank Lines.

The Accident

Traffic was light and Jimmy was easily keeping the 55 mph speed limit in the right lane as he approached the 110 interchange when a black Camry cut in front of him making a desperate attempt at the exit.

Things would have been fine except the Camry lost control and spun out, veering straight back into the path of the MJ Tanker. Jimmy reacted quickly with brakes and had just enough time to scrub off some speed before T-boning the Camry in the rear driver side door.

The Camry was pretty banged up, but thanks to Jimmy’s quick reaction, the driver was not seriously injured.

Reporting the Accident Using the Accident Plan Smart Phone App

Nonetheless, Jimmy was pretty shaken up, but remembering his AccidentPlan training, he immediately secured the scene and deployed AccidentPlan from his company issued smart phone.

A few seconds later, the night dispatcher and safety manager were automatically notified via email of Jimmy’s situation. In an instant they were able to log into the AccidentPlan – Road Ready portal to see the crash report that had already been generated.

Jimmy continued using the application in the field, answering each question in succession while the team continued to receive further notifications — letting them know that an emergency situation was underway, that Jimmy had not been injured, and the load was not compromised.

As Jimmy continued gathering information, photos and voice recordings from the scene, the team was able to watch the report develop in real time with the confidence that Jimmy had the situation under control.

Jimmy was even able to get a recorded statement from the other driver indicating that he had been out of control.

Jimmy completed and signed his report right on his device, which was automatically submitted to the Road Ready portal. The safety manager downloaded the report and had it submitted to the insurance agent well before sunrise.

The Accident Aftermath

According to MJ Tank Lines president, Mike Doggett, “This is the kind of situation that, from a legal standpoint, can get out of hand very quickly if you don’t have fresh information from the scene to back you up.” “If Jimmy hadn’t gathered that evidence while it was fresh, it could have been a totally different story by the next afternoon.”

Mike let us know that by having AccidentPlan, his staff was able to process the claim in a matter of a few minutes, rather than the hours they used to spend trying to track down information. “The old paper Accident Kit is officially obsolete”, Mike said.

Jimmy was relieved to have a tool that coached him through the stress. “I was pretty shook up when it happened. Using the app calmed me down and let me focus on my job. I couldn’t have done half of that work without it.”

MJ Tanklines has granted permission for us to share the accident report. To protect the privacy of the individuals involved, some information has been removed.

View a sample of the actual truck accident report.

**This report is shared with permission from one of our clients. Recordings and identifying information have been removed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.**