Complete Waste of Time

The other morning I walked to the bus I had been assigned to start my shift with and noticed while undertaking a defect check that the nearside wingmirror had been smashed. The glass that is, not the arm or the plastic surround. I informed a supervisor who got a mechanic to replace the entire arm, surround and glass as this was the quickest option in the time available. The mechanic would then fix the glass in the comfort of his workshop.

All OK.

Then, during my break, I was approached by a supervisor who said I needed to collect an accident report form and complete it after I'd finished my shift. The reason? An accident had occurred which resulted in the wingmirror glass being smashed. This is completely correct, though I hadn't driven the bloody bus prior to it happening. Clearly one of the people who park the buses up had caused the accident by getting too close with another vehicle and weren't aware of the damage.

But, no, even though checking the CCTV would prove I had nothing to do with it, I had to fill a form in.

To make matters worse I was told to complete all sections with "I have no knowledge of the incident". I refused to as this still implied I was somehow at the helm or responsible. I chose to write "I was not the driver of this vehicle but found the damage upon undertaking a first use inspection".

Nothing got said when I handed the form in and it was another week before I was seen about the incident. Luckily the training man who sees drivers in the first instance to determine whether they are 'at fault' or not saw that this had nothing to do with me.

But what really fucked me off was that he said the accident report form would remain on my personal record and that he had to instruct me to "take more care next time".

TAKE MORE FUCKING CARE NEXT TIME?????????

Are these people real? I had nothing to do with it yet now I have an accident report form on my record and a verbal instruction to take more care next time? Perhaps my employer thinks I'm somehow psychic and willed the accident to happen the evening before I was next to drive the bus?

I protested in the strongest possible terms and was told it was nothing personal and it was something everyone was being instructed to do, whether they're 'at fault' or not.

Well if fucking stinks. So much arse-covering it's unreal. Do you think anyone from the engineering department, tasked to fuel, wash, sweep and park the vehicles in the evening was seen? According to my union rep, whom I've reported the incident to, no they haven't.

So that pissed me right off.

Common Sense Solution: I have a theory: provided no third party is in a position to claim following an altercation, accept the accident report form with grace and complete it. Even put it back in your bag to hand in the following day but never do. At my depot you're only seen when you hand the  form in, with the engineering department just fixing buses and not checking with operations that the driver has been seen. If I'd not handed my form in I wouldn't have been seen and wouldn't have a mark against my name on my file and been told to take more care over an accident that probably happened when I was fast asleep in bed the night before! Poxy fucking wanker.s