nearly killed by pizza delivery driver

[Sliceanddice]

So...yeah, that's how I was almost killed by a pizza delivery driver. Everyone at work and my family keeps telling me to write/contact Domino's and tell them what happened, but I don't know if I should. I don't know if the Domino's manager did the right things--the girl was on the job and was making a delivery. Does anyone have advice? Did I make this a bigger deal that it was? I could only imagine what those Domino's people were saying...that maybe WE were being sucky. All in all, it just really sucked.

well if its corporate store shes fired right now no more job.
if franchise if you call corporate they will begin investigating the franchise and to save their business she is fired right now
i know this because i work for dominores. the rules are as follows.
Follow all road laws, drive 3 miles under the speed limit, dont worry about the 30 minutes its not a guarantee its and estimate, and if you every do anything against the street laws the minuium you get is a suspencition, thats if you corpurate, sounds like a fireing cause to me, in two days if she doesnt have a drug test she will be fired anyways.

[draftermatt]

Because she is using HER vehicle for BUSINESS (making money) it's now a business auto... UNLESS she has a business auto policy. Which I found out that most delievery companies either don't tell the driver or don't know about it.

I know when I call to make changes to my policy I get asked "will you be using it for business purposes?" Couldn't the OP technically sue the Domino's(or at least the driver) in question if she didn't have the proper insurance? I mean driver's liable for the damages caused, and if she doesn't have the proper insurance (I'm sure she'll lose her insurance now if she doesn't have it) and if Domino's allowed someone to drive for them without proper insurance wouldn't they be liable too?

[Gothicsmurf]

I know when I call to make changes to my policy I get asked "will you be using it for business purposes?" Couldn't the OP technically sue the Domino's(or at least the driver) in question if she didn't have the proper insurance? I mean driver's liable for the damages caused, and if she doesn't have the proper insurance (I'm sure she'll lose her insurance now if she doesn't have it) and if Domino's allowed someone to drive for them without proper insurance wouldn't they be liable too?

I guess it really depends.

Most people don't really think in insurance terms- most people hear that and assume that being a delivery driver for a joe-job isn't a "business use". It's work related... most people don't put the two together and assume that its ONLY business is if YOU own the business.

The OP could sue the delivery driver. I don't know if Dominoes asks if people have proper ie- business insurance or just "insurance". I know a lot of delivery drivers have private auto insurance because they don't read their policy- meaning they have no idea they won't be covered while using their vehicle as a paid driver. And some companies are shady and will require drivers to sign off liability on accidents.

Sadly, this isn't really a black and white situation for coverage.

[Lingering Grin]

When I first read this post, and you said you were in Florida, I thought I knew which road this was on...

Problem is, you're directions are backwards from that road (it has a similar turn off, but it's eastbound not west), so I'm probably wrong.

[protege]

Rine, you weren't being sucky. The pizza driver was, pardon my French, a fucking moron. If it was me, I'd be screaming at everyone I could at Domino's corporate HQ.

Some of you might remember how I dealt with a careless delivery driver on the way to work one morning. This guy, was in a company van, and just driving like an idiot. He was weaving in and out of lanes, cutting people off (including yours truly *twice*), slamming on the brakes for no reason, etc. Didn't stop there though--at the end of the commercial district (where the road widens to 4 lanes), he ran a stop light, and nearly broadsided a school bus

Needless to say, I was *not* amused. I was pissed--what if that bus had been loaded? Would saving a few seconds *really* have been worth seriously injuring or killing a few children?

After watching his antics, I already had the company name, plus his vehicle number. When I got to work, I fired off a firmly-worded email to his safety director. Let's just say they were *extremely* interested about his antics. That driver got suspended without pay, and eventually fired. The company wasn't about to risk their reputation over the actions of an idiot.

Couldn't have said it better myself. That delivery driver was, by all accounts, a representative of the company. You're driving a company vehicle, be it a bus, van, or Chevette with a sign on the roof...you are what the public sees. Do something stupid, and it doesn't make *you* look bad, but it makes the *company* look bad.

[shawnlowe]

ok, being a former manager of Domino's for way too many years, I can understand about not giving the girls information out for safety reasons. When she admitted to it though, and then the police were called he could have come forth with all the information the police needed as well as called the accident hotline for corp. At my store the girl would have been fired after the investigation was done, and I would have personally checked back with you until the mess was taken care of.

As for the insurance requirement, the domino's policies are a little vague to the standard, it just says that they have to show me the proof of insurance and I keep a copy in the store at all times. In no way does it state I have to prove that they have adequate insurance, that is on their shoulders and we did make them sign a release form stating that they had the appropriate insurance for what they were doing.

I am sorry that you went through that with a driver, and hope that everything gets taken care of quickly for you.

[Rine]

Siiiigh. Well, we haven't heard anything from the girl's insurance company--they are still investigating and also the guy handling our case is "absent." (I don't know.)

I fired off an e-mail Saturday to Domino's and they haven't responded back.

I went ahead and got my vehicle repaired because, well, I needed a darn car and I didn't want to drive my car if it wasn't safe. Turns out that I had about a 100 dollar repair so not as bad as I thought (thank God.) Basically I knocked the crap out of the car. They fixed the rim/seal/whatever on the tire so it would stay inflated. They said some things were scrapped underneath but nothing was broken. It needed an alignment and we rotated the tires. My car is still excessively loud though so I dunno whether that's good or not. It also shudders more.

All I really want to hear from Domino's is that proper policy was followed...I know that sounds a little SC-ish, but it just seemed like the manager and the employee really didn't give a damn about what happened.

You know, the day that this happened was the girl's first day. Wow, what a nice first day of work. "How did your day go?" "Oh, fine. Ran someone off the road because I was driving on the wrong side...you know, the usual."

I don't want to make a big deal about it. I know people that would be suing Domino's by now for damages or emotional distraught (I'm still tensing up every time I approach the scene of the incident.) I'm not that sort of person to sue and clog up the legal system with something like this.

edit to say: By the way, thank you everyone for your words and advice. I appreciate it and I've learned a lot.

[IT Grunt]

My car is still excessively loud though so I dunno whether that's good or not. It also shudders more.

I'd be inclined to suspect that the exhaust has either gotten a hole, or has come loose somewhere along the path from the engine to the muffler. If the car took that much of a shock, it's something to check.

[IvorTangrean]

You know, the day that this happened was the girl's first day. Wow, what a nice first day of work. "How did your day go?" "Oh, fine. Ran someone off the road because I was driving on the wrong side...you know, the usual."

First day or not a driver should know how to, you know DRIVE

[Estil]

As for the delivery driver, either he/she got his/her driver's license from a cereal box, or has taken "You have 30 minutes" too literally.

If Domino's is in fact actually trying that infamous 30 minutes stunt, then I'd say the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of Domino's bigwigs. Just like it did in the Dark Ages of the original 30 minutes or it's free deal.

[PepperElf]

So...yeah, that's how I was almost killed by a pizza delivery driver. Everyone at work and my family keeps telling me to write/contact Domino's and tell them what happened, but I don't know if I should.

Don't. Freaking. Hesitate.

Don't pity the driver, even if she uses puppy dog eyes. Don't pity her boss for refusing to help you.

1) She has a LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY to drive responsibly at all times. She signed the contract when she signed her driver's license.

This responsibility does not go away just because she's scared of getting in trouble. That crap only works for 5 year olds. And I'm sure Dominos does not hire pre-schoolers.

2) Domino's has a legal responsibility to ensure their drivers are responsible and don't break the law. They put the company name on a car and sent the driver to deliver their products... they are endorsing the driver.

They are also not allowed to encourage drivers to break the law. Turn back to the mid 90s with the "30 minutes or free" policy... Back then they created a workplace where drivers were encouraged to get the pizza there no matter what. And they got socked with enough lawsuits that they were forced to drop the policy.


And both the driver and company think it's OK to cause an accident, leave the scene, and refuse contact with the victim?


Yes. Contact the company. Let them know what kind of people are carrying around the Domino's name.


and if i seem a little voracious about this... my first boyfriend ever... he was hit by a pizza delivery guy doing 70 in a 25 zone. it wasn't domino's but... it doesn't matter. all that matters is that they let that teenage driver get behind the wheel with expired insurance, and my first boyfriend paid for it with brain damage

[Emrld]

The important thing in this entire situation is that Rine and sibling were not seriously injured themselves.
Not to sound cold but a car is a material object . . .it is easy to replace. Human life not so much.

When I was rear ended by a school bus . . . it took about a month to work through all the proper channels before the District contacted me. By that point I had already filed via my insurance and they went after the District for compensation including my deductable.

Take care of yourself.

[Gothicsmurf]

As for the insurance requirement, the domino's policies are a little vague to the standard, it just says that they have to show me the proof of insurance and I keep a copy in the store at all times. In no way does it state I have to prove that they have adequate insurance, that is on their shoulders and we did make them sign a release form stating that they had the appropriate insurance for what they were doing.

*Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion with some insurance fact, mostly opinion*

Then I'd say that some of the fault lies with in Dominoes for that as well. Once the car is being used for deliveries, it in fact changes the nature of the vehicle.

At the time of hire before they start driving, the insurance IS valid, but once it's used for business, it's no longer valid. It's hard to believe that any delivery company (food, newspapers, etc) would be able to skirt the issue with those papers. Yes they had insurance, but not the RIGHT type of insurance and it's a shitty loophole that *might* not hold up and almost unbelievable that the company wouldn't know or tell the person that they will need other insurance. I bet that if most drivers put their policy into a proper business policy most deliveries would stop. And if they do come back to you, "Hey I have proof of their insurance here! But its a private auto..." Showing the company did indeed have proof of their insurance, BUT proof of the wrong insurance. /rant

For the OP- CALL WRITE ETC. There is no reason for you to have to deal with your vehicle being in the state it's in because of no fault of your own.

[shawnlowe]

oh I do agree that Domino's policy on this matter is not clearly defined enough. Unfortunatly here in KY it is not a law stating that delivery drivers have commercial insurance and only some insurance companies would require a seperate rider for business use. I had insurace that would cover me in business situations and then had some insurance that wouldn't. The one that would cover commercial use didn't show anything different on the insurance card showing commercial coverage so really did make it hard to tell if someone had it or not.

The really important thing though is truly that everyone is ok. Even though they do have the 30 minute suggested time of delivery, they do not condone illegal driving, and either this girl didn't understand common driving or got completly flustered for some reason and made a wrong turn. Either way it is her fault, and her insurance, or her personally, should be held accountable for any damages, including loss of time at work. When I ran a store, my drivers followed the laws or got fired, no questions asked. They got more than 1 ticket a year then they were let go.

[MadMike]

My ex got into an accident with a pizza guy once. It was just one of many that she had, but it was about the only one that wasn't her fault (she was an unbelievably shitty driver.) It was about a block from our apartment, and the guy ran a stop sign and slammed into the front corner of her car, IIRC.

His car, on the other hand, didn't fare so well. Apparently he snapped his axle, because as soon as he tried to pull forward, one of the wheels turned sideways, as in parallel to the ground.