An example of how our hobby can help in real life.

Pete Mc · October 15, 2013, 12:45:13 AM

Evening all,I have a story to tell about something that happened at work today.

Some of you will laugh,maybe all of you in fact,but it has a moral and a bit of advice.

So here goes.

Today whilst at work,I needed to go to the toilet.For those that don't know what I do,I currently am a bus driver.So as I am in the transport interchange I decided that this would be my best opportunity for at least an hour to do so.

I opened the doors to get off and then pressed the door close button.

As I made,or attempted to make an exit from the bus,the doors closed so quickly that they smacked me round the side of my head,trapping my face in the doors and subsequently,violently ripping my glasses off my face and breaking them into 3 pieces.

Having been stunned but otherwise unhurt I picked up the pieces of broken spectacles,I called our controller,(not the fat one by the way).When this happened,the people nearest the front of the bus cracked up laughing although I just ignored them.However,they weren't laughing when the bus was pulled off service due to me not being able to drive without glasses.

When I got to our offices,I was sent home after showing them the state of my glasses.One swore and the other said I had no chance of fixing them in time for work tomorrow.Anyway,I went home and broke out the tools an wielded them with intent.Out came the soldering iron,flux,solder,files and pliers as well as the bench clamp with the jaws and magnifyer on it and set to work.

I managed to fix my glasses by soldering the broken bits of frame together as they are metal framed and have to say that I have done quite a good job as well.

Having fixed my glasses,I went back to work to pick my car up and to see what has been said about the incident.When I got there I was told that a fault had been found with the doors meaning I haven't lost any pay due to going home early and as a fault has been found with the vehicles doors,I may be entitled to a new pair of glasses as well.I'll know more tomorrow about this.

So,had it not been for this hobby,I would not have learned to solder,meaning I would've had no way of repairing my glasses and possibly losing pay due to not being able to work.I was not injured,just stunned and had a bit of an injured pride.

It just goes to show that skills learned through doing this hobby,can and often do get used in more useful,real life situations.

So if anyone is fretting about learning to solder,my advice is get stuck in to it and get as good at it as you can because you never know how it will benefit you later on.

Pete

Dock Shunter · October 15, 2013, 01:30:07 AM

Glad you managed to fix your specs...

If it wasn't for your soldering skills you would probably be going to work tomorrow with a couple of plasters holding them together.

I think the least your bus company should do is pay for a new set of glasses as they have admitted it was a faulty door on their bus.

Pete Mc · October 15, 2013, 05:05:42 AM

Cheers buddy,my glasses are metal framed and the main breakage was where the bridge was joined to the lens frame.I had to have a crack at it otherwise I would've been office dogs body for a while.I'd rather be out on the road.

I should find something out tomorrow about glasses though.I have to see the staff manager before I start so if I get no joy from him,then I'll speak with our union solicitors about claiming for a new pair.It'll probably mean me shelling out in the medium term but I'll do what is necessary.Failing that,I am in Westfields health plan which means I get subsidised dental and optical cover.

Pete

AndyGif · October 15, 2013, 10:05:49 AM

your lucky it was just your glasses.

this poor sod didn't fair so well, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-24473466
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/driver-found-dead-bus-minutes-6166089

Tank · October 15, 2013, 10:14:39 AM

Well done on fixing your glasses. I'm glad to hear that it wasn't your fault and work has admitted that there is a fault. Childish of the people on the bus, but glad you made them get off in the end!

Agrippa · October 15, 2013, 10:28:23 AM

Pete Mc, luckily it worked out ok for you. but you should get one of these no win no fee lawyers to get you
compensation for pain , shock etc., must be worth a grand at least.

Pete Mc · October 15, 2013, 10:19:27 PM

Evening all,just a bit of an update to my situation.

I went into work this morning and spoke to our union man.He then went to the boss who subsequently said I had to put a report in stating what happened so this goes on record in order for there to be a paper trail that will lead to money being paid to me for a new pair of glasses.This is all I am after as I wasn't injured in any way apart from a scratch on my nose and side of my head where my glasses dug in before breaking.

I have been told that I should get full reimbursement providing I don't go mad so there'll be no Elton John or Liberace type glasses of huge expense.

I am going to go to either Boots or Specsavers as they both have offers of 2 for 1 at the moment.

This is all I want so it is,for me,the right conclusion to this rather unique situation.It does go to show that in spite if what some people say,our firm isn't the worst.It may even be argued that its the least they can do but behind all this is the full acknowledgement that the vehicle had a defect that directly caused this and has not been swept under the carpet or concealed in such a way as to mean I will be worse off.

As for the newspaper article,I saw that last week on one of the other facebook groups I am on.It did occur to me what had happened could've been much much worse,ie my glasses could've blinded me meaning I cannot do my job,but as I was in the transport interchange,there was no shortage of people that could have stepped in to free me had I been trapped.

Also,the glasses are standing up to my normal usage so up to now,touch wood,they still remain in one piece.Hopefully I won't have to wait long because an eye test will be booked for thursday or friday.

Pete

Newportnobby · October 15, 2013, 10:45:45 PM

Good news that it looks like you'll get the result you want and deserve, Pete

As you say, it makes a refreshing change for the company to fess up rather than try and blame it on you having done something. It stands to reason everything will have to go down in the Accident Book and the outcome will be logged too. After all, they don't want you coming back at some point and suing them

Dock Shunter · October 15, 2013, 11:39:59 PM

Good to hear your employers are doing the right thing Pete....

Agrippa · October 16, 2013, 12:14:59 AM

Hope everything works out !

Bealman · October 16, 2013, 04:41:59 AM

That's a very interesting story, Pete. Sounds like your employer is going to do the right thing. Good luck! Whenever I had a mishap at work over the years, they made it so hard to get any compensation - so many hoops to jump through that I just gave up trying.

As you say, it could have been worse!