Scenario - Transport Failure Enroute To Gig..

[vokf 0]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering the other day about the following scenario... I came up with a few possible solutions - but none were ideal.

 

What can/would you do in the following;

 

Wedding Booked for 8pm start, planning to arrive at 6ish for set-up.

Venue is 20miles away from base.

 

At 5:30pm, enroute, the Car/Van fails on Motorway. Serious engine problems that will not be repaired on the roadside.

AA/RAC with associated delay in recovery etc

 

 

I have AA cover, Carmen has a Car that CAN fit a basic set-up.

 

We would be late for staring. We attend with the venues number and normally BestMan/Head Bridesmaids mobiles, so would have to call ahead to explain the problem..

 

However, I'd be interested if anyone has any plans, or other ways to tackle this problem?

 

Jas

[MintyDave 0]

I have AA membership and thats all you can do really. get to the gig and worry about getting home later. I say a little prayer evertime i set off to a gig and if all else fails i will ring my dad and blag his van. My wifes car would do also if desperate but can only get a limited ammount of gear in.

 

I have broken down on my way to a gig after a brake calliper siezed up. I was 10 miles from the venue with about an hour to spare. It was with great fortune i was 1 mile from my dads place so i limped there. I would not have made it to the venue as the brake disc was glowing red as it was.

 

Living up here makes the problem worse as mobile phone signals are dodgy and some nights i only see 1 or 2 cars in 20/30 mile journeys that take about an hour.

[wizard 0]

Has happened to me once, RAC dragged me to gig, luckily RAC arrived within 20 mins so I was not late for gig as I always give an extra half hour for this type of happening. the next morning Van was fine, believe it was just contamination in fuel filter.......or so I was told, I know nuffink about engines

 

[Dukesy 0]

The DJ Associates free guides here already include details of including 'Force Majeure' in your contract. The T&Cs should detail what limit of liabilities you accept and what any resolution would be.

 

If your vehicle is maintained and serviced well within the correct schedules and is still in fairly good running order, therefore if it breaks down it is a genuine unexpected 'act of god' rather than through neglect.

 

(i) In the unlikely event that [YOUR DISCO NAME] is unable to attend personally due to accident or sudden illness, [YOUR DISCO NAME] shall endeavour to provide a suitable substitute offering the same level of service at no additional charge to the client. This does not apply in circumstances detailed in section (ii) below.

 

(ii) Force Majeure - [YOUR DISCO NAME] will not be liable for failing to attend a booking, where the reason for non-attendance or late arrival is caused by adverse weather conditions (including Snow & Flooding), road closure, road traffic accident, vehicle breakdown, fuel shortages, acts of terrorism, industrial action, or other unavoidable circumstances deemed beyond our control.

 

If you were driving with 4 bald tyres and the van got confiscated by the police, then you couldn't invoke the same defence or clause as it was entirely preventable. smile icon

[Norfolk DJ 0]

The DJ Associates free guides here already include details of including 'Force Majeure' in your contract. The T&Cs should detail what limit of liabilities you accept and what any resolution would be.

 

If your vehicle is maintained and serviced well within the correct schedules and is still in fairly good running order, therefore if it breaks down it is a genuine unexpected 'act of god' rather than through neglect.

If you were driving with 4 bald tyres and the van got confiscated by the police, then you couldn't invoke the same defence or clause as it was entirely preventable. smile icon

 

Sounds reasonable enough to me, but has this been checked out by a solicitor to ensure that this is acceptable?

[Dukesy 0]

 

Sounds reasonable enough to me, but has this been checked out by a solicitor to ensure that this is acceptable?

 

 

 

Can you recommend one, perhaps the one who checked yours?

 

[vokf 0]

Can you recommend one, perhaps the one who checked yours?

 

Cheers Dan... Should have checked with DJ@ first!

 

Rob -can you please get back to us with the wording in your terms if its been checked?

 

 

[Norfolk DJ 0]

Can you recommend one, perhaps the one who checked yours?

 

Mine is very similar to your Dan :dukesy:

 

This is a very important point, and could be open to challenge. I do wonder how anyone could escape from any liability due to vehicle failure? Maybe they can, but for all the client knows they could be booking someone with a 1974 transit van with no MOT.

 

I recently had a similar discussion with a customer in respect of a residency. They were keen to know what would happen with a vehicle failure scenario. They were not keen signing any contract which effectively gav e full protection to the dJ and none to them.

 

Any NADJ members on here? If so would be worth checking also what their line is no this.

[Dukesy 0]

I do wonder how anyone could escape from any liability due to vehicle failure?

 

Of course they can. Airports, railway companies and bus companies do all of the time, and this is their core business and the basis of the entire contract with their clients and failure to fulfil it. The best you can hope for if your flight is delayed is a few vouchers for the happy eater whilst the hours tick by. When and IF compensation is given, it's usually only the result of more than 12 or 24 hours delay, and then its only after the customer has claimed from any travel insurance - its rarely the actual airline who (willingly) pays out.

 

Provided you can show some diligence to the fact that your vehicle is maintained within the manufacturers specifications (stamped service book) and in otherwise good condition, then any breakdown would be an unforeseen circumstance and largely unavoidable. In short, nobody could have prevented or predicted it.

 

However, if they were unable to complete the journey and subsequently let down the client because the police had pulled over the persons overloaded estate car / people carrier, and then found that their business insurance / SDP policy didn't cover their mobile disco activities, and seized the vehicle for driving outside the terms of insurance - then that would be 100% the fault of the owner and completely preventable.

 

The same applies if the vehicle was seized because it was in an un-roadworthy condition.

 

but for all the client knows they could be booking someone with a 1974 transit van with no MOT.

 

To my knowledge, having an MOT certificate does not stop your cylinder head failing on the M25 or your fuel injection pump from quitting - neither of which are fixable at the roadside.

In short, an MOT is not a guarantee that you will never breakdown nor that your vehicle won't quit 5 miles away from the venue or even on its way back from getting a fresh MOT! :lol2:

 

In fact, even if 'pulled' at the roadside by the police, it will not result in the vehicle being seized, its an offence which doesn't even carry penalty points - just a fine. So whilst driving without an MOT is foolhardy and shouldn't be condoned, it would not, in itself by the reason for not arriving at the clients venue, even after a roadside stop.

 

Also not sure where the 1974 Transit comes into the equation, as there are plenty of old and classic vehicles on the road which are well maintained and so are still reliable and get from A to B, often passing newer cars on the hard shoulder with their hazard lights on.

 

Are some Associations adding vehicle snobbery value into their requirement to join up now?

Are they refusing people membership who aren't towing their trailers with V8 Jag's and AMG Mercedes or own vehicles over a certain age?

 

Even having breakdown cover isn't any guarantee that you will be able to complete the booking. After all, nearly all breakdown policies stipulate one call-out per breakdown, so if you are 50 miles from home and breakdown, you have the option of either being recovered to your destination (the venue), a local garage for repairs or back to your home (or other) address. I wonder how many DJ's would use that "get out of jail" free callout to continue their journey to the venue, knowing full well that their recovery agent will not come back 5 hours later to tow them from the venue to home, and they would have to pay either a full or concessionary rate for this element of the service.

Bear in mind we are talking about people who don't let alone have back up equipment available to them, and quibble on forums about the cost of a PLI policy.

 

[Marble 0]

We've never had a break down on the way to a venue, but we have had cars blocked in and cars die on us just before we were due to leave. We have a list of people we can call... but I wouldn't hesitate to call a cab (six seater). The service round my area is very good and fast and they are covered for the equipment. Personally, I really will do everything i can to make sure the gig goes ahead, even when I make a huge loss. It's the main reason I like residencies, I know how long I need to set up, how to get there and have plan on how to deal with any problems and they are all nearby ish so a cab would cost about £30 each way at most.

 

At one point everyone on my team had their main car off the road. You'd be suprised what you can fit into a Fiat Panda.