I ran into a pole with a company vehicle and I don't know what to do. Suggestions?

Tell your supervisor and offer to pay to repair the damages. What’s done is done, and you can’t undo it. Chances, are, they’ll accept your offer to repair the damages and be done with it. It’s better than feeling guilty, and if your supervisor happens to find out you’ll most likely be punished further, and your chances of getting fired will go up.

It’s most likely not the first time this has happened and you most likely will not get fired if you just tell the truth and offer to do what you can to fix it.

Back up?

The truth usually comes out, and if you lie, your chances of getting fired will be much greater than if you tell them the truth. I’d own up to it now and hope for the best. I seriously doubt this is the first accident with a company vehicle your supervisor has had to deal with.

Well you have already started lying about it, if you get caught your fired…. You may as well just keep lying – its about your only option – you can’t backstep now

It’s natural to be scared. I would fess up, and the consequences may not be as bad as you may think they’ll be. If you continue to lie, and they find out the truth, it will be worse in the long run. Especially, when looking for employment elsewhere.

At this point, you might as well just say nothing. Living with the guilt will have to be punishment enough.

Our company car is insured. Yours probably is too. Go tell your sup and get it over with. You can tell her what happened with your co worker, and just say you didn’t think it was any of her business.

Fess up. You’ll feel better and chances are, all will be well.

One lie will call for another and another and another. finally, you will forget your first lie and make a mistake. get it out in the open and suffer the consequences. not telling the truth in the first place, will be the reason you might be terminated, not the actual accident.

Tell your boss the truth.
It will be better that your boss trusts you, even when you screw up, than having him mistrust you from now on.

Actually my answer still makes sense. Go back to the time when you lost your peace of mind and proceed with the difficult course of action: Come clean.

Tell your supervisor, but have a remedy ready when you tell, such as, I hit a pole with the company car, and I’d like to pay to have it fixed; or I’ve checked my insurance and they will pay to fix it.

Trust me, companies that have cars for employee use expect that accidents will happen, that’s why they have insurance, or should have. I backed into a tree in a company vehicle once and nothing happened. But, now you already lied. Bad move.

@tinyfaery I agree. The lie has been told and it seems the only thing to be gained (other than a clear conscience) at this point is the possibility of getting fired. Remember, no good deed goes unpunished.

I wouldn’t suggest that you do as Chyna suggested. It’s a company car and should be covered by the company. Just be contrite and look him straight in the eye. Virtue has nothing to do with reward or punishment either. So don’t look at it like that. It’s just the only thing to do which will relieve you.

Blame it on the pole!!

I’m liking @Mandomike‘s suggestion – you didn’t hit a pole…the pole hit you.

OK, but seriously. Just tell the truth like what everyone else said. If your company is huge, most likely your coworker hasn’t discussed this with your boss yet. Go straight to boss, confess, offer to repair. I don’t think you’ll get fired unless your company sucks.

My old company didn’t even get mad about this. I think people are so embarrassed about doing this that that is punishment enough.

You’re not the first one to bang up a company car. There was a guy at my old office that was The Worst Driver EVER. We just laughed at him when he smashed the company car, because we were surprised he didn’t get into more accidents.

you didn’t hit a pole…the pole hit you.
The zen defense

Surely there is a written policy for that. Ask your boss what the policy is – Oh and by the way…....

Honesty and integrity are valued by employers. People make mistakes and unintentionally damage the property of others. It is how they handle the situation that differentiates people.

Photograph the damage you caused and provide a copy for your company and keep a copy for yourself. Report the damage to your supervisor in writing, describing the circumstances under which it occurred. Ask your supervisor what other steps are required by company policy and offer to take responsibility for getting the damage you caused repaired.