28 years I have driven hgvs,in all that time like other drivers you get into bad habits,got back to the yard today with a double decker and was asked to collect another trailer from a local customer,my bad habit was pulling the handle to unlock the fifth wheel first,then doing the rest of it before unhitching,so I thought take it to the front of the yard after filling up and unhitch as it was going out again with another driver,so pulled up to the front pulled the fifth wheel handle,jumped up behind to disconnect the leads and forgot I was parked on an incline,next thing is the bloody trailer is parting company with the unit as well as stretching the red lead[I disconnected the others a minute earlier] came down with a hell of a bang as the legs were still up,slid about 6 ft and stopped,fortunately all that was damaged was the red and ABS connector on the trailer,severe lesson learn’t,cannot believe I done something that a novice would do,really embarrassed by it and definately would have been you tube material if someone had their camera going at the time,never ever again,by the book in future,crapped the life out of me.
I always get the legs down first as it limits the size of any other ■■■■ ups. 
mrginge:
I always get the legs down first as it limits the size of any other ■■■■ ups.
I felt a right bloody muppet though,lol
Bloody dangerous habit you have!
truckman020:
mrginge:
I always get the legs down first as it limits the size of any other ■■■■ ups.I felt a right bloody muppet though,lol
I have done other crap like split un coupling but then forgetting to undo the lines and what not but I always get the legs down.
TiredAndEmotional:
Bloody dangerous habit you have!
+1 28 years in the job, unbelievable 
A terrible habit I’ve overcome now is never using the trailer brake. Dunno why I didn’t to be honest but now it’s the first thing I do when dropping or picking up a trailer
mrginge:
I always get the legs down first as it limits the size of any other ■■■■ ups.
Exactly my thinking too!
A.
truckman020:
28 years I have driven hgvs,in all that time like other drivers you get into bad habits,got back to the yard today with a double decker and was asked to collect another trailer from a local customer,my bad habit was pulling the handle to unlock the fifth wheel first,then doing the rest of it before unhitching,so I thought take it to the front of the yard after filling up and unhitch as it was going out again with another driver,so pulled up to the front pulled the fifth wheel handle,jumped up behind to disconnect the leads and forgot I was parked on an incline,next thing is the bloody trailer is parting company with the unit as well as stretching the red lead[I disconnected the others a minute earlier] came down with a hell of a bang as the legs were still up,slid about 6 ft and stopped,fortunately all that was damaged was the red and ABS connector on the trailer,severe lesson learn’t,cannot believe I done something that a novice would do,really embarrassed by it and definately would have been you tube material if someone had their camera going at the time,never ever again,by the book in future,crapped the life out of me.
How many other close shaves have you had in the last 28 years due to your CRAZY habit,this incident cannot be the first time surely
TiredAndEmotional:
Bloody dangerous habit you have!
not any more,taught me one hell of a lesson,shaking for 30 min after,never again
lolipop:
truckman020:
28 years I have driven hgvs,in all that time like other drivers you get into bad habits,got back to the yard today with a double decker and was asked to collect another trailer from a local customer,my bad habit was pulling the handle to unlock the fifth wheel first,then doing the rest of it before unhitching,so I thought take it to the front of the yard after filling up and unhitch as it was going out again with another driver,so pulled up to the front pulled the fifth wheel handle,jumped up behind to disconnect the leads and forgot I was parked on an incline,next thing is the bloody trailer is parting company with the unit as well as stretching the red lead[I disconnected the others a minute earlier] came down with a hell of a bang as the legs were still up,slid about 6 ft and stopped,fortunately all that was damaged was the red and ABS connector on the trailer,severe lesson learn’t,cannot believe I done something that a novice would do,really embarrassed by it and definately would have been you tube material if someone had their camera going at the time,never ever again,by the book in future,crapped the life out of me.How many other close shaves have you had in the last 28 years due to your CRAZY habit,this incident cannot be the first time surely
believe it or not that is the first time I have dropped a trailer,and the last,i’m just glad nobody was standing behind,this was a bad habit I got in the last two months,and the last
tango boy:
TiredAndEmotional:
Bloody dangerous habit you have!+1 28 years in the job, unbelievable
how do you think I feel,everyone heard the thing drop,i felt like a bloody novice,as I said in my post it’s the first and last time I do something so stupid,i’m expecting a disciplinary and I will accept without question as it was my own stupid blunder
truckman020:
tango boy:
TiredAndEmotional:
Bloody dangerous habit you have!+1 28 years in the job, unbelievable
how do you think I feel,everyone heard the thing drop,i felt like a bloody novice,as I said in my post it’s the first and last time I do something so stupid,i’m expecting a disciplinary and I will accept without question as it was my own stupid blunder
You said yourself it was a habit. I can only infer from that you’ve done this more than once and with 28 years experience there’s absolutely no excuse for your actions.
I’m a relative newbie. Got my CE just over two years ago. I always use the ‘BLACK’ mnemonic, and no disasters yet!
I always have to scratch my head when it comes to the ‘B’ party of it though. Messing around with both red and black brake knobs, pulling and pushing, rubbing the muck off, using a torch or my mobile so I can see the little diagrams, etc… I think it’s because I learned ‘BLACK’ without really learning how these individual things work.
Hopefully, the worst that can happen has already happened a couple of times; I try to pull off after hitching and can’t until I get out and actually release the trailer brake…
TiredAndEmotional:
truckman020:
tango boy:
TiredAndEmotional:
Bloody dangerous habit you have!+1 28 years in the job, unbelievable
how do you think I feel,everyone heard the thing drop,i felt like a bloody novice,as I said in my post it’s the first and last time I do something so stupid,i’m expecting a disciplinary and I will accept without question as it was my own stupid blunder
You said yourself it was a habit. I can only infer from that you’ve done this more than once and with 28 years experience there’s absolutely no excuse for your actions.
Brave man coming on here and telling everyone
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…Reach for those uncontrolled trailer movement forms.
I done that about a month or so after I passed my test, unit was on an angle and I pulled the pin, the bloody trailer started coming towards me.
Lucky that I was young lean agile and gazelle like then. 
…(unlike today) and literally dived out of the way.
Quite a few year’s ago I was hitching up to an old kangaroo tilt that was backed up a hill against a fence…well those ■■■■■■ things ran so close to the back of the cab (as I found out nearly fatally) so doing a split couple I pulled under so I had the weight and then without thinking i plugged the red air line in and woosh the trailer is now mobile and heading towards the large object that’s between it and the back of the cab “Me”
Luckily the 5th wheel engaged and it had stopped against my trembling belly virtually pinning me in place…[emoji50][emoji50][emoji50]
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And that is why Sainsbury’s now make us attach a ■■■■■■■ card to the fifth wheel handle…B.L.A.C.K. “have you uncoupled a trailer before?”. They couldn’t be more condescending if they paid an under graduate in condescending, to treat you like a toddler. Next time I’m treated like a toddler, I’m going to behave like one.
Nothing to do with being condescending when it is obvious from this post that some drivers, even fully experienced ones have either ignored or forgotten the simple procedure of BLACK. Therefore it is understandable that this has been implemented. A simple error in this procedure could cost a company thousands of pounds, a small tag placed on the release handle could prevent this from happening from one of these drivers. The amount of trailers that I have picked up with no trailer brake having ever been applied by other drivers is many. What possible time saving shortcut is achieved by simply not applying a trailer brake? Is following BLACK somehow below some drivers. Do they think that they know better?