Colin_scottish:
If the trailer is unsealed they can ask the driver to open it up.If its sealed then they need to seek permission to bust the seal to see inside.If its a bonded load then they cant do jack about.
bl;ahsalchfl
axletramp:
Exactly. If that load is “insecure” thank [zb] I’m out of it now.
You’d have to be blind to see that it isn’t secure properly. What the DVSA are looking at is that if the wagon turned on its side would the load remain roughly in place and contained within the trailer so when they come to recover the vehicle they don’t take 20 minutes to get it back on its wheels and another 5hrs picking the load up off the floor. If that was to happen to that load there’s nothing holding the middle packs in place so they’ll just tumble out and the whole lot would just end up a pile of boxes which would come out the side of the curtain when the trailer got lifted back in place. With a strap over the top of each row that would be very unlikely to happen. Had that been packs that were two wide on each row instead of three or four I doubt there would have been an issue as long as the weights were within the limits of the internals.
Its not about whether it moves from side to side in transit so much as what it’d do in an accident. When you watch Highway Thru Hell on Discovery which is about a HGV recovery company in Canada and they have a truck go on its side, if its a flatbed or curtainsider almost every single time the load remains perfectly in place, even packs of timber, so when they get it back on the wheels they’re not having to spend hours picking it up. Currently the way many UK drivers “secure” their loads, when there’s an accident roads are closed hours longer than they need to be because of having to pick up the spilled load off the road. Every hour a motorway is closed apparently costs the economy £1million. The police and DVSA have obviously seen enough accidents where recovery has taken longer due to picking up the load that it has become a big enough problem that something has to be done about it. As usual the blame only lies with those in our job such as those who take the views of our cowboy regulars on here.
Conor:
axletramp:
Exactly. If that load is “insecure” thank [zb] I’m out of it now.You’d have to be blind to see that it isn’t secure properly. What the DVSA are looking at is that if the wagon turned on its side would the load remain roughly in place and contained within the trailer so when they come to recover the vehicle they don’t take 20 minutes to get it back on its wheels and another 5hrs picking the load up off the floor. If that was to happen to that load there’s nothing holding the middle packs in place so they’ll just tumble out and the whole lot would just end up a pile of boxes which would come out the side of the curtain when the trailer got lifted back in place. With a strap over the top of each row that would be very unlikely to happen. Had that been packs that were two wide on each row instead of three or four I doubt there would have been an issue as long as the weights were within the limits of the internals.
Its not about whether it moves from side to side in transit so much as what it’d do in an accident. When you watch Highway Thru Hell on Discovery which is about a HGV recovery company in Canada and they have a truck go on its side, if its a flatbed or curtainsider almost every single time the load remains perfectly in place, even packs of timber, so when they get it back on the wheels they’re not having to spend hours picking it up. Currently the way many UK drivers “secure” their loads, when there’s an accident roads are closed hours longer than they need to be because of having to pick up the spilled load off the road. Every hour a motorway is closed apparently costs the economy £1million. The police and DVSA have obviously seen enough accidents where recovery has taken longer due to picking up the load that it has become a big enough problem that something has to be done about it. As usual the blame only lies with those in our job such as those who take the views of our cowboy regulars on here.
So we have to spend hundreds of hours per year to cover ourselves for a highly unlikely event just so DVSA don’t have to spend a few hours picking it all up? Lazy ■■■■■■■■■ 
Conor:
axletramp:
Exactly. If that load is “insecure” thank [zb] I’m out of it now.You’d have to be blind to see that it isn’t secure properly. What the DVSA are looking at is that if the wagon turned on its side would the load remain roughly in place and contained within the trailer so when they come to recover the vehicle they don’t take 20 minutes to get it back on its wheels and another 5hrs picking the load up off the floor. If that was to happen to that load there’s nothing holding the middle packs in place so they’ll just tumble out and the whole lot would just end up a pile of boxes which would come out the side of the curtain when the trailer got lifted back in place. With a strap over the top of each row that would be very unlikely to happen. Had that been packs that were two wide on each row instead of three or four I doubt there would have been an issue as long as the weights were within the limits of the internals.
Its not about whether it moves from side to side in transit so much as what it’d do in an accident. When you watch Highway Thru Hell on Discovery which is about a HGV recovery company in Canada and they have a truck go on its side, if its a flatbed or curtainsider almost every single time the load remains perfectly in place, even packs of timber, so when they get it back on the wheels they’re not having to spend hours picking it up. Currently the way many UK drivers “secure” their loads, when there’s an accident roads are closed hours longer than they need to be because of having to pick up the spilled load off the road. Every hour a motorway is closed apparently costs the economy £1million. The police and DVSA have obviously seen enough accidents where recovery has taken longer due to picking up the load that it has become a big enough problem that something has to be done about it. As usual the blame only lies with those in our job such as those who take the views of our cowboy regulars on here.
But there’s a lot that’s over the 400kg that you can’t ratchet strap. Take drinks for example which most drivers don’t strap. How can you ratchet them when the bottles are only wrapped in cling film? Even with corners it will still just implode on the pallet once it’s gets to any kind of tension that remotely offers load security. The normal answer to this from others is “well put pallets on top and ratchet over them”. What driver caries an empty 26 pallets about with them just in case? And if you ask the place you’ve loaded at, oh can I just grab an extra 26 pallets off you for this load your going to get told politely no. So what are you supposed to do?
ezydriver:
So we have to spend hundreds of hours per year to cover ourselves for a highly unlikely event just so DVSA don’t have to spend a few hours picking it all up? Lazy [zb].
Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads. Many drivers don’t bother to secure them properly because they’re lazy as can be witnessed where my lad was picking up chipboard at Birkenhead yesterday and most drivers were just chucking a single strap over each stack when given the size each pack was it needed to be at least three and ideally four on each 2 pack high stack and ideally five on each three pack high stack.
And it isn’t about the few hours it costs DVSA to pick it up but the THOUSANDS of hours lost every single hour it takes to clear the road and open it again. Say you have an accident on the M6 or M62 which takes four hours to clear. How many thousands of vehicles will have a significant amount of time added to their journey not just for the four hours after the accident but also for several hours after due to the congestion its caused on every major road in the area?
DickyNick:
But there’s a lot that’s over the 400kg that you can’t ratchet strap. Take drinks for example which most drivers don’t strap. How can you ratchet them when the bottles are only wrapped in cling film? Even with corners it will still just implode on the pallet once it’s gets to any kind of tension that remotely offers load security. The normal answer to this from others is “well put pallets on top and ratchet over them”. What driver caries an empty 26 pallets about with them just in case? And if you ask the place you’ve loaded at, oh can I just grab an extra 26 pallets off you for this load your going to get told politely no. So what are you supposed to do?
Stobarts use trailers with side rails that fit between the posts similar to how tilt trailers use planks. If one goes over on its side the pallets of bottles shouldn’t move or come apart because they’ve barely got any room to move.
Conor:
DickyNick:
But there’s a lot that’s over the 400kg that you can’t ratchet strap. Take drinks for example which most drivers don’t strap. How can you ratchet them when the bottles are only wrapped in cling film? Even with corners it will still just implode on the pallet once it’s gets to any kind of tension that remotely offers load security. The normal answer to this from others is “well put pallets on top and ratchet over them”. What driver caries an empty 26 pallets about with them just in case? And if you ask the place you’ve loaded at, oh can I just grab an extra 26 pallets off you for this load your going to get told politely no. So what are you supposed to do?Stobarts use trailers with side rails that fit between the posts similar to how tilt trailers use planks. If one goes over on its side the pallets of bottles shouldn’t move or come apart because they’ve barely got any room to move.
Good for them. What about if your pulling a standard curtainsider without those?
Conor:
ezydriver:
So we have to spend hundreds of hours per year to cover ourselves for a highly unlikely event just so DVSA don’t have to spend a few hours picking it all up? Lazy [zb].Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads.
It takes me that just to separate the ratchets and the tangled mess from what’s in the side locker.
DickyNick:
But there’s a lot that’s over the 400kg that you can’t ratchet strap. Take drinks for example which most drivers don’t strap. How can you ratchet them when the bottles are only wrapped in cling film? Even with corners it will still just implode on the pallet once it’s gets to any kind of tension that remotely offers load security. The normal answer to this from others is “well put pallets on top and ratchet over them”. What driver caries an empty 26 pallets about with them just in case? And if you ask the place you’ve loaded at, oh can I just grab an extra 26 pallets off you for this load your going to get told politely no. So what are you supposed to do?
I was in a similar position. Full load of bottles of fizzy pop wrapped in polythene. I put straps across as tight as I dared on every pallet and 2 across the back. There was not much else I could do
DickyNick:
Good for them. What about if your pulling a standard curtainsider without those?
Then you don’t take the load as the trailer isn’t suitable for it.
ezydriver:
Conor:
Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads.It takes me that just to separate the ratchets and the tangled mess from what’s in the side locker.
That’s because you or whoever had the wagon and used them before you is a lazy sod as I posted above. £15 for a strap winder. Take the ratchets completely off each strap and wind each strap up and then its not a tangled mess in the side locker is it? You open the ratchets right up and lay them flat in the bottom of the locker, you place the nice neatly wound up straps on top of them. You probably spend more time untangling the mess because you couldn’t be bothered to spend that extra 5 minutes destrapping than we spend strapping the load down and taking them off and winding the straps up at the other end.
Conor:
DickyNick:
Good for them. What about if your pulling a standard curtainsider without those?Then you don’t take the load as the trailer isn’t suitable for it.
ezydriver:
Conor:
Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads.It takes me that just to separate the ratchets and the tangled mess from what’s in the side locker.
That’s because you or whoever had the wagon and used them before you is a lazy sod as I posted above. £15 for a strap winder. Take the ratchets completely off each strap and wind each strap up and then its not a tangled mess in the side locker is it? You open the ratchets right up and lay them flat in the bottom of the locker, you place the nice neatly wound up straps on top of them. You probably spend more time untangling the mess because you couldn’t be bothered to spend that extra 5 minutes destrapping than we spend strapping the load down and taking them off and winding the straps up at the other end.
If every driver with a standard curtainsider did that Conor the supermarket drinks isles up and down the country would be empty.
I take it you’ve not got a sensible real world answer to my question then?
If every general haulage company started to refuse to take loads because the trailer isnt the correct spec for that exact product uk business wouldn’t get anywhere.
The police are pulling lorries in and checking load security and restraints now on M62.
Main place is Hartshead Moor and yesterday they were at Jct 20,No Dvsa present!
They have had a team trained what to look for,any problems they contact Dvsa for guidance.
Also Dvsa have warrant cards like police officers do,they can stop you and they can make you open it up,whatever it is your carrying,guidelines are if your not sure leave engine running doors locked,ask to see warrant card though window,ring number on card and ask to confirm ID,they will only pull you where it’s safe.
A curtain sider is just a flat trailer with side covers for weather protection to save sheeting it.Would you carry loads of heavy pallet loads of paper on a flat without securing it all.No.
I carried many loads of palletised paper products on tilt/flat trailers and later more often in box bodies.Did I think that it even had the potential to smash its way through a box body or defeat the roped load security I used on a tilt/flat.Yes.But at least either ticks all the DVSA boxes and reduces the odds more than just relying on a curtain and/or straps attached to the trailer roof to stop it. 
DickyNick:
Conor:
DickyNick:
Good for them. What about if your pulling a standard curtainsider without those?Then you don’t take the load as the trailer isn’t suitable for it.
ezydriver:
Conor:
Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads.It takes me that just to separate the ratchets and the tangled mess from what’s in the side locker.
That’s because you or whoever had the wagon and used them before you is a lazy sod as I posted above. £15 for a strap winder. Take the ratchets completely off each strap and wind each strap up and then its not a tangled mess in the side locker is it? You open the ratchets right up and lay them flat in the bottom of the locker, you place the nice neatly wound up straps on top of them. You probably spend more time untangling the mess because you couldn’t be bothered to spend that extra 5 minutes destrapping than we spend strapping the load down and taking them off and winding the straps up at the other end.
If every driver with a standard curtainsider did that Conor the supermarket drinks isles up and down the country would be empty.
I take it you’ve not got a sensible real world answer to my question then?
If every general haulage company started to refuse to take loads because the trailer isnt the correct spec for that exact product uk business wouldn’t get anywhere.
Maybe when the current hauliers get a few fines they WILL refuse these poorly wrapped pallets ? Maybe then the customers will either spend a couple of quid in stronger pallet wrapping to resist ratchets, or pay more on the rate so hauliers can buy heavier stronger trailers?
Maybe the “real world” will change before our eyes?
Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk
Conor:
DickyNick:
But there’s a lot that’s over the 400kg that you can’t ratchet strap. Take drinks for example which most drivers don’t strap. How can you ratchet them when the bottles are only wrapped in cling film? Even with corners it will still just implode on the pallet once it’s gets to any kind of tension that remotely offers load security. The normal answer to this from others is “well put pallets on top and ratchet over them”. What driver caries an empty 26 pallets about with them just in case? And if you ask the place you’ve loaded at, oh can I just grab an extra 26 pallets off you for this load your going to get told politely no. So what are you supposed to do?Stobarts use trailers with side rails that fit between the posts similar to how tilt trailers use planks. If one goes over on its side the pallets of bottles shouldn’t move or come apart because they’ve barely got any room to move.
Mjd found that out on the A13 the other Friday dviver swerved to try and avoid a boy racer hit a high Kirb throwing the load of cola thru the curtain taking the truck with it
dieseldog999:
that looks iike 20 more straps than id have on that myself.
perfect example of the lunatics running the asylum again…beancounters at their best.
Ditto.
Can’t wait to blow the horns at all the curtain sider balloons getting fined for not ratcheting their insulation and bog rolls as I toodle past with a fridge. 
I think we are a long way off hauliers saying they won’t take a load given that most drivers don’t bother strapping stufff at all. We are in a situation where if one driver phoned the office to say I’m not taking this load because I can’t secure it, all that will happen is that another driver who will get take it with no load security will get sent for it and the driver who said they wouldn’t will probably get brought in for some sort of disciplinary. This is one thing that us drivers can actually change because if everyone started saying no I’m not taking that then the hauliers will have to start taking interest and looking at ways of properly securing stuff. But all you have to do is post on here and see how many drivers will say nah I wouldn’t bother strapping that all. Nothing will change for as long as drivers have that attitude.
Conor:
DickyNick:
Good for them. What about if your pulling a standard curtainsider without those?Then you don’t take the load as the trailer isn’t suitable for it.
ezydriver:
Conor:
Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads.It takes me that just to separate the ratchets and the tangled mess from what’s in the side locker.
That’s because you or whoever had the wagon and used them before you is a lazy sod as I posted above. £15 for a strap winder. Take the ratchets completely off each strap and wind each strap up and then its not a tangled mess in the side locker is it? You open the ratchets right up and lay them flat in the bottom of the locker, you place the nice neatly wound up straps on top of them. You probably spend more time untangling the mess because you couldn’t be bothered to spend that extra 5 minutes destrapping than we spend strapping the load down and taking them off and winding the straps up at the other end.
It`s probably not him leaving that mess in the locker. The biggest idiots even leave the number plate at the bottom 
Conor:
ezydriver:
Conor:
Takes no longer than 15-20 minutes to properly secure most loads.It takes me that just to separate the ratchets and the tangled mess from what’s in the side locker.
That’s because you or whoever had the wagon and used them before you is a lazy sod as I posted above. £15 for a strap winder. Take the ratchets completely off each strap and wind each strap up and then its not a tangled mess in the side locker is it? You open the ratchets right up and lay them flat in the bottom of the locker, you place the nice neatly wound up straps on top of them. You probably spend more time untangling the mess because you couldn’t be bothered to spend that extra 5 minutes destrapping than we spend strapping the load down and taking them off and winding the straps up at the other end.
Yeah I guess you’re right.
TheUncaringCowboy:
dieseldog999:
that looks iike 20 more straps than id have on that myself.
perfect example of the lunatics running the asylum again…beancounters at their best.Ditto.
Can’t wait to blow the horns at all the curtain sider balloons getting fined for not ratcheting their insulation and bog rolls as I toodle past with a fridge.
“Curtain sider balloons” Love it!