Hi everyone, so I’ve just been assigned my first class 2 job for this Monday. I have a few questions to make sure I understand the tacho side of things. I’m sorry these are very basic questions and I’m pretty sure I know the answer but I would like to be sure, and I strongly think there should be a few hours showing new drivers how it all works.
In the morning I place my card in and set it to other work while I do my checks etc. It will automatically record my driving when moving and then when stopped it will be on other work. When waiting to be unloaded I should set to other work or break if I’m able to get a 15 or 45 min in? Not to use poa as I want the waiting time to be added to my working day.
Do I do a print out of this at tge end of the day for my own records?
Any advice would be helpful and if I’ve got any of the above wrong then please please please correct me.
Also if anyone has a good sat nav app that I can enter all truck details in that would also be appreciated
You never need to apologise to ask basic questions that’s how we all learn and everyone had to start somewhere.
I agree with you on some tacho training, as manual entries can be easily messed up by one wrong option on pressing a button.
If you are lucky and have time to find another driver, he or she will be happy to oblige depending on their booking times for delivery as Palletline fine the hauliers for late delivery slots .
If you are told to start work at 06.00 and your lorry is not available ( Still in the workshop, late from the night run ) and you finally get inside the lorry at 07.15 , you will need to input a manual entry and enter 06.00 as the start time as these times must coincide.
Do the walk around check without rushing, something not right, get the garage to sort it or get another vehicle, why risk your license as the employer won’t back you up and deny everything.
Other work crossed hammers for the check , and beware of some tachograph models that when waiting in traffic jam or stuck in an accident , check what mode it goes in to when stopped for the default mode .
Tarmaceater:
You never need to apologise to ask basic questions that’s how we all learn and everyone had to start somewhere.
I agree with you on some tacho training, as manual entries can be easily messed up by one wrong option on pressing a button.
If you are lucky and have time to find another driver, he or she will be happy to oblige depending on their booking times for delivery as Palletline fine the hauliers for late delivery slots .
If you are told to start work at 06.00 and your lorry is not available ( Still in the workshop, late from the night run ) and you finally get inside the lorry at 07.15 , you will need to input a manual entry and enter 06.00 as the start time as these times must coincide.
Do the walk around check without rushing, something not right, get the garage to sort it or get another vehicle, why risk your license as the employer won’t back you up and deny everything.
Other work crossed hammers for the check , and beware of some tachograph models that when waiting in traffic jam or stuck in an accident , check what mode it goes in to when stopped for the default mode .
Thanks for the reply, so I’ll watch a video on how to do a manual entry for that.
If I want to check how much I’ve currently driven, am I right in thinking I just press down on the unit?
There’s an option to check how many hours driven , some display it the tachograph all the time and some display driving time on the dashboard and some work out how much daily rest is required along with how much weekly rest and driving limits over a two week period.
No need for daily print outs as the bean counters will dock your pay for wasting paper, lol.
I find it handy to record all the days activities in a hand written diary, for example how many pallets to where, any discrepancies, loss, damage or something missing on the load so when questioned later you can consult your notes .
I have had planners ring me when they know I’m driving and say Hi Mark Heeter , you know that Liverpool drop you did last month, the customer has said, said that and the goods are not this or not that?
I say when I stop for my break, I will check my diary and put him right.
Tarmaceater:
I find it handy to record all the days activities in a hand written diary, for example how many pallets to where, any discrepancies, loss, damage or something missing on the load so when questioned later you can consult your notes .
I have had planners ring me when they know I’m driving and say Hi Mark Heeter , you know that Liverpool drop you did last month, the customer has said, said that and the goods are not this or not that?
I say when I stop for my break, I will check my diary and put him right.
I think this is probably the single most handy bit of advice I’ve received so far, i will definitely take this on board and run with it. I’m hoping the unit I get is easy to use but if its confusing I’ll grab another driver, thanks for your help
Setting the tachograph mode to break mode while being loaded or unloaded is up to you , if you take the legal break to what is required at the time that break is needed for driving hours or working time breaks, it could mean you can’t all your drops off or literally run out of time away from base and have to spend a night in the cab known as an unplanned night out .
Or the firm have to rescue you by sending a driver to pick the lorry up and you drive the work van back to base .
Some firms will exploit their drivers and put too much work on knowing to finish the run , you won’t have time for breaks so most drivers record breaks on the tachograph while working and later on have a proper break in comfort for example once empty or before you start collection runs .
The above is strictly illegal and potentially tachograph fraud and can end up in fines or prison depending on how long or if involved in a fatal accident and DVSA trawl back several years worth of records .
And if in doubt with access to an address, get out the cab, lock it , and walk down the narrow lane to make sure you can fit down there, and ignore farmers and regular customers that will say the milk tanker or bin lorry gets there all the time or some dopey idiot who doesn’t know one side of a lorry to another will say ; Oh yes , I see lorries going there daily and it transpires the “Lorry” is in fact a Ford Transit van towing a trailer.
A local paper reported an incident with a lorry and quoted it was a Nissan , since when did you see a Micra hauling at 44 MGW ?
Tarmaceater:
The above is strictly illegal and potentially tachograph fraud and can end up in fines or prison depending on how long or if involved in a fatal accident and DVSA trawl back several years worth of records .
OK ill make sure I’ll keep that in mind, what I’ve been told is I’m working for a small company delivering pallets of pet food, it will be about 10 drops in the local area. So what I think I will do is take breaks as and when I need to, until I get to know my route at least. They are also aware I’m a new driver and I’m thinking that’s either good or bad. I’m hoping they will understand I’m new and not try to take advantage. I’m just going to turn up, keep to my driving and work hours and the rest is in the hands of them lol
If the woofer or ■■■■■ food pallet weighs over 400 kgs it will need a ratchet ■■■■■■■■ each pallet if it weighs below 400 kgs then just put an internal ■■■■■■■■ it .
If you look on the stick on labels on the pallet it will give the weight of each bag of food so you need to calculate the total weight to consider what type of load security to use , I recommend a brush, a wide width one and a dust pan to sweep up the spilt food from torn and ripped bags .
Your boss or customer may say they don’t want their load strapped in case of damage to the bags ,once again, that’s your call on what to do legally or not then get stopped by DVSA or the load falls out the curtains.
Tarmaceater:
If the woofer or ■■■■■ food pallet weighs over 400 kgs it will need a ratchet ■■■■■■■■ each pallet if it weighs below 400 kgs then just put an internal ■■■■■■■■ it .
If you look on the stick on labels on the pallet it will give the weight of each bag of food so you need to calculate the total weight to consider what type of load security to use , I recommend a brush, a wide width one and a dust pan to sweep up the spilt food from torn and ripped bags .
Your boss or customer may say they don’t want their load strapped in case of damage to the bags ,once again, that’s your call on what to do legally or not then get stopped by DVSA or the load falls out the curtains.
Again thank you, I’ve been told the truck is a ridged and I’ll be using a pump truck, it should already be loaded, but of course I’ll be checking the load and the paperwork.
You’ve been more helpful in the last hour or so then anyone else I’ve spoken to so really and honestly thank you
Drink lots of water to avoid dehydration and a good quality Thermos to save expensive motorway or fuel station coffee hiked prices, if the lorry has a cool box or fridge I get Mrs Heeter to cook a whole chicken with some rice and vegetables or some pasta .
Avoiding the high calorie Greggs and McDonald’s cholesterol diet .
Ignore comments of ; The regular driver was quicker, on time or did it this way or that way just do it your way .
Tarmaceater:
Drink lots of water to avoid dehydration and a good quality Thermos to save expensive motorway or fuel station coffee hiked prices, if the lorry has a cool box or fridge I get Mrs Heeter to cook a whole chicken with some rice and vegetables or some pasta .
Avoiding the high calorie Greggs and McDonald’s cholesterol diet .
Ignore comments of ; The regular driver was quicker, on time or did it this way or that way just do it your way .
Yes I’m on a big diet anyway, lost just over a stone in the last 4 weeks, so I was going to cook up some chicken breast and rice, with a few fruit pots for the day, plus like 6 big bottles of water. I’m looking forward to it. Only thing that was worrying me was getting paid by a umbrella company. I’ve never had to deal with 1 before and I’m not looking forward to dealing with them now. But wages in my area seem to be on the rise and the bigger companies are slowly starting to accept newer drivers. I’m hoping 6 months of agencies and I’ll find something.
Sorry to be a bore, the pump truck will need to safely secured by a strap and an old car tyre where the pump truck wheels are to stop it moving or coming out the lorry, I had a phone call from a Porsche driver who phoned the office, manager rings me, stop he said, your pump truck is hanging out the back doors , luckily I put a dog clip on the door otherwise it would have fallen on the road .
I did think why is the Porsche driver hooting and flashing lights and pointing when he over took me !
If your back plays up , insist on an electrical pump truck, they can’t refuse in case you sue them for loss of earnings or loss of license due to permanent back injury and a big compensation pay out .
Tarmaceater:
Sorry to be a bore, the pump truck will need to safely secured by a strap and an old car tyre where the pump truck wheels are to stop it moving or coming out the lorry, I had a phone call from a Porsche driver who phoned the office, manager rings me, stop he said, your pump truck is hanging out the back doors , luckily I put a dog clip on the door otherwise it would have fallen on the road .
I did think why is the Porsche driver hooting and flashing lights and pointing when he over took me !
If your back plays up , insist on an electrical pump truck, they can’t refuse in case you sue them for loss of earnings or loss of license due to permanent back injury and a big compensation pay out .
Never a bore, I wouldn’t have thought about that, so safety strap the pump with a tyre where the wheels are, and yes I do have a doggy back as it goes so I can request a electrical pump? OK ill make sure I ask for that when I get there.
Again thank you for taking the time to answer and offer this advice
I delivered pet food and if I was late for a confirmed booking time I would say what happened, did the dog or cat die from hunger from being an hour late .
Tarmaceater:
I delivered pet food and if I was late for a confirmed booking time I would say what happened, did the dog or cat die from hunger from being an hour late .
Well I’m just going to turn up and do what I need to do, that includes checks, breaks and everything else. If I’m late, then sorry but it happens. I’m not going to be pressured.
You the lorry keys, you have control of your vehicle and how the day pans out , if you want to take a more leisurely scenic route , so be it ,to break up the boredom and mundane day I did it all the time, if the planner rang to say according to the tracker, you have gone off authorised routes ( Whatever that means! ) I would say ; Well a young lass was going to jump off a bridge and the police shut the road so I went that way to save you money and wasted diesel, chances are the pointy shoed wearing Muppet can’t be bothered to check live traffic updates or listen to Traffic Sally on Radio Two !
Tarmaceater:
You the lorry keys, you have control of your vehicle and how the day pans out , if you want to take a more leisurely scenic route , so be it ,to break up the boredom and mundane day I did it all the time, if the planner rang to say according to the tracker, you have gone off authorised routes ( Whatever that means! ) I would say ; Well a young lass was going to jump off a bridge and the police shut the road so I went that way to save you money and wasted diesel, chances are the pointy shoed wearing Muppet can’t be bothered to check live traffic updates or listen to Traffic Sally on Radio Two !
Lol fair enough, I’ll let you know how the first day went.
Tarmaceater:
… it could mean you can’t all your drops off or literally run out of time away from base and have to spend a night in the cab known as an unplanned night out . Or the firm have to rescue you by sending a driver to pick the lorry up and you drive the work van back to base .
Careful here …
If the driver still has shift time available then OK but if no shift time left and a rest period is needed then this cannot be done legally
Rog is correct, there was a coach company that found out the hard way and caught driving long distances after running out of duty / driving time , it went to court .