Pedantic maybe, but you’re only required to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy before setting off.
The time it takes or when and how you achieve that is up to the driver.
i.e. this truck has a lamp-out warning system, so I don’t actually need to check the indicators and stop lights every day…I check them every 3 days or so…but the system doesn’t work for a body light,so they get checked daily.
I normally show 5-10mins in the morning, to be fair its takes about that long to close the doors, check no one has had your fuel, tyres pumped up fill out paper work etc… Only time i dont is if im in a real rush but try not to make a habit of it.
at the mo being a night man on containers, i have a different truck every night, also if i’m shunting, could be 3 or 4 different units in 1 night, and say 5 or 6 trailers, (this is rare, normally 1 motor and trailer per night.)
now as i like to cover my arse, i’ll do a proper walk round check for each vehicle i’m in, or trailer i pull that night. at approx 10-15 mins a go, you can lose a fair chunk of your working time each night.
when i’m on the other job, working away keeping the same truck and trailer all week, i’d do a full check at the start of each trip, and a brief visual, lights tyres etc on a daily basis.
Where i work its 15mins per unit and 15 mins per trailer and must be shown on the card and we swap up to 4 trailers per shift and each swap must be showing 15 mins or we are invited in for chat. 
Card goes in at start time! Walk round the truck check lights,tyres and trailer etc! Check the load is stable and button up curtains! Walk back to cab and that is around 10-15 minutes every night!
dessy:
Card goes in at start time! Walk round the truck check lights,tyres and trailer etc! Check the load is stable and button up curtains! Walk back to cab and that is around 10-15 minutes every night!
Same as above, except the ‘check load is stable’, as it’s never ready, so off to make enquiries and then tacho goes on POA and i’m heading for the canteen! Said here before, a couple of our blokes just jump in, and go. Came back this morning and one of them was stopped just outside the gates doing his paperwork…I pulled along side for a quick natter (where you off etc etc) and noticed he had a flat on the o/s middle axle on the trailer…reckoned it was ok when he’d checked it 5 minutes earlier. Seeing as it was on one of the spare trailers, it could have been like that for months. Sometimes I wish I’d just let these boys just get on with it
To be honest daily checks suffer from a big cry wolf element and going through the motions. I would say hardly any dangerous (or any) faults are identified from them. Most faults drivers report identify themselves whilst driving and the overwhelming majority are picked up at maintenance inspections.
A lot of drivers just do a going through the motions walk round tyre kick and spray supression waggling and them spending an entire quarter of an hour doing it won’t be any extra benefit. If they’re going to spend that long, I really don’t know why VOSA think they should, as I’ve been through test stations in not much more than that.
Another thing is that when i’ve done my check, I ‘partially’ complete both defect sheets (bulbs,washers, wipers etc etc) and complete them when I return to base (brakes, steering etc etc)…these same few drivers complete it all before they pull off the bay
The law states a full record of the drivers day must be kept. The 15mins is an average time for most drivers to get keys do paperwork and then check the vehicle.
If VOSA try to say you MUST show a 15 min check ask them why both their LGV and PCV Check It Out dvds the VOSA officer says checks should only take a few minutes.
Surely it depends on the vehicle how long a check will take ,a 7.5t truck only takes a couple of mins a fully loaded car transporter surely takes much longer
i do my checks several times per day. the law says daily checks should be done once in every 24 hour period. it dosn’t stipulate for how long.
i’ve been pulled about once every two weeks, so i think i’m pretty qualified to say “vosa don’t expect you to do a 15 minute check at all”.
they’re happy with the way i do mine. little and often.
In the stuff about read and seen from VOSA about walk round checks at no point have I seen them mention it must take a minimum of 15 minutes to check you truck. I have seen something from them that said the time taken to check a truck will depend on the truck and the type of work, so if you drive a different truck everyday or the truck is used by somebody else then it will take a lot longer to do the checks than if you are the only driver of a the truck.
When i got pulled by VOSA last june, after downloading my card they were happy with it showing 5 minutes for my checks. But i do always make sure it shows 10 minutes of other work just to cover my arse.
What vosa would like you to do (It takes this guy 25 minutes and 20 minutes of that is him explaining so really he only takes 5 minutes to check the vehicle)
There’s no legal requirements to fill in a defect sheet or book as long as there is a procedure for repoeting faults & getting them fixed , if you do your checks & find a fault your not going to take the vehicle out as normal are you ?! … its just an arse cov3ring who can we blame exercise …
kemaro:
There’s no legal requirements to fill in a defect sheet or book as long as there is a procedure for repoeting faults & getting them fixed , if you do your checks & find a fault your not going to take the vehicle out as normal are you ?! … its just an arse cov3ring who can we blame exercise …
Worth doing as it can be used to show the fault didn’t exist when you left if you do get pulled - or at least you pretended not to see the fault when you left.
Its a case of covering yourself in the case of some tragic event, If you put your card in at 6am then leave depot at 6;05 turn right 100 yards down the road and the trailer goes straight on VOSA will will say there was no way you could have done all your paperwork and proper walkaround check in 5 minutes.
jaygrc:
after doing some of the cpc coarse.we was told that you have to do 15 mins of checks,with digi card in,or tacho.without moving vehicle.sometimes leave before 15 mins.doe’s anyone know,how strict are vosa on this?
Was pulled into carlisle this morning and i never show more than 5 mins other work before turning a wheel card given back and told all ok so I wouldn’t worry about it to much
jaygrc:
after doing some of the cpc coarse.we was told that you have to do 15 mins of checks,with digi card in,or tacho.without moving vehicle.sometimes leave before 15 mins.doe’s anyone know,how strict are vosa on this?
Why with out moving? some vosa like to see a movement to show you checked the bottom of the tyres.
Alarm goes off, kettle on, card in,sort a brew, get dressed, walk round check, and off I go.
