another bridge strike

[pimpdaddy]

Slackbladder:
I would have thought it was fairly simple.

If it was that ‘simple’ this bridge strike wouldn’t have occurred…

Tarrman:
Edit, the pictured trailer has the overall height marked on it (90% sure).

Im 90% sure tesco trailers don’t have overall heights on them (they’re too stupid to change)… Ps I know nothing about Stobart’s kit.

Tarrman:
Double deckers are everywhere and an awful lot of companies use them, it’s unfair to point the finger at Tesco for running them.

I think it’s fair, Sainsbury & aldi use very few dd & they are doing well, I wonder how they manage…!?

[tarrman]

What about Asda, they use more than anybody, Morrisons too and not forgetting Waitrose. Plenty supermarkets use them. Sainsburys must be the odd ones out for some reason. Aldi/Lidl don’t really count as their stores arnt exactly the largest, same goes for Iceland.

[tarrman]

dozy:

Pimpdaddy:

Juddian:
There’s nothing wrong with running DD’s anywhere

Yes there is, otherwise this thread wouldn’t exist…

• 1, I’ve just had the pleasure of tipping 75 cages apx and then reloading them,the back door bloke had too sit down as he said he was having heart palpitations ( he’d just tipped a goole one before mine),
  Middle summer up on top,deck it’s bloody hot ,your sticking your head down side of doors too try and get some air whilst back door bloke takes stuff down on scissor lift.alot go down on scissor lift to get some air.
  Really confined place up on top deck.
  Then you get like last night frozen on top deck,floors like a block of ice,straps are frozen solid.
  Bet the zb stitch me up with another one tomorrow
  Ban them

Thats a bit extreme, you can get just as cold/hot on a single decker, besides you shouldn’t be left up on the top deck when the scissor lift is down what would happen incase of a fire alarm

Ok so I stay up top as do lots of other drivers, but I at least take me bob hat with me as I know I’ll be standing around while the old codger downstairs fumbles about one cage at a time.

[dozy]

Tarrman:

dozy:

Pimpdaddy:

Juddian:
There’s nothing wrong with running DD’s anywhere

Yes there is, otherwise this thread wouldn’t exist…

• 1, I’ve just had the pleasure of tipping 75 cages apx and then reloading them,the back door bloke had too sit down as he said he was having heart palpitations ( he’d just tipped a goole one before mine),
  Middle summer up on top,deck it’s bloody hot ,your sticking your head down side of doors too try and get some air whilst back door bloke takes stuff down on scissor lift.alot go down on scissor lift to get some air.
  Really confined place up on top deck.
  Then you get like last night frozen on top deck,floors like a block of ice,straps are frozen solid.
  Bet the zb stitch me up with another one tomorrow
  Ban them

Thats a bit extreme, you can get just as cold/hot on a single decker, besides you shouldn’t be left up on the top deck when the scissor lift is down what would happen incase of a fire alarm

Ok so I stay up top as do lots of other drivers, but I at least take me bob hat with me as I know I’ll be standing around while the old codger downstairs fumbles about one cage at a time.

Very rarely have them so don’t bother with bob hat etc,only get them when I get a 6x2 ,that’s why I love the g 4x2 so much
Sorry only got a 4x2 can’t do a d/d ,even ring the planner up and tell him too take it off me,when he tries too sneak one on me,60 cages on consignment details is a dead give away though
I prefer the 8 m tris ,20 odd cages is it ,that’s enough for me,can’t take any rubbish as back haul

[juddian]

dozy:

Juddian:
There’s nothing wrong with running DD’s anywhere (unless a delivery point is surrounded by low bridges/trees), car transporter drivers manage to get round at that height without too much bother, and without tree damage.

Its not company greed (other than using incompetent drivers) its driver negligence…maybe Tesco should go back to offering proper jobs with good T&C’s and cherry pick.

Rubbish,a car transporter driver hit the arched bridge on harlaxton rd in Grantham ( it was headline news in the Grantham journal) about two years ago,if I remember right 2 cars came off as he didn’t go though the centre ,hit the side of the arched bridge as he came from wharf road onto,harlaxton road.
There was also a thread on here recently ,few months ago showing a car transporter that had hit a bridge

Unfortunately there are some companies that think the job can be done on the cheap, one very large company (that you know well), that has recently bought into the game, thought that too, and as predicted are finding out the hard way that it simply don’t compute.

Those lorries were not driven by car transporter ‘drivers’, they were, as the pics further up page, driven by licence holders who happened to hit a bridge with a car carrier instead of what ever else they might be at the wheel of.

Years ago my old gaffer gave me a bloke to train up on a car carrier, after one terrifying day it was blatantly obvious that this bloke would never be a lorry driver as long as he had a hole in his arse, so i refused to take him out or train him any further…my then gaffer took over and trained him, and about 3 months (actually thinking back it wasn’t that long, more like 6 to 8 weeks) later this bloke stuffed it fully loaded into a low bridge at speed.

Some people are not cut out to be lorry drivers, the results we see every day speak for themselves.

The only good thing is that those companies who think they can operate cheap, and then cheaper still, find out far more expensively the realities, the drivers who can’t drive simply clear off elsewhere and carry on.

This situation won’t change until accident records are electronically attached to a vocational drivers licence or digi card, i doubt that will happen till insurers insist on knowing drivers identities.

[nick2008]

Juddian:
Some people are not cut out to be lorry drivers, the results we see every day speak for themselves.

+1

[slackbladder]

nick2008:

Juddian:
Some people are not cut out to be lorry drivers, the results we see every day speak for themselves.

+1

Exactly, if “drivers” cannot get the simple things right then they should think about a career change.

[nick2008]

Slackbladder:

nick2008:

Juddian:
Some people are not cut out to be lorry drivers, the results we see every day speak for themselves.

+1

Exactly, if “drivers” cannot get the simple things right then they should think about a career change.

I think the revoking of their licence for neglect and dangerous driving should be mandatory at least a 4 week ban

[0a]

codge123:
Stobart truck strikes Widnes railway bridge | Runcorn and Widnes World

seems to be happening regularly for mr stobarts, but in his defense it must have been cramped in the cab, as check out the third paragraph
"“How can a 16ft truck driver not realise the size of his load?”
if he was that big there was no way I was going to take the ■■■■ out of him.

i’ll bet it was a swiss roll or some other useless ■■■■ import.

[the_maoster]

Juddian:
This situation won’t change until accident records are electronically attached to a vocational drivers licence or digi card, i doubt that will happen till insurers insist on knowing drivers identities.

I’ve read before what you say about insurance companies Juddian and tbh it’s a good point. However, I wonder how many of your large “logistics” co’s self insure, and if they do whether they accept rubbish drivers as part and parcel of paying rubbish wages?

If they do then imo nothing will change.

[juddian]

the maoster:

Juddian:
This situation won’t change until accident records are electronically attached to a vocational drivers licence or digi card, i doubt that will happen till insurers insist on knowing drivers identities.

I’ve read before what you say about insurance companies Juddian and tbh it’s a good point. However, I wonder how many of your large “logistics” co’s self insure, and if they do whether they accept rubbish drivers as part and parcel of paying rubbish wages?

If they do then imo nothing will change.

Thats a fair point, i wonder when these companies get as large and impersonal as local authorities, or worse government, there becomes a regime of number counting only and no two depts could possibly dream of pooling knowledge let alone working together, each doing their best to ensure the numbers look good for their own bonus’.

eg Personell saved £1.2m on wages by employing cheap staff.

Meanwhile fleet lost £1.0m on unecessary accident and other losses.

At the same time distribution dept had to condemn £0.5m of food to scrap following accident damage, and no one counted the other £0.5m in lost time or fuel wasted or other costs.

The people who could see the whole picture would be real transport men/women, and they’re getting pretty thin on the ground.

You’d think, considering how many lorries fall over and hit bridges and drive straight off the road, that someone high up would be asking pertinent questions by now.

[andrejs]

There were not 13 warning signs, there was a sign post and a sign on the bridge. The driver had set the height indicator in his cab correctly."
nice answers.set height indicator correctly and you can go under any bridge.

[andrejs]

some time i can t understand -why some company build Depo in town.must buil somewhere out of towwn.less congestion,accident,emmission .

[seany]

Andrejs:
some time i can t understand -why some company build Depo in town.must buil somewhere out of towwn.less congestion,accident,emmission .

Sometimes I can’t understand you.

[iangam]

+1 Juddian. As a Car Transporter driver we use a height stick to measure our loads, these are available for anyone to buy and at about £70 they are cheaper than the fine for driving without due care. If companies are marking trailers with confusing heights get a measuring devise and cover ones own ■■■.

[newlad]

Slackbladder:

Pimpdaddy:

rob22888:
It just makes good business sense to get more on one load if you have good enough access at the stores, surely?

Maybe so but how about me the driver who’s job depends on load movements & my licence, livelihood, public safety being put at risk in the event of a bridge strike…?

I would have thought it was fairly simple.

1. Know the height of the trailer you are pulling. It’s written on the front as an aid.
2. Learn to read traffic signs.
3. Don’t believe the height indicator in the cab.
4. In the event of coming across a bridge on an unfamiliar route don’t think " it looks like it might fit"
5. Ask about the route before you leave site.

6. Carry a ■■■■■■■ tape measure!

[rob22888]

dozy:
Then you get like last night frozen on top deck,floors like a block of ice,straps are frozen solid.

Always wondered this about Tesco work on the chilled & frozen side - given it’s all cages why not just use loading bars & cups instead of ■■■■■■■ about with straps? I know it’s not your choice how the trailers are kitted out but it’d be a lot easier surely, although i’m sure theres a reason…

[pimpdaddy]

rob22888:
Always wondered this about Tesco work on the chilled & frozen side - given it’s all cages why not just use loading bars & cups instead of ■■■■■■■ about with straps? I know it’s not your choice how the trailers are kitted out but it’d be a lot easier surely, although i’m sure theres a reason…

Thats too simple & logical for tesco, they’re too stupid to think of that, I’m sure it costs them more in replacing damaged straps than it would having bars in…

[juddian]

The problem with just using bars is that they allow the cages to rock from side to side during corners, adding a weight shift situation.

The best supermarket cage securing i ever saw was the standard practice at Kwik Save, of all places.

Each row of three had a strap across from as far as one could reach down the side of each cage, every third row (still strapped) had a bar across too.

Same all the way to the back where two bars were used and two straps, no pallets used, everything on cages.

Those loads never moved an inch…it might sound overkill, but Kwik Save shops didn’t have massive loading bays you could put a supertanker on sideways, they were often on street delieveries and others were on steep uphill inclines so you needed every row securing for safety, indeed K/S took delivery safety genuinly seriously not the current box ticking.

[dozy]

rob22888:

dozy:
Then you get like last night frozen on top deck,floors like a block of ice,straps are frozen solid.

Always wondered this about Tesco work on the chilled & frozen side - given it’s all cages why not just use loading bars & cups instead of ■■■■■■■ about with straps? I know it’s not your choice how the trailers are kitted out but it’d be a lot easier surely, although i’m sure theres a reason…

But how would you go on if you had say 7 cages,you could bar the 1st -3, bar 2nd-3, then you’d have a row with1 cage( I always carry 2 straps of my own) so could strap that cage up,but would every driver
There maybe another way of securing that 0dd cage,odd 2 cages but tired so can think
Would weight also be a issue,some of those d/d are right on the limit,25 ish bars on a d/d + cups ,I may be way off on that one,maybe it wouldn’t make a lot of difference but just a thought