if as you say it stuck out 6 inches and you couldnt see behind in your mirror …could the offending pallet be moved to the rear of the trailer …i would have not refused to take it but said when its moved to a more suitable place then i will move the truck
you cannot say a load isn’t safe just because it obscures your mirrors, how do you thing we (or anyone else) go on with wide loads? 
although it’s not unreasonable to ask them to restow it if possible, the original post just says “stroppy for the sake of it” to me 
Had this problem a few times when I was carrying pallets all the time, just asked them if they would mind shifting it please and never had a problem. Always treat loaders and forkies politely and with respect and haven’t had a problem yet! 
jammymutt:
You go in to work and there is a bulge that bad in the o/s curtain that you cant see the back of the trailer in fact all you can see is the pallet thats hanging 6 inches over the edge of the trailer.What do you do refuse to take the load as you cant see behind you in your mirrors?.
Nothing because it is perfectly legal to take it. I guess you’ve never moved sacks of cocoa beans or large packs of chipboard?
I use to have the same problem with a euroliner loaded with tyres. You cannot disguise them from thieving scumbags 
as the tyre tread is visible in the curtain.
Before loading we would chuck a couple or three straps over the roof but the tyres just bulged out between them.
I have done a lot of caravan haulage in the past and the problem is the same except a caravan is not very sturdy if you catch a lamp post 
Ok so believe it or not i now have to face a disiplinary for refusing to take a load that i thought was unsafe, there seems to be some of you who would have and some who would not have taken this load.
Thats fair enough and at the end of the day the drivers decision is final on load safety i now have to explain to people why i thought the load was unsafe I.E. i could NOT see behind me, which i personally think is a must with an articulated vehicle but some of you think not thats fine and of course its your opinion.
The problem is when i face my disciplinary i am accused of not doing what a manager reasonably asked me to do and i will probably have to face some people who dont know what the front and back end of a lorry are thats the saddest part really, human ■■■■■■■ resources who know ■■■■ all about lorries.
Should i ask them what the maximum weight is on the vehicle, how high it is?, what hours i can and cant drive?, what lights i need to be working when i check it, what the tyre pressures are?, what the torque settings should be for the wheel nuts?, what the speed limits are on certain roads?.
the funny thing is they dont need to know they dont even need to know the vehicle limits when it comes to bulging curtains all they need to do is bring their clipboards and their management thoughts and views.
It looks like im for the high jump and ont thing i know for sure is if i am its the last time i will EVER drive a lorry if it come to that.
If i go inside for “inserting a table in a sphincter without reasonable cause” i hope some of you will write to me. 
:):):):)…
jammymutt:
Ok so believe it or not i now have to face a disiplinary for refusing to take a load that i thought was unsafe, there seems to be some of you who would have and some who would not have taken this load.Thats fair enough and at the end of the day the drivers decision is final on load safety i now have to explain to people why i thought the load was unsafe I.E. i could NOT see behind me, which i personally think is a must with an articulated vehicle but some of you think not thats fine and of course its your opinion.
The problem there is that due to the fact the vehicle articulates, there are times when you won’t be able to see behind or down the side of your trailer. Do we ban hgv’s from making left hand turns greater than 45 degrees because the driver will be unable to see the rear of his trailer in his mirrors? its not that you had no rearward visability, it was simply restricted slightly on one side.
jammymutt:
The problem is when i face my disciplinary i am accused of not doing what a manager reasonably asked me to do and i will probably have to face some people who dont know what the front and back end of a lorry are thats the saddest part really, human [zb] resources who know [zb] all about lorries.Should i ask them what the maximum weight is on the vehicle, how high it is?, what hours i can and cant drive?, what lights i need to be working when i check it, what the tyre pressures are?, what the torque settings should be for the wheel nuts?, what the speed limits are on certain roads?.
No, that will make you look an arse. if what you have said on here is the truth, just tell them that. in your opinion, the trailer had been loaded badly, in a way that created increased blindspots, and could have lead to you having an accident whilst manovering. there was room within the trailer for the item to be repositioned, you requested that this be done but it was refused.
jammymutt:
the funny thing is they dont need to know they dont even need to know the vehicle limits when it comes to bulging curtains all they need to do is bring their clipboards and their management thoughts and views.It looks like im for the high jump and ont thing i know for sure is if i am its the last time i will EVER drive a lorry if it come to that.
Look
if they come down hard on you, next time this arises, take the trailer, photograph the load and take the curtain off exiting the yard and then explain that due to a previous disapliniary, you now felt pressured to take vehicles out you were not confident were safe.
jammymutt:
If i go inside for “inserting a table in a sphincter without reasonable cause” i hope some of you will write to me.
He-he, we could be in the same nick the way things are going for both of us.
there seems to be some of you who would have and some who would not have taken this load.
You’ll always find someone who’ll take out anything.
Ask the local traffic commisionar to be your representative for the hearing 
jammymutt:
Ok so believe it or not i now have to face a disiplinary for refusing to take a load that i thought was unsafe, there seems to be some of you who would have and some who would not have taken this load.Thats fair enough and at the end of the day the drivers decision is final on load safety i now have to explain to people why i thought the load was unsafe I.E. i could NOT see behind me, which i personally think is a must with an articulated vehicle but some of you think not thats fine and of course its your opinion.
The problem is when i face my disciplinary i am accused of not doing what a manager reasonably asked me to do and i will probably have to face some people who dont know what the front and back end of a lorry are thats the saddest part really, human [zb] resources who know [zb] all about lorries.
Should i ask them what the maximum weight is on the vehicle, how high it is?, what hours i can and cant drive?, what lights i need to be working when i check it, what the tyre pressures are?, what the torque settings should be for the wheel nuts?, what the speed limits are on certain roads?.
the funny thing is they dont need to know they dont even need to know the vehicle limits when it comes to bulging curtains all they need to do is bring their clipboards and their management thoughts and views.
It looks like im for the high jump and ont thing i know for sure is if i am its the last time i will EVER drive a lorry if it come to that.
If i go inside for “inserting a table in a sphincter without reasonable cause” i hope some of you will write to me.
Just ask them if it is company policy for their drivers to break the law. Give them copies of the regulations covering this and point out it will be unfair dismissal (compensation) to fire some one because they refused to use something that is unsafe.
Also if it is who I think it is they should have risk assesments of everything and anything, ask for the risk assesments of the operation of trailers and wether they considered objects pertruding the curtian, if it hasnt been mentioned in the risk assesment then they cant do anything to you because it hasnt been ok.d.
But keep your head, dont shout, dont argue just get your point across. If they dont accept it take legal action.
Jammy. Go and knock the mirrors off the managers car and ask him to drive it up the motorway.
And ask him how much he can see when he’s trying to overtake something.
I’m with you mate.
Tony b
What i find amazing is that yes the law says you need mirrors fitted to a vehicle and you need to be able to see them but there is nothing in law (that i can find) that says you need to be able to see anything in them.
Which basically means you can drive a rigid and have the load just behind the mirrors blocking your entire rear view and you have no rights to see beyond your load.
It looks like all along i have been wrong in this case it is NOT the drivers decision if he thinks his health and safety has been jeapordised, the driver is NOT responsible for the safety on the road but it is up to the TM at the end of the day to decide what is and is not safe and as a driver you MUST take the load out as you can actually see the mirror from the drivers seat.
Oh well it looks like my p45 will be seeing me again.
Does anyone know the situation on claiming dole if you are sacked from having a 13 week trial period ?..:):):)
3.14 Normally the load should be arranged so that it does not obstruct the driver’s field of vision
including rear view through the driving mirrors. In the case of wide or long projecting loads or
where the load obscures obligatory lights, reflectors, rear markings or registration plates care
must be taken to ensure that the requirements of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989
(SI No 1796) continue to be complied with.
16.1 Conventional load restraining methods (covered in earlier sections) must always be used so
that the loads are prevented from moving in any directions during transit. As a general rule,
goods carried within curtain-sided vehicles should be secured as if they were being carried on
an open, flatbed vehicle. If the loading configuration or its security would cause concern in the
mind of the driver if an open vehicle were to be used, then it should be considered equally
unacceptable within a curtain-sided vehicle.
16.3 Unless they are purposely designed for a specific load, the curtains of curtain-sided vehicles
MUST NOT be considered as part of any load restraint system. They are provided to contain
rather than to restrain the load and should be considered as weather protection only. If the
curtains have been designed as a restraint system then the load capability should be clearly
marked, if no mark can be seen then it should be assumed that the curtains have no load
bearing function. Similarly, where vertical inner curtains are fitted and they are not purposely
designed for a specific load, they also MUST NOT be considered as part of the load
restraining system. They should be considered purely as a means of containing any small,
loose items that may have become dislodged during the journey.
16.6 Irrespective of vehicle type, once on the road it is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that the
load remains secure. This, in the particular case of curtain-sided vehicles, would normally be
confined to a periodic visual inspection of the curtains and a check of their tensioning straps.
If bulges are evident in the curtain indicating that the load has shifted in transit, the curtain
SHOULD NOT be opened. A judgement should be made by the driver to either continue the
journey if a minor bulge is evident or in the event of a more serious situation to seek advice
and or assistance.
16.7 Opening of Curtains. Extreme caution must be exercised during the opening of curtains on
curtain-sided vehicles. In particular they must be thoroughly inspected for any signs of bulging
before any attempt is made to open them. If a bulge exists, or it is suspected that the load is
leaning on the curtain, the curtain MUST NOT be opened. In these circumstances access
should be gained to the load compartment via another route — possibly through the rear door
or through a curtain on the other side of the vehicle. The safety, stability and security of the
load should then be ascertained before unloading commences.
Those are from a code of practice. ie legal requirement, a company may do otherwise but they have to have a ■■■■ good reson for doing so.
3.14 there you go, normally is the key here you would normally expect to see out of your mirror whatever the load, it would have to be very exceptional for a load to block you.
16.1 well if there were no curtains would you have been happy to have taken the load out If the loading configuration or its security would cause concern in the mind of the driver if an open vehicle were to be used, then it should be considered equally unacceptable within a curtain-sided vehicle.
16.3 I doubt they are designed and have the load capacity on them
16.6 & 16.7 If the bulge is already there how are you supposed to tell if the load has moved?
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_506864.pdf
this is the code of practice
about 130 pages if anyone wants to read it 
Thanks
I started with my new employer on a 13 week trial thew first week in january i ahev now had this reset so that today is the first day of a new 13 week trial it is not a disciplinary as such but it still means they can end my employment at any time for another 13 weeks.
I was also told that as the management found the load to be safe enough to driv that they could overrule ANY drivers decision if they felt the need to therefore placing my licence at risk at any time if they think its ok to drive the vehicle.
When asked about the difference in a normal load and an abnormal load they didnt seem to have a ■■■■■■■ clue, basically they have me by the balls and for 3 months i cant say anything or it will jeapordise my job therefore i now feel the need to find another job, I hads thought exhell would be a good copany to work for but i was severely mistaken i might as well go and work for a small outfit at least i will know where i stand on a regular basis.