Imagine the scenario, picking up a fridge trailer loaded with cages with a seal on the back.
I know you’re well within your rights to have the seal broken and check its loaded correctly, but how many of you actually do? Bear in mind at some places you have to get someone else to break the seal (which can be a ball ache for them regarding paperwork etc).
EDIT:
I know who’s responsibility the load is etc, just wondering how many of you professional drivers actually check what’s in the back (of a pretty loaded fridge trailer)
hoon down the yard emergency stop
hoon backwards repeat stop
if on either manoeuvre you hear crashing or upon looking in your mirrors you see cages/stock all-over the deck get some lazy office dweller to come and sort
bagpuss:
hoon down the yard emergency stop
hoon backwards repeat stop
if on either manoeuvre you hear crashing or upon looking in your mirrors you see cages/stock all-over the deck get some lazy office dweller to come and sort
You are not the sort of driver that I would have employed, but you have a sense of humour, and thick skin as I bet thats what you would do! Nowadays i would love to watch and laugh at the manouvre.
When I used to pull them I always broke the seals and climbed up and had a look over the top and checked fir bars etc. Then I would go to security/outgate etc and tell them I neededcresealing. Some argued that they should have removed the seal but I always pointed out that I couldn’t get the trailer to the gatehouse without checking the load was safe. Never had a problem.
This can turn in to one of those damned if you do, damned if you dont type of things. I used to regularly pull ferry trailers out of the docks for onward delivery in the UK and they’d often come over with a TIR cord and seal. Most of the time it was just for show and no one was bothered if you broke it or not but there were some places that wouldn’t accept delivery if the original seal from the shipper wasn’t intact.
I once fell foul of this sort of thing when I took a load of printed magazines loaded in Holland to Ceva at Irlam. We were always told to not break those seals and on numerous other visits the load had always been well strapped as much of it was double stacked. Anyway, one day I picked up one of those trailers in Immingham, which was naturally sealed and went on my merry way. When I arrived in Irlam and opened one of the trailer doors it became apparent that nothing had been strapped at all and it had all dominoed backwards and was a right mess. Someone in charge at Ceva gave me a load of slavour about it being my responsibility to check the load had being strapped, which in princepal it is, yet he refused to sign a letter or even my CMR giving me and my company permission to actually break the seal on the dock in future and doing so would not jeapodise their receiving of the load. After that, nothing left the dock unchecked but it always caused huge issues at a select few companies when the load arrived without the correct seal still intact.
If you’re working from an RDC or your own depot then its possible to break it off, check your load and have them re-seal it but you cant do that when you collect a trailer from the dock, its not their role or responsibility to do such things so the driver has to do it off his own back and hope it doesn’t cause issues down the line.
Below are some shots of the trailer in question. Note the wrapped up spanset sitting on the back that hadn’t been used, talk about adding insult to injury.
and below is a trailer that I did check and refuse to move off the dock due to how it had been loaded, and the fact that several of the timbers had snapped, causing it all to slide to one side etc.
As long as I can get from a-b without tipping it (the rig) over I don’t give a ■■■■ about the load, it’s someone else that has to tip it @ the end of the day so warehouse bods are only shafting each other…!
Pimpdaddy:
As long as I can get from a-b without tipping it (the rig) over I don’t give a [zb] about the load, it’s someone else that has to tip it @ the end of the day so warehouse bods are only shafting each other…!
Nice sentiment… glad I am not paying your fines if it spills though the curtains, because like it or not, its down to you to have a secure load, no matter who secured it or sealed or not
and yes its a pain to do but you can break and reseal a customs load, even a bonded load , takes time and a bit of effort- if that’s too much for you then fine, but for me its my licence - I know the option I choose
robinhood_1984:
This can turn in to one of those damned if you do, damned if you dont type of things. I used to regularly pull ferry trailers out of the docks for onward delivery in the UK and they’d often come over with a TIR cord and seal. Most of the time it was just for show and no one was bothered if you broke it or not but there were some places that wouldn’t accept delivery if the original seal from the shipper wasn’t intact.
]
I used to do unaccompanied trailers, had a groupage load on one day, the first drop was in Bradford. When I broke the seal at Bradford their goods was 12 drums of corrosives, there were no labels on the trailers and the CMR stated “4 pallets goods”, so there was nothing to indicate that it was a hazardous load. I as you can imagine I was less than pleased, the irony was that I was fully equiped to do ADR work, we used to get alot of it. The traffic monkey reckoned it was Ok as I was an ADR driver, but as I siad without the knowledge off the goods being hazardous the fact I was an ADR driver was meaningless. I took it to the Union just clarrify my position, and as you might expect, though there would be mitigating circumstances, had something gone wrong I would’ve found it difficult to be deffended. Needless to say proceedures were tightened up, as not only were the firm I worked for the haulier, but the loaders and agents aswell , so they wouldve had some difficult question to answer aswell as me.
Badly stowed or unlashed loads were’nt, and probably still arent unusual. God bless Containers
eddie snax:
I used to do unaccompanied trailers, had a groupage load on one day, the first drop was in Bradford. When I broke the seal at Bradford their goods was 12 drums of corrosives, there were no labels on the trailers and the CMR stated “4 pallets goods”, so there was nothing to indicate that it was a hazardous load. I as you can imagine I was less than pleased, the irony was that I was fully equiped to do ADR work, we used to get alot of it. The traffic monkey reckoned it was Ok as I was an ADR driver, but as I siad without the knowledge off the goods being hazardous the fact I was an ADR driver was meaningless. I took it to the Union just clarrify my position, and as you might expect, though there would be mitigating circumstances, had something gone wrong I would’ve found it difficult to be deffended. Needless to say proceedures were tightened up, as not only were the firm I worked for the haulier, but the loaders and agents aswell , so they wouldve had some difficult question to answer aswell as me.
Badly stowed or unlashed loads were’nt, and probably still arent unusual. God bless Containers
That sounds about right. Whether you were ADR trained or not is irrelevant if the paperwork for the load didn’t include trem cards and the like. The “hazmat” course here in Canada is a laugh though, its a 2 hour multiple choice questionnaire that you are given all the answers to by the “trainer”, its all done in house by the company you work for and is merely a clerical procedure and for an afternoons pratting about you are a fully licenced hazmat driver.
robinhood_1984:
That sounds about right. Whether you were ADR trained or not is irrelevant if the paperwork for the load didn’t include trem cards and the like. The “hazmat” course here in Canada is a laugh though, its a 2 hour multiple choice questionnaire that you are given all the answers to by the “trainer”, its all done in house by the company you work for and is merely a clerical procedure and for an afternoons pratting about you are a fully licenced hazmat driver.
Yep, that was my issue with it all, as there was no need to disquise the load, when as most of our driver were ADR trained, and it was put on a ferry undeclared, bet they wouldve been chuffed hed they found out.
That Hazmat sounds like the original Hazpac course I did before ADR was bought in.
On another occasion got to customer, and the load was all over the place, they refused to tip it, I refused to take it back on the road, that was a great deal of fun . In the end, after some words between the 2 companies, this geezer in a suit and shiny hi-vis takes a couple of hours to write a H & S report, a plan of action, as soon as he cleared off, we just let the load hit the deck, then the FLT driver tells him that the plan off action failed, that bloke must’ve spent most of the day writing reports he probably got all his kicks for the month out of that
Winseer:
What’s the going rate for spilling your load through the curtains these days?
I think it depends on how hard her dad is.
But seriously. When someone gives me a lorry, The whole thing (unit, trailer, and load) is my resposibility.
I couldn’t give a [zb] what someone tells me about not breaking seals. If i want to check it i will.
Load security is incredibly important in my book.
If you are unfortunate enough that you have to go to RDCs on a regular basis and get treated lower than a rabid dog, They will ask you to hand your keys in, sit in a waiting room, do not move, you are scum, you are dangerous.
Strap it, rope it, and chain it, dollies and double dollies. They won’t know what to do. Payback.
robinhood_1984:
That sounds about right. Whether you were ADR trained or not is irrelevant if the paperwork for the load didn’t include trem cards and the like. The “hazmat” course here in Canada is a laugh though, its a 2 hour multiple choice questionnaire that you are given all the answers to by the “trainer”, its all done in house by the company you work for and is merely a clerical procedure and for an afternoons pratting about you are a fully licenced hazmat driver.
Yep, that was my issue with it all, as there was no need to disquise the load, when as most of our driver were ADR trained, and it was put on a ferry undeclared, bet they wouldve been chuffed hed they found out.
That Hazmat sounds like the original Hazpac course I did before ADR was bought in.
On another occasion got to customer, and the load was all over the place, they refused to tip it, I refused to take it back on the road, that was a great deal of fun . In the end, after some words between the 2 companies, this geezer in a suit and shiny hi-vis takes a couple of hours to write a H & S report, a plan of action, as soon as he cleared off, we just let the load hit the deck, then the FLT driver tells him that the plan off action failed, that bloke must’ve spent most of the day writing reports he probably got all his kicks for the month out of that
Never trust someone in a suit.
Never trust someone in a clean high-viz.
my previous post was my attempt at being amusing
if i dont lay eyes on the load it aint going any where
in the past ive seen a full load of milk thats burst through a shutter and also cages of goods that have done the same
seals are pennys to replace and so what if someone has to venture into the yard to reseal it , ten minutes in the yard or it dont move
my licence ,my livelihood, my life my rules
, so they wouldve had some difficult question to answer aswell as me.
he probably got all his kicks for the month out of that 
I spilt my load through the girlfriends beef curtains and the wife caught us at it! 
