I see people from other companies delievering to our yard, taking their nets off packs of bricks with ■■■■■■■ hard hats on, im mean really what the ■■■■ is gonna fall on your head??
Reminds me of another site rule I,ve come across.
When around a trailer hard hat on- I pointed out the curtains are closed and straps done up. No matter apparently - Just incase some UFO drops out of the sky 
Wheel Nut:
The only correct way to check wheel nuts is with a calibrated torque wrench.
Doesn’t stop you doing a visual check, and/or doing the tapping with a hammer that VOSA seem to love so much.
In the HGV theory test it asks you this sort of question and the answer i gave which was correct was check before every journey.
I would say that he is wrong. Every driver is required, by law to check a vehicle over before taking it out onto the public highway and fill out a daily defect report. If he went down the road and a wheel fell off and killed someone then he would be prosecuted for driving an unsafe vehicle. Also the company who owns the vehicle could be prosecuted.
I suppose it is a way of the vehicle owner passing the responsibility onto the driver.
In any case I would always do a walk-round check on any vehicle I was about to drive in order to put my mind at ease that the vehicle was safe to drive.
I’m pretty sure that there are a few out there who just jump in and drive off. Well not me.
schrodingers cat:
Wheel Nut:
The only correct way to check wheel nuts is with a calibrated torque wrench.Doesn’t stop you doing a visual check, and/or doing the tapping with a hammer that VOSA seem to love so much.
I know, that is why I wrote this in the 2nd post in this thread
Wheel Nut:
I always check my nuts every morning, then I do the truck.10, yes, rear axle, 10 yes, trailer 30
Other side, 50, that will do.
Checking wheel nuts can be done visually, if there are any rust marks, the nuts are loose.
But I have always carried tools, wheel brace, bulbs, fuses, and coupling rubbers.
As Wheel Nut says, the only real way to check is by using a calibrated torque wrench, but which driver carries one of those in their side pod?
All you can reasonably do is grab them with a gloved hand an give them a twiddle (Ooh err, matron). I don’t suspect that you are expected to give the vehicle a full overhaul. Just Tyres, Wheel Nuts, Oil, Water, Lights, Security of load etc.
switchlogic:
Happy Keith:
Saaamon:
‘…All of this H&S and all these “systems” is going to bring this country to its [zb] knees one day…’‘…[T]hese “systems”…’ etc, blah…’
Your wrong. We’ve inflicted these systems and H&S malarkey on ourselves … So sorry that’s not one you can blame on the EU.
I concede that what we are to blame for ‘…inflicting…’ poor leadership ‘…on ourselves…’, but I’m fundamentally not wrong ref’ the H&S and here’s why:
wikipedia:
‘…Member states of the European Union have all transposed into their national legislation a series of directives that establish minimum standards on occupational health and safety. These directives [my bold] (of which there are about 20 on a variety of topics) follow a similar structure requiring the employer to…’blah, and it goes on, and on, etc
So, Switchlogic, where is the evidence to support your ‘…wrong…’ best guess?
Mine proves that the UK really is subordinated by EU sponsored H&S.
Meanwhile, other EU nations have it different because of the suggestion that there is:
limeyphil:
‘…a much more chilled system in other EU countries…’
Isn’t it the reason that others seem ‘…more chilled…’ because they prioritise their national needs first and ■■■■-up to federal, EU nonsense second - if at all?
Unlike our governing Muppets, who seemingly have neither wit nor wish to do the UK a favour due to our enforcing authorities ‘…ensuring that the basic legal requirements relating to occupational health and safety are met…’ (Wikipedia again) without, I’m claiming, either dilution, charm or discretion which, to conclude, will:
Saaamon:
‘…bring this country to its [zb] knees…’
Confident references taken from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_%26_Safety
I was working for an agency back in the late 80s, for a company near Rochdale, I can’t remember the name, but they made plastic packaging. Anyway i was doing my usual walk around, checking lights etc, then as I was about to dip the oil, a shout came across the yard, don’t worry driver, that lorry has just had a service!, Well I said, it would help if they put some oil in the engine! Yes! not a drop to be seen.
You see going out on the road, isn’t it regardless of whether it’s legal, better to be safe than sorry?
Oh dear Mr Keith Wikipedia? Is that the best you could mange? I’d have thought you’d have the EU Legislation page as your home page ready for another rant, but Wikipedia?
I base my statement on experience. Come to Europe, you’ll pretty much never see a hi viz, and hardly ever steel toe cap boots. It’s a fact we inflict it on ourselves, go away and read the actual legislation before you blame the EU.
Your extreme hatred of the EU blinds you to the real world sometimes. You need to step back and be more rational before you post.
Suffolk ReeferBoy:
Drivers in our yard will defect a lorry because of a bulb to stop anyone else using it because they are knobs.
Some drivers will not defect a bulb because they are knobs, 
theres one bloke at our place who brags quite openly that he has never defected a vehicle in his time on the firm. My current employer has a policy of no driver will do any repair, however minor, in the depot where we have a 24hr workshop on site. In my opinion this is because drivers are not trusted to either.
a) do the repair effectively.
b) not damage the truck by forcing bits off for access.
c) not pinch parts to sell on ebay, car boots etc.
Needless to say should you break down the workshop will usually ring you up and get you to try several, dirty, tricks to get going without having to call out the wrecker. 
The only tool I carry is a leatherman and that can’t fix it then a technician is required.
i think wheel nuts are a drivers resposibility & cant see the reasoning behind any company telling the driver it’s not something they as drivers should address.
company policy or not , you’d see the buggers squirm out of any leagal action taken against them if an accident were to happen & the driver would be directly to blame regardless
the trouble is H&S is every where & so is the claim game ,
eg
driver changes a headlight & scuffs his finger or breaks it , he could sue the company , because H & S would argue the point that the company expected the driver to undertake a task he isn’t trained or qualified to do
years back where i once worked, a driver somehow broke his toes while torqueing his wheel nuts up , but although it was his job to check them he wasn’t qualified to tighten them, the company looked into it , the driver just shrugged as thats just what you do .
it was an accident just move on , but H&S were all over it & it cost the company a fair bit of money in compensation the driver didn’t want & fines to the HSE now all drivers are trained how to use a torque wrench, another person must be there to help & it must be recorded in a maintainance book
so for some it’s not a case of wont do it , some drivers are actively discouraged from doing it
switchlogic:
Oh dear Mr Keith Wikipedia? Is that the best you could mange? I’d have thought you’d have the EU Legislation page as your home page ready for another rant, but Wikipedia?
I base my statement on experience. Come to Europe, you’ll pretty much never see a hi viz,cap boots. It’s a fact we inflict it on ourselves, go away and read the actual legislation before you blame the EU.
Your extreme hatred of the EU blinds you to the real world sometimes. You need to step back and be more rational before you post.
You advise to ‘…read the actual legislation…’ whilst writing that you also ‘… base [your] statement on experience…’ That’s the best of both worlds - but doesn’t provide any proof of where the former endorses the latter.
Which is it to be? Legislative proof that the UK has inflicted it all on UK society - because that’s what their voters want election after election? Or that many Jean-Claudes regularly wear flip-flops on building sites because their leaders comprehend EU Directives their way at national level? It’s all within the same argument.
I too have lived & worked in Europe - not least doing H&S stuff. I know that other nations are democratically choosing to lead their nations as they see fit for their benefit. For crying out loud, I’m agreeing with you!
So perhaps join me to ‘…step back…’ and see that the devil lies in the detail that is too readily being personalised at ‘…Mr…’ me, which is a shame.
My reference knowledge is from printed Institute of Safety & Health (IOSH) accredited material - which scanning in for here really would be sad - hence why I have faith in the seemingly dismissed Wikipedia material, which before it is too sniffily dismissed, is accurate in this case.
Simply noting benefits in systems adopted from Euro cousins does not equate to ‘…extreme hatred…’ of them: Au contraire, I am in awe of their often good sense and the emergent decency it affords to their society - whilst the UK is often Neanderthal by not always applying and interpreting the intricacies to our benefit - hence the thread title of ‘…checking wheel nuts isn’t my job…’ which perhaps is the real point for discussion and is what I’m politely doing.
Apologies I switched off after the first unintelligible paragraph of waffle.
As you were.
Saaamon:
I see people from other companies delievering to our yard, taking their nets off packs of bricks with [zb] hard hats on, im mean really what the [zb] is gonna fall on your head??
A brick■■?
switchlogic:
Oh dear Mr Keith Wikipedia? Is that the best you could mange? I’d have thought you’d have the EU Legislation page as your home page ready for another rant, but Wikipedia?I base my statement on experience. Come to Europe, you’ll pretty much never see a hi viz, and hardly ever steel toe cap boots. It’s a fact we inflict it on ourselves, go away and read the actual legislation before you blame the EU.
Your extreme hatred of the EU blinds you to the real world sometimes. You need to step back and be more rational before you post.
That’s it Switch! Lead with your left and keep jabbing…
Nice to see you on TNUK again.
You are absolutly right. The anally retentive interpretation of Heath and Safety in the UK is simply due to Corporate terror of Insurance Premiums and possibly a job creation excercise for people with poor degrees.
Sadly for you, Europe is not immune. You and Happy K are looking at this issue the wrong way round. We are exporting the H&S culture to Europe along with our Insurance Companies. It’s just that they are at the stage the UK was fifteen years ago.
Enjoy wearing your flip flops while you can…
W
Well, i would check visually wheel nuts ect but that is it, most companies i have worked for don’t even carry a spare wheel & tyre for tractor & trailer, not that i would be changing a truck wheel anyways , isn’t my part of the ship, unless was provided with the necessary tools & equipment and paid extra for it, tools such as a impact wrench and torque bar’s ect and a proper jack & non of that dodgy bottle jack nonsense
switchlogic:
Happy Keith:
Saaamon:
‘…All of this H&S and all these “systems” is going to bring this country to its [zb] knees one day…’‘…[T]hese “systems”…’ originate from directives that are often inappropriate for our once World beating way of doing things in the UK, but they are now sanctioned, passed and inflicted by courtesy of the not very cheap, European Union.
UK politicians rarely get to debate such domestic niff-naff - which is bizarre since they are the nuts & bolts that affect us all each day - because it is outside of their remit - and here we are divided over it…!
The UK mainstream political parties, despite being coy on your doorstep, fully endorse the EU and the methodology that, as stated, is seemingly ‘…bring[ing] this country to its [zb] knees…’
You gotta laugh at how we are chizzed-off with what we’ve done to ourselves, eh
Your wrong. We’ve inflicted these systems and H&S malarkey on ourselves, thanks to our ‘where there’s blame theres a claim’ culture imported from the US. I’m currently in a very busy yard unloading in Vienna and I can’t see one high viz and most of the drivers are in flip flops. This is the case in most of mainland Europe.
So sorry that’s not one you can blame on the EU.
You can’t blame it on the USA either, H&S is non exsistent here, I haven’t had to wear safety boots in over three years and the one time I had to was in a Steel Stockholders when I was flatbedding, I probably could’ve got away with that too, the same with a HiViz, I have one, but only use it at one place we go to and that’s in California and they’re all a bunch of left wing vegeterians down there, it’s a British phenomenon
newmercman:
switchlogic:
Happy Keith:
Saaamon:
‘…All of this H&S and all these “systems” is going to bring this country to its [zb] knees one day…’‘…[T]hese “systems”…’ originate from directives that are often inappropriate for our once World beating way of doing things in the UK, but they are now sanctioned, passed and inflicted by courtesy of the not very cheap, European Union.
UK politicians rarely get to debate such domestic niff-naff - which is bizarre since they are the nuts & bolts that affect us all each day - because it is outside of their remit - and here we are divided over it…!
The UK mainstream political parties, despite being coy on your doorstep, fully endorse the EU and the methodology that, as stated, is seemingly ‘…bring[ing] this country to its [zb] knees…’
You gotta laugh at how we are chizzed-off with what we’ve done to ourselves, eh
Your wrong. We’ve inflicted these systems and H&S malarkey on ourselves, thanks to our ‘where there’s blame theres a claim’ culture imported from the US. I’m currently in a very busy yard unloading in Vienna and I can’t see one high viz and most of the drivers are in flip flops. This is the case in most of mainland Europe.
So sorry that’s not one you can blame on the EU.
You can’t blame it on the USA either, H&S is non exsistent here, I haven’t had to wear safety boots in over three years and the one time I had to was in a Steel Stockholders when I was flatbedding, I probably could’ve got away with that too, the same with a HiViz, I have one, but only use it at one place we go to and that’s in California and they’re all a bunch of left wing vegeterians down there, it’s a British phenomenon
As you are well aware 
,I can’t reply to some of your posts on other forums as a result of selflessly putting my head above the parapet in order to rid ourselves of ■■■■■■ problems ,but that does not mean that I’m now living in a “wasteland” ,Bombers in for a shock again this weekend,Rider Pride
Apologies if this sounds coded to some,sure NMM will offer an explanation next time he returns from the buffet. …Health and ? never heard of them.
newmercman:
switchlogic:
Happy Keith:
Saaamon:
‘…All of this H&S and all these “systems” is going to bring this country to its [zb] knees one day…’‘…[T]hese “systems”…’ originate from directives that are often inappropriate for our once World beating way of doing things in the UK, but they are now sanctioned, passed and inflicted by courtesy of the not very cheap, European Union.
UK politicians rarely get to debate such domestic niff-naff - which is bizarre since they are the nuts & bolts that affect us all each day - because it is outside of their remit - and here we are divided over it…!
The UK mainstream political parties, despite being coy on your doorstep, fully endorse the EU and the methodology that, as stated, is seemingly ‘…bring[ing] this country to its [zb] knees…’
You gotta laugh at how we are chizzed-off with what we’ve done to ourselves, eh
Your wrong. We’ve inflicted these systems and H&S malarkey on ourselves, thanks to our ‘where there’s blame theres a claim’ culture imported from the US. I’m currently in a very busy yard unloading in Vienna and I can’t see one high viz and most of the drivers are in flip flops. This is the case in most of mainland Europe.
So sorry that’s not one you can blame on the EU.
You can’t blame it on the USA either, H&S is non exsistent here, I haven’t had to wear safety boots in over three years and the one time I had to was in a Steel Stockholders when I was flatbedding, I probably could’ve got away with that too, the same with a HiViz, I have one, but only use it at one place we go to and that’s in California and they’re all a bunch of left wing vegeterians down there, it’s a British phenomenon
I wasn’t so much blaming the hi viz on the US but more the blame culture where people are constantly out to make money from accidents. In the UK everyone covers there backs by all this safety stuff, in the US they are happy to just keep paying out.