Correct Procedure

[paullgv1]

Hi all,

Im new here having just joined so hi to all.

Anyway, I have a gripe with my employer. Im an artic driver for a company that has a few depots. Im a tramper and the other day I arrived at the companies main depot having been on duty for around 14 hrs and 10 mins or so. I was away from home so will be on a night out. As I pulled up at the yards gate I had to stop and I then noticed that my units front n/s brake was on fire. The numpty of a yard marshall got the security guard to run over with a powder extinguisher to put out the fire, without my consent.

Ok to the point, my bosses insisted that my cab be taken from me to be sent for repairs overnight so then it would be fixed for me in the morning. They gave me a rigid to sleep in. After the fire to the time I dropped my trailer and got parked up in my cab then pulled my card I was pretty much on 15 hours on duty time. I had to wait another 45 mins or so after I pulled my card before they got a rigid to me.

At first I refused to accept sleeping in someone elses cab and that the repairs should be done in the morning as I had just done a 15 hour shift. Who is in the right about this?

One more question I have, if on a Friday my company cant guarentee that I will be home on the Friday evening and will have to work Saturday to get home, am I well within my rights to refuse to do the job that will put me out of hours so I would be unable to reach home on the Friday?

Thanks for any advice you may give me, Paul.

[rautio]

To me, IMHO you’re being unreasonable. Someone put a fire out on your unit without your permission■■? Just be glad it was put out.
Your employer was covering their backside and I’d be grateful they found somewhere for you to sleep. If your unit went up in flames and your boss authorised you to sleep there think how much trouble he would be in.
As for running back empty on a Sat morning yeah its annoying but normal.
Sorry not what you want to hear, just my opinion

[happysack]

rautio:
To me, IMHO you’re being unreasonable. Someone put a fire out on your unit without your permission■■? Just be glad it was put out.
Your employer was covering their backside and I’d be grateful they found somewhere for you to sleep. If your unit went up in flames and your boss authorised you to sleep there think how much trouble he would be in.
As for running back empty on a Sat morning yeah its annoying but normal.
Sorry not what you want to hear, just my opinion

Precisely. I would rather sleep in a wagon than try 9 hours Kip in a dealership. spent the night in haydock Scania once. never.never.never again.

[bjd]

As above imm afraid

[paullgv1]

Brake linings are on fire, no more than that. Using anything on brakes that hot can cause more damage. Your best to supervise the small fire and take action if it spreads.

Ok not what I want to hear, but to me your all happy to accept the fact that driver welfare does not matter, I guess thats why companies find it easy to take advantage of drivers.

[happysack]

PaulLGV1:
Brake linings are on fire, no more than that. Using anything on brakes that hot can cause more damage. Your best to supervise the small fire and take action if it spreads.

Ok not what I want to hear, but to me your all happy to accept the fact that driver welfare does not matter, I guess thats why companies find it easy to take advantage of drivers.

Get over it. A couple of years ago a lot of Scania 07 plates went on fire. Some though arson, but also some through dodgy starters. I would have been happier sleeping in a skanky bunk than waking up har grilled. Driver welfare? Be happy you get to sleep at night…a lot of drivers in the past didn’t get much opportunity for that luxury.

[rikki-uk]

Your wagon is knackered - they gave you a bed for the night- not ideal but they did… I am struggling to see the problem here

[shuttlespanker]

PaulLGV1:
Hi all,

Im new here having just joined so hi to all.

Anyway, I have a gripe with my employer. Im an artic driver for a company that has a few depots. Im a tramper and the other day I arrived at the companies main depot having been on duty for around 14 hrs and 10 mins or so. I was away from home so will be on a night out. As I pulled up at the yards gate I had to stop and I then noticed that my units front n/s brake was on fire. The numpty of a yard marshall got the security guard to run over with a powder extinguisher to put out the fire, without my consent.

so, you didn’t notice anything wrong when driving the truck?

Ok to the point, my bosses insisted that my cab be taken from me to be sent for repairs overnight so then it would be fixed for me in the morning. They gave me a rigid to sleep in. After the fire to the time I dropped my trailer and got parked up in my cab then pulled my card I was pretty much on 15 hours on duty time. I had to wait another 45 mins or so after I pulled my card before they got a rigid to me.

that was good of them to think of your well being, they could have left you in the dealership overnight

do you go straight to bed and sleep as soon as you pull your card? where’s the problem?

At first I refused to accept sleeping in someone elses cab and that the repairs should be done in the morning as I had just done a 15 hour shift. Who is in the right about this?

not you

One more question I have, if on a Friday my company cant guarentee that I will be home on the Friday evening and will have to work Saturday to get home, am I well within my rights to refuse to do the job that will put me out of hours so I would be unable to reach home on the Friday?

yes, you are also perfectly within your rights to walk out of the door and find another job that is more in line with your ‘look at me, i’m hard done by’ attitude

Thanks for any advice you may give me, Paul.

short and simple, grow a pair and stop whinging about it, if anything, you are the one in the wrong here

[206doorman]

Welcome to the forum Paul!

If you ask the questions, don’t be surprised if you don’t like the replies.

Wasn’t the whole purpose of your questions to find out if these are ‘Correct Procedures’?

Well, they are, and sound to me, like others here, to be reasonable, given the info you
provided.

[ady1]

PaulLGV1:
Hi all,

Im new here having just joined so hi to all.

Anyway, I have a gripe with my employer. Im an artic driver for a company that has a few depots. Im a tramper and the other day I arrived at the companies main depot having been on duty for around 14 hrs and 10 mins or so. I was away from home so will be on a night out. As I pulled up at the yards gate I had to stop and I then noticed that my units front n/s brake was on fire. The numpty of a yard marshall got the security guard to run over with a powder extinguisher to put out the fire, without my consent.

Ok to the point, my bosses insisted that my cab be taken from me to be sent for repairs overnight so then it would be fixed for me in the morning. They gave me a rigid to sleep in. After the fire to the time I dropped my trailer and got parked up in my cab then pulled my card I was pretty much on 15 hours on duty time. I had to wait another 45 mins or so after I pulled my card before they got a rigid to me.

At first I refused to accept sleeping in someone elses cab and that the repairs should be done in the morning as I had just done a 15 hour shift. Who is in the right about this?

One more question I have, if on a Friday my company cant guarentee that I will be home on the Friday evening and will have to work Saturday to get home, am I well within my rights to refuse to do the job that will put me out of hours so I would be unable to reach home on the Friday?

Thanks for any advice you may give me, Paul.

one of our trampers recently came off a job as he was getting one shower a week ,the subject was broached about me doing it for x amount of night per week,NO chance,i was always a yes sir/no sir type,but you just get advantage taken of you,if you want to be back on a friday,tell them,they can then stick someone on the job whos happy enough rolling back in the yard on a saturday,or in my case stick some smelly zb on the job who doesnt like using soap/t.paste

[damoq]

Putting a fire out on your unit without your consent I think you’ll find they were the taking action to STOP it spreading!!! Have you seen the mess a truck and trailer can get into with brakes going on fire? Why would they want to wait till the morning to fix it? Thats downtime that your gaffer could probably do without. Get it sorted for you starting your next shift. Job done. Im sure if you were reasonable about the situation, your gaffer might have let you start an hour later the next morning since you were slightly inconvenienced.

Now I don’t do tramping myself, but the general feeling I get from talking to other drivers who do tramp, is that Saturday morning running in is just par for the course. Looks like its just something you’ll have to get used to.

[paullgv1]

Its 2012 and not the good old days, we have rights now and having one shower a week simply makes you unhygenic, that is not acceptable.

So it seems like you old dogs are happy to accept that drivers have no welfare and should be treated like idiots. I now realise with attitudes like yours, why we are paid peanuts and have to work 65-70 hours each and every week.

I would be interested to know what VOSA would say if they read all this!

[damoq]

Yes. What would VOSA say when they read that you were driving with defective brakes

[mickyblue]

ady1:

PaulLGV1:
Hi all,

Im new here having just joined so hi to all.

Anyway, I have a gripe with my employer. Im an artic driver for a company that has a few depots. Im a tramper and the other day I arrived at the companies main depot having been on duty for around 14 hrs and 10 mins or so. I was away from home so will be on a night out. As I pulled up at the yards gate I had to stop and I then noticed that my units front n/s brake was on fire. The numpty of a yard marshall got the security guard to run over with a powder extinguisher to put out the fire, without my consent.

Ok to the point, my bosses insisted that my cab be taken from me to be sent for repairs overnight so then it would be fixed for me in the morning. They gave me a rigid to sleep in. After the fire to the time I dropped my trailer and got parked up in my cab then pulled my card I was pretty much on 15 hours on duty time. I had to wait another 45 mins or so after I pulled my card before they got a rigid to me.

At first I refused to accept sleeping in someone elses cab and that the repairs should be done in the morning as I had just done a 15 hour shift. Who is in the right about this?

One more question I have, if on a Friday my company cant guarentee that I will be home on the Friday evening and will have to work Saturday to get home, am I well within my rights to refuse to do the job that will put me out of hours so I would be unable to reach home on the Friday?

Thanks for any advice you may give me, Paul.

one of our trampers recently came off a job as he was getting one shower a week ,the subject was broached about me doing it for x amount of night per week,NO chance,i was always a yes sir/no sir type,but you just get advantage taken of you,if you want to be back on a friday,tell them,they can then stick someone on the job whos happy enough rolling back in the yard on a saturday,or in my case stick some smelly zb on the job who doesnt like using soap/t.paste

Didn’t no people who drive Citylink vans tramp out in them

[206doorman]

I’m not an old dog Paul, i’ve been driving for a mere 5 years.

I look after my welfare myself, and normally get at least 2 showers a week if not 4.

I’m not treated like an idiot probably because i’m a reasonable sort of bloke who accepts the
vaguerys of this type of work. Anything can happen,anytime.

VOSA does read all this, they probably shake their collective heads at some posters.

I reckon you need to lighten up a bit, laugh a lot and enjoy

[wheel_nut]

I am amazed you can be working & drive a lorry for 14 hours and 10 minutes without noticing there is a problem with the brakes. If they are hot enough to be on fire when you pull into the depot. I would want the fire putting out. To me that was the correct procedure

[rikki-uk]

VOSA does read all this, they probably shake their collective heads at some posters.

They do and they do

[harry_monk]

Those brakes do tend to overheat going through the Lincolnshire mountains.

[andymalton]

Wheel Nut:
I am amazed you can be working & drive a lorry for 14 hours and 10 minutes without noticing there is a problem with the brakes. If they are hot enough to be on fire when you pull into the depot. I would want the fire putting out. To me that was the correct procedure

Are you getting it yet Paul ■■

[ncooper]

PaulLGV1:
Its 2012 and not the good old days, we have rights now and having one shower a week simply makes you unhygenic, that is not acceptable.

So it seems like you old dogs are happy to accept that drivers have no welfare and should be treated like idiots. I now realise with attitudes like yours, why we are paid peanuts and have to work 65-70 hours each and every week.

I would be interested to know what VOSA would say if they read all this!

One shower a week is the driver’s personal hygiene problem, not something to do with the past or present.

It may be 2012 but in a nutshell, most haulage operations are either running at a loss and surviving on warehousing
or running at a loss.

The last thing they need is a driver with the attitude of the OP.

One, he hasn’t noticed a brake defect on the steering axle which was severe enough to cause a fire

Secondly, he is offered a bed for the night but wants the company to wait overnight for the opportunity to repair the brake defect,
disregarding the fact that to accommodate his wishes will cost the company a day’s work out of the truck and driver if they do, added to the cost of the repair.

As to Friday stretching into Saturday, that is the nature of this job and unless it isn’t legal, it’s not unreasonable for a company to expect a driver to work until the job is complete.

The surviving companies will have staff with a “can do” attitude to the job and who are flexible enough to make it work.

I am not making this up, I am the only survivor from a workforce of mostly “can’t do” people who expected their own way for a
generous wage.

Food for thought.

Regards,
Nick

PS Several posts while I was typing this but it’s not going to waste