Re Close coupling.
Read what The Bear and Mr Flibble say, and take it all on board.
A driver was crushed a couple of weeks ago in Shropshire, whilst attempting to close couple without putting handbrakes on either the trailer or the unit. The unit and trailer rolled away down the yard with him still on the catwalk.
He is one very lucky lad, to have survived.
Take the greatest of care, check, check and check again.
fortunately, i managed to run round the front and get in the cab before it hit anything. lesson learned
Why run round 
applying trl brake would stop it,or slow it down.There again most truck’s have a passenger door that they could enter. 
scanny77:
fortunately, i managed to run round the front and get in the cab before it hit anything. lesson learned
You did the next most dangerous thing there scanny.
Drivers have also been killed trying to climb into the cab of there run away trucks. Either a trip or slip while actualy in front of there truck, or slipping off the step as they climb up. Whichever, you have a truck going over you, usualy with fatal results.
I always couple up and un-couple in the order of:-
Legs,
Lines (air lines and suzies),
Pin (check or pull),
Plate (number),
park brake.
I always do it in the same order. If I get distracted, then I finish my sequence and then go round again to physically check that I haven’t missed anything.
I am also paranoid about making sure the unit park brake is on. But, in the order I do it, I am on the cat walk with my hand on the red air line. If the unit starts to move all I have to do is pull the red line back off. It won’t move before the red line is hooked on because there is enough pressure in the trailer brakes to hold it still. I know this because I have just backed under and given the whole rig a good tug, to ensure that my pin and 5th wheel are fully engaged. I can tell that there’s enough air pressure left in the trailer because the wheels where locked up when I tried to drag it forward.
I can also tell when there isn’t enough pressure in the trailer. When I lift the trailer up and run back to engage the pin to the fifth wheel, either the trailer runs away or the slight thump, when the pin hits the back of the jaws, is too soft.
I have also got to confess that I have also run alongside my cab and climbed in to put the parking brake on, after jumping off the cat walk. I have made every mistake in the book and then added a few more of my own. Some times I have even made the same mistake a second time. Luckily, no-one has ever been hurt by one of my mistakes, (yet, touch wood, cross fingers). I have no doubt that I will make mistakes in the future.
Split coupling makes me nervous. I like the definite connection of the pin being locked into the 5th wheel. It isn’t a method that I use very often and doing split coupling disrupts my sequence. I also check the trailer park brake and my unit parking brake are on more than once before getting on the cat walk. But that is only because I’m nervous about doing something NOT a part of my normal sequence.
Simon,being paranoid and nervous could be a accident waiting to happen m8.Being confident in what you are doing is better.I know ppl have their own ways off doing thing’s,i do too, just be confident in what your doing and not paranoid or nervous.That could cause an accident.As for the red air line,on coupling it should be the last line you connect,and the 1st you disconnect. 
I think a healthy paranoia keeps you sharp. You don’t get blase about things and that’s when accidents happen in mho.
jessicas dad:
fozzie:
tnt use them aswell i did a week with them on agy and most of there trailers had them they are better but when you turn the noise gets annoying after a whileooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh on agency for tnt are you registratered with de poel.
the answer is yes you are.
not strictly true
the agency that i run for are not registerd with de pole but we still work for tntplus ive used those sliding rails on supermarket trailers and they are CRAP more touble than they are worth they stick and catch and bang when you are driving along.
if you couple anything ALWAYS GIVE IT 5 SECONDS OR SO WITH YOU HAND STILL ON THE RED LINE why because if the truck started to move then you could remove the red line and the whole thing stops or it should
if you split couple i usually stand on the step at the near side to see if the hand brake of the unit is applied in case i forgot belive me it VERY easly done
