From starting your duty to leaving the gate bearing into mind that the unit and trailer are already coupled up and it takes not more than 5 minutes to find the unit and trailer you as a driver has been allocated?
Sufficient time to do all pre-shift checks or a system bound to lead to an accident in the future also bearing into mind that as a driver you’re not able to check the load due to it already being sealed (not custom sealed I hasten to say)?
What would your response be as a professional driver?
15 minutes is not enough and the French are now looking for a minimum for daily checks. If the load is sealed and it is not my truck or trailer I will break the seals to check it is loaded to my standards. If I load it I know I did it correctly, if someone else who isnt taking the load has loaded it, they may have forgotten something or even used malice to make a point.
The driver has the responsibility to check his load
I carry containers, how do I check my load ■■ to me my load is a big metal box with a number on it.
I always check my vehicle before leaving the depot but since the trailer is already coupled it don’t take 15 minutes…
Knowing that it is ALL your responsibility, then, if you are totally satisfied that all is in order, I dont see that the time factor comes into it. If you have a good routine that checks EVERYTHING and are nifty on your feet (without rushing), why should the time factor come into it. IT TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES - FOR SAFETY
Its a good job we have a nanny state, looks like most of you lot need it!
A quck look around, lights working ok, mirrors are still there after the last agency richard head, then just drive the ■■■■ thing, do it with due dilligence and nothing will fall off, if there is a seal on the load, dammaged to stock through bad loading cannot be put down to you, just drive well enough not to turn it over.
I’ll probably get a slating for this, but you PC richards really get up my nose, you call yourselves professionals and want to be recognised like your Doctors or Barristers, but you just drive Lorries, thats all! Yes you have to know what your doing, but your only a lorry driver!
Those who travel at 40 on a single carrigeway road are a menace, and far more likely to cause, maybe not be involved in, but cause an accident than someone traveling at 50 -56mph.
People moan on about the Eastern Europeans coming into the country, but its attitiudes like this “is 15 mins enough?” that make the good old British driver too expensive. 15 mins is more than enough to check around a vehicle hook it up, have a cup of tea and do the two clues in the Sun crossword that you can work out! Christ, an MOT doesn’t take much longer!
Anyway! I have to go now, my truck is parked in the yard and I really ought to go and make sure its not going to roll away, or disolve, or be too shiny and blind someone passing by.
C-YA!
I’m with Rog on this one. It takes as long as it takes and in my opinion giving somebody 15 minutes to find the truck, check it for defects and make sure the load is safely secured is putting undue pressure onto him/her. The attitude of “sod it as I only will get a rollocking for leaving too late” was adopted by some drivers I spoke to the other day whose Company has such a policy.
People moan on about the Eastern Europeans coming into the country, but its attitudes like this “is 15 mins enough?” that make the good old British driver too expensive.
So expense goes before safety then? Don’t matter then that he whole load is spilled over the carriage way because there were no load restraint bars/straps into place? Don’t matter then that you got to the unloading place hundreds of miles away because the tail-lift doesn’t work?
Both these incidents are real incidents. Avoided if those involved did what they are responsible for - check the truck and load before leaving site. You’re driving a killing machine on the public road. Forty plus tonnes that can wipe a single family out within seconds.
I’ll probably get a slating for this, but you PC richards really get up my nose, you call yourselves professionals and want to be recognised like your Doctors or Barristers, but you just drive Lorries, thats all! Yes you have to know what your doing, but your only a lorry driver!
And here I wonder why lorry drivers get slated so much and are not liked Perhaps it is such an attitude that contributes to this.
I wouldn’t be happy driving for any Company that tells me how long vehicle checks should take. That is what I call “nanny state”.
It may well take 5 minutes one day, but could take a lot longer another day.
It is the principle of being questioned as why it took you more than 15 minutes after starting your shift until leaving site that, in my opinion, encourages drivers to skip the pre-shift routine or not to do it a thorough as it ought to be.
People moan on about the Eastern Europeans coming into the country, but its attitudes like this “is 15 mins enough?” that make the good old British driver too expensive.
So expense goes before safety then?
Expense does not go before safety at all, my point which I’m sure your not dull enough to have misunderstood, was that the culture of drivers wandering around making sure every last nut & rivet is tightened in accordance with EU regulation blah blah blah…is causing the British workers to be looked on less favourably than others who just get on with the job in hand.
interlog:
Both these incidents are real incidents. Avoided if those involved did what they are responsible for.
Agreed, driving the vehicle properly. A common misconception is that you are responsible for checking the load, you are not. You are responsible for making sure it is safe and doesn’t fall off. A load with no restraints can be transported safely as long as the driver is good at what he does.
interlog:
[
I’ll probably get a slating for this, but you PC richards really get up my nose, you call yourselves professionals and want to be recognised like your Doctors or Barristers, but you just drive Lorries, thats all! Yes you have to know what your doing, but your only a lorry driver!
And here I wonder why lorry drivers get slated so much and are not liked Perhaps it is such an attitude that contributes to this.
Lorry drivers get slated by an ever increasing number of people who are in a hurry, perhaps caused by being behind some e-jit of a lorry driver doing 40 on a single carrigeway such as the A40 from Cheltenham to Oxford, a limit which is wholly unsuitable for todays traffic.
We will never agree on this, because you just can’t see that I am right!
Your example of a driver checking every wheelnut is as extreme as a driver just jumping into his lorry and driving off without doing any check. Both sets of drivers do exist. And both of them are p!ss takers.
How did the load I mentioned earlier end up on the carriage way? Not because of the driving skills of the driver at all. Simply because he couldn’t be arsed to check his load (roll cages) and had he done so he could have prevented it crashing out of the backdoor of the trailer when he had to make an emergency stop to avoid an accident. Thankfully nobody was behind him but how would your attitude be if your family got injured driving behind him with a load spilling onto your car knowing full well it could have been prevented?
I agree with you on unsuitable speed limits for certain roads
interlog:
Your example of a driver checking every wheelnut is as extreme as a driver just jumping into his lorry and driving off without doing any check.
Er. I check every wheelnut before I start work, I wouldn’t call it ‘extreme’.
I leave all the other nuts and rivets though which is I think what Tramper was referring to…
Slight typo there on my part… wasn’t meant to type “wheelnut” but “nut” instead but I’m also sure you get my drift that there are two extremes at either end of the scale.
Still doesn’t excuse anybody stipulating to a driver how long it ought to take them to do their checks. It takes as long as it takes. As long as the checks are done of course
interlog:
Slight typo there on my part… wasn’t meant to type “wheelnut” but “nut” instead but I’m also sure you get my drift that there are two extremes at either end of the scale.
Still doesn’t excuse anybody stipulating to a driver how long it ought to take them to do their checks. It takes as long as it takes. As long as the checks are done of course
Mark
Yeah I figured it was a typo, I was just being a pedant!
For what it’s worth, I don’t think there should be a set time for daily checks either. The driver should be happy with vehicle and load and when he is, he can crack on. No EU-Directive required, although they will probably make one anyhow.
Tramper:
:roll: Its a good job we have a nanny state, looks like most of you lot need it!
A quck look around, lights working ok, mirrors are still there after the last agency richard head, then just drive the ■■■■ thing, do it with due dilligence and nothing will fall off, if there is a seal on the load, dammaged to stock through bad loading cannot be put down to you, just drive well enough not to turn it over.
I’ll probably get a slating for this, but you PC richards really get up my nose, you call yourselves professionals and want to be recognised like your Doctors or Barristers, but you just drive Lorries, thats all! Yes you have to know what your doing, but your only a lorry driver!
Those who travel at 40 on a single carrigeway road are a menace, and far more likely to cause, maybe not be involved in, but cause an accident than someone traveling at 50 -56mph.
People moan on about the Eastern Europeans coming into the country, but its attitiudes like this “is 15 mins enough?” that make the good old British driver too expensive. 15 mins is more than enough to check around a vehicle hook it up, have a cup of tea and do the two clues in the Sun crossword that you can work out! Christ, an MOT doesn’t take much longer!
Anyway! I have to go now, my truck is parked in the yard and I really ought to go and make sure its not going to roll away, or disolve, or be too shiny and blind someone passing by.
C-YA!
With Tramper on this one, not to mention all the h&s ■■■■■■■■, driver cpc’s et all which are just goverment job creation schemes. Its mind boggling how many bods are employed just going round making sure everyone complies with the latest crapulations.
And if you must do 39.999999999999mph on single carriageways, at least pull over occasionally to let faster traffic past, remember, you’ll take even longer to get to your destination, as that seems to be the sole aim with some of you ‘‘professionals’’
When i worked at halfords we were given 15 minutes.But finding the vehicle,hooking up and doing all the checks usually took longer.And if i’d been on holiday,i did’nt leave till i cleaned the cab out.
And yes i travelled at 40 aswell.Thats the limit and why should i risk my licence for getting to a place 5minutes earlier.
Tramper:
:roll: Its a good job we have a nanny state, looks like most of you lot need it!
A quck look around, lights working ok, mirrors are still there after the last agency richard head, then just drive the ■■■■ thing, do it with due dilligence and nothing will fall off, if there is a seal on the load, dammaged to stock through bad loading cannot be put down to you, just drive well enough not to turn it over.
I’ll probably get a slating for this, but you PC richards really get up my nose, you call yourselves professionals and want to be recognised like your Doctors or Barristers, but you just drive Lorries, thats all! Yes you have to know what your doing, but your only a lorry driver!
Those who travel at 40 on a single carrigeway road are a menace, and far more likely to cause, maybe not be involved in, but cause an accident than someone traveling at 50 -56mph.
People moan on about the Eastern Europeans coming into the country, but its attitiudes like this “is 15 mins enough?” that make the good old British driver too expensive. 15 mins is more than enough to check around a vehicle hook it up, have a cup of tea and do the two clues in the Sun crossword that you can work out! Christ, an MOT doesn’t take much longer!
Anyway! I have to go now, my truck is parked in the yard and I really ought to go and make sure its not going to roll away, or disolve, or be too shiny and blind someone passing by.
C-YA!
Good on ya mate, my thoughts exactly. There are too many “proffesional” HGV operatives and not enough truck drivers in this country now. I had a good laugh reading your post, but its all true.
jonboy:
wincanton used to give us half a hour for start of shift . which included finding unit finding trailer hooking up and all walk around checks. peice of ■■■■ .
thats what we get. i did take a bit longer today though. all hooked up, last thing to check is the state of the tail lift. no connection for the anderson lead on the unit they gave me
i had to drop the trailer again and switch to a far better unit. the ups and downs of agency work
We get allowed 30 mins from the time you get handed your paperwork. In that time you find the unit, trailer, hook up do the checks etc etc.
Most of the time you can do it once you get a system that suits but that doesn’t mean that always happens. My biggest bug bear is those who want to spend ages telling anyone who will listen about how unfair this is or that is when all I want to do is get on with what I’m paid to do and get home. Three times in the past 2 weeks I’ve had to get tyres changed due to wear (slick in 1 case)! What does that say about the checking of the previous drivers?
The 30 mins is used a a planning guide and applies to rigid as well as artics and you also get 30 mins on the return to fuel up etc etc.
Its a good job we have a nanny state, looks like most of you lot need it!
- I dont know what she means 