A simple poll; yes or no. Reason is because since passing class 2 in 2006 I’ve never been stopped and I’m wondering how usual it is. We talk a lot about getting pulled but then I talk to people and often hear things like “I’ve only been stopped once in 10 years”. A while back I was parked up at Sandbach MSA and watching the VOSA vans coming in. All the trucks following were either foreign registered or ratty old scaffolding puddle-jumpers. I’m wondering if drivers of UK registered LGV’s (that’s most people on TNUK I’d imagine) really get pulled over that much at all.
Never been pulled in, went passed a few vosa cars aswel.
Pretty much depends on your employers traffic light rating, if its green then chances are they will leave you alone or so im led to believe anyway. Ive been driving LGV since 2007.
Last 3 years ive had 6 encounters with vosa walked away unscathed from all of them 
Carlisle the full lot tachos and all - that was a matrix sign that pulled me in.
north berwick quick wheel tap - that was a vosa inspector on his toad who came over to me whilst having a break.
Kilmarnock quick wheel tap - pulled in by a police motorbike
4 times at Stirling in and out - pulled in by a matrix sign.
My company is about as legal compliant as it gets green rated or whatever they use. It was just my luck 
Other guys at my depot have never been stopped in their puff.
Funny even though you know you have cushty wagon and straight tachos you still get nervous round the ■■■■■■■■
I used to work for a dutch company for 5 years we used to run a kittle bent ( say’s he tongue in cheek) i could do Frankfurt airport to Heathrow
over night.Tip in morning clean card in run home for weekend,also had to drive passed to vosa stations on way.Never got touch once.
Started with Nedexco got pulled twice in three week’s,everything nice and clean so let go got talking to the vosa stormtrooper and he told me
Nedexco where a red light company lot,s of problems in the past.
I’ve only been driving HGV’s since 1977 (yes i know, i’m an old **** ), i can count on one hand the number of times i have been pulled by vosa and its previous forms and different names… never had a problem (touch wood)
I’ve only been stopped once, and that was in a truck less than two weeks old, one bloke waved me in the other bloke took one look asked if he waved me in here? shook his head and waved me straight back out again 
Got pulled on the M5 around the Somerset area. Was doing ADR work and according to the driver he gets pulled on a regular basis. Luckily he’d been pulled the week before and still had the sheet in the cab saying the truck was OK. He showed it to VOSA and off we went. He said he always keeps his paperwork now and has got out of checks on several occasions.
Foreigners and ADR seem to cop the brunt of it.
Been pulled only twice since I started driving 30 odd years ago. Once in a wincanton rigid, over loaded on front axle, cost me £250 and that was in the 80’s! second time got pulled in a hire unit and trailer, when I stopped, the VOSA or what ever it was then, official saw my ASDA unifrom and told me to p*** off!
Touch wood not been stopped for many years.
merc0447:
Last 3 years ive had 6 encounters with vosa walked away unscathed from all of themCarlisle the full lot tachos and all - that was a matrix sign that pulled me in.
north berwick quick wheel tap - that was a vosa inspector on his toad who came over to me whilst having a break.
Kilmarnock quick wheel tap - pulled in by a police motorbike
4 times at Stirling in and out - pulled in by a matrix sign.
My company is about as legal compliant as it gets green rated or whatever they use. It was just my luck
Other guys at my depot have never been stopped in their puff.
Funny even though you know you have cushty wagon and straight tachos you still get nervous round the [zb]
What do u mean pulled in by a matrix sign? Do they flash your reg no. up?
no
got a tug at dorset steam fair on the rally field as I came in the gate the the vosa man waved me in and did my lights, tires, wheel nuts and a good look underneath with a torch every thing was ok with my land rover and trailer but the the gipsys in there slick tired transits got a lot of pg9s
Not been pulled in yet (touch would) but a couple of years back I stopped at Michaelwood services for a break where they just happened to have a checkpoint. Seeing a couple of other trucks getting a good going over made me nervous but they just did a quick walk round check, took my details and sent me on my way.
only times I’ve had a tug is with the orange plates up,not held for long with class 7 stuff
tanasan:
I used to work for a dutch company for 5 years we used to run a kittle bent ( say’s he tongue in cheek) i could do Frankfurt airport to Heathrow
over night.Tip in morning clean card in run home for weekend,also had to drive passed to vosa stations on way.Never got touch once.
Started with Nedexco got pulled twice in three week’s,everything nice and clean so let go got talking to the vosa stormtrooper and he told me
Nedexco where a red light company lot,s of problems in the past.
I’ve seen several Nedexco wagons stopped recently; last one was last Friday-prat went over a weak bridge that was signposted for several miles before it and regularly has VOSA and Trading Standards watching it. A while back one was weighed at our pit aswell. I’ve never been stopped in my 10 years of driving but we have a green light rating so that must explain it…
I have never been stopped since 2000…must be lucky…
topboy trucker:
I have never been stopped since 2000…must be lucky…
We did a similar poll a few years ago and it was done over 5 years I think, the results were quite similar 
Ive been pulled at least 6 times in the last 12 months with no problems found, and our company has a green light. Two of those times were because Vosa made a typo on the operators licence for the wagon I was driving. Another was 7 days after I had been stopped before, they still went over everything with a fine toothcomb 
.
The other three drivers on my firm havent been stopped at all in the last 12 months, looks like Im just lucky like that.
Got tugged over by Newport Wales lucky was all clear, was worried cos 10 mins before a warning came up on my dash ( Volvo ) saying trailer tail light gone.
I have been pulled over by them twice in 23 years .
Not many stoppages by VOSA reported at my current company - OCRS I guess, but the cost of running with a blown bulb is possibly your job at some firms. Despite that you see loads of vehicles with defective lighting (I say loads (almost all cars), if you count them coming the other way on the motorway I reckon it’s in the order of 1 in 100, possibly more, at the front-end at least and it must be worse at the rear (not knowing if the brake lights work)).
There did seem to be more police and VOSA on the M4 yesterday when a bulb warning light came on in the Sprinter I was in. Checked all around, eventually, tapped a side running light which came on and the warning light went away - very good.