edd1974:
But if say customer gets on truck slips off . Then who does he claim from?
His employer.
But my view is I should be doing it there not trained or insured to.
Unless I’m wrong?
Your first responsibility is to yourself and your family. Why should you and your family suffer if you get injured at work because a delivery point couldn’t be bothered to ensure they had the right gear for the job? And whist your employer has insurance it’s not going to compensate you for not being able to work for years, for having to take lower paid jobs because you’re not fit to do anything else and believe me I can tell you from 20 years first hand experience there’s no amount of money that can compensate you for how much it stuffs up your life when you completely knacker your back. All the money in the world isn’t going to restore the lost function in my left leg, allow me to run around with my grandkids, fix my back so I can go back to doing things like restoring classic cars that I love because there’s no fix for when you’ve ended up with nerve damage in your spinal chord from something like a herniated disc other than hoping that time will allow it to improve a little and return some of the function.
We was alway told our obligation was to the side of the truck and no further so yes handballing to someone was expected but from truck to floor was not
As Chester said that was my rules back in the day , trailer door! Found it the same in Canada either forklift off or provide me with a pump lift and I’ll take it to the edge of back doors:dock. No handball as it encouraged companies not to have a forklift.
Around 30 years ago (!) I found myself on the receiving end of a stern telling-off by a truck driver of advanced years after he’d been sat in his cab watching me jump repeatedly up and down from my trailer load bed whilst unstrapping a load. He said don’t do it otherwise I’d end up like him who could barely walk from having shot knees who used to do exactly the same as myself when he was my age. I took his advice and climbed up and down properly, ensuring no shocks or impacts to my knees. 30 years on that sage advice has mostly stood me in good stead as my knees are still in reasonable health and functioning fine. Heading into my advanced years myself , I make it my duty to pass down the same sage advice to today’s youngster truckers who I see doing the same as I did .
As for handballing, I don’t mind helping out to get the job done. But there are limits. And it depends on the attitude/response by the receiver of said goods. If they show a willingness to muck in then I’m usually happy to reciprocate but many times I have experienced them walking off and leaving me to do it all myself. Two can play at that game and many times their stuff has been taken back as a result . If the office have said no assistance to be provided at the delivery point then there will be a reason for it and should be heeded.
wrighty1:
Personally I get up and help on the rare occasions handballing is needed, I know several at our place that won’t and would rather bring it back.
As with you the insurance etc comes into play but I’ve always been of the opinion that if possible a job gets done, it’s really not rocket science to keep everyone safe.
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Excalty my thoughts only rang office to say be here half an hour or so.
Plus also if was left to customer to.do thed take there time.
If I’m there doing it makes them.move quicker.
I think we’re a dying breed most want do as little as possible
Each to their own but I’m in the ‘unless I’ve already agreed and it’s expected, I’m not unloading anything’ camp.
I completely agree with the other post than says if they have regular deliveries that they don’t have the equipment to unload that’s not my problem.
Maybe they don’t want to mop the canteen as they haven’t a mop. I wouldn’t offer to help with that either …[emoji3][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
I work on containers i am banned from touching the load.My job is to back it on a bay or ramp and open my doors thats all.I am even banned from carrying a bolt cutter for container locks.He does not want us to be first suspects when stuff goes missing.
Mick Bracewell:
Around 30 years ago (!) I found myself on the receiving end of a stern telling-off by a truck driver of advanced years after he’d been sat in his cab watching me jump repeatedly up and down from my trailer load bed whilst unstrapping a load. He said don’t do it otherwise I’d end up like him who could barely walk from having shot knees who used to do exactly the same as myself when he was my age. I took his advice and climbed up and down properly, ensuring no shocks or impacts to my knees. 30 years on that sage advice has mostly stood me in good stead as my knees are still in reasonable health and functioning fine. Heading into my advanced years myself , I make it my duty to pass down the same sage advice to today’s youngster truckers who I see doing the same as I did .
I agree with this a lot.
I am 29 but for a good few years I was jumping up and down from the back of trailers.
It takes its tole. Even if at the time you dont feel it.
Mick Bracewell:
Around 30 years ago (!) I found myself on the receiving end of a stern telling-off by a truck driver of advanced years after he’d been sat in his cab watching me jump repeatedly up and down from my trailer load bed whilst unstrapping a load. He said don’t do it otherwise I’d end up like him who could barely walk from having shot knees who used to do exactly the same as myself when he was my age. I took his advice and climbed up and down properly, ensuring no shocks or impacts to my knees. 30 years on that sage advice has mostly stood me in good stead as my knees are still in reasonable health and functioning fine. Heading into my advanced years myself , I make it my duty to pass down the same sage advice to today’s youngster truckers who I see doing the same as I did .
I agree with this a lot.
I am 29 but for a good few years I was jumping up and down from the back of trailers.
It takes its tole. Even if at the time you dont feel it.
At the time my immediate thought was “shut up you silly old [zb], what do you know?” but then I paused and watched him hobbling around with his stick, clearly suffering some pain and decided it best to use the steps provided to get out of the cab instead of launching myself from the seat straight down to the ground in one leap, looking all cool and everything . That guy knew.
adam277:
I agree with this a lot.
I am 29 but for a good few years I was jumping up and down from the back of trailers.
It takes its tole. Even if at the time you dont feel it.
Ok so following this logic (not just you but several people before you have posted the same thing re jumping from trailer) every ex basketball/volleyball player should be in a wheel chair past a certain age? Or should you stop jumping after a certain age or not jump past a certain height, or jump only less than X number of times per day…?
adam277:
I agree with this a lot.
I am 29 but for a good few years I was jumping up and down from the back of trailers.
It takes its tole. Even if at the time you dont feel it.
Ok so following this logic (not just you but several people before you have posted the same thing re jumping from trailer) every ex basketball/volleyball player should be in a wheel chair past a certain age? Or should you stop jumping after a certain age or not jump past a certain height, or jump only less than X number of times per day…?
Well the average NBA player can jump 28 inches. which is just over 2ft I think.
Michael Jordan could jump like 40 inches which is like 3.3ft.
Now I dont have a trailer and a tape measure at hand but I know your quite often jumping about 4 and a half foot to the ground.
Most Basketball players do stop jumping past a certain age.
I’m not saying you will end up in a wheelchair.
I’m saying you will end up as a typical truck driver when you get to your 50s/60s.
ie… with a limp and a bad back.
Jumpers Knee is a very common thing basketball players suffer from as well.
adam277:
I agree with this a lot.
I am 29 but for a good few years I was jumping up and down from the back of trailers.
It takes its tole. Even if at the time you dont feel it.
Ok so following this logic (not just you but several people before you have posted the same thing re jumping from trailer) every ex basketball/volleyball player should be in a wheel chair past a certain age? Or should you stop jumping after a certain age or not jump past a certain height, or jump only less than X number of times per day…?
adam277:
I agree with this a lot.
I am 29 but for a good few years I was jumping up and down from the back of trailers.
It takes its tole. Even if at the time you dont feel it.
Ok so following this logic (not just you but several people before you have posted the same thing re jumping from trailer) every ex basketball/volleyball player should be in a wheel chair past a certain age? Or should you stop jumping after a certain age or not jump past a certain height, or jump only less than X number of times per day…?
adam277:
Now I dont have a trailer and a tape measure at hand but I know your quite often jumping about 4 and a half foot to the ground.
Most Basketball players do stop jumping past a certain age.
I’m not saying you will end up in a wheelchair.
I’m saying you will end up as a typical truck driver when you get to your 50s/60s.
ie… with a limp and a bad back.
Jumpers Knee is a very common thing basketball players suffer from as well.
What? You do use your hand to support yourself on the way down, don’t you? I’m not talking jumping off the edge “goodbye cruel world” style, or out of the cab (at all). Agree about not jumping past a certain age (if you feel discomfort/pain - don’t do it at ANY age). Ok I’ll probably have a bad elbow then but I’m pretty sure I’m not falling the whole 3-3.5 feet or whatever the trailer floor height is, it feels more like a foot or so. Either way I’m not advocating jumping especially from the cab… I once took a guy from the entrance of the yard to the entrance of the building and couldn’t believe it he just lept out of the friccken Actros which is like 5+ feet high. He was a heavy f*er too bout 200 lbs not a truck driver though. I cringe on the rare occasion when I see people do that in services etc.
“When it comes to elite artistic gymnastics, most female competitors begin the sport at before the age of five and train around 40 hours a week, pushing their strength and flexibility to the limits, at times defying anatomy and biology to stick their routines.”
We can’t compare 40 hours per week of pushing oneself “to the limits” (and beyond if we’re talking gymnastics) to the occasional jump from a trailer (not the full height either). Much more harm comes from sitting on our butts for 40+ hours per week imo.
Conor:
As someone who has a knackered back and has suffered for years and has had to have periods of time off work including last year when I had to have an emergency spinal op on a knackered disc I’m not volunteering to unload anything. If a delivery point is so bad that they cannot make sure they’ve got mechanical handling systems to take off 1 tonne pallets of stuff I’m not handballing a tonne of goods 25-50kg at a time. That’s 20-40 opportunities per pallet to bugger your back up all because the delivery point is too tight fisted to spend money on the proper tool to do the job.
^This.
This is what the TGWU agreed to me having to do on my behalf.Not only on my inbound trailer, but also vice versa on my outbound one, at the hub.Having ditched pallets and obviously not enough warehouse staff wanting the job. youtube.com/watch?v=ufpx6TUCzuI
That’s what you call a knackered back being the contributory result and with it career gone in a matter of months because with those health limits it was game over.
All to save the cost/time of palletised mechanical freight handling.
There is no industrial injury claim for accumalative disc injury because without a single identifiable incident causation can’t be proved.
Nor can naturally occuring disc degeneration v degeneration caused by accumalative compressive injury.
Let that be a warning to all the wanabee Geoff Capes’ eager to help save their employers and their customers the time and costs of mechanical handling.
wrighty1:
Got to love the fact that some of you are comparing lorry drivers to elite athletes [emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]
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Lol I wasnt comparing us with atheletes. Just replying to ETS post where he says if basketball jumpers can do it so can we lol.
At the end of the day regardless wether its sports or work it aint good for your body to jump around lolol
I ain’t a fan of handball, but I’ve always done it, from handballing 20 tonnes of tatties off pallets, and back on other pallets at the other end in the old days (not single handedly btw ) to occasions today helping a farmer off with a few building sections.
Thing is now though,.I’m a bit reluctant as I know for a fact if I ■■■■ ed myself up the firm I work for would not back me up in any way, so nowadays I try and explain this in that scenario, and only help as an absolute last resort if the guy can not get any help sorted.
To heavy for a pump truck,then it was too heavy in the first place and should have been split before loading.H&S comes into play
Saying that its not always possible to get all the load on without doubling pallets up,the gross weight of the complete load might be OK.
As many will say pull the truck out put an empty pallet on and give yourself some exercise and split the pallet.
Think you will find whilst your at work there are regulations to ensure you are covered for possible injury,any settlement of compensation is something that has to be argued either in court or by mutual agreement. The Unions might be useless in many ways BUT they do have Solicitors to deal with injury claims
, I make it my duty to pass down the same sage advice to today’s youngster truckers who I see doing the same as I did 
.
. If the office have said no assistance to be provided at the delivery point then there will be a reason for it and should be heeded.
. That guy knew.
but I’m pretty sure I’m not falling the whole 3-3.5 feet or whatever the trailer floor height is, it feels more like a foot or so. Either way I’m not advocating jumping especially from the cab… 
I once took a guy from the entrance of the yard to the entrance of the building and couldn’t believe it he just lept out of the friccken Actros which is like 5+ feet high. He was a heavy f*er too bout 200 lbs not a truck driver though. I cringe on the rare occasion when I see people do that in services etc.
in the old days (not single handedly btw