dinosteveus1:
It is quite possible to leave a vehicle on a slight incline with the brake off and it doesn’t start to move straight away. The act of slamming the driver’s door shut after getting out could be enough to start it moving.
Hiya …one day i was stopped on a hill packed with snow,some one had slipped sidewas across the road and blocked it .
after a few mins i looked in my mirror and a mate of mine had stopped behind me.(this was the old days) i jumped out to chat with him
and i knew his truck was warmer insde than mine. In i jumped slammed the door and away we went. unit and trailer wheels locked up. very fortuneatly my mate had left a good gap and the unit slid into gutter and just missed my trailer by a couple of inches. Close one phew.
john
There was a run away lorry situation at Stonehaven a few weeks ago,There was damage done to 8 cars before the truck came to rest.The driver has my sympathy ,no point being smart about it because we all ■■■■ up sometimes(human condition)
Groovy Greg I think your post shows your lack of experience, things being second nature and distractions to the normal routine are probably the reason it happened.
I’ve done it both whilst hooking up a trailer and just parking, I’ve been lucky that no damage or worse happened and it woke me up. I always have another look in the cab to check the brake is on when hooking up a trailer and as for ferrys I was really getting paranoid, so evertime we got on the boat whoever was driving used to say brake on to the co-driver. It saved the worry when the likes of Coffeholic says “Did you put the brake on when you are about to sit down to dinner.”
I was in the car on Tuesday on the way into work, stopped at Clacket lane for a coffee and jumped back in the car. Drove a few feet and the phone started to ring, I pulled into a spot to answer it and stopped the car, turned off etc and had my conversation.
A few minutes later after a big gust of wind I notice the cars moving backwards. I’d forgotten to put the handbrake on!
It only moved perhaps half a foot before I stopped it but still made me think. Its all about sticking to a routine and not letting yourself get interrupted.
I stopped in our lifting yard got out released the twistlocks had an empty lifted off no problem then he put a loaded box back on and off it trundled. Luckily I was standing by the cab and jumped on the step and put the handbrake on before it went too far. I haven’t done it since’ it did wonders for my circulation
Wheel Nut:
I have spent many many trips on the train wondering did I? didn’t I? and imagining my truck bouncing between the lorry behind and the one in front or the thing just not being there at all.
As you pull up, there is a lot of things to think about, grab your coat, put the tacho on break, make sure the lights and all interior lights are off, have I got my book, paper, wallet etc, is the night heater off? with a fridge or a generator turn that off, get out and lock the door without scratching the paint, all this as the bus and it’s passengers are willing you to get a zb move on!
Youo have no idea how reassuring it is to know I am not the only one thought like this… The visions I had of the truck being a pile of iron in a puddle of buttermilk was a very regular thing. And on the HUPAC it was even worse… 11 hours of worry…
But as a seasoned tanker driver you must also have pulled onto a weigh plate and intentionally left the brake off as a faster way to get the ticket and on the point
I guess we’ve all been in that situation at one time in our career, only to have gotten away with it, perhaps if all trucks came with a warning buzzer or similar it would certainly prevent it from happening, unless your deaf of course
Tesco had the buzzers on their Scanias. Trouble is, you get to rely on them too much and if it fails, you could be more likely to make a mistake. They all have a warning light, after all.
scottishcruiser:
Surely when hes stopped on this incline hes took his foot off the brake and its starrted rolling then? Load of ■■■■ and bull hes only noticed when hes jumped out… Some 25yrs experience?
Just a theory and I’m suprised no one else has mentioned it:
Had he left the engine running?
Was it a unit fitted with roll arrest/hill start assist/call it what you like, that was switched on?
In which case the roll arrest would be holding it when he removed his foot from the brake pedal & got out, before self releasing a few seconds later, so he would think the park brake was on.
If this was the case, had the parking area been level, he probably would have applied the park brake.
Been there done that and was lucky to get away with it, but another poor sod called Chris sadley didn’t at Frank Tuckers many years ago, he paid with his life.
So isn’t it about time LGV’s had a kill cord like boats or motorcycles, you get out of the cab kill cord pulls out brakes come on simple or not ?
I think that’s a good idea Mike, though I’m unsure how practical in the real world.
In truth, I had thought of the open door/brake not applied warning buzzer years ago but never got around to approaching manufacturers with my idea.
I also think units should have a warning light on the back of the cab which comes on when the park brake is on. (though this is a difficult one because ofcourse H&S says you should stop the engine & take the keys out every time you get out yet obviously the w/light couldn’t be permanently powered as it would be on all the time when truck parked up).
A friend thought of the white nearside rumble strips ages before they became common place & I Invented a car accessory 15+ years ago &I’ve never had the time to follow it up.
Coffeeholic:
It happens, even ‘second nature’ stuff can be overlooked on occasion if your mind is elsewhere. As you say you haven’t been doing this long and it is an almost certainty that you will one day overlook something important that you normally do without
even thinking about it.
Oh yes indeedy!!..phrases like never say never, pride goes before a fall, come to mind mighty quick. Sooner or later we are all humbled by some stuid act of omision or other. Quite often after scoffing at some other poor sod who’s got it wrong. God knows, yours truly has managed it a few times It’s by these errors we hope to learn lessons for the future in the hope of becoming better drivers. It’s so easy to become blase` about the mundane yet vitally important things, and no one is immune to it, so think on
Was it a unit fitted with roll arrest/hill start assist/call it what you like, that was switched on?
In which case the roll arrest would be holding it when he removed his foot from the brake pedal & got out, before self releasing a few seconds later, so he would think the park brake was on.
If this was the case, had the parking area been level, he probably would have applied the park brake.
My thoughts exactly. The Actros has one fitted and it can be left permanently switched on. It also has an alarm when you open the door with the handbrake off. Don’t know if it works with the ignition off (not yet had to test it
Show me a driver who claims to have never made a mistake and I’ll show you a bloody liar
Happened to me 2 weks ago. jumps out of cab on a building site and the truck started to roll forward…had to do a quick jump back in to pull the brake. I lookd a complete knob but I was just glad I didnt cause any carnage!
No matter what is introduced to eliminate human error, one of US will defeat it, we always do. I just hope that when it happens, and it will, that no one gets hurt.
I’ve been lucky that no damage or worse happened and it woke me up. I always have another look in the cab to check the brake is on when hooking up a trailer and as for ferrys I was really getting paranoid, 
so evertime we got on the boat whoever was driving used to say brake on to the co-driver. It saved the worry when the likes of Coffeholic says “Did you put the brake on when you are about to sit down to dinner.” 
yet obviously the w/light couldn’t be permanently powered as it would be on all the time when truck parked up).
