This subject to me is, largely acedemic, but in the recent inclement weather, I’ve noticed quite a lot of shattered sheets of ice about an inch or more thick thats slid off the tops of trailers on traffic islands, intersections, and sharp bends. I know it’s unavoidable unless you can park up the trailer undercover overnight…yeah right 
, but in the quite likely event of the ice causing injury to a person or persons, damage to other vehicles, WHO is responsible? It’s a question thats occupied my mind a few times and I can think of nothing practical to resolve it. Over to the more experienced drivers out there 
i would think it would be the drivers responsabilaty as he/she is the 1 driving and in charge of the veichle.
scotstrucker:
i would think it would be the drivers responsabilaty as he/she is the 1 driving and in charge of the veichle.
+1 agree
this is one of the systems in use to clear that problem
LINK-1
THEY ALSO HAVE ALONG the motorways in some services places which allow the driver
to clean the roof off from ICE safely ,
johnharry:
scotstrucker:
i would think it would be the drivers responsabilaty as he/she is the 1 driving and in charge of the veichle.+1 agree
+2
Tell me something then, how does your average british lorry driver go about clearing the roof of ice 14/15 feet up 
try doing an emergency stop before you leave the yard ? God I had some good brakes on the trailer I had last night, did a trailer swap and nearly went through the windscreen first time I stopped after.
merc0447:
Tell me something then, how does your average british lorry driver go about clearing the roof of ice 14/15 feet up
Therein lies the problem to which there is no realistic answer especially if away from base
ROG:
merc0447:
Tell me something then, how does your average british lorry driver go about clearing the roof of ice 14/15 feet upTherein lies the problem to which there is no realistic answer especially if away from base
At least it is the only time Health and Safety is on our side. If the German coppers want to sweep my roof off, let them go on top of the trailer. they are happy enough to clamber over the load to see if I have secured it properly, even though my customer will not let me do the same.
I normally agree with many German laws, but that one is ridiculous.
The H&S issue could be both ways
Not safe for anyone to get onto roof to check for and clear ice
Not safe enough to leave ice on roof for the safety of other road users
try reading this through thisLINK
In germany they have along various points areas where
truck drivers have the means to clear the roofs
from snow and ice safely ,please note that you will be held
responsible for the problems that may arise when
snow or ice falls off your truck and trailer
ROG:
The H&S issue could be both ways
Not safe for anyone to get onto roof to check for and clear ice
Not safe enough to leave ice on roof for the safety of other road users
I can imagine the phone call…
Ring Ring/
Hello Bloggs Haulage.
Its Tesco. Have you got a load of fresh mushrooms?
Yep.
When can we have them? you were booked in at 7am today.
How about March 4th? weather permitting
A local company to us has a set of stairs on wheels and skids, they have one guy who does the trailers before they leave, uses that and a long scrapper, is there a word for such a device? to push the ice off the side, anyone delivering or picking up can have that done. The local DIY store had a long line of trucks waiting to tip that been there overnight, a guy from the store was driving around with a platform on a forklift doing the same thing. Seem to work very well apart from both blokes looking blooming cold doing it, mind you he was doing it at 4 metres, the DIY store had most of the staff on the roof of the store clearing snow and ice. Not going to help you if you parked up overnight without anywhere to get on the roof to look.
brit pete:
try reading this through thisLINK
In germany they have along various points areas where
truck drivers have the means to clear the roofs
from snow and ice safely ,please note that you will be held
responsible for the problems that may arise when
snow or ice falls off your truck and trailer
Quite possible Pete, but you must agree that it is all ■■■■■■■■, how far apart are these remarkable gantries that do not get iced up? what about the driver who parked in the service area? it may be 25 kilometres to the next place. the ice still slides off between the two.
Didn’t we do this one before? remember that I live right under the flight path for EMA planes regularly drop lumps of ice in the local gardens and occasionally through a house roof even in summer.
Most drivers will remember parking their trailers with half a dozen tilt boards to prop the sheet to stop puddles forming.
WHEELNUT you are right but as far as the germans are concerned, its a law and they will
just carry it out, come what may,as for the side boards being used yes rememeber that well
but was lucky enough that i drove mainly Road Barrels , less work,
brit pete:
this is one of the systems in use to clear that problem
LINK-1
THEY ALSO HAVE ALONG the motorways in some services places which allow the driver
to clean the roof off from ICE safely ,
The Krone trailer looks a good option. I wonder how long it’ll take for it to be mandatory for all trailers to be built this way? One of the reasons I posted the question is that a lot of firms have health and safety rules that forbid climbing onto trailer/vehicle roofs’, including the one I work for, even though a ladder is built into the body of the bins, so you can see the dilema, and as usual it’s always down to the poor old driver. I always remember the first winter I drove artics, no snow, but some very sharp frosts, I’d left my first tip in Northants and was going down a hill towards a roundabout, I had to give way to a pushbike and applied the brakes accordingly, only to hear a noise like thunder as the ice shot off the trailer roof and onto the gantry walkway, now some of this shot onto the roundabout in front of and around the poor old cyclist, but fortunately doing no harm to him. Now I accept that in the eye of the law the driver is responsible, and the ‘I never knew it was on there’ is unlikely to wash, but really and truly, we desparately need a workable solution to this problem. I’m willing to bet that there has been a number of near-misses, if not actual incidents involving injury/damage in the last few weeks, and I feel that it is an issue that needs seriously addressing for everyones sake. Rant over 
Lycanthrope:
try doing an emergency stop before you leave the yard ?
You mean you hadn’t tested to see if those trailer brakes worked at all or not before you needed them for real?
It’s funny when you create a snow storm from all the snow on the trailer roof… all of a sudden mr bmw isn’t so keen to get past you haha
Driveroneuk:
Lycanthrope:
try doing an emergency stop before you leave the yard ?You mean you hadn’t tested to see if those trailer brakes worked at all or not before you needed them for real?
That would be on the internal road on the site, just after pulling out of the bay, stopping at the junction to test the brakes and let one of the F1 driver Shunters go past 