Today at our place we had VOSA on site pulling in vehicles as they were leaving to go out on the road. They were giving them a good going over. So is this a normal thing or are they acting on information Received do you think. 
Also i think they or another official body were in looking at paperwork/tachos and units on friday of last week too 
Sounds like they had a tip off, or they stopped one of your vehicles somewhere else and there was a problem so they have decided to go over the whole fleet.
When I was a TM I once had a full Vosa inspection and they are very throurgh, it was caused by a driver getting stopped for bad loading, so they tend to do it for a reason not just on a whim. Any pead off drivers left recently■■?
sounds like they were just routine cheaks big fleets like excel and wincanton are not cowboys they know that but they have to be seen cheaking the likes i suppose
RS005D1136:
sounds like they were just routine cheaks big fleets like excel and wincanton are not cowboys they know that but they have to be seen cheaking the likes i suppose
Ha ha ha yeah right, they only check the big legit companies to look good. Its like the cops whatevers easiest. Remember VOSA operate on performance so it doesnt make any difference what they do so long as they do enough. It is easier for them to find problems with big companies trucks than actually doing their job and catching the bent small companies.
Bones,
Do you think all those trailers at your place are 100% (despite the fact that they mostly look rough!)■■ Did you not get new units fairly recently?
Were there any prohibitions issued or faults found etc?
I’m sure all the drivers had taken enough rest; there always a kip in layby’s!! 
exel and wincanton not cowboys their the sort of people who turn a blind eye or pay lip service to saftey just look at the amount of agency drivers they use at the weekend many will have worked for a regular employer during the week…( i know this can be done legally but how often is it )
Unless it’s changed since I worked there,Pullmans,(Who are owned by Wincanton) do the fleet maintenance for the Sherburn site,and are very good at what they do.
The targets set by Exel for Pullmans,are high,so I should imagine there won’t be any major worry.
The only problem I can see,is the, ‘I’ll let the next driver sort it,I’m in a rush to get home,’ brigade,so something minor may be picked up.
Ken.
vosa go into freightliner in leeds about once every 5/6 months but never stop the freightliner lorries but everyone else who is leaving the site and to be fair sometimes they parked up new trucks and trailers with defaults as well as the old ones.
it used to be amusing when in lcs or norcon listening to drivers of old heaps phoning the gaffers telling them not to send them into freightliner.
ralliesport:
It is easier for them to find problems with big companies trucks.
whilst doing their job properly (there must be a reason) 
ralliesport:
than actually doing their job and catching the bent small companies.
Working for a small company I could easily take offence at this comment, 
especially after working for larger company’s who seemed to just do what was the “absolute” minimum to keep legalish, a very large majority of small company’s are 100% legal, some are not, but I am absolutely positive that the only reason more small company’s appear to be running illegally than large ones is because there are a lot more small company’s…many large company’s have poor maintenance records as well. 
Better they catch one “bent” large company and take their thousands of unroadworthy trucks off the roads than catch ten small company’s and only manage to take 10 or 20 dodgy trucks off the road.
The backbone of the British haulage industry is the small haulier. I hope all drivers don’t think like this, 
After all, if we have no confidence in our industry, how can we expect the general public to have confidence in us?
I work for Exel / Somerfield and although some of the kit looks tatty (particularly the ex-Kwik Save Overlander trailers) due to age, I think VOSA would have a job to find much seriously wrong with our fleet. And unlike most sites - our garages are run by Exel, with Exel mechanics.
When you are operating a big fleet, I think a lot of problems are caused by firms who pay somebody else to do the maintenance for them.
Not doubting the quality of work done by Pullman and the like. But what I mean is, if I’m not happy with my truck, and the workshop don’t fix it properly, I go and see my TM, who is also the boss of the fitters (he pays their wages / they work for him, not a contractor) and he will make sure it is sorted.
As far as I’m concerned, if one person is in charge of everyone, it makes life so much simpler 
hitch:
exel and wincanton not cowboys
A couple of years back when I was working as agency whilst on my days off from my regular job, I was sent to a shoe manufacturers at Apperly Bridge who’s tpt was run by Wincanton.
He was the only TM to question my other work hours and asked to see my work rosta.
I defected 3 trucks whilst there and all 3 were put off the road.
1 for limiter inop, next for the brakes freezing overnight and the third for a small air leak, from the drivers seat.
So no I don’t think that all big companies are cowboys who ignore the rules
If an agency driver comes into the gefco depot where i work they have fill out a form detailing there previous days driving and state that they are still within there hours then sign the form so it exonerates gefco from dodgy drivers
simon
A company the agency have sent me to work for have a disclaimer the driver has to sign stating that he is legal tacho hours and WTD wise. Not a problem I always am.
In reply to Simon and Willy, how does it
exonerate
Gefco (and the company you’re referring to Willy), from using driver’s that aren’t breaching the hours regs? Any fool can sign a bit of paper. The chances of them checking with the agency that the driver in question is legally able to work the hours required are about the same chances as me visiting the moon in my lifetime.
So how do you suggest companies police this then rob??
simon
I think some of the bigger companies have more problems, especially the multinationals. Trailers get dropped at a depot with a defect, they are then reloaded and sent to another depot. as long as the driver who drops it doesnt report a minor fault, the fault then gets worse and there is no procedure for getting it fixed till its 6 week inspection.
In Europe there are regular Vosa type checks both inside and outside the factories. BASF in Ludwigshafen were regularly targeted and most of the rail terminals had daily checks for maintenance and drivers hours checks.
SimonRS2K:
So how do you suggest companies police this then rob??simon
I don’t. If I want to work 7x 15hr shifts then I will do. Simple as that.
Rob K:
SimonRS2K:
So how do you suggest companies police this then rob??simon
I don’t. If I want to work 7x 15hr shifts then I will do. Simple as that.
So if you get busted for being over your hours by vosa and they come back to the company you was working for, trying to do them for using a driver with no hours left said company produce the form you have signed saying you was still within your hours to drive then they are exonerated and your up [zb] creek
SimonRS2K:
Rob K:
SimonRS2K:
So how do you suggest companies police this then rob??simon
I don’t. If I want to work 7x 15hr shifts then I will do. Simple as that.
So if you get busted for being over your hours by vosa and they come back to the company you was working for, trying to do them for using a driver with no hours left said company produce the form you have signed saying you was still within your hours to drive then they are exonerated and your up [zb] creek
Agreed. But you should know as well as I do that the chances of that happening are approximately zilch. 
Rob K:
In reply to Simon and Willy, how does itexonerate
Gefco (and the company you’re referring to Willy), from using driver’s that aren’t breaching the hours regs? Any fool can sign a bit of paper. The chances of them checking with the agency that the driver in question is legally able to work the hours required are about the same chances as me visiting the moon in my lifetime.
Rob, can you explain what is it about an employed driver that stops him breaking the law by working for an agency when he should be having his weekly rest, and what it is about agency drivers that apparently makes it the sole purpose in life (or so it seems reading some of these threads) to break the law? If someone wants to work more hours and break the law they will, it will not make any difference whether they are permanently employed or not. And I doubt if Digital Tachograph’s will make any difference either. You can introduce as many laws as you like but if you don’t have anyone to enforce them, they aint gonna make anything any better!
I haven’t done anything else for a job but drive trucks since 1967 and I can count on two hands the times I’ve been stopped or had any sort of check done by the authorities, and about seven of these occasions were in Kent in the 70’s when I was on International work. The last time was in Wealdstone, Middlesex in 1988 at about 07.45 and that was by a beat copper who had just been on a course and wanted to put some of his newly acquired knowledge into practice.
I wouldn’t want the police or VOSA to hound professional drivers but I think we have to accept that if there isn’t any body monitoring the transport industry, things can only get worse. There’s nothing like a hefty fine or the prospect of loosing your licence, and therefore your living, to make people think twice about breaking the law. At the moment the chances of getting caught are slim. Just note how many vehicles pass you every day that obviously haven’t got a working speed limiter fitted, and you don’t need any special equipment to identify these vehicles. Even though the limiter legislation has been around for nearly 20 years, little, if anything, is done to curb these companies.