visa are rewriting the law if they are to be believed . british law holds a person innocent until PROVED GUILTY . the fact that an accident could happen in certain circumstances is hardly proof of anything is it ? power corrupts , absolute power corrupts absolutely .
rigsby:
visa are rewriting the law if they are to be believed . british law holds a person innocent until PROVED GUILTY . the fact that an accident could happen in certain circumstances is hardly proof of anything is it ? power corrupts , absolute power corrupts absolutely .
You’re not wrong there. It’s the same with on the spot fines, Especially for foreign drivers. They don’t get a chance to prove their innocence. Pay up or stay where you are.
Some drivers are playing right into the hands of the gistapo attitude that this country is moving towards. If they made sure a load was secure, Then VOSA and the police wouldn’t have any reason to start persecuting the already persecuted driver.
rigsby:
visa are rewriting the law if they are to be believed . british law holds a person innocent until PROVED GUILTY . the fact that an accident could happen in certain circumstances is hardly proof of anything is it ? power corrupts , absolute power corrupts absolutely .
And of course you don’t have to wear a seatbelt as long as you don’t have an accident. Go ahead and grow those potplants in your shed as long as you don’t smoke them, and while you are at it build a nuclear device in your loft, as long as you don’t set it of. I don’t think we have to worry about that last one going by the reasoning and intellect of some of the posters here…
Lots here seem to think that this is something new dreamt up by VOSA, the traffic act of 1991 is very clear on the subject, VOSA is just focusing on it more as there are still people getting killed every year by unsecured loads and the industry as a whole loses millions a year caused by damaged goods in transit.
The fact that a load is not secure is all the proof they need of your guilt, they don’t have to and shouldn’t wait for something to go wrong.
Securing a load is just common sense.
again it’s up to each driver whether he straps his load down or not but in the last 6 months vosa have fined just under 2000 drivers for un-secured loads,besides the fine your truck will be prohibited to move until the load is secured and your company will get a black mark against it’s operators license.
Of coarse you can opt to go to court and try and get your fine quashed but in court you will be up against magistrates who will believe every word vosa say and your just a truck driver !
fta.co.uk/export/sites/fta/_ … curity.pdf
This is the bit i don’t understand?
Lashings on ropehooks.
This is always poor practice but there may be no other suitable attachment points
What the [zb] are rope hooks for? hanging your washing on?
I’m all for load security, But when they say [zb] like this, It undermines the sentiment of what they are trying to achieve.
It’s as good as saying “secure your load, but don’t use the securing points, they only put them there for a laugh”.
limeyphil:
What the [zb] are rope hooks for? hanging your washing on?
.
You could call it that, rope hooks are for the sheeting only, not to restrain the actual load.
rope hooks are exactly that ‘rope hooks’ they are not strong enough to hold heavy loads that are secured to them.
nick2008:
Dave55:
Has anyone lost a pallet through a curtain?Yep
A few months back I Avonmouth , a big machine on a propper big solid pallet … machine wrapped and strapped to the pallet and it came straight through the curtain. They had to get a hi-ab out to pick it up…
I’d have chucked a ratchet strap over that.
Rhythm Thief:
nick2008:
Dave55:
Has anyone lost a pallet through a curtain?Yep
A few months back I Avonmouth , a big machine on a propper big solid pallet … machine wrapped and strapped to the pallet and it came straight through the curtain. They had to get a hi-ab out to pick it up…I’d have chucked a ratchet strap over that.
thing is though i dunno what the outer skin of the machine was like 
it could have been a heavy barsteward with flimsy skin on but on passing you could see the internals didn’t do much to hold it .
wheelnutt:
limeyphil:
What the [zb] are rope hooks for? hanging your washing on?
.You could call it that, rope hooks are for the sheeting only, not to restrain the actual load.
Rope hooks would be called sheet hooks if that were true.
ROADRANGER:
wheelnutt:
limeyphil:
What the [zb] are rope hooks for? hanging your washing on?
.You could call it that, rope hooks are for the sheeting only, not to restrain the actual load.
Rope hooks would be called sheet hooks if that were true.
You hook the rope that holds the sheet down around the ropehook, not the sheet itself so it does what it says on the tin, it is a ropehook.
wheelnutt:
ROADRANGER:
wheelnutt:
limeyphil:
What the [zb] are rope hooks for? hanging your washing on?
.You could call it that, rope hooks are for the sheeting only, not to restrain the actual load.
Rope hooks would be called sheet hooks if that were true.
You hook the rope that holds the sheet down around the ropehook, not the sheet itself so it does what it says on the tin, a ropehook.
Some of us old codgers remember when rope did what it says on the tin,we roped the load down with the aid of sheets,
And not forgetting chains for timber, sheets and machinery etc.
ROADRANGER:
Some of us old codgers remember when rope did what it says on the tin,we roped the load down with the aid of sheets,
The problem now is that neither [most] rope, nor sheets are tested for tensile strenght or load bearing capacity in the case of sheets. You can only use rope if it has been tested and a has a clearly displayed label. The problem with rope is that the tensile strenght changes with length, hence no guarantee. All straps/ratchets have a label attached displaying the load capability, that makes them legal to use to restrain a load.
We have a few flat beds but only use ropes to hold the sheets down for exactly that reason, no tested load limits.
The same goes for curtains, even a EN12642-XL certified curtain, does not mean that the load itself does not need strapping down.
We as drivers are ultimately responsible for our loads and all here should be very familiar with the law and regulations, both here in the UK, as in the traffic act of 1991 and the EU documents relating to load safety, ignorance is not a defence.
So tell me how do I strap 26 pallets of pop to a trailer using internal straps when vosa say it has to strapped chock rail to chock rail to stop it leaving the trailer bed and if you think about it what are you strapping if you use internal straps on a load like this one case per pallet that’s all
senior50:
So tell me how do I strap 26 pallets of pop to a trailer using internal straps when vosa say it has to strapped chock rail to chock rail to stop it leaving the trailer bed and if you think about it what are you strapping if you use internal straps on a load one case per pallet that’s all
All depends on the weight of each pallet, internal straps are limited to 400kgs, so if you have 26 pallets all weighing less than 400kgs each and no certified load bearing curtain then 26 internal straps to the top rail will meet the requirement, make sure you don’t exceed the load on your rail, the single rail version had less total load bearing capability than the double one does, as does the one that has the rails at each side of the trailer.
There really is no single answer, you need to check your trailer, your straps and your pallets. For loads exceeding 400kgs per pallet, you will have to use ratchet straps for each set of pallets, making sure that each strap has the limits needed for each 2 pallets and has a clearly displayed label, is in good condition and not frayed anywhere.
I once again need to reiterate that this is not something new and I have been doing this for years, there is a clearly defined responsibility in the traffic act of 1991 placing it solely with the driver.
We keep getting lots of these threads, it seems the VOSA focus is strarting to pay off, people are asking questions and taking their time securing their loads, this can only be a good thing, both in respect to safety and to reducing the cost of damaged goods in transit. This can only make our industry more profitable and secure jobs. I see securing a load as a win-win situation for everyone.
Take a few minutes before you set of and you will have nothing to worry about, either when it comes to VOSA or just plain peace of mind.
senior50:
So tell me how do I strap 26 pallets of pop to a trailer using internal straps when vosa say it has to strapped chock rail to chock rail to stop it leaving the trailer bed and if you think about it what are you strapping if you use internal straps on a load like this one case per pallet that’s all
to stop any argument with VOSA and the courts you throw the “”" How do you SECURE 24t od sand in a Tipper “”“” that’s your defence …The load can only be deemed insecure if it has moved and a Vosa bod cant say anything is insecure unless it moves and they see it… Drivers need the balls to stand up and say PROVE IT>>>>
nick2008:
your defence …The load can only be deemed insecure if it has moved and a Vosa bod cant say anything is insecure unless it moves and they see it…>>
That is rubbish, you don’t wait for the accident to happen you prevent it. Securing a load is an easy preventative measure and your responsibility as a driver.
IF you get stopped and your pallets are strapped you will not get any hassle from VOSA, if you get stopped and your load is not secured, don’t expect any favours from them, they are not going to turn a blind eye to anything else they find.
A load that is insecure, meaning not restrained, is a fixed penalty and will affect your operator’s status, end of.
wheelnutt:
nick2008:
your defence …The load can only be deemed insecure if it has moved and a Vosa bod cant say anything is insecure unless it moves and they see it…>>That is rubbish, you don’t wait for the accident to happen you prevent it. Securing a load is an easy preventative measure and your responsibility as a driver.
IF you get stopped and your pallets are strapped you will not get any hassle from VOSA, if you get stopped and your load is not secured, don’t expect any favours from them, they are not going to turn a blind eye to anything else they find.
So how do you secure 24 ton of sand
Dave55:
Has anyone lost a pallet through a curtain?
It’s not just about losing a pallet…The HSE (who will ultimately prosecute - DVSA & police do the spade work on their behalf) have said that any load inside a curtain-sider should be secured using restraints, even if the curtains are load bearing. The two reasons they give:
- Even if a load shifts & comes to rest against a load-bearing curtain, someone is going to be put in danger when they release the curtain.
- If a load does shift & rest against a curtain it could also affect the dynamics & handling characteristics of the vehicle.
Also the ropehook thing is correct, these are for securing tarpaulins only - with ropes. Restraints should go to load-bearing anchor points, the trailer chasiss or the chock rail. Rope hooks are not designed to anchor a ratchet strap to, especially the aluminium rivetted/bolted ones fitted to smaller rigid flats.
Wheelnutt - you have posted some very good points on this thread.
nick2008:
So how do you secure 24 ton of sand
In a hard bodied tipper that is certified to transport 24 tons of sand securely. The body of the tipper is the restraint. If it is in bags on pallets and weighs more than 400kgs each, you use a strap.