So that you don’t lose your job■■?
Or alternatively, so that you earn the £1,000 bonus■■?
Or leave the job and get a job with a firm that doesn’t work for slashed rates so they don’t need to bother about rubbish like this and pay a decent wage without fuel bonus.
Not all are like that. My job is own account, sensible amounts of hours, great pay and great terms and conditions.i couldn’t even tell you what my score is, its fitted to the vehicles and all we’re told is if there’s an issue about something they’ll tell us about it.
All I’ve ever done is drive how I normally drive, albeit it slightly slower because I’ve no need to bust my balls and go flat out anywhere at any time unlike my last firm who spent all day trying to get two days work out of everyone.
I’ve seen places with leaderboards and who pull people up for this and that, but just the presence of these systems doesn’t automatically mean that every form has some militant approach to policing it.
Your firm sounds exactly the sort of firm I’m talking about. Just left to get on with the job unless your doing something petty seriously wrong, no micro management by pointy shoes
So that you don’t lose your job■■?
Or alternatively, so that you earn the £1,000 bonus■■?
Or leave the job and get a job with a firm that doesn’t work for slashed rates so they don’t need to bother about rubbish like this and pay a decent wage without fuel bonus.
Not all are like that. My job is own account, sensible amounts of hours, great pay and great terms and conditions.i couldn’t even tell you what my score is, its fitted to the vehicles and all we’re told is if there’s an issue about something they’ll tell us about it.
All I’ve ever done is drive how I normally drive, albeit it slightly slower because I’ve no need to bust my balls and go flat out anywhere at any time unlike my last firm who spent all day trying to get two days work out of everyone.
I’ve seen places with leaderboards and who pull people up for this and that, but just the presence of these systems doesn’t automatically mean that every form has some militant approach to policing it.
I know your job is different to what i used to do but i agree theywould give you plenty of time to get from a to b. However i cant tell you how many times they gave me a run that had me arriving at a store before my start time.
The scores i got were in brand new merc’s. there is a lever on the right hand side of the steering collum that i can either oush away from me of pull towards me to drop or raise a cog. This same lever i can pull down to activate a brake what brake is this? is it a retarder or engine brake?? do you use them differently? As said in my origonal post unless i am aproching the junction on a hill using it seems to make little to no difference evenif the bloody thing doesnt go into eco roll with the tachograph in the yellow as high as i can get it by manualy dropping a cog or two.
cooper1203:
The scores i got were in brand new merc’s. there is a lever on the right hand side of the steering collum that i can either oush away from me of pull towards me to drop or raise a cog. This same lever i can pull down to activate a brake what brake is this? is it a retarder or engine brake?? do you use them differently? As said in my origonal post unless i am aproching the junction on a hill using it seems to make little to no difference evenif the bloody thing doesnt go into eco roll with the tachograph in the yellow as high as i can get it by manualy dropping a cog or two.
You can drive perfectly well without the engine brake or retarder. It does come in handy to prevent brake fade or if you have a wish to preserve the brake linings to save your company money on replacing the brake discs / pads. I do use it, although there are pitfalls if you get into a routine of using it.
In terms of the distinction between engine brake, retarder etc, I generally do not concern myself with the internal workings of whatever system the unit I am driving has. The lever helps the vehicle to slow down (without using the service brake) is all I need to know. If I looked it up I would probably forget and I don’t really need to know.
In terms of pitfalls, the deceleration can be quite significant on a high setting and bear in mid that the braking is being applied at the unit and not at the unit and trailer, like in the case of the service brakes. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
TruckDriverBen:
I worked for dpd also and we had microlise funny thing is its all about drivers etc
Lost count how many times iv been sent to a customer or a place when not needed surely that is more wasteful
or to drive an hour to a delivery point with 5 pallets on only to drive 3/4 hour back towards the depo the same way you came to get another 1/2 load to take to the same delivery point
cooper1203:
The scores i got were in brand new merc’s. there is a lever on the right hand side of the steering collum that i can either oush away from me of pull towards me to drop or raise a cog. This same lever i can pull down to activate a brake what brake is this? is it a retarder or engine brake?? do you use them differently? As said in my origonal post unless i am aproching the junction on a hill using it seems to make little to no difference evenif the bloody thing doesnt go into eco roll with the tachograph in the yellow as high as i can get it by manualy dropping a cog or two.
You can drive perfectly well without the engine brake or retarder. It does come in handy to prevent brake fade or if you have a wish to preserve the brake linings to save your company money on replacing the brake discs / pads. I do use it, although there are pitfalls if you get into a routine of using it.
In terms of the distinction between engine brake, retarder etc, I generally do not concern myself with the internal workings of whatever system the unit I am driving has. The lever helps the vehicle to slow down (without using the service brake) is all I need to know. If I looked it up I would probably forget and I don’t really need to know.
In terms of pitfalls, the deceleration can be quite significant on a high setting and bear in mid that the braking is being applied at the unit and not at the unit and trailer, like in the case of the service brakes. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
I always put it on gradualy however it never seems to make much difference as said above if i get a reduction of 10 mph over more than 1/2 a mile its because there is a slight incline.
in fact in several places if im on a downhill (m2 J3-2)loaded i have to press the break pedal quite hard with the retarder/engine brake on full cruie contol on to keep it at 56
Noremac:
[. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
That’s not true. It would be impossible for any engine brake acting on the unit’s drive wheels to cause the trailer wheels to lose traction and the trailer to come round on you.
The only, very limited, risk is that the engine brake doesn’t have abs so the drive wheels could lose traction, which would be only momentarily as the wheels don’t actually stop.
Noremac:
[. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
That’s not true. It would be impossible for any engine brake acting on the unit’s drive wheels to cause the trailer wheels to lose traction and the trailer to come round on you.
The only, very limited, risk is that the engine brake doesn’t have abs so the drive wheels could lose traction, which would be only momentarily as the wheels don’t actually stop.
In a classic jack-knife, if the artic is in anything other than a perfectly straight line, and the unit drive axle loses grip, the trailer pushes the rear of the unit further out of line. The trailer wheels don`t need to lose grip.
Maybe the trailer isnt actually "coming round on you" as the unit travels on its intended course, but the effect is much the same.
ABS, EPS, and ASR systems do a lot of the work to avoid this, but they ain`t perfect.
Even a momentary loss of traction, in very slippery conditions is enough to upset the apple (or any other goods) cart.
Noremac:
[. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
That’s not true. It would be impossible for any engine brake acting on the unit’s drive wheels to cause the trailer wheels to lose traction and the trailer to come round on you.
The only, very limited, risk is that the engine brake doesn’t have abs so the drive wheels could lose traction, which would be only momentarily as the wheels don’t actually stop.
Absolutely not true. There is a very real danger of exactly that happening in the right (bad) road conditions.
Noremac:
[. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
That’s not true. It would be impossible for any engine brake acting on the unit’s drive wheels to cause the trailer wheels to lose traction and the trailer to come round on you.
The only, very limited, risk is that the engine brake doesn’t have abs so the drive wheels could lose traction, which would be only momentarily as the wheels don’t actually stop.
In a classic jack-knife, if the artic is in anything other than a perfectly straight line, and the unit drive axle loses grip, the trailer pushes the rear of the unit further out of line. The trailer wheels don`t need to lose grip.
Maybe the trailer isnt actually "coming round on you" as the unit travels on its intended course, but the effect is much the same.
ABS, EPS, and ASR systems do a lot of the work to avoid this, but they ain`t perfect.
Even a momentary loss of traction, in very slippery conditions is enough to upset the apple (or any other goods) cart.
That all makes sense and I agree with it, although we are only talking engine breaking here, so I would I doubt it is a frequent (once per year in the UK) occurrence.
Noremac:
[. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
That’s not true. It would be impossible for any engine brake acting on the unit’s drive wheels to cause the trailer wheels to lose traction and the trailer to come round on you.
The only, very limited, risk is that the engine brake doesn’t have abs so the drive wheels could lose traction, which would be only momentarily as the wheels don’t actually stop.
Absolutely not true. There is a very real danger of exactly that happening in the right (bad) road conditions.
It would defy the laws of physics.
Retardation of unit drive wheels = trailer wheels lose traction? Impossible!
Noremac:
[. This means that, as someone else said, if you are running empty and you put the engine brake on full blast on a wet or icy road, you do leave yourself open to the trailer sliding around and the possible repurcussions of that.
That’s not true. It would be impossible for any engine brake acting on the unit’s drive wheels to cause the trailer wheels to lose traction and the trailer to come round on you.
The only, very limited, risk is that the engine brake doesn’t have abs so the drive wheels could lose traction, which would be only momentarily as the wheels don’t actually stop.
Absolutely not true. There is a very real danger of exactly that happening in the right (bad) road conditions.
It would defy the laws of physics.
Retardation of unit drive wheels = trailer wheels lose traction? Impossible!
It doesn’t defy the laws of physics.
If the unit is braked hard, without the trailer being braked, then the trailer will (under the laws of physics) try to continue its momentum in the same direction it is traveling. If the unit & trailer are not in a straight line then that momentum will push the on the kingpin at an angle. If that angle is great enough then the unit drive wheels can be pushed sideways.
Alternatively, the unit may grip well & the trailer will try to continue it’s course & swing round on the kingpin with the trailer wheels losing sideways grip.
It is all down to angles & grip & is something anybody using a retarder should be aware of.
You do not want to be using high retardation on a downhill slope, in the wet, on a bend, with an empty trailer - almost worse case scenario but every step towards the worst is a risk too.
ScaniaUltimate:
It doesn’t defy the laws of physics.
If the unit is braked hard, without the trailer being braked, then the trailer will (under the laws of physics) try to continue its momentum in the same direction it is traveling. If the unit & trailer are not in a straight line then that momentum will push the on the kingpin at an angle. If that angle is great enough then the unit drive wheels can be pushed sideways.
absolutely agreed
Alternatively, the unit
under severe braking
may grip well
uhhuh
& the trailer will try to continue it’s course & swing round on the kingpin with the trailer wheels losing sideways grip.
It’s more likely to start flying in the air
It is all down to angles & grip & is something anybody using a retarder should be aware of.
You do not want to be using high retardation on a downhill slope, in the wet, on a bend, with an empty trailer - almost worse case scenario but every step towards the worst is a risk too.
I know it’s just semantics - using high retardation on one axle instead of 4/5/6 axles in a low grip situation is not ideal. But it’s good to know what the outcome might be instead of worrying about fantasies.
Very true Stu, but until you’ve experienced the arse end of your unit coming around on you on a greasy and usually salt covered road it remains theory. Right until it happens because of your over keenness with the exhaust brake when it becomes very bloody real
I know it’s just semantics - using high retardation on one axle instead of 4/5/6 axles in a low grip situation is not ideal. But it’s good to know what the outcome might be instead of worrying about fantasies.