So, there I am at Volvo, having dropped off my tractor unit for service, and picked up another tractor unit that had just been serviced. Then back outside to pick up my trailer, loaded with 28 tonnes of padstones.
Safety clip, number plate, wound the legs up, up onto the catwalk to connect up the susies.
Just connecting up the last one, and I looked down and thought “Hello. Is the ground supposed to be going along like that?”
Oh no, I forgot to put the handbrake on!!!
I thought “I’ve got to stay calm and I’ve got to get the red airline off, like nowish”. By this time I would say we were doing about 5mph and I knew there was another dropped trailer in front of me.
So Bang! I got it off although it seemed to take an age to locate the pin. The trailer slowly- or so it seemed- dragged us to a halt.
When I jumped off of the catwalk, I had stopped less than 15 inches from the dropped trailer…
Would someone please make me feel a bit better by telling me that I’m not the first person to do this?
Yeah i’ve done that once. And with the reactions of a cat and the brain of a fish i jumped off and tried to stop it by hand ! Luckily it was a big yard, it never hit anything and rolled to a stop.
I have to bite after my trying to be light hearted thread.
Allways check the trailer handbrake you idiot.
Honest to god its Drivers like you…
Did my routine last week, dropping the trailer I went to do the legs but this mob require chocs so did that then went susies, clip and pull out.
Lowered suspension and started coming out and I noticed that the trailer was getting very low and I hit the brakes and was in two minds wether to keep going or jump out when the penny dropped and I reversed sharpish.
Nobody in the Office gave me any funny look so I just gave it the see you tomorrow and ran out the yard to my car.
Join the club!
I’ve been driving dafs the past few years which give you a warning if you leave the brake off and open the door. Then one day I got a unit with a duff warning thingummyjig so I didn’t get the warning…managed to get the red off but it seemed like ages before the brakes came on!
The reason why it happens is because when you back under and hook up, you then pull forward to check that you are locked in, and the pulling forward sensation feels the same as when you pull forward with the handbrake on and your brain subconsciously thinks that it is on.
Harry Monk:
Would someone please make me feel a bit better by telling me that I’m not the first person to do this?
Hi Harry, I’ve done that too.
I was untangling the susies and connected them in the order in which I managed to free them from the ‘spaghetti.’ I didn’t notice the fact that I was moving across the yard…
Maybe if the ‘red’ line was the last to be freed…
Next thing I know, Salford Van Hire needs to supply a replacement F10 because the one I had temporary charge of had managed to come to rest against the lip of the loading bay. The fact that there was approx 20t of pop on board the trailer helped push the cab back off its mounts by about 6" so I’d say you were lucky to have spotted the movement!!
I hope you got away with your escapade; but needless to say, I got a DCM medal for services rendered.
A long long time ago when I was a young lad <<<<yes I was green then It was my 1st week 1st job on artic’s hooked evrything up and we had palm cupelings the ones with the taps (anyone rem them )puts red on then elec’s and I cant get the yellow one on but Ive turned the red one on .then I see the ground slowly moving without thinking pull the red line off I’m off round the side door open hand on break and too late thought that was it first week on the job and bye bye …Hit the corner of the wall smack in the center of the truck
No to be honest the boss was cross but he was really good kept me job and had to drive an A series ERF for a week, boy that A series was a nice ride mind. oh yeah trailer breaks were the old wind on handbreak type not the pull out air button stops we all have now…
Happy days
I haven’t done that Harry, YET. Thanks for the heads up on the quick remedy when I do, I would probably have wasted time thinking before I figured it out.
Not quite that bad, but did once have a omigawd moment in the yard on a windy day. Just connecting up the suzies, looked up and realised we were all going backwards and getting faster. Yanked the red line off, and then realised that what I had seen was the trailer next to me moving off - I was not moving at all. Hadn’t heard the units engine as he pulled away for all the wind noise.
Big thing with the handbrake with me at the mo is on the ferry. I drive an MAN which has an alarm if you open the door with the handbrake off, but I have lost count of the times I have climbed out, locked the door and started to walk away, only to turn around, open up and climb in to check if I have put the brake on. Maybe its an OCD thing!!
Yes, happened to me but I was so laid back and relaxed it was weird, truck was on a downward slope with the bays and trailers on 50 foot in front of me, but I just automatically went for the emergency sussie and took it off, takes a split second to activate but it didn’t bother me at all - in fact I was impressed by myself at how relaxed and calm I done it.
Yes Harry, last week, thankfully nothing within 20 feet and nobody hurt. 2nd time i’ve done it, last time was over 5 years ago. Thankfully both times i pulled the red line. I do know of a man that suffered a broken foot when he did it, yeah you guessed it, he jumped off and put his foot in front of the wheel!
Years ago I saw two of my drivers on separate occasions, reverse under a trailer in a tight gap between two others, get out, leave the drivers door open, get on the catwalk, blow the brakes off, then the whole bloody lot rolled backwards and cleanly removed the door.
Yeah back in 2006 during my first week driving artics. I was hooking upto a trailer that was on a bay which was on a slight slope. Also it was right on a road. Connected the red airline & the whole truck started rolling foward. Due to the fact i was inches away from a road i actually jumped out from between the unit & trailer jumped up into cab & applied handbrake!!! Didnt even think at the time about taking red line back off, but no damage was done apart from to my pride as my boss had seen it through the office window
Years ago I saw two of my drivers on separate occasions, reverse under a trailer in a tight gap between two others, get out, leave the drivers door open, get on the catwalk, blow the brakes off, then the whole bloody lot rolled backwards and cleanly removed the door.
My, how those fibre glass Magnum doors come off!
Seem to remember, a grand a time!
wonderful
K
Lol, the first thing I did afterwards was to phone my boss to tell him all about it! We’re like that.
He said “it would have done us a favour if you had written it off, we would have got the insurance money”
Harry Monk: Oh no, I forgot to put the handbrake on!!! Would someone please make me feel a bit better by telling me that I’m not the first person to do this?
No, you’re not the first to do this
And no, it wasn’t me
I have pull from under a trailer forgetting the landing legs and watching it drop to it’s knees luckily it was empty and it missed the back end off the unit.
)puts red on then elec’s and I cant get the yellow one on but Ive turned the red one on 
without thinking pull the red line off I’m off round the side door open hand on break and 
thought that was it first week on the job and bye bye …Hit the corner of the wall smack in the center of the truck
