Why is it that when you get to a client and do a vehicle check and find all sorts of problems with the unit or trailer they still insist that you drive it. Today I started a Merc Actros and the dash lit up with all sorts of problems, it looked like a Christmas tree, Red and Amber lights everywhere. Main worry was the Axle, ABS & EBS warning lights. The axle required servicing, the brakes were in severe difficulties and another warning came up that they would be inoperable. Informed the client and told him that i will NOT be taking this trailer out. ‘Can’t unload it you’ll have to tell them at the other end about this problem’. No mate you don’t seem to understand, I won’t be taking this anywhere. Handed in the keys and called the agency to let them know that I’ll be going home. Really gets me this, just because I’m an agency drive it doesn’t mean that I’ll just get in and drive a doggy lorry.
tell me about it its ridiculous if we all refuse to drive them theyl get the messegage eventually
So, if you refuse to drive an obviousley defective vehicle, do you get ANY pay for the job?
I don’t blame you!
The problem is if agency drivers are used frequently by a company, the company is not necessarily aware of the problems with the lorry, because more often than not agency drivers ‘pass the buck’ to the next driver. I had a similar problem with a vehicle when I did some agency work once. I contacted the agency, and also pointed out the problem to the company - result - I was told to go by the company and I never got any more work through that agency. I looked at it this way - it would have been my licence/health/life at risk if I had taken it and I just wasn’t prepared to put my livelihood at risk in any way. Better luck with your next job.
del949:
So, if you refuse to drive an obviousley defective vehicle, do you get ANY pay for the job?
I didn’t - not even travelling expenses for a wasted 30 mile round trip.
Name and shame the company and agency that way other drivers will know they are not alone. Especialy when they say all the other drivers take it.
Happened to me a few years back at Jaguar Halewood got given 2 dodgey units. No tax no O lic etc. Waited hours for a brand new 3rd one. In the mean time the TM was giving me all sorts of grief about the time i had to make up.
So when i finally got 3rd unit i drove it to the car park and went home 
Paul-H:
I’ll just get in and drive a doggy lorry.
Is this for a major pet store or just breeders in general 
I know what you mean though as you are the driver you did the right thing, I refused a trailer last friday night (broken rear lighting cluster) therefore I got home 2 hours earlier 
Mad dan:
Paul-H:
I’ll just get in and drive a doggy lorry.Is this for a major pet store or just breeders in general
I know what you mean though as you are the driver you did the right thing, I refused a trailer last friday night (broken rear lighting cluster) therefore I got home 2 hours earlier
Think you cut the quote a bit short making it sound like Paul Would just get in and drive it where what he said was
just because I’m an agency drive it doesn’t mean that I’ll just get in and drivea doggy lorry.
Not knocking Your post dan Just makes the OP look bad if ppl dont read all the posts
unfortunately it’s not just agency drivers who pass the buck , although i get earache because TM’s have to re arange the loads , soon as i get a defect , i fill my defect sheet out & phone fleet support to get to the nearest contracted workshops, wether i have work to do or not , i fear the power of vosa more than my transport manager
If i do find a defect that cant be fixed or is a minor fault i leave the defect book on the dash or seat & my releif gets it done & vice versa.
When some farms are non artic-able i sometimes have to drive an 8 wheeler which is always hanging, have got to it three times now ,
1st time the wheel nuts were finger tight , which is awfull even worse when they have wheel nut indicators on them ! the excuse was the tyres were changed 3-4 days earlier they hadn’t bothered to check or retorque them 
2nd second was no marker lights on either side, a brake light & dip beam failure, & drivers seatbelt that wouldn’t retract, , i filled a defect out & got it to the workshops, the load was due for carmarthen a good 3.5hrs away, but after 4 hrs in the WS i took the lorry back the yard & went home, told TM if i found it in that state again i’d refuse to drive it & i have done ,
3rd time i went in to find wire showing through the tread patteren on a couple of tyres, phoned the regular driver at home & he said , oh yeah been like that a few days now , can you get it to ATS for me ? jog on !
needless to say i very rarely go near that motor now , but doesn’t change the fact that with a regular & a relief driver neither can be bothered to keep it roadworthy, why should i bother to get it sorted , the lazy bu££ers cant even be bothered to fill a defect sheet out .
i hate when this happens, never really had to deal with much of poor mechanics on a truck but have had to drive some pigs of motors.
just have the usual of the abs being a pain, had it yesterday with both trucks at parcelforce in perth both with ebs warnings, one eventually moved once i gave the lead a clean which was the truck i was taking, the other one was to be shifted onto the bay, no matter what i did it wouldnt shift until i pulled the ebs lead out.
mentioned it to transport before i left but they never did anything and left it for the driver to deal with when he got to work.
Tesco’s at Harlow is the worst in my opinion. I defected one unit FIVE times for a faulty fuel sender. As soon as you reached 30mph it dropped to zero. The first time I took it out I had to stop at the first roundabout to check I hadn’t got a ruptured tank. This was defected over 6 weeks until I just started refusing it in the office. Other drivers didn’t bother defecting it and the garage claimed the couldn’t find a problem with it after a 10mph “road test” arond the yard, even though I clearly stated the problem only occured above 30mph, so you didn’t know until you left the yard. The result for me is they give me the biggest dog that’s in the yard at that time. Every other agency driver prays to start at the same time as me because the oppo’s behind the desk give everyone else new motors to pee me off. The result is if I find a problem, even a minor one, it’s straight to the garage to be a pain in the backside to them. The lads at the VMU think I should get a loyalty card for the garage!
OVLOV JAY:
Tesco’s at Harlow is the worst in my opinion. I defected one unit FIVE times for a faulty fuel sender. As soon as you reached 30mph it dropped to zero. The first time I took it out I had to stop at the first roundabout to check I hadn’t got a ruptured tank. This was defected over 6 weeks until I just started refusing it in the office. Other drivers didn’t bother defecting it and the garage claimed the couldn’t find a problem with it after a 10mph “road test” arond the yard, even though I clearly stated the problem only occured above 30mph, so you didn’t know until you left the yard. The result for me is they give me the biggest dog that’s in the yard at that time. Every other agency driver prays to start at the same time as me because the oppo’s behind the desk give everyone else new motors to pee me off. The result is if I find a problem, even a minor one, it’s straight to the garage to be a pain in the backside to them. The lads at the VMU think I should get a loyalty card for the garage!
i think i defected 6 motors at tesco livingston in a week, though it was al for the same problem, blown headlight bulbs, minor i know
Since when is a fuel gauge a defect? Sure its a fault that needs rectifying but its certainly sound to go on the road. Not like Tescos go far enough to run a tank of derv down .
Last night it was DHL in Vauxhal, forgot to mention that there was no pin in the decoupling handle just a bit of chain hanging down, got a blank stare when it was mentioned. No pay for that job but had the pleasure of driving in London on a snowy night. The agency amazingly were very understanding. On the subject of O license I did a very short stint (3 weeks) at the Bathstore and when checking my lorry found out that the O lic expired on September '09. Flatly refused to drive that lorry till I had verbal & written confirmation from the TM that all was legal. I even called VOSA to enquire if they had renewed their license, this made me very unpopular with the local boss, hence why I didn’t last that long there. Mike-C, I for one wouldn’t want to go on the road with a diffy fuel gauge.
Paul-H:
Mike-C, I for one wouldn’t want to go on the road with a diffy fuel gauge.
You’ll be the second. Someone has already beat you to it !!
I’m not sure what the fine is to be honest if you get caught with a faulty fuel gauge, probably the same as the stereo not working i’d guess.
Hey C’mon, the stereo not working is a Very Serious deffect 
got to have sounds
Mike-C:
I’m not sure what the fine is to be honest if you get caught with a faulty fuel gauge, probably the same as the stereo not working i’d guess.
Fauly gauges are not a prosecutable offence, just an indicator of either the build quality of the truck or the operator’s maintenance practices
i got a call out to NFT a while back for a radio not working, the driver refused to take it out claiming it was health and safety!