Driveroneuk:
gezt:
been pulled by vosa 5 times in past 2 months (lucky i guess) no problems found with truck and tachos checkedWas that all in the same company’s trucks Gezt?
Poor OCRS score maybe?
they pulled one of ours a month or so back and he had a loose wheelnut so maybe dropped in the ratings abit. hopefully not having any faults on mine will put us back up again.i have been pulled 3 time in as many months all with a clean sheet.
Hi Malc…thanks for showing that advice from VOSA…which is what i said in an earlier post, and was told that i was talking ■■■■■■■■.
There must be a system in place for checking defects on a vehicle before it is used, which is what i do, and what our company expects us to do. We are told that VOSA will fine us, and the company for failing to implement a defect report, and acting upon it.
We are told that if a vehicle is defected, do not take this vehicle out.
We have also to report a defected vehicle ( and its been put onto our defect sheet ) if any part of the abs warning system is defected ( whether the light is showing for the unit or trailer ) and this has been advised by VOSA as well as the 15 minute check on vehicle and trailer.
When we drive around daily we can always see vehicles that obviously have not been checked, defective rear lights, one headlight working, etc, etc, and i am sure that not all vehicles have hit a pothole to cause these faults…its drivers being lazy, or cannot be bothered.
Our company issue defect sheets for unit and trailer: so we have to report/check every trailer we pick up, and we will not be allowed out of the yard ( security controlled ) unless we hand this check sheet in.
The other defect sheet, is kept in the cab, and handed in every week. On top of this we also have to carry and fill in a weekly work record. To some people this reporting may be over the top for some drivers and operators, but at least the drivers on thgis company have no excuse for not reporting or driving defective vehicles…and neither does anyone else…its your licence, lose it at will.
truckyboy:
Hi Malc…thanks for showing that advice from VOSA…which is what i said in an earlier post, and was told that i was talking ■■■■■■■■
No, you said you HAD to show 15 minutes on the tacho for checks and that was the bit that was ■■■■■■■■. Good practice, yes. Have to, no. 
what gets me is vosa don’t seem to bother about the cars i see with no working lights or what ever. yet trucks have to be in perfect nick all the time
joedwyer1:
what gets me is vosa don’t seem to bother about the cars i see with no working lights or what ever. yet trucks have to be in perfect nick all the time
Vosa don’t deal with cars 
shuttlespanker:
if you watch the official VOSA dvd that is used for the DCPC, they show the driver putting his card in AFTER he has done his checks
It has always been ruled that you are on duty from the time you report for work, infact if you don’t put your card in at start of duty you should make a manual entry that you are on duty.
It’s the same rues this side of the Atlantic, if there is not 15 mins duty on the log before moving you get a ticket. I have ‘E’ log which can be very annoying because I log on and have to take some time to check everything I had to check at end of the previous duty too, therefore although I spent 10 mins or so after parking to check everything and the vehicle hasn’t moved a millimeter during the night I must do it again.
waynedl:
Vosa don’t deal with cars
Maybe not in the way of roadside spot checks that HGV are subject to, but:
Re car MOT’s
All MOT testers have been on a training course with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and their test results are checked regularly.
Who supervises the scheme?
VOSA is the government agency responsible for supervising the MOT scheme. It does this by:
-authorising MOT test stations and approving MOT testers
-setting standards for testing and requirements for authorisation for the MOT test station and testers
-training authorised examiners and MOT testers
-visiting MOT test stations and carrying out checks to ensure testing standards and facilities are maintained
-giving advice and taking disciplinary action where tests are not being carried out to the required standards
-dealing with appeals and complaints from MOT customers
waynedl:
joedwyer1:
what gets me is vosa don’t seem to bother about the cars i see with no working lights or what ever. yet trucks have to be in perfect nick all the timeVosa don’t deal with cars
Ah but they do.
Also tractors and Agri stuff they just don’t seem to sometimes.
Show me the legislation that states that daily checks must take a minimum 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes is simply a nice round number, plucked from thin air to make the sums easier for civil service type muppets, and those who failed their GCSE mathematics.
What a load of flapping about absolutely nothing. If you have checked your lorry/trailer you have checked it, regardless of how long it takes. Sign a piece of paper to say you have done it, and that is all anyone cares about. It’s a bottom covering exercise and nothing more.
Just manual entry for whatever time you want, if you are at all concerned. The real issue here I think is, hands up those who haven’t a clue how to make a manual entry on a digital tacho? At last half the drivers at our place know how to work the card eject button and that is their limit. All the options are at your fingertips, and quite frankly, it isn’t exactly complicated to operate. I get tired of digi tachs being treated as some kind of all seeing eye, in the big brother vein. It’s a very very basic piece of equipment, 15 years behind the technology that arguably it should be competing with, that is simpler to use than scribbling illegibly on a piece of wax paper.
Though I have never actually heard first hand of a case where VOSA have given a monkeys about time at start of shift before driving. Though I will admit there is a disproportionate amount of hearsay about it, in publications and in transport manager offices.
Get into work, get keys, check lights, tyres, kingpin, lines and wheelnuts. If you use the same truck everyday, It might take 60 seconds, put the card in, manual entry back for 15 minutes. The only time it will inconvenience you, is if you happen to need an extra 15 minutes at the end of a shift approaching 15 hours.
Wonder why if vosa can mot a trailer in13 minutes why do we have to do a 15 minute walk round
The real issue here I think is, hands up those who haven’t a clue how to make a manual entry on a digital tacho?
I must have read about how to do it initially, but because I’ve always avoided doing it I shall put my hand up to this one… 
I once saw a lad check the oil on a leyland roadtrain with the engine running 
, he was not happy when I told him to turn it off and try again when its cold 
, he was a brs taskforce agency driver .
JAKEY:
I once saw a lad check the oil on a leyland roadtrain with the engine running
He was probably one of those OTR drivers off Ice Road Truckers, or as you say, just dum 
renaultman:
waynedl:
joedwyer1:
what gets me is vosa don’t seem to bother about the cars i see with no working lights or what ever. yet trucks have to be in perfect nick all the timeVosa don’t deal with cars
Ah but they do.
Also tractors and Agri stuff they just don’t seem to sometimes.
I have got a lovely letter from VOSA about my car, it comes from the same office in Bristol as transport enquiries. I have lots of emails about the same subject, when they were after evidence of a corrupt car sales outlet who also issued their own MOT certificates
Personally i can’t see how they (VOSA) could prosecute a driver for not making the walk around daily check before starting to drive ,based on no 15 mins gap from once the duty time started, as these checks could of easily of been carried out prior to putting the disk / Driver card in , not all drivers are paid by the hour, some are on salary or daily rates ,
tommy t:
Personally i can’t see how they (VOSA) could prosecute a driver for not making the walk around daily check before starting to drive ,based on no 15 mins gap from once the duty time started, as these checks could of easily of been carried out prior to putting the disk / Driver card in , not all drivers are paid by the hour, some are on salary or daily rates ,
At which point they would do you for a false record. If the checks are done prior to inserting the card or chart then that time needs to be covered by a manual entry. No manual entry means a false record and the penalties for that are large and can include prison time. How the driver is paid is irrelevant.
tommy t:
Personally i can’t see how they (VOSA) could prosecute a driver for not making the walk around daily check before starting to drive ,based on no 15 mins gap from once the duty time started, as these checks could of easily of been carried out prior to putting the disk / Driver card in , not all drivers are paid by the hour, some are on salary or daily rates ,
You can start work and drive straight off, but you aint got a leg to stand on if a bulb is blown, ministry plate missing or a slack tyre.
tallyman:
The real issue here I think is, hands up those who haven’t a clue how to make a manual entry on a digital tacho?
I must have read about how to do it initially, but because I’ve always avoided doing it I shall put my hand up to this one…
Nope, I don’t. I’ve got a digitach but only used on occasions (last one was early December). I’ve asked a few people at work and never got a proper answer. I’ve had “you don’t need to if you put tacho in as soon as you get to work and take it out as you clock off.” Someone post the correct answer please?
alix776:
Wonder why if vosa can mot a trailer in13 minutes why do we have to do a 15 minute walk round
that would be very useful to use if there was a court case.
“case dismissed”
Rooster:
I work for a so called blue-chip company and they batter us with the rules, its not a problem, 15minutes break before we start lol
Which counts for absolute Zilch. How can you have a break before you start?