not sure where to start.
having driven around europe for years
i know the laws weights/hours etc.
i always found in europe that there was little bit of give.
an english friend of mine has just paid 500pound fine in his own homwtown.
his crime.
he took 13 minutes instead of 15.
i was never a union man having been an owner driver most of my life[i am not now,i just drive for a company]
vosa are out there all the time,i realise they have a job to do.
but the vigour they do this job with is a bit excessive.
does anyone agree?
what did they do before tachographs.
they wallow in their own self importance.
i do believe that if the drivers stopped work for 4/5 days to protest to the government.
get vosa to back off a bit.
no need for blocking motorways causing traffic chaos[after 3 days there would be no petrol anyway]
i am not trying to condone lawbreaking,its just that i feel big brother is coming down heavier and heavier all the time.
to a point where it is ridiculous.
another owner friend has an artic tipper,paid 600 pound for being over on his pin.
he had 29 tonne bulk grain on the trailer.
i amnot sure how much over he was,but how would he have known anyway.
hes an honest man,pays his taxes etc.
am i just a rebellious individual?
or is it time to tell the authorities.
enough is enough.
would the french drivers put up with such hassle.
perhaps some of the guys living in france might put some input in here.
i dont think they get the same hassle that a driver does in england.
as i said.
i am not trying to encourage lawbreaking.
i agree with tacho in principle.
i ran for some companies through the years at home in ireland.
milan sat-dublin sunday.
this was crazy.
but now its got to the stage where,you need a computer brain
the way this vosa crowd operate.
easy to know they have little to do.
put the disc in the machine and get a readout.
now they want 15 days records,its going to 28 days soon.
dont know the exact date.
of course we have the digi card as well.
they are way too strict.
prosecuting people who are just doing job for silly minutes offences.
it will cost us drivers a fortune,if we are lucky enough to keep our licenses.
theres alot more drivers than vosa members.
this country would be on its knees in days if there were no transport,as would any other country.
the french police dont put their own drivers down for protesting/
the english police would probably be spying on your house if you stayed off work,then try and take your driving license away.
anyway
thats my take.
the drivers have the power to do something.
doesnt matter if you agree or disagree.
i am only looking for opinions.
vosa members neednt answer.
i agree greg vosa are way to zealous in their enforcement of the traffic laws.
being a digitach user i would be intrigued as to how we would be able to keep 28 days records as i was under the impression that the information on my drivers card was overwritten after 21days or maybe i missheard during training.
i have also been told by my tm that i can be prosecuted for my overspeeds even though i haven’t gone over 60 mph. 
cant answer that one mat.
i dinnt know a lot about digis.
i wasnt aware they had a 21 day life.
i did read in one of the mags that the disc requirment was going up to 28 day.
stop and think.
vosa official gets in cab.
give him disc.
he reads.
he starts asking questions.
what did you do?
when did you leave?
all the time trying to catch you out.
its like
who wants to be a millionaire,except
you pay if they can prove you wrong.
they are just over the top.
pity the law makers would not do something about the crime figures.
its cost me 400 pound in the last years to get my car fixed from vandalism.
yet.
if i drove down the same road without a numberplate on my trailer .
i would be pulled in sharpish.
and if the same cop found an air leak.
gv9
or whatever prohibition notice they serve.
its defintly time to do something about the law makers
everyone says
no one will do any thing.
i would like to think this is loading a gun.
time to put a stop to vosas bulling tactics.
the drivers can do it.
i see what you are saying
I hear you
it is all wrong
vosa should be more tolerant
of minor offences
we should do something
like go on strike
because i am sure that after
a few days
shops would start to run dry
and then people might show us more respect
the data is over written after 28 days that is why you
have to DOWN-LOAD it before this date unfortunatly
what happens when one is more than 28 days away
from home, this is a possible problem for a few people.
thecard records for one yea rthe 10 worst speeding offences
where you have driven 90km + for more than one minute
but for the UK this will be shown as you put which ever
country you are driveing in as a code into the card,
the driveing trace is only recorded for 24hrs it is then
wiped off and starts again ,
i don’t agree, vosa are there to do a job, they enforce the law regarding operator licencing and that includes vehicle maintainence, drivers hours and overloading.
firstly 13 minutes is not 15 minutes and soon 15 minutes will have to be 30 minutes, 43 minutes is not 45 minutes.
buy a watch/ a timer or a drivers hours guard and you can be sure to remain the right side of the law.
overweight on the pin but you don’t say by how much, at the end of the day though you can (and if you operate bulkers you should) buy or spec fitted an axle weigher or onboard weigher, i think they cost less than £600.
the law for mobile phone use is a classic example, a headset costs from £5 up to £60 for bluetooth, an in car handsfree kit from £40 to £400.
the fine for using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving is £60.
why not just invest in the right equipment to stay on the right side of the law.
vosa are there to do a job, if operators and drivers didn’t bend and break the law then vosa would be out of work, unfortunately for the general public this isn’t the case and they need protecting from those operators and drivers that do not or cannot follow simple regulations.
i have absolutely no sympathy for either of the charachters mentioned, do the crime and pay the fine.
I agree with Johnny, it’s not that hard to stay on the right side of the rules. In this case he was done for taking 13 minutes instead of 15, only 2 minutes but what about the next guy who takes 12, that’s only 3 minutes, and then the guy who takes 11, what’s 4 minutes between friends? Nothing really. The line has to be drawn somewhere so where do we draw it? Or do we just go with the line that is already drawn at 15 minutes? Really, if someone can’t count to 15 maybe it isn’t the job for them. Thousands of drivers manage to keep within the regulations on a daily basis so why should allowances be made, or sympathy shown, for the minority that can’t? If he made a genuine mistake then all he can do is accept it, take the fine and learn from it.
Harry Monk:
i see what you are saying
I hear you
it is all wrong
vosa should be more tolerant
of minor offences
we should do something
like go on strike
because i am sure that after
a few days
shops would start to run dry
and then people might show us more respect
i was told a few years back by a barrister who specialised in transport law that the driver in 99 cases out of a 100 talked his way in to a conviction when stoped on the road side by vosa, his advise only give name and contact details and never answer any qustions at the road side and seek legal advice
Wise words there, from Andy C, especially for newbies who have still to experience their first roadside check.
Co.operate but do not Incriminate 
johnny:
i don’t agree, vosa are there to do a job, they enforce the law regarding operator licencing and that includes vehicle maintainence, drivers hours and overloading.firstly 13 minutes is not 15 minutes and soon 15 minutes will have to be 30 minutes, 43 minutes is not 45 minutes.
buy a watch/ a timer or a drivers hours guard and you can be sure to remain the right side of the law.overweight on the pin but you don’t say by how much, at the end of the day though you can (and if you operate bulkers you should) buy or spec fitted an axle weigher or onboard weigher, i think they cost less than £600.
the law for mobile phone use is a classic example, a headset costs from £5 up to £60 for bluetooth, an in car handsfree kit from £40 to £400.
the fine for using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving is £60.
why not just invest in the right equipment to stay on the right side of the law.vosa are there to do a job, if operators and drivers didn’t bend and break the law then vosa would be out of work, unfortunately for the general public this isn’t the case and they need protecting from those operators and drivers that do not or cannot follow simple regulations.
i have absolutely no sympathy for either of the charachters mentioned, do the crime and pay the fine.
dafdave
Regarding the bulker being overloaded on the axle i never drove bulkers but was told by many drivers that loads such as grain had a tendancy to move in the box in transit due to acceleration and braking thus changing the axle weights.This would surely put the driver in an impossible position regarding prosecution.But i dont suppose anything would happen to yourself who is obviously totally proffesional and has never committed any offences.IS THE INK DRY ON YOUR LICENCE YET.
dafdave that also depends on following ,how much
you have loaded ,ie half -full or a full load, for a silo it
is not possible to keep the load all ways level and so
you will have the problem mentioned and if the person
doing the controls is not exactly switched on then you
will have such occurences but the most of the officers
doing the checking are switched on and such incidents
happen very rarely, if it had happened to me i would
have asked the officer if he jnows how my silo is built
and how the load reacts when being moved,and if i get
them same answer about being overloaded on a axle
i will ask for A WEIGHBRIDGE note PROVEING THAT
I WAS NOT OVERLOADED as regards total weight
but on a axle , and take it to the courts,they will not win
WHY because you can not stop the load moveing
in a vehicle which has no baffeles fitted to it,
brit pete:
dafdave that also depends on following ,how much
you have loaded ,ie half -full or a full load, for a silo it
is not possible to keep the load all ways level and so
you will have the problem mentioned and if the person
doing the controls is not exactly switched on then you
will have such occurences but the most of the officers
doing the checking are switched on and such incidents
happen very rarely, if it had happened to me i would
have asked the officer if he jnows how my silo is built
and how the load reacts when being moved,and if i get
them same answer about being overloaded on a axle
i will ask for A WEIGHBRIDGE note PROVEING THAT
I WAS NOT OVERLOADED as regards total weight
but on a axle , and take it to the courts,they will not win
WHY because you can not stop the load moveing
in a vehicle which has no baffeles fitted to it,
dafdave
I thank you for your explanation of the procedures as i said in my post i was only going off what bulker drivers had told me and this makes it a whole lot clearer. Thanks again and a happy new year
regards dave
will ask for A WEIGHBRIDGE note PROVEING THAT
I WAS NOT OVERLOADED as regards total weight
but on a axle , and take it to the courts,they will not win
WHY because you can not stop the load moveing
in a vehicle which has no baffeles fitted to it,
Sorry WRONG!!! the court will still find you guilty. overweight is what is known as an absolute offence, if your overweight on the axle your guilty, there is NO defence against it except showing that the weighing process itself is somehow flawed, or you can show you were travelling to the nearest weighbridge to where you loaded to check weigh
You can however plead guilty and put the above arguement as a mitigating circumstance, which if you have a sympathetic magistrate, may lead to a unconditional discharge with no penalties, but this is rare . most times they will hit you with the fine
over weight on the pin with grain is nigh on impossible…if your on 6x6,back axle (trailer) is the usual one to be overloaded,
RIKKi, YES as regards how the law is written,however
the way the silo is built you can not stop the load
moveing unless you are completley full,and so therefore
the load will move and if it is proven that you are legal at the
weight allowed but only on a axle,you must be able to get
off the offence,as there is no way of ensureing that the load
will not move,and me i am a stubborn person and would
fight the case useing experts in the field to prove my innocence.
Im not agreeing or going to argue about anything in this post to tempt fate.
The major problem I see is that the laws in the different countries need to be tidied up and made compatible.
Yes it might be a 500 quid fine in the UK for a couple of minutes over, It will cost you dearly if you fail to fill in your CMR correctly in either France or Belgium.
In Belgium you will get away with dropping a trailer loaded with chemicals outside your house but park the truck on a cycle lane and wait for the police to turn up.
The no overtaking bans in Germany are strictly enforced, the Swiss public will report you if you drive a truck after the night time ban starts and even in Turkey it will be the foreigners fault in any accident because you are there.
I can drive with 4 axles in Holland or France at 40 tonne and with 13 tonnes on the drive axle but as soon as I touch English Soil, it is a dangerous overweight juggernaut.
Level Playing Field anyone?
couldnt agree with you more wheelnut.
every country has there ownsticking points.
i saw it all the years i was on european work.
thanks for all the input.
its really interesting to see all the different ideas people have.
i myself woulf be in agreement with taking industrial action,or parking up for a week.
not sure how the boss would react to the truck standing idle.
obviously not everyone think the way i do.
unless every one was in agreement it would never work anyway.
[/quote]
can i put my 2 penneth worth in now ?