Sealed trailer, strapping

Company i am working for i just do trailer swaps and some one full load delivery’s, anyhow they are sealed but when i opened the rear doors to go on a bay the other day only back two pallets strapped, and it also states on paper work strap rear two pallets, surely that is not legal but how the hell can you check if it has TIR cable and a seal on ? and it was full of vodka.

Not a lot else you can do with pallets of bottles, unfortunately. Drive to the load - you got it there, didn’t you? :sunglasses:

If the vodka is in cases and the last two pallets are strapped, I don’t see how the rest of the load is going to move, unless the trailer is a flatbed, nor can I understand why it would be illegal. On the other hand, if you have a sealed trailer with say, alluminum or timber in it, and you think the load has shifted and you dare not proceed, you are allowed to get customs and excise to unseal it while you arrange for the load to be repositioned - perhaps at a local transport depot - and then reseal it. I experienced this in Romania once. Robert

Just ask the company what their official position is, maybe if you suggest to them that if you write “sealed” on your pui they might pay any fines incurred. Hopeful I know :laughing:

Thanks for your replies i was just wondering if vosa stop me would they expect them all to be strapped in some way.

I know its easier said than done but the only way is to check with your company or whoever you’re pulling for its if ferry freight trailers etc and if they won’t let you break the seal to check the load, refuse to take the trailer on the road. You’ll probably get the sack for doing it too often though unless a group of the drivers stick together and do it. As with most things in transport, the driver is the weakest link and the one targeted from all sides when it comes to blame and responsibility. If you break the seal, check the load and then deliver, especially with alcohol, you’ll most likely have the load rejected, or at the very least a huge delay and your firm may get “fined” and it’ll all be your fault. If you don’t check it and crack on (which is what 99% of drivers do on ferry freight and containers) and something happens, the load shifts, comes out of the trailer or is just damaged within the trailer, you’ll be blamed yet again for negligence.
In North America they’re big on making drivers sign a load count for whatever it is, but the driver almost never actually counts it for a multitude of reasons, for example its impossible to actually count due to the way its stacked, or it takes them 5 hours to load and due to the fact you’re on mileage pay, you refuse to be on duty for free etc etc etc. Anyway, you sign the paperwork, they seal the trailer and you deliver to the other end with the seal intact, and you guessed it, the load is short. Who’s to blame for the load being short? The driver obviously because he signed the paperwork. When you argue the point and say that as they’ve broken the seal, that was installed by the shipper, it stands to logical reason that what went on to the trailer is the same as what came off, nothing has been stolen, they haven’t out enough on. So despite the missing load still being at source, the trucking company foot the bill.

sweeper1gg:
Thanks for your replies i was just wondering if vosa stop me would they expect them all to be strapped in some way.

There is no definitive answer, but probably yes. There may be exceptions based on how its packed, how close to the side of the trailer it is and how the trailer itself is rated for its load bearing capabilities. I used to load coca cola in Germany for example and you didn’t have to strap every pallet there in the land of the load security obsessed BAG because the pallets were rapped in thick plastic and that was deemed to make them secure in a Euroliner with alloy side boards to the height of the load, though obviously they had to be prevented from falling backwards, which was achieved with a clamp on cross board between alloy side boards on either side. We had paperwork from coca-cola to testify to that fact and it was never a problem. I never got stopped by the BAG with that load but others did and on production of the paperwork from the shipper it was accepted.

If I can’t see or check the load then I don’t take it anywhere.

A driver is responsible for his/her load and vehicle on a public highway.
Or is this just summat I’ve made up :question:
If your load was to cause incident on a public highway, then how can you satisfy the judge that as a driver your load was loaded in a safe way if you can’t check it beforehand.

Seals, locks etc are company procedures.
Any driver can check his/her load before departure.

The only thing what stops drivers doing this simple check is moral fibre and backbone.

robert1952:
If the vodka is in cases and the last two pallets are strapped, I don’t see how the rest of the load is going to move, unless the trailer is a flatbed,

A curtain sider is a flatbed, the plastic bits hanging of the sides are only there to keep the load dry.


Iam that confident of my belief, I shall give a Pepsi challenge to this forum.
Can any poster give an example of when a driver like me would not be in a position to check, restrain a load?

Of course, unless it was for the general reasons of being fat, lazy or useless.

sweeper1gg:
Company i am working for i just do trailer swaps and some one full load delivery’s, anyhow they are sealed but when i opened the rear doors to go on a bay the other day only back two pallets strapped, and it also states on paper work strap rear two pallets, surely that is not legal but how the hell can you check if it has TIR cable and a seal on ? and it was full of vodka.

drink you the Way forward to Headwall :smiley:

if its a trailer that’s come into the uk from Calais, just bang on the side and ask the illegals to confirm that your load is secure, and ask them where they would like to stop for breakfast.

I would be surprised if VOSA have the authority to break a customs seal without customs being in attendance, but I will stand to be corrected.

didn’t vosa loose a case recently and where found to be going over the top. iirc if the trailer has load restraint curtains and the load is to the headboard and within a certain distance from the curtain certain types of load where deemed secure

wheelnutt:

robert1952:
If the vodka is in cases and the last two pallets are strapped, I don’t see how the rest of the load is going to move, unless the trailer is a flatbed,

A curtain sider is a flatbed, the plastic bits hanging of the sides are only there to keep the load dry.

I’ve always moved bonded wines and spirits in tilts and euroliners so I was sort of assuming this was the case here. But even standard curtainsiders have a breaking strain of several tonnes (the early ones were 9T) and there are still pillars. Again, I’ve assumed that the pallets are properly packed right to the headboard. This isn’t an unusual assumption if you are taking several sealed trailers per day out of UK ports on traction work. If you supervised the load yourself abroad, all the better. With company seals it’s easy because you simply check the load and re-seal it, but a customs and excise seal is not to be messed with. Robert

robert1952:

wheelnutt:

robert1952:
If the vodka is in cases and the last two pallets are strapped, I don’t see how the rest of the load is going to move, unless the trailer is a flatbed,

A curtain sider is a flatbed, the plastic bits hanging of the sides are only there to keep the load dry.

I’ve always moved bonded wines and spirits in tilts and euroliners so I was sort of assuming this was the case here. But even standard curtainsiders have a breaking strain of several tonnes (the early ones were 9T) and there are still pillars. Again, I’ve assumed that the pallets are properly packed right to the headboard. This isn’t an unusual assumption if you are taking several sealed trailers per day out of UK ports on traction work. If you supervised the load yourself abroad, all the better. With company seals it’s easy because you simply check the load and re-seal it, but a customs and excise seal is not to be messed with. Robert

I just had Yesterday the last 2 Rollcages loaded cross with Gap of 20 centimeter to previous Rollcages in Front of them.
A yes,and the heaviest at thge back as its easier then rolling them to the Front,i got explained

If you’ve got roll-cages of vodka on a pre-loaded and pre-sealed trailer, I’d check with the company to see who accepts responsibility for a load that shifts (usually the driver). Ask them to review their policy / procedure if necessary, so that you can make a visual check yourself before sealing if you are unhappy with taking out loaded trailers on trust. Robert

robert1952:
If you’ve got roll-cages of vodka on a pre-loaded and pre-sealed trailer, I’d check with the company to see who accepts responsibility for a load that shifts (always the driver). Ask them to review their policy / procedure if necessary, so that you can make a visual check yourself before sealing at all times before taking out loaded trailers Robert

Fixed it for ya…

chester:

Iam that confident of my belief, I shall give a Pepsi challenge to this forum.
Can any poster give an example of when a driver like me would not be in a position to check, restrain a load?

Picking up a loaded, sealed container from a port?

rob22888:

chester:

Iam that confident of my belief, I shall give a Pepsi challenge to this forum.
Can any poster give an example of when a driver like me would not be in a position to check, restrain a load?

Picking up a loaded, sealed container from a port?

More so than other trailers, that thing came down here by sea, plenty of chance for the load to have shifted. How do you know the muppet on the other end loaded it correctly? How do you know the ship didn’t encounter 20ft waves on the way over?

You are responsible for your load, ignorance is no defense.