and if your leaving it to do something else for a mo make sure the truck is locked and you have the keys 
when i was based at a customers site working for an iveco dealer there was a rule between the night shunters and us that they wouldnt touch anything with the grill up (they used to ask anyway but it was a good simple method) then even if you were doing a bulb you just popped the grill up takes 2 seconds and makes things much safer
It doesnāt matter if you were the last one using it, definitely check it every day.
My company are really on top with tyres, especially on the drive axles. Some of the trailer tyres get close to the legal minimum but the unit tyres are always spot on. Well one day I checked the nearside drive axle tyre for foreign objects and found a lump of brass stuck in the tread. It only looked about the size of your thumb nail but when the fitter pulled it out with some pliers it was about an inch long and half an inch thick. How it didnāt blow is anyoneās guess but it would surely have blown at some point in the near future.
Just checking the tread depths isnāt enough.
Can I ask why anyone would think that because of what a bit of paper in the cab says, it is then immune from dangerous defects?
stupid question i always like most of guys i know always do vehicle checks on any work vehicle failure to do so will cause mass amounts of ball ache should ā ā ā ā go wrong
ianto:
Just a question Ninefifty have you done any moduals of your DCPC
Yes I have.
But to me those were just go to class, sit it out and have a laugh where possible. I took note of one or two things, the rest went through one ear and out the other.
Not even exams wouldāve helped.
Once back on the road, old habits kick back in again.
Sorry for the late response.
No email alerts are to blame.
As Iamto said, carry on doing what I am doing.
I am doing the right thing.
I do vehicle checks even on my own car although not as stringently - my tyre pressures are for me the most important. Canāt walk properly if your ankle is hurt.
3.5t and above comes under VOSA regulations and requires proof of vehicle checks.
Sorted.
As an ex army driver/driving instructor,I do a walk round on anything with wheels,(Or a wheel in the case of a wheel barrow!),and particularly on my car,before a shift,at any time I have break,and at the end of a shift,why should any vehicle be different?,any vehicle can be in a dangerous condition,if not before a days work then during that journey,especially if youāre trunking,
I canāt say Iāve seen many drivers check their vehicles when pulling in for a break,I always walk round and check the tyres,visible check of wheelnuts, and that nothing is hanging off EVERYTIME I have a break.
Been doing that now for 50 years,never lost a wheel,or had a tyre failure in the K.
Old habbits die hard.
full check before/after shift, visual walk round check of the vehicle if Iāve stopped. Doing a rig swap at a services just now and I always do a check before heading off with the next rig paying particular attention to the 5th wheel in case some joker has pulled the release.
And i thought that if you just kicked a tyre, everything would be okā¦how times change. 
truckyboy:
And i thought that if you just kicked a tyre, everything would be okā¦how times change.
Donāt forget the inner tyres where there are twins.
Over the years,Iāve heard drivers say theyāve had a double blowout,very rare,most likely an inner tyre has been running soft or flat for some time,then the remaining tyre carrying all the weight overheats and fails,and by now the walls are knackered on the inner tyre so that gives up the ghost at the same time.
On one occasion when I was doing middle east and running the garage for a while,I had one driver come back from Jordan solo.
On arrival in the yard,I was walking around the unit when I noticed an inner rear tyre was flat.
When I mentioned this to the driver,he said it must have gone down that morning.
I put an air line on it and stood clear.before there was 30 psi in,it exploded and it was filled with black rubber dust,proving it had been flat for many miles!
ianto:
carry on doing what you are doing anything over 3.5 tonnes come under VOSA regulations
Actually, you should in reality be doing what your still doing on ANY vehicle on the public highways. Itās your responsibility as the driver of the vehicle to ensure it means standards laid down in construction and useā¦including that failed brake light and dodgy headlight bulb on your car 