split coupling is dangerous
learn to do it right
transportengineer.org.uk/art … afety.aspx
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truckerjon:
i’ve seen what happens when a unit and trailer run away with the driver still on the cat walk.
Yes, so have I 
hitch:
split coupling is dangerous
learn to do it right
please explain how you come to that conclusion?
i always split couple and uncouple, and if you are doing it correctly, i dont see how it is ant more risky than the convential way.
nothing wrong with giving yourself more room to connect up. as said helps to keep clean too 
even if the trailer brakes are not working for some reason, you only have to pull the line back off.
some of the fridge stuff i used to do had so little room between the two, you had to split couple. there was no room to reach under the fridge once the two are fully together!
dustylfc:
Dunno then?:
Harry Monk:
As I understand it, split coupling is considered to be a big “no no” amongst most large companies so I doubt you would be asked to do it on assessment.I know Stobbies regard it as a hanging offence but Nobbies seem to be quite happy with it,and they are quite keen on H&S.
your wrong about that, a driver off here got asked to split couple at widnes depot on his assessment, the only company i no of that wont entertain it is wincanton
Fair enough dusty(but I’m sure I read it on here somewhere). 
thanks for that ROG and every1 else for there comments .sounds abit dodgy doin it that way, i also read that some1 was asked to split couple at stobarts widnes 
hitch:
split coupling is dangerous
learn to do it right
Really!! Its how i and many 1000’s before me were taught, also it was used in my test which wasn’t proclaimed as unsafe? 
I never mentioned the brakes on the unit, I know fine what can happen when coupling up but its a fairly common mistake not to check the parking brake.
Certainly its a stupid thing to not check but its a very common mistake especially when somebody is doing your nut in, I think crank coupling is preferred by the powers that be but in tight spaces this is impossible which is why there are sliding fifth wheels or suzies.
The dangers of leaving both brakes off is the same but its more dangerous to miss a trailer brake on a fridge obviously.
I split couple everyday as its less carry on but there are safer ways.
had to split couple for sainsburys assesment at east kilbride. they want it done that way all the time.
WildGoose:
Here was the truck I passed in;
Just to show why the split couple was necessary.
I cant understand why that had to be split coupled, unless you are much fatter than me 
Didn’t Rog post a maximum length for training vehicles once and suggested a normal fleet lorry was over length
hitch:
split coupling is dangerous
learn to do it right
Hello, my name’s Hitch and I don’t know how to use my brain.
dustylfc:
Dunno then?:
Harry Monk:
As I understand it, split coupling is considered to be a big “no no” amongst most large companies so I doubt you would be asked to do it on assessment.I know Stobbies regard it as a hanging offence but Nobbies seem to be quite happy with it,and they are quite keen on H&S.
your wrong about that, a driver off here got asked to split couple at widnes depot on his assessment, the only company i no of that wont entertain it is wincanton
Yes on my assessment at Widnes he asked me if I knew what split coupling was,I said yes but I don’t do it (expecting it to be a trick question) and he said we want you to do it here so i did,yes was surprised I admit.
I mind a couple years back a driver got chrushed in one of the Cadbury’s depots with doing split coupling.
There are to many thing what can go wrong, and your body is not really desingned to stop a 30ton trailer, very unhealty.
What is wrong with hooking normal up, push the shunt button and take handbrake of trailer off, pull forward and turn sharply, enough space to hook the sussies up etc.?
Why take a risk if there is no need to?
How do you know if the handbrake work properly? even if the MOT is in date and the 6 weekly’s are done, there is no warranty at all
Mind if you do it on the continent with a unknown trailer, the most times stand loose (no handbrake on) so it could easy supprise you.
Been brought up with wagon and drag, had a couple of lucky escapes with standing in between them to try to correct my unexperience, trying to lead the triangle into the catch by hand, if you miss it you are in the wrong place.
caledoniandream:
I mind a couple years back a driver got chrushed in one of the Cadbury’s depots with doing split coupling.There are to many thing what can go wrong, and your body is not really desingned to stop a 30ton trailer, very unhealty.
What is wrong with hooking normal up, push the shunt button and take handbrake of trailer off, pull forward and turn sharply, enough space to hook the sussies up etc.?
Why take a risk if there is no need to?
How do you know if the handbrake work properly? even if the MOT is in date and the 6 weekly’s are done, there is no warranty at all
Mind if you do it on the continent with a unknown trailer, the most times stand loose (no handbrake on) so it could easy supprise you.
Been brought up with wagon and drag, had a couple of lucky escapes with standing in between them to try to correct my unexperience, trying to lead the triangle into the catch by hand, if you miss it you are in the wrong place.
Because this is far from safe either. I speak from experience here. A place I was doing a trailer swap at was one of those places where they don’t let you split couple. I was picking up a loaded fridge at max weight and it was VERY close coupled. There was no way I could get in the gap to connect the lines so I jammed in the shunt button, let it roll forward (down an incline) and then started to crank it round. I stood on the brakes to stop and very little happened 
. I had to literally stand up in the cab to bring it to a halt and by that point I was half way into the lane where traffic comes past. If anything had been coming past at the time I would have been in the side of them. At first I couldn’t understand what had happened but then I realised that I was missing braking power from 6 wheels so it’s no wonder it didn’t want to stop .
Split coupling is FAR safer as long as you have a brain and know how to use it. If you do your coupling correctly (which most drivers don’t, ime) then you should be making sure that the trailer brake is on prior to coupling up anyway, so there’s your safety worries fixed straight away. 
Maybe you should leave split coupling to the pro’s eh?
I guess the “pross” need to have a look at your brakes!
A truck that cannot stop a trailer on a incline while driving on walking pace is defiantly faulty.
If you park up with many trucks only the rear axle is engaged as parking brake (not Daf but defiantly Volvo)
if you realise that the trailer parking brake only works on maximum 2 axles, you unit couldn’t hold him (6 axles??) but you are relying on 4 trailer wheels■■?
I think you contradict yourself here.
Have a look at most shunters, also in the docks, they drive only with a feed line on, they would slide the boat ramp off anytime.
caledoniandream:
I guess the “pross” need to have a look at your brakes!A truck that cannot stop a trailer on a incline while driving on walking pace is defiantly faulty.
If you park up with many trucks only the rear axle is engaged as parking brake (not Daf but defiantly Volvo)
if you realise that the trailer parking brake only works on maximum 2 axles, you unit couldn’t hold him (6 axles??) but you are relying on 4 trailer wheels■■?
I think you contradict yourself here.
Have a look at most shunters, also in the docks, they drive only with a feed line on, they would slide the boat ramp off anytime.
What ARE you on about? It’s pretty obvious, when there’s no lines connected then you’ve only got half your brakes working. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
[quote="Rob K
Because this is far from safe either. I speak from experience here. A place I was doing a trailer swap at was one of those places where they don’t let you split couple. I was picking up a loaded fridge at max weight and it was VERY close coupled. There was no way I could get in the gap to connect the lines so I jammed in the shunt button,
let it roll forward (down an incline) and then started to crank it round. I stood on the brakes to stop and very little happened . I had to literally stand up in the cab to bring it to a halt and by that point I was half way into the lane where traffic comes past. If anything had been coming past at the time I would have been in the side of them. At first I couldn’t understand what had happened but then I realised that I was missing braking power from 6 wheels so it’s no wonder it didn’t want to stop .
Split coupling is FAR safer as long as you have a brain and know how to use it. If you do your coupling correctly (which most drivers don’t, ime) then you should be making sure that the trailer brake is on prior to coupling up anyway, so there’s your safety worries fixed straight away.
Maybe you should leave split coupling to the pro’s eh?
[/quote]
Thats where I am on about, absolutly rubbish talk that your tractor unit could not hold a loaded trailer while gently rolling forwards. (or it must be in ice and snow)
Otherwise there is defiantly something wrong with the brakes of your unit.
caledoniandream:
Thats where I am on about, absolutly rubbish talk that your tractor unit could not hold a loaded trailer while gently rolling forwards. (or it must be in ice and snow)
Otherwise there is defiantly something wrong with the brakes of your unit.
No, it isn’t rubbish at all. Perhaps you should try it before opening your mouth? I can tell you with 100% certainty that your braking is SEVERELY reduced when you hook up 36t of trailer and load on the back and try to stop it using only the brakes on the unit. Try it some time and see how much pedal pressure you have to use . It was definitely not a fault with the unit because when I used to do shunting down at Chiquita in Ravensthorpe (which is on the flat), I used to just move them around on the shunt button then as well, and the same lack of brakes was just as evident then. (Whilst still being an unsafe way of moving trailers about, I knew what to expect from previous experience and obviously drove accordingly).
truckerjon:
I always split couple, because it gives me more room to move, I can keep myself clean, get more pressure behind the air lines and it is as safe as any other way providing you check both unit and trailer brakes before you start. i used to teach it to all my students when I was instrucing, and never had a problem with the DSA examiners, if fact one told me he was happy to see someone teaching this method. I believe any company that bans this has not looked at it properly. Unless there is a good reason, such as unusual equipment configuration, I don’t see how it is any less safe that conventional coupling.
Ahh, but theres the nub of it. These days, no one is credited with the ability to think safety, it’s down to some jobsworth to impose safety. If you are caught split coupling/un-coupling at a Tescos rdc, then you will incur wrath, yours truly had been doing it for a few weeks before he managed to get caught and warned by said jobsworth. Previous to that I’d done it elsewhere with impunity, especially at Turners where you usually find the suzies in a football sized sphagetti like tangle with fifth-wheel grease as a liberal ‘sauce’. Then circumstances dictated that you 'split couple/un-couple. Having said that, Tescos wagons have the suzies on the nearside corner so if you reverse under the trailer at a slight angle you should have plenty of room to operate.
Rob K:
caledoniandream:
Thats where I am on about, absolutly rubbish talk that your tractor unit could not hold a loaded trailer while gently rolling forwards. (or it must be in ice and snow)
Otherwise there is defiantly something wrong with the brakes of your unit.No, it isn’t rubbish at all. Perhaps you should try it before opening your mouth?
See that is where I went wrong “YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WITH EXPIRIENCE HERE”
Nearly 30 years in Transport whereof 22 years as a driver, of course I have never driven with the airlines off.
I agree with you the the braking is severly reduced, but harly affect anything rolling slowly forward, not even on a slope.
Your handbrake (rear axle on many trucks) can hold everything on a mountain standing, but 3 axles of a tractor unit can not stop a slowly rolling 44 tonner, you are having a larf.
By the way we still shunt with only the supply airline on, and that is with tankers, liquid shift you a little more, as long as it is walking pace, they will stop them alright.