Had my first ever routine check last week, i saw the traffic cop sitting on the on ramp and 10 seconds later he blue lighed me onto the hard shoulder, i had only been left the yard some 40 mins and knew all my lights were working when i left, the side door was shut and the tail lift was secured, so i wondered what i had been pulled for.
i jump out cab and am greeted by the passenger traffic cop, and says he just wants to check my tacho, so he does sits in passgenger seat and downloads my card on the hard shoulder. i knew i was (far i was aware) legal but for some reason with a traffic cop sitting in your cab you always feel a bit nervours… 15 mins later he had trawled through my digi card all 200 or so entries and said he was checking my mileages, im presuming to check i wasnt using magnets??
like i said first ever routine pull, had always thought it would of been vosa not a traffic cop on the harld shoulder, but hey ho.
has anyone else ever been pulled onto hard shoulder just for a tacho check??
digi tacho seemed to remember my driving time when i re-insterted card which i was surpised at but also happy because i presumed it would reset to 000 hours driving and i would have to work out how much time roughly i had left on the fly, could i of legally just started driving as if it was new shift if it had reset to 0 and done a full 4h 30 mins with a break even if i had been driving for 45 mins when i took card out■■? if that makes sense.
cheers
CC
and the iceing on the cake was 3 of our trucks passed me while on the hard shoulder…i could hear them all as they went past
Is it really sensible to pull a wagon onto the hard shoulder for a tacho check? It’s just so fraught with unnecessary danger.
Imagine the uproar if a car or another wagon ran into the back?
Surely the hard shoulder is for emergency use only?
I’d be very tempted to tell plod firmly I’m willing to follow him/her to the next exit or services, otherwise clear off out of my way, you stupid fellow. Seriously!
I recently used my card for the first time in about 7 months - surprised me firstly that it actually worked, but also flashed up with the ‘last withdrawal’ in '09!!
JISL to ESL:
Is it really sensible to pull a wagon onto the hard shoulder for a tacho check? It’s just so fraught with unnecessary danger.
Imagine the uproar if a car or another wagon ran into the back?
Surely the hard shoulder is for emergency use only?
I’d be very tempted to tell plod firmly I’m willing to follow him/her to the next exit or services, otherwise clear off out of my way, you stupid fellow. Seriously!
My thoughts exactly, since when have random tacho checks warranted the use of an emergency refuge area,
the below quote taken from a press release from the highways.gov website
“A vehicle parked on the hard shoulder is more likely to be involved in a serious accident than one travelling in motorway traffic, according to research by the Highways Agency”
JISL to ESL:
Is it really sensible to pull a wagon onto the hard shoulder for a tacho check? It’s just so fraught with unnecessary danger.
Imagine the uproar if a car or another wagon ran into the back?
Surely the hard shoulder is for emergency use only?
sorry should of added it was 430 in the morning, sunny and conditions were clear/dry. not much traffic was about - 7 lane motorway.
JISL to ESL:
I’d be very tempted to tell plod firmly I’m willing to follow him/her to the next exit or services, otherwise clear off out of my way, you stupid fellow. Seriously!
i was a bit nervous and did think about saying that but thought better of it and just let him get on with his job so not to delay me any longer than nec. figured he wouldnt of tugged me if he didnt think it was safe…
Yep, if you pulled up on the hard shoulder to take a “comfort break” or make a phone call, the Filth would soon be there giving you their pious and sanctimonious old twaddle about life expectancy on the hard shoulder being just 10 minutes and writing out a FPN, yet that’s where they stop you for a routine check.
Policing in 2010 is about raising revenue, not about safety.
I would be inclined to question the legality of them doing this, as far as I am concerned this is a very dangerous practice and even if it is legal should be banned.
It is even worse that it happened at such an early hour, that must be the time there are the most sleepy drivers on the roads.
Did you get a receipt to say you were stopped, and if so has it got the police officers number on it? I think this needs reporting.
jimti:
I would be inclined to question the legality of them doing this, as far as I am concerned this is a very dangerous practice and even if it is legal should be banned.
It is even worse that it happened at such an early hour, that must be the time there are the most sleepy drivers on the roads.
Did you get a receipt to say you were stopped, and if so has it got the police officers number on it? I think this needs reporting.
i did a print out when i ejected the card and i asked him to sign it etc to cover my back in case i got in any bother off vosa/my boss if i get pulled again and they question it,
dont think its worth reporting tbh if a driver couldnt see red and blue lights on a long flat stretch of motorway then they need their eyes testing…i could be wrong but sure lorry drivers going n/b even saw me and slowed down and took pictures on their camera phones…
Cruise Control:
if a driver couldnt see red and blue lights on a long flat stretch of motorway then they need their eyes testing…i could be wrong but sure lorry drivers going n/b even saw me and slowed down and took pictures on their camera phones…
There was a mini bus full of school kids who ran into the back of a roadworks vehicle killing several passengers a few years ago, it was covered in flashing lights… The enquiry into the accident concluded that because the driver was tired, the flashing lights may have caused her to veer towards them. It was through this accident that all motorway works vehicles have those big long bumper like things out the back now.
Cruise Control:
if a driver couldnt see red and blue lights on a long flat stretch of motorway then they need their eyes testing…
Police came out when I tried to being the Edinburgh City bypass to a standstill in May. I stopped counting the number of vehicles that nearly hit the Police car when I got to over 20. The driver of the Police car got out to check his red & blue lights were working.
When he said he wanted to check your tacho you should have insisted you go to a safe area where is the problem with that,this should be cleared up before someone gets killed
The Police have always been under the impression that their blue lights are a force field. Not many of the coppers i deal with would take any exception to moving to a services, slip road or off the motorway if the driver asks them to.
Watch any of the Police type programmes on tv and you will see how unconcerned they are that they might get hit. The HA on the other hand, their guys are trained to watch the traffic, which is why we close a lane for an LGV offside wheel change, why we will try to get a vehicle to a safer place and why we take a bit more care when on the shoulder.
To me its wrong but each force has a different answer to wether it should be allowed or not so what chance do we have as an industry dealing with this stupid way of doing so called routine checks!! What is routine checks? Im sure we will all agree the hard shoulder is not the place for the police to check a tacho unless the driver is clearly speeding
if a driver couldnt see red and blue lights on a long flat stretch of motorway then they need their eyes testing…i could be wrong but sure lorry drivers going n/b even saw me and slowed down and took pictures on their camera phones…
