Been a while since I been there. I caused a right storm in a teacup for refusing to pull a load out with no restraints for one of Britains finest hauliers 
I just wondered what are the current practices there?
Are load restraints being used?
Or is it still just a case of closing the curtains and driving off.
One could argue how the biggest pop merchant and the biggest haulage outfit get away with non compliance?
is it me?
Darkside:
is it me?
Not just you.
Infact they were loads of them flounting the law, willy nilly.
It just beggars belief doesnāt it.
When West Yorks Police were proudly showing off their recent āunsafe loadā catch on Facebook I left a comment saying they should park up outside Coca-Cola, a handy spot only a few hundred yards up the road from West Yorks Traffic Policeās HQ/Garage so they wouldnāt even have to travel that far.
Conor:
When West Yorks Police were proudly showing off their recent āunsafe loadā catch on Facebook I left a comment saying they should park up outside Coca-Cola, a handy spot only a few hundred yards up the road from West Yorks Traffic Policeās HQ/Garage so they wouldnāt even have to travel that far.
Do you wish you were a police person or something? Why would you try and assist the filth in causing fellow truckers grief? 
Coca Cola still state they are happy with just two internals crossed at the back, so there lies your answer really. It aināt illegal with a full load on an XL rated trailer, which all Stobarts are now in fairness.
chester:
Been a while since I been there. I caused a right storm in a teacup for refusing to pull a load out with no restraints for one of Britains finest hauliers
I just wondered what are the current practices there?
Are load restraints being used?
Or is it still just a case of closing the curtains and driving off.One could argue how the biggest pop merchant and the biggest haulage outfit get away with non compliance?
Was it an XL trailer?
ezydriver:
Was it an XL trailer?
Nope wasnāt a XL trailer.
Iāve also had dramas with them as well. An outfit near me does general haulage, they do a lot of 1 pallet deliveries. They are under the impression if itās it a load bearing curtain then they donāt need to use restraints. The office and theyāre drivers donāt understand a XL curtains use.
chester:
ezydriver:
Was it an XL trailer?Nope wasnāt a XL trailer.
Iāve also had dramas with them as well. An outfit near me does general haulage, they do a lot of 1 pallet deliveries. They are under the impression if itās it a load bearing curtain then they donāt need to use restraints. The office and theyāre drivers donāt understand a XL curtains use.
My understanding is that XL curtains donāt need restraints if the load is a positive fit, and 2 straps criss-cross the back.
eagerbeaver:
Conor:
When West Yorks Police were proudly showing off their recent āunsafe loadā catch on Facebook I left a comment saying they should park up outside Coca-Cola, a handy spot only a few hundred yards up the road from West Yorks Traffic Policeās HQ/Garage so they wouldnāt even have to travel that far.Do you wish you were a police person or something? Why would you try and assist the filth in causing fellow truckers grief?
Reading a lot of the posts on here I sometimes wish I was. Those truckers deserve the grief they get, it is because of people like them and some of those who post on here that the public view us and therefore me in the negative light that they now do. It is because of those truckers that more and more legislation and enforcement is forced upon us. Being professional means doing the job properly and getting rid of those that donāt.
ezydriver:
My understanding is that XL curtains donāt need restraints if the load is a positive fit, and 2 straps criss-cross the back.
Your understanding is wrong. Would you take 8 1250x2500mm packs of chipboard from the docks without strapping them, expecting the XL curtains to keep them in place? After all theyāre a positive fit so by your understanding they donāt need restraints but I can guarantee you by the time you got round the first roundabout, assuming you even made it that far, youād wish you had.
Conor:
eagerbeaver:
Conor:
When West Yorks Police were proudly showing off their recent āunsafe loadā catch on Facebook I left a comment saying they should park up outside Coca-Cola, a handy spot only a few hundred yards up the road from West Yorks Traffic Policeās HQ/Garage so they wouldnāt even have to travel that far.Do you wish you were a police person or something? Why would you try and assist the filth in causing fellow truckers grief?
Reading a lot of the posts on here I sometimes wish I was. Those truckers deserve the grief they get, it is because of people like them and some of those who post on here that the public view us and therefore me in the negative light that they now do. It is because of those truckers that more and more legislation and enforcement is forced upon us. Being professional means doing the job properly and getting rid of those that donāt.
Comes across though Conor that you are a tad envious of the lads who only need 2 straps and off they go. If thatās what CCE are happy with, what business is it of yours? 
And grassing up drivers just makes you a snake in the GRASS 
As Iāve said before itās almost at the point of āwhy botherā because the rules constantly change hour by hour and by however a person claims to understand them.
I watched a guy strap pallets that were about two foot high weighing just over a ton (bagged cement type stuff) with internals the other day - not criss-cross internals either, just roof to bed.
Me? I didnāt bother. Theyāre not moving, theyāre heat-wrapped, the curtains will do nothing of they do move and if Iām stopped Iām in just as much bother as the guy who used internals.
Puts tin hat on
Granted if Iām doing distance Iāll ratchet them but for the half mile back to the yardā¦ nah. Mind you not even a ratchet over two of the bags (of 40 on the pallet) would do a great deal as I dare say if I go over the other 38 bags would soon come loose, but thatās apparently adequate strapping so I do it to tick a box.
Now loose boards on the other hand, thatās a different matter and this is where assessing loads comes in useful.
I watched a 3.5tonne dropside drive past the dvsa car parked at the leyland junction today, loaded with 2 full ibcās against the headboard with no straps on either, never got pulled!
Conor:
ezydriver:
My understanding is that XL curtains donāt need restraints if the load is a positive fit, and 2 straps criss-cross the back.Your understanding is wrong. Would you take 8 1250x2500mm packs of chipboard from the docks without strapping them, expecting the XL curtains to keep them in place? After all theyāre a positive fit so by your understanding they donāt need restraints but I can guarantee you by the time you got round the first roundabout, assuming you even made it that far, youād wish you had.
We arenāt talking about big heavy packs of chipboard though are we? We are talking about 26 pallets of pop, which are absolutely fine & 100% legal on an XL trailer with just the back two pallets restrained.
It remains the case though that the DVSA would indeed have a field day outside the gates, because an XL curtain counts for nowt if it isnāt a full load & not everybody has XL curtains anyway. Not only that, they wouldnāt be satisfied with internals for heavy pallets, text book says they must be restrained down to the trailer bed.
It also however remains the case that palletised loads have been carried without āproperā restraint on curtainsiders systemically for decades and you just donāt see loads spilt over the road on a regular basis, certainly not anymore than you see loads spilt off flatbeds. Itās not a biggy in reality. Until the jobs geared up in the drivers favour with all this strapping malarky, iāll continue to carry palletised loads with just the back two strapped for the time being. If iām unfortunate enough to ever get caught iāll take the Ā£100 on the chin for all the time & messing about saved over the years & then probably give up on curtainsider work. Youāll certainly never catch me kicking up a fuss on a site somewhere over not being able to strap stuff that doesnāt really need strapping in some farcical box ticking exercise.
I think that the drinks manufacturer to which you refer, or at least their loads come under the heading of āpositive fitā so minimal load restraint is acceptable.
Iāll stick to my friends ta.
sent using smoke signals
shullbit:
I watched a 3.5tonne dropside drive past the dvsa car parked at the leyland junction today, loaded with 2 full ibcās against the headboard with no straps on either, never got pulled!
And I expect he was overweight also
If you have the cash to spareā¦dont strap itā¦if you dont have the cashā¦strap itā¦thats my mottoā¦Dvsa or whatever theyre called, would take a dim view if it aint strapped downā¦as they did with me, when i got pulled, 18 bags of china clay @ 3/4 of a ton each aint going anywhereā¦but they thought differently as they took my Ā£100ā¦so i would strap. However, if its a fragile load, it still gets strapped as they told me it aint their concern, but would still; relieve me of my hard earned if its not restrainedā¦but as we all know a court appearance to justify it, aint gonna work cos the enemy would blindfold them with scienceā¦and we always lose dont weā¦ or just using the word Could is enough to dish out a fine + costs.
chester:
Been a while since I been there. I caused a right storm in a teacup for refusing to pull a load out with no restraints for one of Britains finest hauliers
I just wondered what are the current practices there?
Are load restraints being used?
Or is it still just a case of closing the curtains and driving off.One could argue how the biggest pop merchant and the biggest haulage outfit get away with non compliance?
Itās like thereās people in government who spend their time deliberately thinking up health and safety stuff that gives no mark limpers special opportunities to go mad with power.
rob22888:
Coca Cola still state they are happy with just two internals crossed at the back, so there lies your answer really. It aināt illegal with a full load on an XL rated trailer, which all Stobarts are now in fairness.
Sorry but I see quite a few non XL certified of Eddies in Wakefield and elsewhere.
Sometimes it looks like some of their drivers donāt even carry enough ratchet straps or care about internal straps, but to be fair that is not only a general Stobart problem.