shouldnt that be to check all your fluid levels before you leave the yard 
today whilst diesling at the end of my shift the driver on the next pump came round and said did i know how to open the bonnet on the m.a.n he was driving as he couldnt see a thing as his screen was a mess and the washers wernt working and he thought they were out of screen wash.
so went round and showed him how to open the bonnet ,easy enough , and then i showed him where to fill them up.
they were empty .
the bit that amazed me was hes been driving for us for 2 months.
hows he checked his OIL, WATER ETC if he cant undo a bonnet.
his answer was he just DRIVES them 
.
300 miles a day and you havent got a clue what fluids in them[i know the oil is checked off the steering wheel in our m. a. ns].
surely its the basics to do these checks , isnt it.
surely its the basics to do these checks , isnt it.
YES - thats why they are taught as part of the LGV training.
As a comparison, how many car drivers do MSM 
- like most things, after training it all goes out the window for many.
My Volvo FM9 has a digital display for oil level, and AFAIK you can’t dip the oil. Likewise for coolant level.
Anyone else think (as I do) that this sort of thing encourages drivers to neglect their daily checks?
Anyone else think (as I do) that this sort of thing encourages drivers to neglect their daily checks?
I think your right, i thing the ability to check digitally is great but doesn’t really bother me either way, dipping fluids doesn’t add 2 minutes to your walk around, ut then how many drivers ACTUALLY do a walk around?
PaulJC79:
Anyone else think (as I do) that this sort of thing encourages drivers to neglect their daily checks?
I think your right, i thing the ability to check digitally is great but doesn’t really bother me either way, dipping fluids doesn’t add 2 minutes to your walk around, ut then how many drivers ACTUALLY do a walk around?
I’ve seen drivers out there take vehicles without checking them, sure, I’ll bet we all have. In fact I’ve even personally been told “No need to check that one mate, she only came in half an hour ago” …and what does that have to do with my checks exactly?
If you are paid to be a driver then part of your duty is to insure that the vehicle you take out is fit for the road. Its going to be under a lot of strain unlike the average family car and its a lot more mechanically intensive.
If you don’t do the checks you put at best the vehicle at risk, and in case of a catastrophic seizure or something like that, your life and others.
The checks are part of the job, if you don’t do them then you don’t deserve to get paid, or be let out with a vehicle - end of!
Alex
gnasty gnome:
My Volvo FM9 has a digital display for oil level, and AFAIK you can’t dip the oil. Likewise for coolant level.Anyone else think (as I do) that this sort of thing encourages drivers to neglect their daily checks?
My CF75 has got that, but it doesn’t work! 
Just shows up as “not available” or something.
I borrowed another drivers 12 ton MAN tilt and slide the other weekend , went to check the oil in it and found it off the end of the dipstick !!! checked the walkround sheet and every day during that month he had ticked the oil and water column like he had checked it . IT TOOK 9 LITRES TO FILL IT UP !!!
If I hadnt checked it and the engine had blown up while I was driving it that weekend I would have got the b*llocking because clearly I should have noticed it. Funny on seeing this the driver next to me decided then would be a good time to check his oil as well !!!
Lantern-Driver:
I borrowed another drivers 12 ton MAN tilt and slide the other weekend , went to check the oil in it and found it off the end of the dipstick !!! checked the walkround sheet and every day during that month he had ticked the oil and water column like he had checked it . IT TOOK 9 LITRES TO FILL IT UP !!!
If I hadnt checked it and the engine had blown up while I was driving it that weekend I would have got the b*llocking because clearly I should have noticed it. Funny on seeing this the driver next to me decided then would be a good time to check his oil as well !!!
Lanterns have walkround sheets
They really must have improved over the years 
I was driving a Daf CF today, and noticed that wouldnt come up with the oil data.
Its not really surprising a lot of drivers don’t bother checking their oil or coolant, many car drivers don’t bother either. Only time a lot of cars get checked is when a warning light comes on or when the car goes for a service.
I used to work as a mechanic and do the odd bit here and there. Get people coming up to me saying my engine is making a funny noise check the oil none.
Even bosses in some places don’t give a damm till something happens. Working for a large international company given a unit, tyre bald. Defected it, boss was ■■■■■■ off i had. Get next unit, no coolant in it, Volvo no hose just a tap can’t fill it up without tilting the cab, boss tells me well drive 40miles to the nearest MSA get water there. I refuse given another unit.
Meanwhile waiting for my load, notice the boss gives out the keys of the defected units to other drivers, who proceed to not bother checking the units and drive off with them.
Hi Paul…and defect pads with a place to show the defect has been rectified !!
Got to be honest, I don’t normally bother checking them either. You can usually tell by gauges of just the feel of the how the wagon drives whether there’s something up with it or not. Eg. temp gauge will go off the scale when pulling weight up long drags if there’s no water in it and same (to a lesser extent) with the oil pressure gauge if it’s overfilled, or the other way if there’s not enough in it, and of course the oil warning light.
Majority of the modern trucks are checked from the dash console (DAF XF for example) anyway, which I do check before starting up, but I don’t usually go grovelling around under the bonnet.
I mean, you don’t check the oil and water on your car everytime you go anywhere so there’s no reason to do it on your truck either.
oops
Rob K:
Got to be honest, I don’t normally bother checking them either. You can usually tell by gauges of just the feel of the how the wagon drives whether there’s something up with it or not. Eg. temp gauge will go off the scale when pulling weight up long drags if there’s no water in it and same (to a lesser extent) with the oil pressure gauge if it’s overfilled, or the other way if there’s not enough in it, and of course the oil warning light.
but surely if you do do your checks and notice and rectify a slight drop in a level then this will greatly help the longevity of your vehicle and possibly help prevent greater damage that could be caused when you only notice a level is low when a warning comes up, do warning lights and guages never fail■■? i think they may
I mean, you don’t check the oil and water on your car everytime you go anywhere so there’s no reason to do it on your truck either.
I think the mileage which is generally to be done which causes the wear and tear might be a bit different between a car and a truck
ROG:
I mean, you don’t check the oil and water on your car everytime you go anywhere so there’s no reason to do it on your truck either.
I think the mileage which is generally to be done which causes the wear and tear might be a bit different between a car and a truck
How? Why is shunting polystyrene between 2 depots a few miles apart, totalling about 30 miles per shift any different to me driving a 30 mile round trip to and from work in my car?
Rob K:
ROG:
I mean, you don’t check the oil and water on your car everytime you go anywhere so there’s no reason to do it on your truck either.
I think the mileage which is generally to be done which causes the wear and tear might be a bit different between a car and a truck
How? Why is shunting polystyrene between 2 depots a few miles apart, totalling about 30 miles per shift any different to me driving a 30 mile round trip to and from work in my car?
I think someone missed seeing the word GENERALLY 
I freely admit to not checking mine daily, although I will glance at the guages once a week then dip if it claims to be low as it’s usually lying.
That said, I drive the same motor the majority of the time and would soon notice if the pressure was dipping or it was getting warm. I also know what it usually uses and what level of smoke etc. it kicks out on a morning, so would soon notice if anything went iffy. I know the vehicle, see.
I agree , if I drove the same truck every day after the 1st week you get an idea of how much oil / water it uses , BUT if I drive someone else truck I wont risk relying on them to keep an eye on the levels .
I used to be absolutely ■■■■ about checking my vehicle/trailer regardless of weather or location. Before anybody asks…yes, there were a few odd days when I didn’t do my checks but overall I did it for peace of mind.
No you say most of its digital?
Lucy do you after tilt the cab to dip the oil? I know i do with the straliss, would of been nice to put dipstick under bonnet.