As the other thread is well under discussion and it has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt that ropes have no place in the transport industry…
Is there any more news on this massive 2010 court case in Scotland?
Well if the internal straps are not fit for purpose surely the trailer makers should be involved in this as well, the trailers are built supposedly to construction and use and i dont for a minuete believe the makers would leave themselves open to prosecution I think it’s VOSA making the rules. Eddie.
PS watched a recovery one night 20ton of cartons roped and sheeted overturned lifted out of a ditch and turned back onto her wheels and the load never shifted how’s about that VOSA.
just a heads up for any guys who travelling into grampian police force area with flat trailers/curtainsiders. grampian police traffic dept and vosa aberdeen are handing out fpn’s for loads on flat trailers that have their loads secured by ropes, my boss got a £60 fpn & 3 points for his licence when he got pulled with the flat trailer with a load of sheeted fertilizer secured by ropes. according too the police all loads on flat trailers must be secured using rattchet straps or chains and dwangs (including holding down the sheets).
you sure he didnt get done for just roping the last 2 rows? very common practice with fert oh and sand/aggregates, i dont believe he got done for a fully roped and sheeted load.
If he did get an FPN for a fully roped and sheeted load, i for one would take it to court.
ajdavis64:
you sure he didnt get done for just roping the last 2 rows? very common practice with fert oh and sand/aggregates, i dont believe he got done for a fully roped and sheeted load.
If he did get an FPN for a fully roped and sheeted load, i for one would take it to court.
That sounds more likely.
I would trust a rope over a ratchet and webbing. That doesn’t mean I would prefer to use them though 
no he had them roped every third hook and crossed the back, thats what got him a bit upset, he has done it this way for 28 years n i think he gonna go too court with it and fight his corner.
The proof would be, no shed loads in 28 years of doing it that way. and in 22 years i have never seen any “lost” dumpy bags of fert at the side of the road.
scotstrucker:
no he had them roped every third hook and crossed the back, thats what got him a bit upset, he has done it this way for 28 years n i think he gonna go too court with it and fight his corner.
What the ■■■■■ happening to this country? 
I started roping & sheeting in the summer holidays from being 13 & no plod or his sidekick is going to tell me how to secure a load, straps over sheets is for amateurs & if plod & co knew whats what they’d know that would’nt they? You’d be stopping every 10 miles to re tighten the ratchets as the fert settled FFS
Fly sheet
I know the concrete block association did some tests a few years ago comparing ropes and straps for securing bricks and blocks. Their conclusions were that straps were considerably better than ropes and issued guidelines to that effect. I’m curious to know though who made ropes illegal to use? Or is this just another example of Plod/Vosa applying their own interpretation of the law?
44 Tonne Ton:
I know the concrete block association did some tests a few years ago comparing ropes and straps for securing bricks and blocks. Their conclusions were that straps were considerably better than ropes and issued guidelines to that effect. I’m curious to know though who made ropes illegal to use? Or is this just another example of Plod/Vosa applying their own interpretation of the law?
Oh like dog clips on fifth wheels that dont need them?
fly sheet:
scotstrucker:
no he had them roped every third hook and crossed the back, thats what got him a bit upset, he has done it this way for 28 years n i think he gonna go too court with it and fight his corner.What the [zb] happening to this country?
Fly sheet
thats the problem nowadays though, most police and vosa officals have never roped and sheeted and wouldnt know how to secure a load , all they have done is read about it, i blame the target culture for some of these stupid fpn’s that are being dished out as you very rarley see a policeman or vosa offical applying a common sense approach
I don’t blame him going to court with this if that is the case. I also think the owners of this website should be involved in the court case or at least supplying their legal services…
The copper has probably read that all loads should be strapped rather than secured
I imagine bricks and blocks are a separate case as they used to be secured with a brick net rather than a sheet.
I watch this case wiv interest
44 Tonne Ton:
I’m curious to know though who made ropes illegal to use? Or is this just another example of Plod/Vosa applying their own interpretation of the law?
i think you may have hit the nail on the head, remember an insecure load is if the police officer/vosa offical think it’s insecure, it doesnt need too fall off the truck
On 4 and 6 wheeler rigids (with choc/barrel rails) we only ever used to put a cross rope on the back bags and only ever sheeted if we really had to. All hay and straw was roped, I find it easier than stapping, cement was sheeted and 1 rope across the back. I never lost a bag of anything off.
I will come to court as an expert witness if he wants. 
Heard that was going on to, just hope they don’t start doing it in tayside. Its bad enougth having to sheet the stuff on a dry day when your leaving Dundee now. What gets me is you not even suppose to be on top of the load ■■■■ knows how they expect you to roll the sheet out. We would just run with the bags laced up and then tied every 4-5 bags down the side and have never lost any. Dunno what they expect when we have boxes on the back I always use ropes as its quicker to take them of and put away. They have to much power maybe the extra cash is to help the govement and keep there selfs in stupid jobs.
I believe another haulier was given a fpn the same day in aberdeenshire full load of fert in curtain not tied in was told internals were not rated so could not be used and every row had to be ratchet strapped. I know the company involved so def no its not a rumour. This job is becoming a joke 
It was only a few years ago that I was sheeting and roping loads of profiled steel. Big arm sections for Komatsu 360degree diggers and some other big heavy lumps.
Roping every hook was the best way, because the load had light even tension on it for the whole of its length. Straps would have put to much uneven tension onto it. I didn’t have enough straps to do that anyway.
I was working for Exel, on the BSD contract from Bellshill at the time. I was there for 2 1/2 years.
I don’t think I’ve done fertiliser, but I’ve done bagged plastic pellets and bagged cement, which will be very similar.
I’ve been roping and sheeting loads since I was 13 tears old, not constantly, but regularly all the way through.
In my personal professional opinion, a properly roped and sheeted load of fertiliser would be a perfectly secure load.
I would be prepared to drive it anywhere, quite happily.
This fnp seems to be an ‘over enthusiastic’ interpretation, to me.
just 2 quick questions
i worked on the fairgrounds and went we went to the next place most of the stuff on the ride was roped off would we get done ■■
2nd point
will all the coal lorrys get fpn,s ? as everyone i have seen have nothad any sort of rope/straps on there load
I don’t post too often, but I do read a lot.
Hasn’t anybody noticed yet that every possible offense that we can be had for now carries a FPN, involving laying out large sums of cash as a Penalty for just trying to do our jobs the best way we see fit, the way we’ve done it for years without any real problems & if we did we just worked it out.
The Authorities are trying to raise as much revenue as possible, be it VOSA, The Police or any other Government body that can get in on the act.
Basically we’re being shafted, big time.
Maybe it’s time to get out of this sheit, been doing it for 24 years now & it’s just getting worse by the day.
This Country is ■■■■■■.
picked up a load of flat bar yesterday from hull docks, straps over the steel then sheeted with rope over the sheet to keep it all tidy, i’ve always done it like this as straps over the sheet would damage it on the edges of the steel, are they now saying this is wrong?
theres always going to be loads where ropes are the better option, that will never change, we do plastic boxes from hepworths, if you tried to strap those you’d crush the box before you got the straps tight enough to stay put going down the road, rope twice over each stack is the only way.