Can anyone tell me Is the purpose of VOSA, to try and keep the roads safe , or to try to generate as much cash as they can with small “infringements” .VOSA roadside checks should be for foreign trucks who do not have the same standards as UK. A once a month check on operation centres should suffice for british hauliers.
the drivers hours law should be kicked into touch,A 15 hour spread in any 24 hour period, take your breaks when you need them and not when you are told to take them.No booking times, you turn up you join the queue,Free parking on all services when your 15 is up,
Unfortunately reality and digi cards dont go together,dont the government realise that generating a bit of cash from driver fines is costing the country thousands in lost time.
The purpose of VOSA is to give the masses on TruckNet something to moan about, especially those who have never actually had any contact with VOSA other than MMTM stories.
I for one am glad that Vosa and the driving laws are about otherwise I would be running 7 days a week all day and all night and that’s no lie.
If you can’t get things done in a 10 hour drive and a 15 hour shift then who’s fault is that?? Not the drivers. Maybe if the industry improves with fewer idling trucks and quicker turn arounds then they could even reduce the daily driving limit and working time. Pigs will fly first though.
Why are some people so ignorant when it comes to VOSA? They do a very necessary job simply because there are too many cowboys in the transport industry.
It is simple really.Keep your truck in roadworthy condition.Do not flout laws and you will have nothing to worry about.
Maybe if a truck with serious defects wiped out your family you may feel different.
They have a job to do, i’ve been pulled every 2 weeks for years. it’s like having a free mot.
There is a lot of BS on this site about vosa, it’s usually written by people that have never been pulled.
albion1971:
Why are some people so ignorant when it comes to VOSA? They do a very necessary job simply because there are too many cowboys in the transport industry.
It is simple really.Keep your truck in roadworthy condition.Do not flout laws and you will have nothing to worry about.
Maybe if a truck with serious defects wiped out your family you may feel different.
I wish people would read the post properly before making a comment.
albion1971:
Why are some people so ignorant when it comes to VOSA? They do a very necessary job simply because there are too many cowboys in the transport industry.
It is simple really.Keep your truck in roadworthy condition.Do not flout laws and you will have nothing to worry about.
Maybe if a truck with serious defects wiped out your family you may feel different.
I wish people would read the post properly before making a comment.
Why? Albion had made very valid comments. Why do you feel UK trucks are of a higher standard than foreign registered ones. As for wether they exist to make revenue or keep the roads safe, surely if the vehicles are safe they can’t make any revenue from fines.
If they are making money by keeping unsafe vehicles from being on the road then good. I don’t want some truck operated by some cowboy outfit to wipe my (or any other) family out because their vehicle isn’t properly maintained.
FarnboroughBoy11:
I for one am glad that Vosa and the driving laws are about otherwise I would be running 7 days a week all day and all night and that’s no lie.
If you can’t get things done in a 10 hour drive and a 15 hour shift then who’s fault is that?? Not the drivers. Maybe if the industry improves with fewer idling trucks and quicker turn arounds then they could even reduce the daily driving limit and working time. Pigs will fly first though.
^^^ +1
Years ago, when driving coaches we’d all arrive at various east coast coach parks on Sunday mornings (club trips usually) & ‘the Ministry’ would be there. Hilarious to see 60/70 year old PSV driver’s jumping out of emergency doors & locking up coach before literally running out of coach park - all to avoid Ministry check. Usually all to no avail. Ministry men would return at 3.30 pm ish - at which point said driver’s would be back on-board their coach maybe snoozing/reading newspaper. Then the check would take place.
There’s nothing to be scared of if you are running legal & roadworthy (or even trying your best to do so).
Have a look at this thread if you wonder why we need VOSA. And they not all foreign trucks.
And VOSA do target foreign trucks, thy were pulling them in to junction 11 services on the M20 the other day and they are quite often waiting for them round the bottom of the M25.
Sounds nice taking breaks when you need them and not when you have to, great until you work for a boss who says you don’t need breaks and alternative jobs are hard to come by.
And VOSA do target foreign trucks, thy were pulling them in to junction 11 services on the M20 the other day and they are quite often waiting for them round the bottom of the M25.
Sounds nice taking breaks when you need them and not when you have to, great until you work for a boss who says you don’t need breaks and alternative jobs are hard to come by.
Not seen that thread before. Some eye opening stuff.
scotstrucker:
the haulage industry would be in a very very bad state if there wasnt a vosa.
Whilst this is a true statement here’s a quick example of a cash generating from the organisation in question, on Tuesday this week one of our 8 wheelers was travelling north by Watford gap services after being loaded out of a what shall remain nameless sand and gravel pit further south. Anyway as he passed Watford gap he noticed the vosa car come straight out and he had a feeling they were targeting him ,but seeing as he was driving a fairly newish truck in very good condition and all his records were all above board and in order he had nothing to fear also his gross weight did not exceed the permitted 32 tonnes , as expected the follow me sign lit up along with the beacons , so he followed them into the crick site ,where upon he was directed straight on to the axle weighbridge then directed to park in a bay whereupon a officer came to remove his digicard for inspection and he was informed that his two drive axles were both a tonne over weight the driver in question was shocked and his first reaction was to reply to the officer “give me ten minutes with my shovel and I’ll rectify that” and then explained although he was aware of his duty to make sure his truck is loaded correctly , it has been policy of most if not all of the major players within the aggregates supplier’s that drivers are not allowed out of their vehicles whilst being loaded so we’re not able to direct the loaders furthermore if we are caught climbing on to our bodies to see the load it results in being banned from that site, we have weighloaders in cab to keep the payload as close to the Max without being overloaded but seeing as the sites rarely if ever have axle weighbridges It is very difficult if not impossible to gauge ,the officer was most sympathetic and agreed but said there’d be no need for any shoveling and took his card for analysis, the card was return about twenty minutes later all clear along with a fixed penalty notice for £200 for the axle overload!
This is something I have often mentioned nick to vosa at different levels,they just don’t care how you weigh or what your reason for being over ,you would think that if safety was a number 1 issue then every town should have a axle weigher paid for by the county council free for use ,most weighbridges now are the ones with a ramp so no way can you even attempt to check axles ,there’s only the odd brick works ect that have a axle weigher and then you can’t always use it. There’s a thread on here about unmarked cop cars where there’s a mr perfect who never breaks the law ,well your mate is a prime example of getting done for something that wasn’t his fault.
albion1971:
Why are some people so ignorant when it comes to VOSA? They do a very necessary job simply because there are too many cowboys in the transport industry.
It is simple really.Keep your truck in roadworthy condition.Do not flout laws and you will have nothing to worry about.
Maybe if a truck with serious defects wiped out your family you may feel different.
I wish people would read the post properly before making a comment.
I read your post so please tell me what bit I have missed that I needed to know before replying?
rocky 7:
Can anyone tell me Is the purpose of VOSA, to try and keep the roads safe , or to try to generate as much cash as they can with small “infringements” .VOSA roadside checks should be for foreign trucks who do not have the same standards as UK. A once a month check on operation centres should suffice for british hauliers.
the drivers hours law should be kicked into touch,A 15 hour spread in any 24 hour period, take your breaks when you need them and not when you are told to take them.No booking times, you turn up you join the queue,Free parking on all services when your 15 is up,
Unfortunately reality and digi cards dont go together,dont the government realise that generating a bit of cash from driver fines is costing the country thousands in lost time.
Your first part of the question I assume is rhetorical so I won’t waste my time giving my opinion.
The bit about Foreign trucks safety superiority is pure unsubstantiated bullcrap, have you driven for a Foreign co? If not on what do you base your opinion?.. Could it be MMTM
As for drivers hours laws being scrapped , you are definitely having a laugh there, so again, won’t waste my time.
15 hours every day take breaks when you need them, I assume you are new and terminally keen, I am neither of those, so a 15 hour 9off every day is something I do not want to do, the job is ■■■■ enough as it is now in it’s present form.
Who is going to subsidise free parking on a commercial site ffs.
Don’t agree with pedantic fines either, but how exactly is generating cash costing thousands in lost time
Find the comment about foreign trucks a wee bit insulting am currently driving a 12 plate irish registered lorry and all of our trailers are well maintained the reason the plant is well maintained is due to the risk of being pulled but also if you knew the costs of getting something fixed when not in your country of origin then you would soon go under if you were continually having to get faults repaired when abroad.
As for this myth that all UK firms run legal just take a look in the court section of any trucking magazine and you will see plenty of people either losing their O licence or having restrictions placed on it.
Agree about the axle weights a couple of years I lifted a sealed trailer in Stockport got pulled in Carlisle 13.5 ton on the pin yet all up weight 35 ton result a £200 fine and £50 to a local haulier to move the pallets explained to VOSA that I was not to know the axle weights and as the trailer was sealed I couldn’t check inside to see that it was badly loaded (it was empty for the last 12 foot so all the weight at the front) tough came the reply. Until the UK adopts the German system where any weight or security issues are the fault of the loader it will always be the driver who cops it.
The majority of Foreign Trucks now are new or nearly new and the up keep of them put some uk Hauliers to shame in my opinion. I think they get the foreigners in driving/working time offences, I believe vosa do do a good job in most respects but in other ways like weight distribution they need a re think
, you are definitely having a laugh there, so again, won’t waste my time.
