The company i work for has a rented change-over park in Birmingham and on Wednesday i arrived there to drop a trailer and wait for another driver to turn up and then take his trailer up north.
I parked the unit just in front of the trailer after dropping it and had just made a cuppa when the shunter driver came over and asked was i the muppet who keeps putting the handbrake on the trailers to which i replied Yep thats me.
He then attempted to give me a gob full insisting i was the only one to do it and it was not needed, i then told him that i cared not a jot and the first thing i do when dropping a trailer or before backing under one is put/check the handrake is on. I gave him my boss’s number and told him to ring if there is a problem and he soon disappered muttering.
Got back to the yard this morning and asked boss if he called and he said no and asked why, i told him and his reply was i don’t care what anybody else says you keep putting the handbrake on
So a couple of questions, does anybody else check the handbrake or am i the only one? and lastly can someone please give me a logical reason for not putting it on or checking it is on before backing under as every trailer i check before hitching to seems to not have it on
Am looking forward to the answers to this, cheers.
I must admit,that if it’s on level ground,I tend not to.However,as all of the trailers we pull, (When I’m on the road,as I’m office bound at the mo.) have brakes that apply as we disconnect,I don’t feel the need to as a rule,unless I have a doubt.
You can garantee a shunter will always leave the “parking brake” off to make it easier for him /her to do their job. so it goes without saying that you should always check before coupling up that its on,
but then again on friday i did couple to a trailer then realise I`d forgot to check the brake was on, coz when I pulled forward to tug the connection I though “this trailers moving” (coz i short couple the lines before backing under coz of the fridge) so out i jumped and put the brake on, then re-checked the coupling was ok by pulling forward again then re-starting the full coupling up sequence check again
I only check the brake when I am split coupling and I would never have a go at anybody who puts the brake on but I normally leave it off on behalf of the shunters because I have done my fair share of shunting myself.
Same here, I dont use the handbrake either, this probably comes from years of experience and the problems with sticking brakes that old trailers tend to have.
When I back under a trailer, the tug test is enough to tell you if the brakes on or off, and then I check around when coupled to make sure its ok, ie. air ride set correctly and a few lamps working.
I have no problem with anyone using brakes, but you will find that in practice they are not used often
I must admit, I do use the trailer break, having chased one half way around an arifield in reverse to pick it up, I don’t really want to do it with a wall in the way/someone standing between it and the wall. Only time I don’t bother with it is when I know the trailers go what I think’s called a “dead head” device that locks the breaks on when the airlines are taken off.
Safety i think it is called, you may be ok because you know the trl brake is off, the shunter may expect it to be off, but what about the poor bloke only just passed his test or the old hand who isnt with it that day ,coupling up, has he completed all his checks ? is he being pushed to get a move on ? is he a bit excited about taking that vehicle out that he forgets about park brake? all very good untill airline is connected and trl moves forward knocking him back or crushing him in a small space, you must of all had it at sometime or other and those shreds nearly get a brown stain.
Ladytrucker679:
but I normally leave it off on behalf of the shunters because I have done my fair share of shunting myself.
Lady, that is NO reason to leave a handbrake off!!! Too many drivers have been killed due to park brakes being left off!!
Have all you people that leave them off never had to pick a trailer up that is fully loaded with 26 tons of fruit or whatever■■? Have you never backed under a trailer only to see it disappearing across the yard because some lazy arsed person couldn’t be bothered to walk round and pull a little knob (takes all of 30 seconds) As an afterthought how do you check whether the pin is locked in if you can’t pull against it■■? No brake means when you pull against the pin, the trailer follows you!! So you think, that will be ok, and carry on and will curse later when the trailer comes off the back and crushes a car■■?
Sorry for the tirade but trailer parkbrakes are a bug of mine having lost a good friend due to someone backing under a trailer which had not had the brake applied. The trailer rolled back and squashed my friend against the wall and the driver never even knew till someone screamed at him!!!
I might have taken my test many moons ago (1981) but I am sure part of the coupling procedure STILL taught is the application of either the handbrake or park brake!!!
I do, as a general rule. The reason is simple and twofold.
As a newbie I was pulling ancient flats which had ratchet handbrakes. 90% of them had spring brakes too, but one late one Friday night I dropped one I’d shunted out of our local steel fabricator’s and forgot to put the handbrake on, forgetting to check how old it was…
…I came in Monday morning to a severe rollocking after the boss was nearly killed when his son tried to pick it up and it rolled backwards into him.
Several months later and I was on for Fergusons when a lad got killed in trailer park at East Leak for exactly the same reason, only this time it was thought that the spring brake on the curtainside trailer in question had actually failed.
Ok, it takes the shunter/whoever picks the trailer up an extra 30 seconds to go and push the button/stomp on the handle…but what price a human life, eh?
Cheers, thanks for your answers and Liberace i nearly wet myself laughing at the thought of chasing a trailer around but i bet you didn’t find it funny at the time.
You learn something new everyday as a newbie to bendys i had no idea that some trailers automatically applied the brake, but i’ll stick with putting it on as it will make me feel better and it is better to be safe than sorry
I always put it on when dropping it and check it before picking it up as I run very close coupled and always use the split coupling method so the brake is a must. I have also seen several accidents over the years when the brake has not beeen used such as trailers heading off backwards when knocked while being picked up. One occasion was when a driver I know, and still work with, knocked a trailer backwards into a lighting pylon in the freightliner yard in Park Royal and knocked the pylon down over the rail lines.
Am i correct in guessing that split coupling is when you back under the trailer but don’t hitch leaving a gap to connect airlines and then reversing back and hitching?
If i am wrong can someone please correct me, cheers.
Linux-user:
Am i correct in guessing that split coupling is when you back under the trailer but don’t hitch leaving a gap to connect airlines and then reversing back and hitching?
If i am wrong can someone please correct me, cheers.
Your spot on honey.
I do agree wit everything that is being said and I must confess that I have just continued to do what is more the norm than the exception it is rare for me to find a trailer with the brake on in fact I have had 2 in 6 weeks. I will give it some more thought and get back to you.
Linux-user:
Cheers, thanks for your answers and Liberace i nearly wet myself laughing at the thought of chasing a trailer around but i bet you didn’t find it funny at the time.
No and the thought did occur to me, that if their had been a wall behind it and someone had been behind it, then it wouldn’t have looked so funny .
Several months later and I was on for Fergusons when a lad got killed in trailer park at East Leake for exactly the same reason, only this time it was thought that the spring brake on the curtainside trailer in question had actually failed.
They now have the dead head system fitted on all their trailers - that’s probably why . BTW, I used to live at East Leake. Why is it that Montacron insist on putting the trailer break halfway up the passenger side of their new trailers where you can’t ruddy reach it .
I have only been driving class 1 for two years, and from a safety point of view, irrespective of the more “seasoned” professionals, I always and will continue to apply the handbrake at all times prior to uncoupling. And when the time comes to couple I will always check to ensure thehandbrake is on… At the end of the day your neck is on the line, irrespective of what the previous user did or did not do.
If the trailer is well maintained and is free from defects like air leaks or in need of relining then it is or should not be nessarsary to apply the hand brake however the health and safety would want to know why it was not applied if anything went wrong anyway modern trailers come without hand brakes and taking the red airline off is the same as pushing or pulling the button!! ps i never put the hand brake on
I lost a work mate cos he didnt check the parking brake, rig started to roll forward and he tried to jump into cab, got his head squashed in the door, this happend at our Bristol depot about 7 yrs ago, Royal mail/ ParcelForce then fitted audible warnings to handbrakes, if they were left off and you opened the cab door, Had the trailer brake been on then this could have been avoided.
I’m afraid that I am one of the lazy ones.
I don’t normally apply the handbrake, unless the trailer-park is on a slope especially if the trailer has its rear down hill. The other time I will apply the handbrake is when I think that the trailer will be parked up for an extended period (like several weeks).
I have worked on a fleet which used very close coupled trailers, there it was normal to leave the parking brake on.
On level ground, for up to a week, I feel that a well mantained trailer is safe to be left on the automatic brakes. It is easy to feel when there is insufficient air left to keep the automatic brakes on, when you try to pick up a trailer. You can then either put the parking brake on or hook up your red air line for a few seconds.
smcaul:
I lost a work mate cos he didnt check the parking brake, rig started to roll forward and he tried to jump into cab, got his head squashed in the door, this happend at our Bristol depot about 7 yrs ago, Royal mail/ ParcelForce then fitted audible warnings to handbrakes, if they were left off and you opened the cab door, Had the trailer brake been on then this could have been avoided.
It is a tragic story and I was told about that bloke when I was training but just a note to the newbies if your rig starts to roll when you are coupling up PULL THE RED AIR LINE OFF AGAIN DO NOT TRY TO GET IN THE CAB!!!
then re-starting the full coupling up sequence check again 
to pick it up, I don’t really want to do it with a wall in the way/someone standing between it and the wall. Only time I don’t bother with it is when I know the trailers go what I think’s called a “dead head” device that locks the breaks on when the airlines are taken off.
