Hi all, started c+e course on Thursday , been driving class 2 for 10 years now and really enjoying it. Managed to save my pennies to start my class 1. 1st day was straight out on to the road, the unit and trailer was already running on the yard when I arrived and after a brief explanation of the dashboard controls etc. we were off. Instructor driving to start with. Changed over a few miles up the road and off we go, my first time at the wheel of an artic. All went really well on the road and after an hour or so we returned to the yard for reversing and un/recouple practice, so far so good. However during the recouple I could see 1 of the trailer tyres was far from legal!! (No tread visible over half width all round) pointed this out immediately to instructor and questioned who would have been responsible if we had been pulled? He insisted that as he was “in charge of the vehicle” he would bear the brunt. Is this really the case? The same trailer/tyre was used again yesterday on the road as they are waiting for a tyre to be fitted Monday a.m.!!
Btw as you can see I’ m new here so please be gentle with me! Thanks for reading
The person driving when stopped by plod is legally responsible and will get the fine and points
Other charges may also be brought against the owner and supervising driver/instructor
When I was instructing I would not go out with a defective vehicle - end of
Any training school that allows this should be named and shamed
I would not worry as Vosa would not target a trainer due to the hours of driving you will never go over a ten hour drive or not get enough daily rest as for the tyre it is his problem.
Hi Rog, thanks for confirming my thoughts. I’m not going to name and shame, at least not before test on Wednesday. Will let you know what happens on Monday.
toby1234abc:
I would not worry as Vosa would not target a trainer due to the hours of driving you will never go over a ten hour drive or not get enough daily rest as for the tyre it is his problem.
Take another dose of your pills.
If Vosa spot an unroadworthy vehicle, they will stop it as it is in the interests of public safety.
If its going to be changed before your test its not a major problem!
Maybe they couldn’t get it changed before then for some reason? What if the other option was to cancel your training as they didn’t have a suitable vehicle ?
ROG:
When I was instructing I would not go out with a defective vehicle - end ofAny training school that allows this should be named and shamed
+1 on this.
Defeats the object by teaching trainees “driver’s daily checks” and allowing an un-roadworthy vehicle onto the roads!
Denis F:
If its going to be changed before your test its not a major problem!Maybe they couldn’t get it changed before then for some reason? What if the other option was to cancel your training as they didn’t have a suitable vehicle ?
Then the company should cancel the training instead of letting an illegal vehicle out onto the road where the learner could get points for driving it
Before saying the tyre is illegal the tread needs to be measured with a tyre depth gauge.
1mm is not a lot of tread!
burnie1:
1mm is not a lot of tread!
I thought that too. I wouldn’t however have continued any further in that vehicle myself if it was illegal although how much attention do the authorites pay to training vehicles on the road in reality?
mrpj:
burnie1:
1mm is not a lot of tread!I thought that too. I wouldn’t however have continued any further in that vehicle myself if it was illegal although how much attention do the authorites pay to training vehicles on the road in reality?
Generally not a lot probably because they know that the DSA examiners give the vehicles a good look over before each test
An absolute disgrace! It is the responsibility of owner, driver and instructor to make sure the truck is roadworthy. I am amazed that the OP took the vehicle out without looking around it. I’m disgusted that the instructor didn’t check the vehicle with the candidate and I hope the owner of the vehicle is aware of the situation ie that vehicles are being used without being checked.
Our vehicles are checked before every training session. That’s 3 times a day. I carry out random checks every few days. They have full workshop inspections (generally known as 6 weekly checks for “working” trucks) every 2 weeks. And in the unlikely event of something being wrong, I can sleep at night.
It’s true that VOSA don’t tend to stop training vehicles, though they have had campaigns in years gone by because of shoddy maintainence. It’s also true that some examiners will look at training vehicles when presented for test. But this does not absolve anyone from making sure the truck is in a proper condition.
Sadly, candidates are swayed by price and end up with cheap trainers. But it’s clear to me that some trainers are running at a loss which begs questions about how they can afford to replace tyres etc.
Sometimes it pays to spend a bit more for quality.
Pete 
Completely without question agree with Peter. A training vehicle while not subject to O licence conditions should be 100% fit for purpose. New tyres start life around 7mm and while the legal limit is 1mm they should be either changed or recut anywhere near 3mm
The driver will be responsible if a problem occurs. This is a Construction and Use issue. It is an ABSOLUTE offence meaning the tyres are legal or not and if not there is no defence.
If seen before the test by an examiner at a VOSA/DSA test centre the VOSA people will be asked for their opinion. At this level of problem the test is unlikely to happen and a PG9 prohibition notice issued.
Be very careful of trainers that worry more about profit than vehicle maintenance. Do you imagine they care about your result.