The Royal international air show at Fairford last year.
they used to come into freightliner leeds depot to check visting lorries and were only allowered in if they didnt check any of freightliners own vehicles. 
jessicas dad:
they used to come into freightliner leeds depot to check visting lorries and were only allowered in if they didnt check any of freightliners own vehicles.
Thats shocking
Sugar Ray:
The Royal international air show at Fairford last year.
Wouldn’t you want them to check the coach or bus that your old Granny had travelled on to do a sponsored parachute jump?
Wheel Nut:
Sugar Ray:
The Royal international air show at Fairford last year.
Wouldn’t you want them to check the coach or bus that your old Granny had travelled on to do a sponsored parachute jump?
granny yes. mother in law on the other hand… 
busyboy:
Wake up lads and smell the coffee. You only have to read any of the trucking magazines to see the amount of UK truckers getting done by the law for poor maintenance records, tacho infringements, overloading, the list goes on and on. So get your ‘own house’ in order first before you start complaining about anyone else.
Whilst you’re right it also has to be said that the UK press mainly report on UK operators. Eire is known for having practically nil enforcement so its impossible to report on what is not enforced. Not that it has escaped VOSA attention though, they target the ports leading to Eire and they reckon lots of trucks that use it are not complying with the regs .Infact their figures prove the point.
Mike-C:
busyboy:
Wake up lads and smell the coffee. You only have to read any of the trucking magazines to see the amount of UK truckers getting done by the law for poor maintenance records, tacho infringements, overloading, the list goes on and on. So get your ‘own house’ in order first before you start complaining about anyone else.Whilst you’re right it also has to be said that the UK press mainly report on UK operators. Eire is known for having practically nil enforcement so its impossible to report on what is not enforced. Not that it has escaped VOSA attention though, they target the ports leading to Eire and they reckon lots of trucks that use it are not complying with the regs .Infact their figures prove the point.
Indeed the statistics do bear you out on that one but on many occasions they will find very minor faults, or even non existent ones, therefore bumping up the statistics and therefore giving themselves a reason to keep persecuting us. I was stopped twice last year, I avoid them all the time, some of our drivers get stopped twice a month, and they gave me a prohibition for a faulty steering joint. It was not faulty, but what can I do, argue with them? End up with more fake faults? I work for a company where time and cost is not an issue when it comes to maintenance yet they still keep finding faults.
As for the chap moaning about Southern Irish trucks working in the UK with no enforcement, wake up! The average Irish truck running round the UK gets much more in the way of on the road enforcement than UK ones. He obviously went to Ireland thinking he could get a bargain but you get what you pay for. Yes there are trucks in Ireland that are a bit rough but you won’t be seeing them in the UK. Pop to a busy UK RDC and have a look at the Irish trucks in there. The majority of the time I’d say they are better specced, cleaner and in better condition than the British trucks in there.
switchlogic:
Mike-C:
busyboy:
Wake up lads and smell the coffee. You only have to read any of the trucking magazines to see the amount of UK truckers getting done by the law for poor maintenance records, tacho infringements, overloading, the list goes on and on. So get your ‘own house’ in order first before you start complaining about anyone else.Whilst you’re right it also has to be said that the UK press mainly report on UK operators. Eire is known for having practically nil enforcement so its impossible to report on what is not enforced. Not that it has escaped VOSA attention though, they target the ports leading to Eire and they reckon lots of trucks that use it are not complying with the regs .Infact their figures prove the point.
Indeed the statistics do bear you out on that one but on many occasions they will find very minor faults, or even non existent ones, therefore bumping up the statistics and therefore giving themselves a reason to keep persecuting us. I was stopped twice last year, I avoid them all the time, some of our drivers get stopped twice a month, and they gave me a prohibition for a faulty steering joint. It was not faulty, but what can I do, argue with them? End up with more fake faults? I work for a company where time and cost is not an issue when it comes to maintenance yet they still keep finding faults.
As for the chap moaning about Southern Irish trucks working in the UK with no enforcement, wake up! The average Irish truck running round the UK gets much more in the way of on the road enforcement than UK ones. He obviously went to Ireland thinking he could get a bargain but you get what you pay for. Yes there are trucks in Ireland that are a bit rough but you won’t be seeing them in the UK. Pop to a busy UK RDC and have a look at the Irish trucks in there. The majority of the time I’d say they are better specced, cleaner and in better condition than the British trucks in there.
thats quite true that switch, the irish do run some tidy outfits and some of them prob spec them with all the bells and whistles, another thing about irish rigs is you never see 1 struggling up a hill, always flat out up hill down hill
VOSTAPO"S Dont ya just luv em 
To all the deliberate law breakers/repeat offenders in this industry - I hope VOSA screw the whole lot of you into the ground!
We’re not talking here about small infringements, small defects, or the occasional “oversight” (most of us are guilty of some of these), we’re talking about serious offences:
Deliberately putting vehicles and trailers on the road that are not roadworthy - risking the lives and limbs of others - to undercut others in order to make that extra buck.
Deliberately ignoring Drivers Hours & WTD regulations - risking the lives and limbs of others - to undercut others in order to make that extra buck.
Deliberately putting undue and unfair pressure on employees/drivers (particularly newbie drivers) to ignore serious lacks of maintenance on company vehicles and trailers, in order to “get the job done”, in the company’s quest to make that extra buck AND hold on to that “lucrative” contract. (If you’re a driver/employee who’s prepared to break the law for your precious employer, more fool you!)
There’s plenty more examples.
Hey! Guess what! We all have to “put food on the table”. We all have to pay those bills, rents and mortgages. And whilst most of us may not be squeaky clean, most of us stay on the right side of the law most of the time. Indeed, there are plenty who stay on the right side of the law all of the time.
To those of you who think VOSA are “scum”, “money makers”, “Vostapo” and all the rest of the crap that some of you write, week in week out on this forum - you’re either actively breaking the law regularly as a company owner, or you’re breaking it for that employer (because you haven’t got the balls to stand up to them), or you’re just an ill-informed fool who know’s nothing about the industry and how it really works.
Would you put your kids on that school trip bus if you knew it had have serious defects? Of course you wouldn’t.
VOSA are there for a reason - thank god.
DoYouMeanMe?:
What would happen if you walked back to your truck unaware they were checking it over and pulled off the bay injuring one, or belted him when you see someone messing about with your truck while you are away from it?
LOL “If in doubt, give him a clout”!!!
Without the ranty and the ravey I pretty mucg agree.
I just have one reservation regarding this bit . . . . . . . .
ANDY1961:
We’re not talking here about small infringements, small defects, or the occasional “oversight” (most of us are guilty of some of these), we’re talking about serious offences:
. . . and my reservation is the possibility of an enforcement officer (of any shade) being in the throes of PMT when he happens to pull me and sees the “small infringement or oversight” then slaps me for half a day’s pay - at least
so as been discussed we have all learned that vosa can indeed check trucks on private property but only if they have permission of the land owner to do so. if they dont then they can only check the land owners trucks. so if your sat in/on private property and vosa come and say they want inspect your charts/truck do you ask them if they have permission to be on site and to provide evidance of it or do as would and let them get on with it and question it later
ANDY1961:
To all the deliberate law breakers/repeat offenders in this industry - I hope VOSA screw the whole lot of you into the ground!We’re not talking here about small infringements, small defects, or the occasional “oversight” (most of us are guilty of some of these), we’re talking about serious offences:
Deliberately putting vehicles and trailers on the road that are not roadworthy - risking the lives and limbs of others - to undercut others in order to make that extra buck.
Deliberately ignoring Drivers Hours & WTD regulations - risking the lives and limbs of others - to undercut others in order to make that extra buck.
Deliberately putting undue and unfair pressure on employees/drivers (particularly newbie drivers) to ignore serious lacks of maintenance on company vehicles and trailers, in order to “get the job done”, in the company’s quest to make that extra buck AND hold on to that “lucrative” contract. (If you’re a driver/employee who’s prepared to break the law for your precious employer, more fool you!)
There’s plenty more examples.
Hey! Guess what! We all have to “put food on the table”. We all have to pay those bills, rents and mortgages. And whilst most of us may not be squeaky clean, most of us stay on the right side of the law most of the time. Indeed, there are plenty who stay on the right side of the law all of the time.
To those of you who think VOSA are “scum”, “money makers”, “Vostapo” and all the rest of the crap that some of you write, week in week out on this forum - you’re either actively breaking the law regularly as a company owner, or you’re breaking it for that employer (because you haven’t got the balls to stand up to them), or you’re just an ill-informed fool who know’s nothing about the industry and how it really works.
Would you put your kids on that school trip bus if you knew it had have serious defects? Of course you wouldn’t.
VOSA are there for a reason - thank god.
You see though the highlighted bit is the point. If you read many posts you’ll see that VOSA have lost respect because they keep hammering people for small, or even non-existent faults. I have first hand experience of this.
I’d say you have little experience of them or work for them. They used to be ok. I run bent in the past and they occasionally caught me, no problem with that. But now I don’t they are hell bent on finding something wrong.
You seem to see everything in a very black and white manner, much like VOSA, and life is not like that. When they start using a bit of discretion and making sensible choices on who to fine then my respect for them will return.
Just to set the record straight, Vosa examiners can enter any premises where a vehicle is present or being “kept” that they wish to examine, this includes any private premises.
If they didn’t have this right then drivers may be tempted to simply drive into private premises to avoid being checked. They do not need Police to be present and can check any static vehicle there. This right is in legislation, I think the Road Traffic Act. Refusal to allow access to any premises is obstruction in law as is a driver’s refusal to be checked in the premises.
indeed in 2009 vosa were granted with the power to enter any premisis in the line of duty as it says in this pdf http:// online.businesslink.gov.uk/Transport.../VOSA_Safe_Operators_Guide.pdf
it is so easy to get round this.
if you are on a bay, and a vosa man wants to talk to you, then you’re on a break, and he will have to wait.
if they pull you into the services, then park in the lorry park and tell him you were coming in anyway, and you are having a break.
four sodding hours i had to wait when they got me on the a34, well i couldn’t let them in the cab, i didn’t have a card in, and i had a wire on.
Thanks for all your input, guys. Some very interesting opinions here.
Alex