VOSA first

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

I was working today (Sunday) and actually saw the VOSA flagging down, weighing and doing vehicle/driver checks(jcn 20 M62). As I work quite often on Sundays and this is the first time I’ve seen the VOSA (ministry/VI etc) working on a Sunday, has anybody else seen them working outside office hours before.

I wonder if they will start working nights and catch some of the speed merchants that used to pass me only a regular basis, when trunking upto Scotland.

Don’t think Tesco’s will be to happy, I went past the weigh bridge three times today and they had a tesco vehicle in there every time :slight_smile: anyone who knows the area will know that there are two large wincanton run tesco depots around the corner.

2

theyll be just checking to see if theyve got anything worth eating on the trailer. :laughing: and i would of thought vosa have to be seen to be doing somthing for the accountants and to justify their exsistance :wink:

3

In the days of them having a different name, whatever it was that week they use to try to be sneaky and catch us coming off the Zeebrugge / Felixstowe ferry on sunday morning. Most of the time we were overweight with loads for the tankfarm. I have seen them out at Dover (Whitfield?) as well.

4

Given thier proven ability to spot faults that cannot be detected in the way they claim to have done.i.e with out dismataling etc, I’m surprised they still need to go out & even be there.
VOSA defect camera’s, “in our opinion at that time, having seen it pass our camera, we had, in our opinion, justifaction for defecting it , due to it’s UK reg”

5

It’s nearly the end of the month and they havent reached thier targets.

6

Wheel Nut:
Zeebrugge / Felixstowe ferry on sunday morning. Most of the time we were overweight with loads for the tankfarm. I have seen them out at Dover (Whitfield?) as well.

.

MMMM did you used to work for Norman?

7

working on a Sunday, has anybody else seen them working outside office hours before.

has anyone seen them working :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

8

MMMM did you used to work for Norman?

MMMM that narrows it down to half the population of Euroland.

I did do time at Hensall

9

]I did do time at Hensall[/size]
AHH but did you learn anything while you were doing your time?

Reckon i probably know you,i was there 5 years all told!

10

I think i left there in 97/98 memory block with sniffing paracresol

pm me with your name or truck no

11

I left there ages before you,think it would be around 1992 or so

12

I got directed into the checkpoint at Warwick MSA today. No guilty conscience on my part and found all of them, including the Traffic Copper, pleasant and good humoured. I had a bulb out — no probs. Mentioned the two stops last month by the miserable French gendarmes and they went out of their way to show they ain’t so bad!

13

spaceman:
I got directed into the checkpoint at Warwick MSA today. No guilty conscience on my part and found all of them, including the Traffic Copper, pleasant and good humoured. I had a bulb out — no probs. Mentioned the two stops last month by the miserable French gendarmes and they went out of their way to show they ain’t so bad!

it goes to show they are human. i believe if you go in to these check points with the wrong attitude they will make life hard for you. it’s better to be pleasant with these people as they are only doing the job which they are employed to do. also they are looking after your best interest’s,if there is a potential problem with your vehicle these guys will point it out so you can get it sorted. :wink:

14

Kitkat — totally agree. A surly attitude just brings out that fight or flight thing we all have. I’d be ecstatic to be stopped for 10mins every week — that would really put the Cowboys on the back foot! I must be a really sad case ‘cause I enjoyed the chat.

One of the Vosa chaps did make a comment that there was too much weight on the back axle (without weighing it). I explained the payload, the load, how I’d loaded it etc (all pretty friendly) and he was okay with it. Possibly makes a difference that its my vehicle/o’licence and I had nothing to be stressed about.

I’m pretty chuffed that I’ve been through both UK & Europe “tugs” without any major problems. It’s a big credit to my maintenance guys.

15

I remember in my early truck driving days I’d cocked up on my weekly rest and hadn’t had enough off. I got stopped up in Jockland and the VI wanted to see my tacho’s. No problem, but then he asked for the rest one of the previous week. I had it with me but knew I’d get nobbled so I told him that I was agency and had been on holiday for 4 weeks and this was my first week back. He didn’t know any different so that was the end of it.

IMHO, other than checking for defective vehicles mechanically, they’re a waste of space, the lot of them. I’ve heard more tales over this past few months from owner drivers that are running bent 24/7 to put some money in the pot that I could write a book.

The latest one was last week. The driver in question was up at 0550 on this particular day to move his wagon onto the bay (without a card in). He’d finished at midnight the night before. He was tipped by 0830, waited 30 mins until 0900 then put his card in. Worked until 0010 net morning, took his card out, got a few hours sleep, got up at 0350, put his tacho clock forward 3hrs 10mins and then set off at 0400 for a 0600 delivery 2hrs away. Tipped and then carried on as normal and did another 15hrs.

The VI never seem to catch these though do they :question:

The lad I was down in Chichester with on Thursday night was meant to be on a night out. He’d done his hours, both spread over and nearly 10hrs driving. He said to me, “I shouldn’t even be on a night out tonight and I’m not doing it in an FL6 for no-one” (can’t blame him really there :laughing: ). With that he set off and drove back to Hemel Hempstead. :angry:

I’m all for VI/VOSA checks. If you run legal you’ve nothing to worry about.

I’m not afraid to admit it because I would never use it and never have done, but I once had in my possesion a “device” for the early FH and FM model Volvo’s which when “activated” totally knocks out the rev counter, speedo, tacho and mileometer when you’re driving. So all you do when you’re due for a 45 minute break or say, have run out of driving hours to get back to base on a Friday night, is pull into the service area and stop, “activate” this device, set off again and do your 45 minutes driving (to look like you’ve taken a 45 min break), pull over again and stop, “de-activate” the device and carry on and you’re a further 45 mins driving up the road with your tacho showing that you’ve been stopped for 45 mins.

The VI/VOSA don’t check for this sort of abuse do they :angry:

Far too many loop-holes :open_mouth:

16

rob,vosa are not out to catch the good guy’s,these so called driver’s will get caught one day.i used to go down to carlisle every week and a well known haulage company up here in scotland used to send a couple of trunk’s to birmingham and back,single manned.now you and i both know that birmingham is a two man job.they used to fly past me within seconds they where gone. i had the opportunity to speak to one of there dayshift drivers one day and he was telling me that these guy’s used to set the tacho from the inside.apparently there are a few buttons inside and if you know the sequence you can set the tacho so that it shows 56mph no matter what speed your doing.i asked what the companies ruling on this was, and he said they don’t care because the frt was getting delivered, and if the vosa stopped them then the would deny all knowledge of it. :wink: