Finished ma shift the other day via agency, a driver (permanent driver) to come up to me and ask I do a 24h print out, I duly did (don’t know why) and he started to check it and started to ask when I did walk around check. Cut a long story short I didn’t do manual entry to go back to include when my shift started and to include when I started walk around checks.
He claimed it ‘was the law’ to have 15 mins walk around check which I’m pretty sure isn’t the case. He had a fair point about manual entry which I agreed was a mistake. At that point I asked who exactly he was, he dais a driver assessor. Anyway he duly went into the office and grassed me up to the transport manager who is an ar*e on a good day. Suffice to say he gave me an earful
It’s not law, but it good practice, if anything happened it’d be better to say ‘this was where I did my checks and didn’t see anything that could’ve caused that’…
BUT, as someone who lost his job for tacho not matching time sheets a few years back, I’d say it’s always worth doing a manual entry to cover anytime from your starting time, ie start at 6am, ■■■■ around in office for 25 mins whilst they decide which motor is most disgusting, walk to truck, put card in, do manual entry from 6am - present time of other work, then do walk round check, get comfy set up sat nav etc…
Cover ones arse so gits can’t use anything against you
good practise to do a walk round check and fill out a defect sheet, and I think it is a legal requirement, but there isn’t a specific time to do it in.
Foxstein:
good practise to do a walk round check and fill out a defect sheet, and I think it is a legal requirement, but there isn’t a specific time to do it in.
Oops, just to clarify, can see how my post can be misread, I didn’t mean it wasn’t law to do a walk round check, just not law to show 15mins of other work to do it.
It is however law to show all other work recorded on a tacho, not ness the digi, if you struggle with manual entries (thanks Stoneridge), you can just record it on a disc like the old days.
If any other driver, assessor or not, asked to look at my records in any form he would be be politely told to go away and mind his own ********ng business. Presumably the management download your card at the end of shift, it is then up to them to make plain to you what they expect in regard to recording walk round checks. When I have done Agency work in the past on hourly pay I would take as long as the firm specified, half an hour sometimes, no problem to me clock ticking away. Same goes for waiting for a job in drivers room- read paper, book, watch TV, go to sleep nothing I like better than getting paid for nowt.
Finished ma shift the other day via agency, a driver (permanent driver) to come up to me and ask I do a 24h print out, I duly did (don’t know why) and he started to check it and started to ask when I did walk around check. Cut a long story short I didn’t do manual entry to go back to include when my shift started and to include when I started walk around checks.
He claimed it ‘was the law’ to have 15 mins walk around check which I’m pretty sure isn’t the case. He had a fair point about manual entry which I agreed was a mistake. At that point I asked who exactly he was, he dais a driver assessor. Anyway he duly went into the office and grassed me up to the transport manager who is an ar*e on a good day. Suffice to say he gave me an earful
So is the 15 min walk around a legal obligation?
Think that is one driving assessor that needs to go back to school. He will probably be teaching the company drivers for thier DCPC!
wish it was me he asked, i would have put him back in his place!
and yeh would have loved to put him in place but realistically i would have been worse off. what really got me was that he kept going on about it. how that the company is currently at ‘green light’ with vosa so rarely get stopped, but if drivers get stopped and they see such errors then they will become amber adn then red causing more headaches for the ‘proper drivers aka full timers’ - furthermore he really didnt need to go back to office and grass me up, he went running in like a d*g … the transport guy said he would have me banned from every company site if i didnt do my checks, i tried to explain i DID DO CHECKs but made mistake of no manual entry, but as the other guy he got a stiffy when he realised he can throw his weight about and lo and behold he took full opportunity to get his freak on!
Jesus don’t they love the sound of their own voices, probably plead with the missus for a leg over in the same whining way and get sod all.
Some of our own regular full timers don’t have a clue how to do a manual entry, and to be perfectly honest if i had one of satans stonebridge crap things i wouldn’t be doing one either.
I recently had a run in with the shift foreman,who asked me why I took so long doing a changeover,I told him I was doing my vehicle check,he said it wasn’t necessary, so I asked for it in writing as I am also agency,but now it is on the drivers check sheet that u must show 15 minimum walk round check even on changeovers up to 30mins,this started when I did innovate at Worksop (shunters can be tw**s)I hate stonebridge also
You could give the truck an mot/service in 15 mins. Walk round check takes what 5mins max. I’ve never timed it mind but def not that long, unless your a very slow walker using your zimmer frame to walk round the truck! Lol.
If you are on different motors each day you might check that the tail lift works and curtain poles are going to release etc. There is no specified time but a Ford Transit wont take as long as an artic.
Have done 21 hrs DCPC, so far every trainer has mentioned daily checks,min 8 mins, max 15 mins to be shown on disc or digi,have checked VOSA books(2007)drivers hours&roadworthiness can’t see any mention!but I guess if said time is shown it may mitigate if a later check by VOSA throws up defects1
These are the words I was told by a DCPC guy (yeah, yeah, i know )
“”“Vosa will look for a period of “other work” every day before the truck moves to show that you have done your daily walk around check”“”
The 15 minute quote is a load of ■■■■■■■■!
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