the subject says, what’s most likely to shift a load ? its obvious a Bedford
Just a pointer on the auto braking systems…
When I worked for Stagecoach these devices were phased in as new coaches turned up. To start with they’d lock on for things not even involving you, like it would slam on st a roundabout because it didn’t recognise you were turning away from the hazard in front of you.
It came to a head when so sone went flying and cracked their head open. Of course they had no comeback because they weren’t wearing a seatbelt but it sparked Volvo into life and they went to all sites and upgraded the software and they were fine after that.
But it caused sufficient doubt in the minds of drivers to the point where they switched these devices off. Understandably so given the fault. This again came to a head when a coach was involved in a crash in the M6 near to Spaghetti junction (Google it while I fnd a link) where ideas found the device was turned off and the driver was prosecuted for it and it was cited as a reason for giving a heavier punishment. The company solicitors believed this was a precedent so challenged it and cutting the long story short the sentence was reduced and guidance was then issued by DVSA/Police saying that in future if these systems aren’t applied as intended then penalties resulting from a collision will be heavier.
wanderingstar:
Winseer - great list. What’s the issue with potholes and braking?
You know when you follow a learner driver, and they hit the brakes at every little bump?
There is a reflex among newly qualified drivers to brake when they see a big hole in their path.
This same reflex comes into play when you get say, a front wheel blowout…
The worst thing you can do is brake, almost as bad is accelerate, - and the best thing you can do is coast, i.e. just take your foot off all pedals for a moment. Don’t try and steer, neither!
Soft drinks are a bloody nightmare for moving, the stacks of bottles are inherently unstable and the cans are too slippery so they slide on the cases below, better packaging is needed to avoid them shifting, a bit of sticky stuff on the can packaging would be so much better, but for all the hundreds of loads moved without a problem and the fact that the haulier has to pay for the restack, why would the manufacturers go to the trouble?
I shot a load of Coke going to Waitrose once, a car pulled out of a side road in front of me and immediately braked to let another car turn right out of a factory gate, I had backed off, not expecting the car to pull out and stop dead in front of me, so I had to stop quick, the load didn’t stop as fast though.
If you ever delivered to Waitrose in Bracknell you’d know that the pallets had to be stacked in a particular way as they had a weird system that turned the pallets upside down and replaced the pallet with a flat board which rolled on a roller bed into the warehouse. Because of this there were only 9 cases to a layer, rather than 10. This meant each pallet had a 2" gap around all sides, well I closed up those gaps and coincidentally 24plts with a 2" gap each side meant that I made the load 48" shorter down both sides of the trailer, the two back pallets were completely empty!
To make matters worse, the firm I worked for did the restacking to Waitrose specifications and less than 20mins after leaving the yard I returned with all their hard work destroyed, the warehouse chaps were not very happy to see me to put it mildly.
On the plus side, I got an early finish that day as relations were a little strained and my presence during the restacking process was only going to escalate things as both the warehouse bloke and I were rather hot headed in those days and we were never the best of friends in the first place.
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toonsy:
Just a pointer on the auto braking systems…When I worked for Stagecoach these devices were phased in as new coaches turned up. To start with they’d lock on for things not even involving you, like it would slam on st a roundabout because it didn’t recognise you were turning away from the hazard in front of you.
It came to a head when so sone went flying and cracked their head open. Of course they had no comeback because they weren’t wearing a seatbelt but it sparked Volvo into life and they went to all sites and upgraded the software and they were fine after that.
But it caused sufficient doubt in the minds of drivers to the point where they switched these devices off. Understandably so given the fault. This again came to a head when a coach was involved in a crash in the M6 near to Spaghetti junction (Google it while I fnd a link) where ideas found the device was turned off and the driver was prosecuted for it and it was cited as a reason for giving a heavier punishment. The company solicitors believed this was a precedent so challenged it and cutting the long story short the sentence was reduced and guidance was then issued by DVSA/Police saying that in future if these systems aren’t applied as intended then penalties resulting from a collision will be heavier.
It’s retarded. If they engaged their brains before dishing out punishments they would quickly see that a driver would be more than happy to have an additional driving aid if it actually worked like it should and not throw up false positives. If the driver has switched it off then that should tell them that there is a problem with it which is causing it to be a hindrance rather than a help.
I’ve had it happen to me twice in MAX TGXs where I’ve been driving along a road at some speed and a vehicle in front is easing off to peel off at a slip exit on an A-road. I’ve been fully prepared to brake or move over to the right if necessary but I’ve judged from the other vehicle’s speed and angle of the exit that they will be clear before I get to them (if that makes sense), so I maintain my position and all is good… Well it would be if the truck didn’t decide it knew better and blared the collision siren at me and then a second later promptly slam on the brakes and nearly launch me through the windscreen even though the ■■■■■■■ car is already on the exit slip! 
Naturally this [zb]wittery resulted in entirely predictable results in the back of the trailer along with a bollocking from the warehouse staff who just assume that you can’t drive for toffee, but then you get another bollocking from the office because the MAN Microlise software puts a big red flag up on their screens telling them that Rob K nearly had a big crash a few hours earlier . If the software worked properly then it should have detected that there was never any threat of a collision because the car was clear of my path well before I got to it.
It’s like nearly all “driver aids” these days (car & truck) - the theory behind them is usually solid, but the execution of them is terrible and they end up being more of a hindrance than a help. You can find fault with all of them; push button keyless starts, auto stop-start, adaptive CC, auto gearboxes, electric handbrakes, rain sensing wipers, soft touch indicators etc etc. None of them work well enough (perhaps with the exception of the I-shift in the Volvo and Renaults) that your life is easier with them than without. In most cases they cause you additional aggro because they are so poorly executed and they try to solve problems that never existed. Whilst I’ll openly admit to being a bit of a luddite, no-one can honestly say that an electric handbrake on an artic is better than the traditional manual lever which has worked fine since time began. Similarly, no-one right in their head can say that rain sensing wipers have ever worked better than having a manual stalk either with the interval toggle switch built in, or the method of setting the interval by turning the wipers on briefly for the interval you wish to set.
Winseer - thanks for clarifying - I will try and remember that. And thanks to the rest of you for the additional info and thoughts on automatic braking systems and soft drinks loading, etc. Lots for me to think about there. This forum is so useful for me as an inexperienced driver to benefit from your knowledge and wisdom. Thanks again.