my dad works for a reputable firm very good job all new trailers units etc
he drives a 03plate (soon to b replaced for a new 1) mercedes actros and he noticed tha it has cracks in the 2 front discs and took it to road range and was told
"tha it is servicable " the wagon isnt due for service for another 6 weeks he told his transport office and they have gone on the word of the fitter that it is safe to use until the wagon is due for its next inspection
as 4 me being a time served fitter any wagon that had cracked discs we changed straight away as they can crumble under pressure
i personally wudnt drive it my dad is the laid bak type but i think its dangerous like, but if the mercedes fitter says its ok then my dad said he wil jus carry on drivin the wagon
you’d be pretty suprised at the allowance on cracks as specified by mecedes…when we attended training at milton keynes we had a 3 day training course on brakes of which we spent about 1/2 a day on discs and what was and was not acceptable…merc issued us with plenty of colour photographs in a manual,complete with measurements.
merc discs are good quality and well designed…not like a certain trailer disc brake that breaks on a regular basis across the fins internally leaving the disc in 2 parts and the brake jammed on.
I think that in this day and age of much more durable materials, I’d probably trust the fitter.
6 weeks isn’t that long to service, as long as they promise to change them then.
I’d keep a tab on them every time its possible to check them, if I notice it getting worse then I’d say it has to be fixed before I go out again.
But as has been said, these things can take some punishment!
Or you can always ask for a second opinion, drop by a Merc dealer en route somewhere and see what they say, if they are knackered ring the boss and say I stopped because they were acting funny, and they’ve told me to get them replaced instantly.
I’d never advise anyone to take a risk they didn’t feel comfortable with, but the fitter is the trained one and if we don’t trust them, then surely the whole system is a crock!?
ino discs r made to take punishment and the merc fitter probably see’s this week in week out but av been a fitter for 7 years b4 i became a driver this year and once we see a cracked disc either on truck or trailer they were changed there and then !
mark h:
ino discs r made to take punishment and the merc fitter probably see’s this week in week out but av been a fitter for 7 years b4 i became a driver this year and once we see a cracked disc either on truck or trailer they were changed there and then !
There’s a conflict here though Mark, straightaway. Even small cracks which could be tolerated would be changed by a fitter as its in their interests to do? Its like going to Quickfit with your car and they tell you your pads need changing as they are ‘x’ amount millimetres even though you could easily get through another 6 months without renewing them. My car was MOT’d in July 2006 and was given a note that my brake pads would need changing soon (can’t remember the technical term). I never bothered, ok i’ll get slated maybe i should of. It went to the same test centre, same guy in July 2007 and passed no problem. I’m still on the same pads? Ultimateley there is two people who are going to decide and thats the driver taking it out (assuming he knows, as he does in this case) and the VOSA mechs who pull him, then its down to a court backed upby a second opinion?
There is such a book called the VOSA inspection manual, I have one at work, I also did the VOSA inspection course, I’ll check it out tommorrow but I’m pretty sure sure 3mm cracks are a no no, if I remember they have to be a certain length as well, if outside these limits the enemy will issue a prohibition.
I got pulled by vosa on the A75. They told me i had a cracked disk but would give me 7 days to get it fixed. I asked how the foo they could give me 7 days for something like that. Oh it’s not that bad, He said.
Well to cut a long story short. The disk broke in 3 places about 200 miles later. That mechanic of yours should get a kicking and an ■■■■ probing off big daddy.
I don’t understand why vosa can give a delayed prohibition for a cracked disk but an immediate one for a blown side light bulb.
Maybe your dad could ask his transport manager to give him a written letter
stating that he has informed them of this,and hes not happy to drive it even
though the fitter says it ok ? they may well then have second thoughts and
get them replaced ? If the vehicle has an accident your dad and the TM
manager will be liable as i understand current legislation.
DEANB:
Maybe your dad could ask his transport manager to give him a written letter
stating that he has informed them of this,and hes not happy to drive it even
though the fitter says it ok ? they may well then have second thoughts and
get them replaced ? If the vehicle has an accident your dad and the TM
manager will be liable as i understand current legislation.
his transport manager is based fleetwood, he runs from seaforth docks therefore meanin the TM cnt actually give his opinion, the wagon is due in in a few weeks so he said he wil just live with it.
limeyphil:
I got pulled by vosa on the A75. They told me i had a cracked disk but would give me 7 days to get it fixed. I asked how the foo they could give me 7 days for something like that. Oh it’s not that bad, He said.
Well to cut a long story short. The disk broke in 3 places about 200 miles later. That mechanic of yours should get a kicking and an ■■■■ probing off big daddy.
i hope tha doesnt happen to my dad or any other driver 4 that matter !!
Chattin 2 someone close who has been sacked for reporting a brake defect warning light. He spoke to the fitter’s who said carry on your the 3rd person to report it in 2 day’s, he wasn’t happy and took it back to depot.
After 3 disiplinary’s over that issue he is now sacked. He is taking to unfair dismissal etc
Your comments please, for the record he wasn’t carrying bean’s etc but people as it’s a psv licence. (Told u it was off topic)Talk about ■■■■ turpin holding these type of vehicle up .
I recommended his present course of action and a word with vosa’s T/A to discuss the merits of driving a large vehicle full of people around with a possbly faulty set of brakes, seems the company were happy they had 10 days to fix it.
Just out of interest if your going on holiday in a plane with a cracked windscreen, would you take the chance on a 10 day advisory ? . Or want it rectifying pretty pronto ?
speedyguy:
…if your going on holiday in a plane with a cracked windscreen, would you take the chance on a 10 day advisory ? :? . Or want it rectifying pretty pronto ?..
An aircraft with a windscreen snag might do a trip with a suitably correlated altitude or cabin pressurisation condition applied. However, it would never start an engine if there was doubt over a suspect wheel, tyre or brake defect.
Cracks never fix themselves. Finding out the consequences of failure in any vehicle is (with my little bit of an aircraft engineering background) most unreasonable to ask.
Where does the driver stand legally if?
He is driving a vehicle with a defect of which he is aware.
His boss tells him to carry on.
The vehicle is involved in a serious RTA.
All drivers have a duty of care to all other road users so does this put the driver in breach of that duty and liable to prosecution?I believe so. (though I have been wrong before,)
I refused to take a truck that had gone to MOT (I was present at the MOT) the truck failed on brake performance, nothing major, just accumulated brake dust .
Although the truck still had a valid MOT that had not expired I refused under threat of the sack to take the truck out until the brakes had been cleaned and the truck was re- presented for MOT as I couldnt argue that I was not aware of the fault and I’d have been up the creek without a paddle if the truck had been involved in an accident where the brake performance could have been a contributing factor.
Kell:
…Where does the driver stand legally if…the vehicle is involved in a serious RTA…’
I’d argue that it couldn’t be an RTA, ie ‘accident’ since the definition of accident in the OED is:
- noun 1 an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally. 2 an incident that happens by chance or without apparent cause. 3 chance.
Whilst it would certainly be unfortunate, the occurrence wouldn’t be ‘unexpected’, a stroke of ‘chance’ nor without ‘apparent cause’.
The term ‘accident’ is arguably overused by folk/society not owning either it’s responsibility or culpability.
H&SAW can be dull at times but the simple matter of fully appreciating a literal definition might persuade a bullying TM that his wagons are potential deathtraps when he hides behind a vehicle MoT ticket that he is blandly sending you out with …but is in fact fifty weeks & umpteen thousand km’s old.
If a driver had a serious accident, knowing the vehicle had a serious defect, he would be prosecuted for manslaughter, along with the M/D of the company. The T/M would also be brought before the justices.
I assume the discs are on the front axle (dont know why) but thats your life theyre playing with, i wouldnt drive that vehicle with a serious defect, and the same goes for re-moulds on a front axle.
I always carry the number of VOSA, and a swift call to them often brings results, your anonynity is secured, and they will meet you on the road if you wish…but report them for your own safety. you do not have to drive a defective vehicle.
I don’t understand why vosa can give a delayed prohibition for a cracked disk but an immediate one for a blown side light bulb. 
. Or want it rectifying pretty pronto ?