A certain trailer pass scheme

[Farma Parma]

Are there enough facilities to do this brake testing, would you want to travel say 30 miles with every trailer to have the brakes tested? used to have a 3 to 4 hour round trip to get trucks tested, although now there are nearer places they are often very busy I'm told.

ive been told by a trailer brake man that unless the trailer is on Air Brakes its pretty much a waste of time doing any sort of Brake Test with Hydraulic ones.
yet the hydraulic ones on all of mine do there job fine afaik, yes there not fail safe i dont disagree there. but the do help bring things to a safe stop.

 

[Andrew]

The accident being referred to happened very close to our yard, and was the reason this scheme was set up, I believe the final verdict was inadequate brakes.

An annual inspection, if done right, would not cost the earth, brake testing is £20 at a HGV centre or £120 on farm.
What we need is for all the bodies involved to stop fighting amongst themselves scoring points against each other and stick up for our industry. If the NFU, NAAC, BAGMA, Tilly all devised a standard test, set a price cap on it, then if and when a test is introduced, it will probably be that one.
However if the current attitude continues, DVSA will think up an overly complicated, overly expensive arrangement and we will all suffer,

 

[Cowabunga]

The accident being referred to happened very close to our yard, and was the reason this scheme was set up, I believe the final verdict was inadequate brakes.

An annual inspection, if done right, would not cost the earth, brake testing is £20 at a HGV centre or £120 on farm.
What we need is for all the bodies involved to stop fighting amongst themselves scoring points against each other and stick up for our industry. If the NFU, NAAC, BAGMA, Tilly all devised a standard test, set a price cap on it, then if and when a test is introduced, it will probably be that one.
However if the current attitude continues, DVSA will think up an overly complicated, overly expensive arrangement and we will all suffer,

Yeah right! Just like the NFU helped set up Farm Assurance Standards.

 

[Andrew]

Yeah right! Just like the NFU helped set up Farm Assurance Standards.

My point exactly. Very few of our so called representative bodies actually have our industries interests at heart.

However - the two national bodies for steel stockholders and timber etc have produced guides to securing loads on lorries, and that now forms an integral part (in fact it copies verbatim) of the dvsa guide to load security for these items. Despite our poor views of government, they will often listen to representative organisations and listen to their advice and recommendations, so it is possible.

 

[Exfarmer]

Was that not the one with the young inexperienced driver speeding down hill to a roundabout or am I thinking of another? Whenever there is a fatality, elf and safety want to blame and prosecute someone other than the deceased whether the deceased was partly or wholly to blame or not. The buck stops with the owner and employer.
Far too many employers are blazé about this and their responsibility both to train, maintain and evaluate the capability of an employee to do the job. Far and away too many employers are themselves inadequate and also thus often employ absolutely clueless muppets to do potentially dangerous jobs, including but not exclusively driving tractors at speed. This is no reflection on your example, just the way it is. Having numpties run kit, any kit and at every level from the owner/manager to the operators, is the major problem which drills down to neither recognising danger points that may or may not be a requirement, to maintain their kit in good order on a daily basis before and during use.

As I understand, the trailer had no effective brakes.

 

[snarling bee]

As I understand, the trailer had no effective brakes.

Correct.

 

[Boohoo]

I think a mandatory MOT scheme will be inevitable given the clownsmanship seen on social media with 50k + tractors + 20 t + trailers causing havoc about the countryside. Tractors for fields, lorries for roads, Weeks 3 ton trailers and Ford 4000's for proper farmers.

Can I have a Fraser and a David Brown please?

 

[gone up the hill]

The accident being referred to happened very close to our yard, and was the reason this scheme was set up, I believe the final verdict was inadequate brakes.

An annual inspection, if done right, would not cost the earth, brake testing is £20 at a HGV centre or £120 on farm.
What we need is for all the bodies involved to stop fighting amongst themselves scoring points against each other and stick up for our industry. If the NFU, NAAC, BAGMA, Tilly all devised a standard test, set a price cap on it, then if and when a test is introduced, it will probably be that one.
However if the current attitude continues, DVSA will think up an overly complicated, overly expensive arrangement and we will all suffer,

Aye right £120.... Pics on FB of trailers being inspected under this scheme, well they are saying every tyre has to come off and then they can inspect the brakes etc, no way in hell it will be done for £20 Tyre and that's before they find an imaginary list of work that they say needs doing but doesn't actually need doing!

And its not just brakes they are checking, they are going thru everything including wear on the hitch, pic of one on FB they claim is dangerous and needs changing, yet it still has the paint on it from when it came out of the factory 2 years ago... and so it will go on....

 

[davidroberts30]

Can I have a Fraser and a David Brown please?

Ahh you want "some" brakes
Try a Leyland or zetor with next to none and you soon learn to drive properly

 

[deleted user 436632456]

ll very well saying farm machinery should be inspected every 12 months/ be treated like HGV's, the problem is that who is going to pay all this extra costs?? as there certainly isnt the margin in farming to cover them! even a small/ average size farm could have 10/15 machines that would have to be inspected yearly which could easily cost 10K+ in total even if there isnt much that needs doing!

Under PUWER 98 (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) you must have work equipment inspected regularly by an competent person,
A competent person is someone who has the skills and practical knowledge to carry out a safety inspection.
Safety inspections are an essential part of any business, I carry out PUWER inspections on our own agri equipment and document them.

I just can't stand when some of these schemes make it look like its "Law" that you have to chose their scheme.

 

[snarling bee]

If you speak to 'Joe Public' they are shocked that there is no annual test on tractors or trailers, and that you can drive them all on the road with a car license at 17.
My feeble reply is that we are only allowed to do 25mph, as owners we are legally obliged to keep them in fully roadworthy condition, and a 17 yr old can also drive a Ferrari capable of 200mph (if he could get insurance)

 

[gone up the hill]

Under PUWER 98 (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) you must have work equipment inspected regularly by an competent person,
A competent person is someone who has the skills and practical knowledge to carry out a safety inspection.
Safety inspections are an essential part of any business, I carry out PUWER inspections on our own agri equipment and document them.

I just can't stand when some of these schemes make it look like its "Law" that you have to chose their scheme.

NFU push that you have to have telehandlers/ loader tractors inspected yearly by law with a company/scheme they are pushing? is that actually law they have to be inspected by these people or can the farmer carry out their own checks and that satisfy's the above law you quote?

 

[Drillman]

Yeah right! Just like the NFU helped set up Farm Assurance Standards.

And how long before said farm assurance gestapo decide to make trailer brake testing a non conformance?

 

[Boohoo]

Ahh you want "some" brakes
Try a Leyland or zetor with next to none and you soon learn to drive properly

Never had the pleasure of either but I rarely touch the brake pedal so neither should prove much of a challenge.

 

[snarling bee]

Under PUWER 98 (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) you must have work equipment inspected regularly by an competent person,
A competent person is someone who has the skills and practical knowledge to carry out a safety inspection.
Safety inspections are an essential part of any business, I carry out PUWER inspections on our own agri equipment and document them.

I just can't stand when some of these schemes make it look like its "Law" that you have to chose their scheme.

Unfortunately not everybody is as conscientious and as capable as you are. Many would not check their machinery, particularly trailers, from one year to the next.

 

[deleted user 436632456]

NFU push that you have to have telehandlers/ loader tractors inspected yearly by law with a company/scheme they are pushing? is that actually law they have to be inspected by these people or can the farmer carry out their own checks and that satisfy's the above law you quote?

LOLER is very much a LAW, annual inspection by a competent person!!!
The person needs to be impartial and can't be the mechanic i.e. you cant audit your own work.

Anyone competent can do it, but they have to stand over it!
I used to do quite a few but got fed up with the "Sure just send me a cert"

 

[Andrew]

Aye right £120.... Pics on FB of trailers being inspected under this scheme, well they are saying every tyre has to come off and then they can inspect the brakes etc, no way in hell it will be done for £20 Tyre and that's before they find an imaginary list of work that they say needs doing but doesn't actually need doing!

And its not just brakes they are checking, they are going thru everything including wear on the hitch, pic of one on FB they claim is dangerous and needs changing, yet it still has the paint on it from when it came out of the factory 2 years ago... and so it will go on....

Notice I said brake testing. I was told BAGMA is £120 per trailer if you have three done in a day on farm. Roller brake test is £10/axle in just about any HGV shop. Correcting the results of a failure is a different kettle of fish.

NFU push that you have to have telehandlers/ loader tractors inspected yearly by law with a company/scheme they are pushing? is that actually law they have to be inspected by these people or can the farmer carry out their own checks and that satisfy's the above law you quote?

It is the law that they have to be inspected by a competent person, but that person cannot be the one carrying out routine maintenance, and the definition of competent is very wooly. If you feel you could defend yourself in court, and your labourer does the repairs, then as I understand it there is no reason you cannot do the LOLER inspection yourself.

I believe this is the point the OP was making - some companies have dubious marketing techniques preying on the farmer who isn't aware of the rules. However this goes on in all parts of society.

 

[gone up the hill]

LOLER is very much a LAW, annual inspection by a competent person!!!
The person needs to be impartial and can't be the mechanic i.e. you cant audit your own work.

Anyone competent can do it, but they have to stand over it!
I used to do quite a few but got fed up with the "Sure just send me a cert"

So could a farmer inspect the machine for Loler if he does not do any repairs on the machine him/herself or would that not be classed as impartial enough?

 

[ajd132]

More than happy to do regular trailer MOT’s if it means us with decent gear can crack on and not be dragged down be the utter shambles of set ups I’ve seen often posted online.

 

[Will Blackburn]

I think a mandatory MOT scheme will be inevitable given the clownsmanship seen on social media with 50k + tractors + 20 t + trailers causing havoc about the countryside. Tractors for fields, lorries for roads, Weeks 3 ton trailers and Ford 4000's for proper farmers.

You just need a speed gun and weigh bridge to sort em out. A piece of paper doesn’t keep the loads and speeds legal, unless it’s a summons.