Sobering thought for the day

njneer

Member
Modern trucks are EBS now , as failsafe for yellow line failure.

Measuring truck applied brake position and relaying to the EBS/ ABS module on the trailer electronically through ISO and ABS line and comparing it with the yellow line pressure into the trailer control valve so if truck applied pressure is substantially higher than that being fed into the valve from the yellow line it will electronically apply the brakes to match those of the truck by diverting the stored air from the trailer tanks through the valve to apply the brakes .
Clever stuff.
Need to look out my Wabco notes , been a while .
 

Ley253

Member
Location
Bath
Evidence also showed that the indicator was probably on,(bulb filament deformation), and nobody saw that either.
The direction of travel was also into the sun.

So would you condone allowing a trailer on the road with inoperative brakes? Facts agreed by the defence expert.
Not at all, but, as things stand, there is no evidence that the brakes were ever applied.If that is the case, then the condition /adjustment has no bearing on the accident. The trailer brakes should be considered as a roadside examination infringement, and all reference to the accident deleted














Now, if a tachograph had been fitted...............! ( trench dug, and Tin hat in place)
 

Honest john

Member
Location
Fenland
By reading the witness statements now in court & in the past news reports, i am minded to think the brake peddles were unlocked.

From the car drivers behind the trailer, started snaking & went two wheel spilling some grain. Then dropped back on four wheels.

The young lads had problems piping up this trailer, if the trailer brake pipe was connected it still should be after the crash with a broken pipe. We must assume it was, as has not been reported other wise.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
Reading through this thread is making me think we need to implement a daily operator check sheet like we used to do when we ran HGV’s at the start of every day where we will use public highway with our machinery

We keep maintenance and service records of all machinery but no record of daily checks
It makes sense to me, and is good practice to have a wander round before you start the day. How many of us have had lads turn up in the field with soft tyres etc?
 

njneer

Member
True, the replacement for the old blue line. Saying that, in 34 hears odd driving I have never had to use it in anger.
Yes only time I ever used it was on packed snow once , just to ensure braking from the rear to keep me straight.
Modern trucks have a built in bias to brake from the rear to the front but back in the day was a bit different .
Braking systems have come a long long way since then.
Nowadays they are linked to the air suspension to,provide stability control as well .
 

njneer

Member
It makes sense to me, and is good practice to have a wander round before you start the day. How many of us have had lads turn up in the field with soft tyres etc?
Yes absolutely , a walk round is pretty much mandatory for trucks , not the first time a truck driver has got up and found the back doors open, a slashed curtain, a puncture , lights not working or the worst one I heard of was a driver got up and found some one had pulled the "sword" ( latching handle on 5 th wheel) could have been an absolute disaster.
Unfortunately and especially with young drivers ( and I am sorry to single them out) but it seems connecting the iPod and getting the mandatory picture for the days Facebook status is more important than ensuring the equipment is in safe working order.
 

njneer

Member
As a driver your not it’s a walk round check
True , driver not likely to check this, but trucks are subject to mandatory workshop maintenance inspections for which all paperwork must be kept.
Dependent on a sliding scale ,of distance travelled and type of work, the mandatory checks are usually 6 weekly but if for instance doing exceptionally high mileage or particularly quarry or opencast tipper work or off road forestry work the traffic commissioner ( authority in charge of operators licensing ) can impose shorter inspection periods of 4 weekly due to the harsher conditions and likelihood of wear and tear.
They can also , if an operator has a poor maintenance record, (i.e. Defects having been found at routine roadside checks resulting in prohibition notices being issued), impose shorter intervals or revoke operators licences temporarily or permanently until maintenance has been proven to have improved.
 

roscoe erf

Member
Livestock Farmer
:eek:
True , driver not likely to check this, but trucks are subject to mandatory workshop maintenance inspections for which all paperwork must be kept.
Dependent on a sliding scale ,of distance travelled and type of work, the mandatory checks are usually 6 weekly but if for instance doing exceptionally high mileage or particularly quarry or opencast tipper work or off road forestry work the traffic commissioner ( authority in charge of operators licensing ) can impose shorter inspection periods of 4 weekly due to the harsher conditions and likelihood of wear and tear.
They can also , if an operator has a poor maintenance record, (i.e. Defects having been found at routine roadside checks resulting in prohibition notices being issued), impose shorter intervals or revoke operators licences temporarily or permanently until maintenance has been proven to have improved.
Your granma thanks you:D
 

snarling bee

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
If anybody wishes to comment further on the accident, based on brief media reports, could they please remember that I attended the coroner's inquest, and I have attended all 5 days of the crown court so far.

Can we focus on the safety of our road going farm vehicles, and not speculate on this terrible incident.
 

Skimmer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North Notts
Most of this thread is taken up discussing brakes or lack of them yet over 80% of accidents are driver error. The haulage industry has ended up with tachos, speed limiters, weekly checks ect because in general it failed to work within the constraints it had (ring any bells).
We can drive around 32 ton with no road tax up to 25mph or 40 mph with a fastrac on red diesel on a car license with no mot or weekly checks. How many farmers would actually have some of their fleet running to hgv spec for and extra 10 mph.
 

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
If anybody wishes to comment further on the accident, based on brief media reports, could they please remember that I attended the coroner's inquest, and I have attended all 5 days of the crown court so far.

Can we focus on the safety of our road going farm vehicles, and not speculate on this terrible incident.
Did you know the lad?
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
True , driver not likely to check this, but trucks are subject to mandatory workshop maintenance inspections for which all paperwork must be kept.
Dependent on a sliding scale ,of distance travelled and type of work, the mandatory checks are usually 6 weekly but if for instance doing exceptionally high mileage or particularly quarry or opencast tipper work or off road forestry work the traffic commissioner ( authority in charge of operators licensing ) can impose shorter inspection periods of 4 weekly due to the harsher conditions and likelihood of wear and tear.
They can also , if an operator has a poor maintenance record, (i.e. Defects having been found at routine roadside checks resulting in prohibition notices being issued), impose shorter intervals or revoke operators licences temporarily or permanently until maintenance has been proven to have improved.

At my last job everything was serviced every 15000 k's, so depending on workload every 14 - 21 days. First job was always to put the whole unit over a brake machine. Units were generally off the road for a full 12 hour shift so little jobs or jobs scheduled from the previous service could be done.
I believe the paper work often took as long as the job.
Certificate of fitness (mot) also required every 6 months. No extra inspection was done before test as the aim was for the vehicle to be 100% compliant every day, not just fix it up to pass a test.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.9%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.2%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.3%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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