Check Your Trailers

Andy Gee · 03 September 2007, 13:04

VOSA/Ministry of Transport have a purge on trailers at the moment (in Scotland anyway). They are checking any trailer attached to a vehicle and issuing Defect/Prohibition notices. The checks involve Tyres, bearings, brakes-both overrun and hand, hitches and nose weight etc etc.
All notices issued require the trailer to go to a HGV test centre to have them removed.
If defects are serious enough the driver will be charged under the Construction and Use Regulations.
We had a small twin axle trailer put off the road for a crack in the handbrake lever, and now it must go to Glasgow to have the notice removed.
You've been warned

.
Andy

codprawn · 03 September 2007, 13:16

Nice to see they are having a purge on hard core criminals - bet you will all sleep safer now................

alexm · 03 September 2007, 13:40

They were stopping all trailers and caravans on the new stretch of the A30 in Cornwall a few weeks back. First time I have seen a road block for that very purpose!

oxboy · 03 September 2007, 14:02

Watching the news recently it consists of young lads being shot / stabbed. Older people dying after confronting yobs and general mayhem.

So what do the police do, have a crackdown on trailers/caravans

I know some people will say that it is different budgets etc and they should be road legal but I cannot think of any news items relating to mass deaths/injuries through trailer/caravan related incidents.

If this was not so serious it would be funny.

Living anywhere but here looks more and more inviting.

Rogue Wave · 03 September 2007, 14:19

If it's in good nick then it's not a problem is it.

oxboy · 03 September 2007, 14:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

If it's in good nick then it's not a problem is it.

thats not the point though.
It seems to be whenever the police are under any pressure they go out and persecute motorists

Nos4r2 · 03 September 2007, 14:45

To be honest with the number of heavily overloaded and very dangerous trailers/caravans I see every day I think it's a really good idea.

1/4 of the caravans I see appear to have been loaded by a chimp with a shovel through the front window.

Biggles · 03 September 2007, 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by oxboy

thats not the point though.
It seems to be whenever the police are under any pressure they go out and persecute motorists

Its called "Easy Policing"

Seems like the Police are rapidly losing the confidence of the public if this forum is anything to go by.

Only time I seem to see a Policeman is when he's sat in the back of a van with a speed camera. I see a few Support Officers walking around and lots of those Highways Agency bods on the motorway though.

Andy Gee · 03 September 2007, 15:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

If it's in good nick then it's not a problem is it.

Thats true, our trailer had the usual daily check carried out by the driver with no defects reported on the sheet however the Ministry man went over the thing for about 45 mins and found a small (less than 20mm) hairline crack in the handbrake operating lever.
The crack was in an area of about 100mm wide and not noticable during a normal walk round check-you had to go under the thing to see it so not really the drivers fault.
IMHO it did not effect the safe operation of the unit but hey it was cracked none the less.
We got off quite lightly from what the driver was told, he had already put another trailer off the road that was being used by a private car to take rubbish to the coup for a crack in the side runner light.
Incidendtly the lorry that was pulling it passed the check with no defects so it not all bad

.

Im really not to bothered by it, just another load of crap being flung onto the easy targerts, anyway must go and get all my paperwork in order as I have a visit from the Scottish Executive tomorrow to check over the fields

.
Andy

codprawn · 03 September 2007, 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Gee

Im really not to bothered by it, just another load of crap being flung onto the easy targerts, anyway must go and get all my paperwork in order as I have a visit from the Scottish Executive tomorrow to check over the fields

.
Andy

Make sure there are no cracks or non regualtion worms.......

blueparamonkey · 03 September 2007, 17:40

Quote:

I know some people will say that it is different budgets etc and they should be road legal but I cannot think of any news items relating to mass deaths/injuries through trailer/caravan related incidents.

It does happen though. I went to an accident last christmas where a local charity were towing a santas sleigh collecting money. The draw bar broke on a hill and the trailer, (without Santa, but lots of reindeer and fake snow

) hit a car head on coming the other way. Although the driver had to be cut free from the wreckage she wasn't badly hurt.

blinddog · 03 September 2007, 17:52

My mate got stopped on M6 to check his caravan everything ok , but another driver with a new discovery with a new Hobby caravan on got a Section 9 i think it was, although the weight was ok, because the caravan was 8 ft wide it is only a class 7 for towing Transit etc, i did'nt know that.
This section 9 is a off the road now, they had to get the caravan trailered away, great holiday eh.

Rogue Wave · 03 September 2007, 18:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by oxboy

thats not the point though.
It seems to be whenever the police are under any pressure they go out and persecute motorists

of course it's the point!

Firstly I don't think that the VOSA have an organised crime unit, murder squad or SWAT team so I don't see where putting the police under pressure affects VOSA income stream!

I do flout the odd traffc law mysel, but I have always been prepared to accept the punishment if I was caught. So when I decide to tow something that aint road legal if I lose my ticket then I don' winge cos it's only me that made me do it.

Sure it's a revenue stream for the (I believe) self funding VOSA so hit em where it hurts by having faultless trailers,

In the ten years I've been towing, I have lost two hubs on trailers, I can't imagine how much damage a 15 kilo wheel would do after crashing through a faily cars windscreen at a closing speed of 100 MPH.

If you were buying a trailer and the Hand brake lever was cracked you'd imediately try and chip the price down on the basis that the brakes weren't in tip top conditin. So what stops the VOSA guy from jumping to the same conclusion

Or if you pulled a double Axle traile with only three hubs left on it would you say that was OK or would you take it off the road.

I think it's as much a pain in the arse as the next guy but it's the deal in this country and I'd rather live here than in Iraq

Tomas · 03 September 2007, 18:31

You poor bastards. "Securing a bright future through regulation." I imagine Henry VIII could have been worse if you crossed him but it seems so easy to cross modern regulations that although the Tower is not your destiny, your depleted purse certainly is! Hey, the States are not immune to this social engineering; that's why I left!

Let's hear from any "Safety at Any Price" advocates out there!

Doing what we like with the same results we are: Virgin Islanders

Tomas

Gerry · 03 September 2007, 18:58

It may seem over the top to stop and check trailers, but having recently read about a young mother killed in Dorset by a trailer detaching itself from a Land Rover, then maybe there's some logic to it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6679763.stm

A quick trawl of BBC news site shows other sadly similar incidents, one where the coroner specifically suggests an MOT style test for trailers and caravans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3200560.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/d...re/6907916.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2354727.stm

Gerry

Bigmuz7 · 03 September 2007, 19:06

Does seem a bit over zealous though, I mean a crack, whos to say when it would fail ?, and small trailers dont get MOT'd either. I thought all they could check were lights tyres, breakaway cable, loading & plate. I'm not condoning poorly maintained trailers, but where is the reason with these beurocratic jumped up hitlers?

I nearly had it out with my local lot who pulled an old 7.5 tonner of mine several times, whilst letting newer stuff pass by, who was to say the driver of the newer unit might have been banned, or an illegal etc but ofcourse they thought the older motor would be much more likely to be hanging with defects.... naturally I was sorry to disapoint them

AH writing this as you posted above Gerry!

Rogue Wave · 03 September 2007, 19:08

Does that count It's not really mass deaths is it. Those bloody selfish people dying just to give the VOSA something to do.......there should be a law against it!

Nos4r2 · 03 September 2007, 21:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon penrith

My exploding boat had same ones as yo yo recomends.In short time I had these they worked well & are available at red line for abot 3 quid.However on the down side they do tend to melt when your trailer detaches from your car & ploughs into an oncoming car resulting in a fireball.......hopefully you will not encounter this problem.....

Course, it won't ever happen to any of us, right?

(I'm not having a dig at Jon here)