Q. One of our drivers got to their delivery point when they noticed the load in their vehicle became unstable. What should we do in this scenario?
A. Section 3 of DVSA’s ‘securing loads on HGVs and goods vehicles’ guidance suggests quarantining the vehicle on the site until a plan for safe unloading has been made if the driver becomes aware that the load shifted when they arrived or that the load shift becomes apparent whilst the vehicle is being unloaded.
Their guidance continues, stating:
The receiving site should work with the operator to make sure that the vehicle can be unloaded safely. It is not acceptable to take a vehicle with a known unstable load (a “shot load”) back onto the public highway.
You must not continue the rest of the journey until any remaining load is secure or safely unloaded.
Braking bad?
Q. We have some garages that are conducting the roller brake tests after the PMI has been completed, because we send a lot of our vehicles into the garage in the evening.
The vehicle does not leave the garage but the test is conducted in the afternoon of the following day. Is this acceptable as long it is time and date stamped?
A. Provided that the inspection has not been signed off until after the brake test has been completed, then this would be acceptable.
If the inspection is marked as complete before the brake test is completed, then there could be an issue as the inspection has not checked the brake performance of the vehicle.
