Within ADR there are a number of provisions for the carriage of gas bottles within an enclosed vehicle. These are located in the Special Provisions for carriage, ‘Loading, Unloading and Handling’ column of table 1.1.3.6 of ADR. The main one is CV36,
‘Packages shall preferably be loaded in open or ventilated vehicles or open or ventilated containers. If this is not feasible and packages are carried in other closed vehicles or containers, the cargo doors of the vehicles or containers shall be marked with the following letters not less than 25mm high: “WARNING, NO VENTILATION, OPEN WITH CARE”
The bottles would also have to be stored and secured in such a way as not to cause damage or have damage caused to them.
IT’S CURTAINS FOR HIRE COMPANY
We have been contacted by a fellow company that would like to hire one of our spare curtain-sided HGVs whilst their vehicle is in for repair. Can we do this and what would the process be for this?
This can be done; however, you would need a robust contract between yourselves and the hirer which states who is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicle. The vehicle would have to be removed from your operator’s licence and depending on the length of the hire period, would need to be named on the hirer’s operator’s licence. You would also have to lock the tachograph ‘out’ with the company card and again ‘in’ when the vehicle returns. Good practice would see that a note was put onto the vehicle files to say who the vehicle was hired out to and a record of the mileage out and in so that you can account for the missing mileage.
A QUALIFIED QUESTION
We have a position for a HGV driver, while checking their DQC they have an expiry next to their D category but not their HGV, can they still drive HGVs?
The cross recognition between HGVs and PSVs is in relation to periodic training, for a driver to be able to drive HGVs as well as PSVs they would need to do the initial qualification in both categories first, then the periodic training would count towards both going forward. At this point that driver is unable to drive an HGV.
TACHO TALK
My driver has lost his digital tachograph card. He has reported it and is waiting for the new one to arrive. With the legislation around carrying 28 days’ worth of records, would this driver need to back date records to the present?
Where a driver has lost their digital tachograph card, as long as they have applied to the DVLA for a replacement and can evidence this, then they would not be required to retrospectively keep and produce records.
DEFINITIVE LEGISLATION
I’m trying to find the definitive legislation that states platforms are exempt from displaying a current operator’s licence. We have a customer saying they are, but I don’t think that’s correct – do you happen to know?
Schedule 3(19) of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995 states an exemption for:
A tower wagon or trailer drawn thereby, provided that the only goods carried on the trailer are goods required for use in connection with the work on which the tower wagon is ordinarily used as such.
If you meet the above criteria, the vehicle will be exempt from operator licensing.
MOWERS AND SWEEPERS
I have a question around the use of pedestrian mowers and sweepers, which have the capacity to enable operators to ride on them for cutting grass near and around the highway / foot paths and sweepers sweeping street paths and pedestrian areas. Is there a requirement under the licensing regulations for carrying out this activity? Also, would there be a requirement to register the equipment for use on the highway with the DVLA?
The appropriate licence for driving these vehicles would be category K. In order for them to be driven on the public highway, the vehicles would need to be road registered with the appropriate VED paid.
ONLINE LICENCE CHECKS
One of our drivers has said that online licence checks are not a legal requirement and they do not need to do them. What is the correct position on this?
While it is not necessarily a legal requirement to do licence checks themselves, it is a legal requirement under the Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 87(1) (and an undertaking on an operator licence) to ensure that drivers driving vehicles belonging to an operator are driven by a driver who has the correct entitlement for the category of vehicle they are driving.
Licence checks are a useful aid in achieving compliance with this requirement, and are referred to in Statutory Document 3 from the Traffic Commissioners, who state that one of the responsibilities of a transport manager is to:
Ensure that regular checks are carried out on the drivers’ licences.
LOST DRIVER CARD
Our HGV driver who drives in scope of EU hours rules lost his digital driver card last week: can he still drive the vehicle, while we wait for his new one?
The regulations permit a driver to continue to drive without a driver card for a maximum period of 15 calendar days, provided they can prove the impossibility of producing their card during this period. This is normally provided by the confirmation/receipt once the replacement card has been applied for.
The driver must carry out two printouts each day: one at the start of the shift and one at the end of the shift. Both printouts must be marked with the driver’s name and driving licence number to identify themselves, any manual entries required by the regulations and a signature.
It is also recommended that you keep records of all cards that have been lost, damaged or stolen from your drivers to ensure that there is no pattern occurring.
After the application for a replacement card has happened, if the original card turns up, the driver must not use this under any circumstance as this card would have been marked as invalid on the DVLA system.
*www.logistics.org.uk/mac
