RSA truck checkpoint

Slidey

Well i work in a DoE test station, or as it is now known VTN.
The RSA were having a training day locally for the traffic corp to teach them what to look out for.
At one stage they brought in a tractor unit and trailer.
The unit had good brakes and generally was in a road worthy condition. Of course it was on northern plates, driven by a guy who supposedly lived south of the border.
The trailer which had 3 axles had 1 out of the 6 brakes working.
Below is a picture of a caliper with the pad missing after it had fallen out eventually through wear

Is it any wonder people are killed on our roads.
I know this is the exception rather than the rule, but they were only running the checkpoint for a few hours and got more than this guy...

Wishbone Ash

slideways wrote: »

The unit had good brakes and generally was in a road worthy condition.... .....The trailer which had 3 axles had 1 out of the 6 brakes working

It never ceases to amaze me at how people concentrate on the unit. The bloody weight is in the trailer!! No wonder we have jackknifes!

Slidey

Of course he was over his hours too
and this is the fifth wheel...

Our man in Havana

My brother in law and his friend were killed in a accident involving a foreign lorry. At the inquest it was revealed that none of the brakes on the trailer worked. He was never prosecuted. :mad:

Del2005

Don't forget the only reason the RSA are actually doing something about this now is because the UK authorities actually carry out inspections and found that a huge % of our HGV's and trailers where dangerous. If it wasn't for the UK shaming us then nothing would have been done.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/six-out-of-10-lorries-are-defective-study-finds-49661.html

http://www.rsa.ie/NEWS/News/Commerical_Vehicle_Roadworthiness.html

Seth Brundle

Bond-007 wrote: »

My brother in law and his friend were killed in a accident involving a foreign lorry. At the inquest it was revealed that none of the brakes on the trailer worked. He was never prosecuted. :mad:

Thats terrible. Its bad enough having to lose someone close in such horrific circumstances but then the slap in the face of letting the offender go unpunished???
Was a reason given for this?

Our man in Havana

The driver of the lorry had absconded to his home country immediately after the accident. The Gardaí said it was too much hassle to follow it up.

ART6

Bond-007 wrote: »

The driver of the lorry had absconded to his home country immediately after the accident. The Gardaí said it was too much hassle to follow it up.

Two people were killed and it was too much hassle for the Guards? Dear Lord what are they there for then?

Guy:Incognito

ART6 wrote: »

Two people were killed and it was too much hassle for the Guards? Dear Lord what are they there for then?

Dependign on the country the guy was from the most that could probably be done is for a phone call or a letter to be sent askign for him to come back.

Slidey

I have been told since that as it was a training day exercise for the gardai the people that were stopped probably wont be prosecuted.
The driver of the truck was from the north and the cop was sayin that to opperate in the country you must have an office in the south.
He reckons that any time they try to serve a summons to these addresses it turns out that they are just false ends most times

Wishbone Ash

slideways wrote: »

He reckons that any time they try to serve a summons to these addresses it turns out that they are just false ends most times

If the Gardai confiscated the truck and its load I think the owner would present themselves fairly quickly.

Our man in Havana

Stekelly wrote: »

Dependign on the country the guy was from the most that could probably be done is for a phone call or a letter to be sent askign for him to come back.

You are exactly right. I was amazed at the time he was not detained in custody.

Slidey

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

If the Gardai confiscated the truck and its load I think the owner would present themselves fairly quickly.

Well they let him leave once it was declared that the unit was safe to drive on the road.

The trailer has been banned from driving on the road, he can pick it up and take it away on a trailer anytime he wants.
Cant really understand this.

Was at a fatal accident before when a foreign national lost control of his car and ran into an innocent truck driver killing his passenger.

The trailer and unit was impounded. The trailer was 1 tonne over weight with his load which is not the end of the world and did not contrbute to the accidnt. Despite this it was kept in the yard for 9 months..

The driver on the other hand has been convicted and ordered to be deported for this and numerous other offences but not until he has been fully rehabilitated for the injuries he recieved

Wishbone Ash

slideways wrote: »

Well they let him leave once it was declared that the unit was safe to drive on the road.

The trailer has been banned from driving on the road, he can pick it up and take it away on a trailer anytime he wants

Was the trailer empty at the time?

If not, what happens to the load?

Slidey

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Was the trailer empty at the time?

If not, what happens to the load?

It was empty.

There is a weigh bridge near where i work but you never see a truck pulled in onto it.

Apparently the law dont want to bring lorries in as if they are found to be overweight they dont know what to do with either the truck or the load

Next time you see a forest timber hauling lorry, look at the upright out riggers on the trailer. They are fully loaded when the timber is half way up...

Our man in Havana

Also if I remember correctly, the Gardaí can only make a lorry travel a max of 8km (5 miles) to a weighbridge.

Wishbone Ash

slideways wrote: »

There is a weigh bridge near where i work but you never see a truck pulled in onto it

There are two near me and are used occasionally.

slideways wrote:

Apparently the law dont want to bring lorries in as if they are found to be overweight they dont know what to do with either the truck or the load

It's usually a fine - according to the court reports in the papers.

slideways wrote:

Next time you see a forest timber hauling lorry, look at the upright out riggers on the trailer. They are fully loaded when the timber is half way up...

The forestry trucks are almost always overloaded especially the drag units. AFAIK the timber yards aren't permitted to allow them to enter overloaded. The drivers simply drop the trailer and proceed with the rigid part. They then return for the trailer and bring it in.

Most tipper truck appear to be overloaded also. Triple deck drag outfits transporting pigs must to be way over the limit too.

Slidey

They get a fine and drive away still overweight...
What would happen if they were involved in an accident and it was shown that the law let them drive away while being overweight.
Also they have no way to weigh axles indivdually so you could be way over on 1 axle but still underweight.
In uk they have weight mats that they can just throw down on the side of the road..

Our man in Havana

I take it the Gardaí just operate these checks at weighbridges? Are there many Garda operated weighbridges in the country? The only one that I know of is off the N7 near Baldonnel.

Can they takeover a private weighbridge?

Turner

Yes they can go to any landfill site, quarry or factory equipped with one.

Wishbone Ash

slideways wrote: »

What would happen if they were involved in an accident and it was shown that the law let them drive away while being overweight

The introduction of weight limits was to prevent damage to roads rather than to prevent accidents. Most trucks are able to operate safely at weights way above our limits. For example, in Sweden the normal maximum weight is 60 tonnes. AFAIK Swedish trucks operating here (Scania and Volvo) are the same as those in Sweden but they are subjected to a much lower weight limit.

slideways wrote:

Also they have no way to weigh axles indivdually so you could be way over on 1 axle but still underweight.
In uk they have weight mats that they can just throw down on the side of the road..

I think they have a mobile weighbridge here. There is a section at the side the M1 (northbound) near the Lissenhall interchange specifically for operating a mobile weighbridge.

Slidey

Not too sure about that.
Most trucks that dont have disc brakes would really struggle to get the 45% brake efficency if the gross weight were increased