The lorry driver is responsible for the freight they carry and that means they are responsible for the way it’s loaded. Is it time for the driver to share that responsibility with the consignor? On the 14th December 2018, just after midday, the ‘Humber Roads Police’ posted an update on its twitter feed. That’s right. It’s polystyrene. Government advice for ‘lightweight and fragile’ loads is that even if it is polystyrene ‘it’s still important that the load is stopped from moving due to the danger to the person responsible for unloading the vehicle’. Internal straps may retain the load sufficiently dependant on the size of the objects, or ‘some sort of internal frame or roll cage to provide the necessary securing’ with the caveat; ‘make sure the frame itself is secure if you use this method’. Overkill? Well, it brought 256 responses from mainly professional dyed-in-the-wool truckers mostly expressing disbelief and frustration. I concur but rather than shoot the messenger you need to look at who is responsible for this situation. To date I can say that I have not knowingly lost a load from any truck I have driven… Oh, I’ve come close a few times.
And I’ve been stopped a few times too by the haulage police keen on assessing my pallets fastened down with good intentions within a curtainsided wagon. I’ve been lucky, no doubt. In each case I point the finger at me just like Humberside’s finest did to the driver hauling polystyrene. The law states that lorry drivers have sole responsibility for the roadworthiness of the wagon while they are driving it and security of its contents. And it has to be like that because if it wasn’t you-me-us wouldn’t even bother carrying straps or chains or sheets to tie the mother down. But should the lorry driver carry the burden alone? There is a clamour for drivers to have a co-conspirator, a partner in crime, in the shape of the consignor. Imagine, the person or firm (usually the seller) who provides a consignment to a carrier for transporting to a consignee (usually the buyer) named in the transportation documents also taking responsibility for how their goods are loaded. Better known as Consignor Liability. You may not have been aware of it – unless you have been stopped – but we are in the middle of Vehicle load security enforcement campaign week (22 – 26 July 2019). It is a joint effort by the National Police Chiefs' Council with Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to highlight the risks both to drivers and other road users if goods aren’t transported properly. Safety is its watchword. DVSA uses proactive enforcement to identify unsafe vehicles and take appropriate action. Remember: ‘It is essential that, whatever load is being carried, it is secured properly on the vehicle. If loads are not secured, they can fall from the vehicle on to the road, or move so much they make the vehicle unstable. Unstable loads can also fall out of or off the vehicle when it arrives for unloading.’ And here comes the punchline, the National Police Chiefs' Council adds that: ‘While drivers are responsible for the safety of their vehicle on the road, consignors and vehicle operators are also responsible for ensuring that the load a vehicle carries is safe and secure from the point of loading right through to unloading.’ Under current government advice – endorsed by DVSA, Traffic Commissioners, Freight Transport Association and Road Haulage Association – it is only under the heading 6.2 Double-deck trailers that ‘operators and consignors should make sure that a thorough risk assessment has been carried out to identify the most practicable means of loading and securing goods on the vehicle’. Consignors and operators are encouraged to get involved but only if they want too. No driver has yet taken their employer or their employers’ customer to court over being prosecuted for unsafe loading citing mitigating circumstances like ‘they told me to do it that way’. From my experience the consignor is not interested in safety, they are interested in profit. They turn a blind eye to the extra pallet or scoop from the front loader irrespective of weight, or poorly maintained trailers, overloaded axles or more boxes of fruit and veg than a 14-litre Gardner 8LXB in a Seddon Atkinson 401 could possibly cope with. All justified by the immortal get out of jail card: ‘the last driver took it, drive…’ Introducing Consignor Liability that makes both the shipper and driver accountable for how a trailer is loaded and its weight should already be in place if only to stamp out bad practice. After all, its their shipment and its their property until its sold. So why not ensure it is delivered properly? It’s feasible that polystyrene has been put on different types of trailers without anything ever happening before. It may well be the consignor’s decision to move it like that and agreed by the haulier in advance, after all its just polystyrene. Had the haulier known their duty according to the Operator’s License they would have found a way to secure the load according to their legal responsibilities. Internal roof straps, integral frame… More likely that the load was deemed insignificant and so any old trailer was deployed, that’s how it looks to me. I’ll go one step further. It looks like a tautliner, so an overseas haulier where – more often than not – a lack of legislation means this load would have been fine. I also suspect the driver was stopped for other reasons. An insecure load might well have been a bonus for Humberside’s finest. But the real issue is what happens if the truck is involved in a road traffic collision (RTC). Often the delays associated with RTC are to do with clearing up the mess. Should polystyrene escape it’ll go everywhere, like snow or hailstones. Ultimately if a curtainsided trailer is involved the load has to remain on the bed of the trailer. That is the true acid test; and that is why the police chose to act. The load was not secure.
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AuthorAging proletariat with face, teeth and body to prove it. Archives
August 2021
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