Mike-C:
I hear this a lot from drivers, they fill the defect book out and then take something on the road. I can’t figure it out, its like driving round with a confession. If i’m going to drive with a fault then i certainley wouldn’t put it in any book.
Well, like I said, VOSA were quite happy with my vehicle and my records 
Harry Monk:
Mike-C:
I hear this a lot from drivers, they fill the defect book out and then take something on the road. I can’t figure it out, its like driving round with a confession. If i’m going to drive with a fault then i certainley wouldn’t put it in any book.Well, like I said, VOSA were quite happy with my vehicle and my records
On this occasion yes. But i certainley wouldn’t recommed driving with something you have defected. How would you answer the simple question…“why have you taken it on the road with a known defect”?
Well I didn’t, I do tramping, I was already out with it when it went wrong.
quick question then for you, especially The Yorkshireman and Mike C,
when in belgium on thursday evening i noticed my rear lights on the the trailer not working properly so after bit of investigation worked out supply to rear cluster was defective.
should i have called out somebody and cost the boss a fortune and lost loadfs of time or should i have just run a wire from one side to the other to make it work and sort it when i’m back home?
P.S. I did the latter but I’d like to know what you think
Dunno then?:
Yes,Rear number plate illumination is a requirement.
So, everyone who pulls a foreign registered trailer behind a UK unit is breaking the law because the rear number plate illumination will only illuminate the fixed foreign registration plate and not the myriad Heath Robinson affairs that are used to affix the UK unit registration to the rear of the trailer as John Foreigner does not cater for silly British rules when designing his trailers…
Inselaffe:
Dunno then?:
Yes,Rear number plate illumination is a requirement.So, everyone who pulls a foreign registered trailer behind a UK unit is breaking the law because the rear number plate illumination will only illuminate the fixed foreign registration plate and not the myriad Heath Robinson affairs that are used to affix the UK unit registration to the rear of the trailer as John Foreigner does not cater for silly British rules when designing his trailers…
Do what I used to…carry a handful of rubber bands and bulldog clips.
welshboyinspain:
should i have called out somebody and cost the boss a fortune and lost loadfs of time or should i have just run a wire from one side to the other to make it work and sort it when i’m back home?P.S. I did the latter but I’d like to know what you think
In fairness, Mike was making fair comment when he said he wouldn’t take a defective truck out of the yard, but just like you, I wouldn’t call Volvo Action Service out if I discovered that one of my lamps had failed when I did my walkaround checks one morning in Spain or Holland or wherever.
welshboyinspain:
quick question then for you, especially The Yorkshireman and Mike C,when in belgium on thursday evening i noticed my rear lights on the the trailer not working properly so after bit of investigation worked out supply to rear cluster was defective.
should i have called out somebody and cost the boss a fortune and lost loadfs of time or should i have just run a wire from one side to the other to make it work and sort it when i’m back home?
P.S. I did the latter but I’d like to know what you think
You’re totally missing the point i’m making. Probably i would of drove with it, but whether i would or wouldn’t is not the isuue i’m making. What i’m saying is that if i made a concious descision to drive with it as faulty then i would not enter it as a defect, i would plead ignorance and say it was working when i checked it, it must have just gone and i would defect it when i returned to base. As far as i’m aware making a defect note out for it and telling someone who pulls you that you have defected it is the same as admitting fully that you know about it and you know you’ve taken it on the road when you shouldn’t of done.
Your example above shows you making good a temporary repair to the fault, so no defect on the road your lights worked. That compares with Harrys example of driving with a known defect and telling about it how?
Conor:
Inselaffe:
Dunno then?:
Yes,Rear number plate illumination is a requirement.So, everyone who pulls a foreign registered trailer behind a UK unit is breaking the law because the rear number plate illumination will only illuminate the fixed foreign registration plate and not the myriad Heath Robinson affairs that are used to affix the UK unit registration to the rear of the trailer as John Foreigner does not cater for silly British rules when designing his trailers…
Unhappilly this is true 
So much for unification? 
So sticking a cardboard plate on the back is admitting that you knew the plate was missing - I assume it would be better to leave it off and swear that it was there when you set off.
Santa:
So sticking a cardboard plate on the back is admitting that you knew the plate was missing - I assume it would be better to leave it off and swear that it was there when you set off.
Oh dear, you’ve opened the door there for someone to post a popular story which everyone swears happened to their mate, or an Irishman. 
Last year I spent a week driving round the West Midlands with the wrong number plate on my trailer.
Mike-C:
You’re totally missing the point i’m making. Probably i would of drove with it, but whether i would or wouldn’t is not the isuue i’m making. What i’m saying is that if i made a concious descision to drive with it as faulty then i would not enter it as a defect, i would plead ignorance and say it was working when i checked it, it must have just gone and i would defect it when i returned to base. As far as i’m aware making a defect note out for it and telling someone who pulls you that you have defected it is the same as admitting fully that you know about it and you know you’ve taken it on the road when you shouldn’t of done.
Your example above shows you making good a temporary repair to the fault, so no defect on the road your lights worked. That compares with Harrys example of driving with a known defect and telling about it how?
Ahh, comprendo!! 
Santa:
So sticking a cardboard plate on the back is admitting that you knew the plate was missing - I assume it would be better to leave it off and swear that it was there when you set off.
What about putting it on upside down
I tried that trick with the office a while ago - couldnt find the trailer plate for love nor money so I went into the office asking for a bit of cardboard to write the reg. no. on, they wouldnt let me…
Turns out that the plate had gone out with another unit because that driver couldnt find his
DAF95XF:
Turns out that the plate had gone out with another unit because that driver couldnt find his
Makes sense
Dunno then?:
Conor:
Inselaffe:
Dunno then?:
Yes,Rear number plate illumination is a requirement.So, everyone who pulls a foreign registered trailer behind a UK unit is breaking the law because the rear number plate illumination will only illuminate the fixed foreign registration plate and not the myriad Heath Robinson affairs that are used to affix the UK unit registration to the rear of the trailer as John Foreigner does not cater for silly British rules when designing his trailers…
Unhappilly this is true
As long as the trailer is legal in its country of origin it is legal in this country, so if you pull a foreign trailer & it doesn’t have an illuminated number plate holder that accepts a UK size number plate then it’s legal, but you must have a number plate somewhere, that’s where the chain & dog clips come in.
Mike is right, if you’re starting from the yard, do not defect anything, especially repeatedly, if something is not working then it is the driver’s responsibility not to take the vehicle on the road.
newmercman:
As long as the trailer is legal in its country of origin it is legal in this country, so if you pull a foreign trailer & it doesn’t have an illuminated number plate holder that accepts a UK size number plate then it’s legal, but you must have a number plate somewhere, that’s where the chain & dog clips come in.Mike is right, if you’re starting from the yard, do not defect anything, especially repeatedly, if something is not working then it is the driver’s responsibility not to take the vehicle on the road.
But if the trailer is from the country which is a member of the Vienna Convention, it HAS to have lightened up back number plate.
And is there any country in Europe which do not have the same number plate sizes than UK? Belgium maybe, but they still have normal size of the places for the plate…
orys:
But if the trailer is from the country which is a member of the Vienna Convention, it HAS to have lightened up back number plate.And is there any country in Europe which do not have the same number plate sizes than UK? Belgium maybe, but they still have normal size of the places for the plate…
i think orys what he means is the trailer number plate being square in the uk whereas in europe most are oblong like uk has on front of vehicle
welshboyinspain:
orys:
But if the trailer is from the country which is a member of the Vienna Convention, it HAS to have lightened up back number plate.And is there any country in Europe which do not have the same number plate sizes than UK? Belgium maybe, but they still have normal size of the places for the plate…
i think orys what he means is the trailer number plate being square in the uk whereas in europe most are oblong like uk has on front of vehicle
Not necesary.
In Poland for example it’s up to you to choose:
You can still see lot of square plates at the back of the trailer (I found a picture of old style one, but it doesn’t really matters):
but most of the trailers have this standard ones nowadays:
You can also have a one-row number plate of the back of the British lorry, as you can see in that picture:
Therefore as for me there is no excuse, if you towing various foreign plated trailers, spend a few quids more and buy yourself set of two rear number plates - one square, one one-row. And use the proper one to the trailer. You can affix it to the original plate using, for example, a rubber band or cable tie. Problem sorted.
but orys you’re missing the point, that would be using your common sense