Foxstein:
why is forgetting to apply the handbrake a common thing in this situation? You don’t forget when you normally park so why when you couple?
Possibly to do with the pull test or something? I’ve not forgotten in 2yrs, but I forgot a few times before that. Got away with it, but it’d still happened.
shep532:
All tractor units at this particular company now have a sophisticated handbrake warning device fitted before they go into service. If the handbrake is off and either door opened - ignition on or off, air up or down - a very loud voice sounds “WARNING HANDBRAKE NOT APPLIED”.All our Mercs have this audible warning,which can lead to the mistake of coupling a trailer to an unbraked tractor that does not have this system on.It’s happened to me when being given a Volvo tractor unit on a rare occasion.
… they were accused of not training the drivers to apply handbrakes … and i thought the DSA tested them on that !!
As has been said,even after many years of doing the job,it’s still possible …
Surely you’d have a walkround the trailer before coupling for road worthiness and you’d check if the handbrake was on on the trailer. Is it complacency or lack of routine? If anyone askes how to couple/uncouple up a trailer on the forum someone will always answer BLANK, now why miss the the B bit out? Or am i missing something here 
Let’s be honest about it, it is usually human error. Trailer brakes should be used at all times and should be the last thing you release when coupling up, shunters don’t like them being but on because they have to walk down the trailer to pull it off the bay and then walk back again to shut the doors. The newer trailers seem to have them fitted to the front of the trailer but surely if you forget the handbrake and are not calm enough to remove the red line then surely the same thing would happen when you release the trailer brake, certain people would panic and jump off to put the handbrake on instead of re-engaging the trailer brake. Most newer trucks are fitted with annoying alarms that you hate but they do the job if you try to exit the truck without the handbrake or not wear a seatbelt etc… Maybe the trailer brakes being on the front of the trailer will help a lot, however, when they used to have taps to release the air there was still the same problem, you would connect the lines, turn the tap and still get drivers panicking and jumping off to get to the cab.
There is one other possibility, he may have missed the pin, if he has and the trailer brakes weren’t working then the trailer would have rolled forward and there ain’t a lot you could do as even pulling the red line off wouldn’t stop the trailer instantly, there is a bit of a gap between the trailer locking the brakes back on which in that situation might not be enough to save a man. If in doubt then always hook up the correct way :
I wouldn’t go putting the number plate on the back first either !
If this is done correctly then there should be no problems, I have in the past picked up trailers and when reversing underneath them, they have moved. The trailer brakes don’t work on them and there has been air in the system. Technically the only things holding the trailer where it was parked is gravity and the trailer legs !!! Be careful (these were old dutch tilt trailers which seem to have all but disappeared from the UK now, thank the lord !)
waynedl:
‘…On the DAF, you … ignore the warnings, making them pointless…’
This post suggests that warnings are pointless, but what it really tells us is that despite being nannied by technology, many of us might be aware that we choose to ignore such warnings.
Are those that willingly ignore such warnings catastrophes waiting to happen 
I’ll treat it as a wake-up prompt to be more respectful of safety features designed-in to help me see old age 
Happy Keith:
waynedl:
‘…On the DAF, you … ignore the warnings, making them pointless…’This post suggests that warnings are pointless, but what it really tells us is that despite being nannied by technology, many of us might be aware that we choose to ignore such warnings.
Are those that willingly ignore such warnings catastrophes waiting to happen
I’ll treat it as a wake-up prompt to be more respectful of safety features designed-in to help me see old age
No, what I mean Keith, is if you select Neutral and turn engine off too soon, it thinks it’s still in gear, then you leave your lights on for whatever reason, and it makes the same noise, and then you forget the handbrake, same noise.
Problem is, you get that used to hearing the same noise, you don’t hear it anymore. Like when the missus speaks 
mike68:
The “HANDBRAKE NOT APPLIED” audible warning device should be a legal requirement on all new vehicles.
This type of tragic accident happens so often and still nothing gets done to prevent it.
Got this on the new buses.
When i used to do the shunting after finishing my old run to Battersea at night, hardly any of the trailers that were dropped off during the day had the park brake applied. Do some people drop the legs, pull the lines and pin and hope that the trailer brakes will come on? How many of us have backed under one and give it a tug and found ourselves lumbering across the yard?
Actrosman:
When i used to do the shunting after finishing my old run to Battersea at night, hardly any of the trailers that were dropped off during the day had the park brake applied. Do some people drop the legs, pull the lines and pin and hope that the trailer brakes will come on? How many of us have backed under one and give it a tug and found ourselves lumbering across the yard?
With airbrake systems this shouldn’t happen unless the shunt button has been used. Removing the red line will apply the service brakes on the trailer (not the same as the park brake). it shouldn’t then move anywhere until air is once again applied to the red line. The shunt button overides this unfortunately.
Out of the 5 cases I investigated they were all the same circumstance. Driver reversed under a parked trailer without having first checked the trailer park brake was on. Once the pin is in the 5th wheel jaws the tractor is now held by the braking effort of the trailer. it is now so easy to forget the tractor handbrake. Driver gets out, winds the legs up, gets on cat walk and starts connecting airlines etc. As soon as the red is connected the trailer brake release and the combination is free to roll in either direction.
Even if these drivers checked the trailer park brake - their next move would have been to go round and push the park brake control back in - and away it would have gone, possibly with the driver leaning underneath to the park brake control.
There is of course a possibility the air could be completely gone from the trailer and the tractor possibly low on pressure. red line applied and air starts to build in the trailer but the brakes don’t release straight away. Driver climbs down, walksround front of the tractor and by now the brakes are releasing with sufficient air pressure and he gets run over by his own unit.
When we first devised our hand brake alarm we actually had it working on the central locking as well. Handbrake off - doors locked. We decided in the end this was a safety issue as the driver could be trapped inside in the event of an accident and in the panick forget the handbrake was stopping him opening the door etc - so we ended on a flamin loud warning instead.
There are many ways of putting an interlock of some kind in but most could cause a potential breakdown if they imobilise the vehicle in some way. At least with the alarm if it goes faulty the driver can still move the vehicle allthough with an annoying alarm going off.
The other issue though - what happens when the alarm fails in silent mode - i.e. doesn’t sound. One driver actually told me he relied on the alarm as he often forgot the handbrake 
if his alarm stopped working he could then leave the handbrake off.
Something does need to be done within legislation for new tractors and trailers. yes there are auto trailer park brakes when the red line is disconnected, but that doesn’t fully solve the problem. At least for now some employers are addressing it.
Bit late for the chap at the beginning of this post which is very very sad.
pete
PS my car - an automatic - won’t release the drivers door lock unless it is in P or N but with the handbrake applied. That’d work!!
Lack of consistancey with H&S rules between various hauliers doesn’t help. Some insist upon split coupling, whereas others make that totally out of order. If you don’t allow split coupling, you need that sliding 5th wheel if there is very little clearance between a freezer trailer and the back of the cab. Some trailers have the red coupling pointing down at a real daft angle so it is real awkward to get the thing on in the first place, as you crouch down… Imagine what goes through someone’s head (please, no jokes about the back of the trailer!) when the combination starts to roll, and you think what? - Get the red line back on doglegging arms & crouching at an impossible angle, or jump down from the catwalk… You can see how easy it is to panic and do the wrong thing when taken by suprise.
I once jumped up on the catwalk to do a split coupling with handbrake on & legs still down, put red airline on, and the trailer lunged forward 6 inches towards me, hitting the kingpin and coupling itself. If my 5th wheel ride had been too low, it would have overrun and crushed me against the back of the cab, so I consider that to have been a near miss. I never did work out how the damned thing moved with the handbrake on… it was as if someone had pushed the blue shunt button in as I coupled it.
In any case, I reckon split coupling should not be done anywhere now of course!
RIP driver.
So are you telling me that artic drives don’t bother checking the trailer brake is on, perhaps to save time and also often don’t bother putting on the unit handbrake as well? 
waynedl:
mike68:
The “HANDBRAKE NOT APPLIED” audible warning device should be a legal requirement on all new vehicles.
This type of tragic accident happens so often and still nothing gets done to prevent it.It should also be a different warning.
On the DAF, you get the same warning if you’ve left your lights on, or it thinks you’ve left it in gear rather than neutral (takes ages to realise it IS in neutral) as if you’ve left the handbrake off.
So you ingore the warnings, making them pointless.
Agreed.
You have to feel for the bloke that died - 69 years old and working Sunday night
Saratoga:
So are you telling me that artic drives don’t bother checking the trailer brake is on, perhaps to save time and also often don’t bother putting on the unit handbrake as well?
As they say, familiarity breeds contempt! As he was 69, he’d probably coupled and un-coupled trailers many thousands of times. It only takes one slip of concentration at the wrong time and he payed the ultimate price.
I for one have certain little ‘systems’ and routines i go through in my daily job and i would say most others here do aswel and it only takes someone or somthing to disturb your concentration at the wrong time and you forget to stow a stabilizer, put that rachet strap away, close that door etc etc etc. Just a few months ago i saw an estendable bed trailer loaded with 60 foot rails to 30 tons dropped off the back of a unit because of a distraction. Only saving grace was, it was lucky it wasnt out on the road when the driver dropped it!!
Sounds like the ORR (Office of Rail Regulation) are involved and they do have some clout and can be some right hard B’s so maybe something good will come out of this after the inquiry.
nedflanders:
rip driverNew to coupling as so far hadnt to do it apart from once a few weeks ago when i asked a driver to show me how to do it.
But is it what happens that you park up dont put on handbrake on tractor unit and get out put brake on trailer and then go to uncouple (the trailer brake holds the unit) and when u pull the red suzy the tractor unit starts to roll away.
Is this what happens or am i totally wrong
The red line supplies the air to keep the brakes off,when the red line is off the brakes are on.
What happens is that drivers wind the legs down,take the airlines off and drive away without pulling the red knob which is the handbrake.They think this is ok because the red line is off,the brakes are on and trailer isn’t going anywhere…until the next bloke comes along,puts the airlines on…remember this releases the brakes…and the trailer moves and if it is a fridge then you are likely to be squashed up against the headboard.
I’m sorry if I misunderstood your post and don’t wish to seem patronising but I would rather someone understand than see another post of another driver killed because people are too ■■■■ lazy to use the handbrake.
How many more needless,avoidable deaths must we see.
Take good care.
It’s for this reason why the YELLOW line has to go on first whilst you are coupling up, then you won’t risk killing yourself or others if you forget to apply the handbrake, because you will know if it’s on or off doing “YELLOW FIRST”.
Years ago I used to collect liquid egg from Framptons in Shepton Mallet. It was a trailer swap and the dock was on quite a steep slope up, next to some silos on the N/S, and it was a tricky reverse up.
When I coupled up a loaded trailer I was so scared the ■■■■ thing would run away that I would always get back in the cab to double check that the brake was on. Then when I pushed the trailer brake in I would be standing back, with my fingers behind it, ready to pull it out if the trailer started to move.
The mushroom sheds at South Littleton near Evesham were sloped away from the dock - every bay had scrape marks on the concrete where trailers had run away as they were coupled. I was there one day when one went right down through the fence at the bottom. No one hurt and the locals thought it was dead funny.
weeto:
It’s for this reason why the YELLOW line has to go on first whilst you are coupling up, then you won’t risk killing yourself or others if you forget to apply the handbrake, because you will know if it’s on or off doing “YELLOW FIRST”.
Not necessarily, not all tractor units apply the handbrake to the trailer wheels, Scania and Volvo, for example.
(I can see what you mean, that there will be no pressure in the line if the unit handbrake was off.)
The only safe way is to check and if necessary double check the unit and trailer handbrakes.
I regularly change trailers on a gentle slope leading down to the road outside and because they are fridges, its always a split coupling.
It’s all the more dangerous because the truck rolls very slowly to start with.
Even though I did this trailer change over 200 times in six months last year and I am the only driver, I always checked the
trailer brake and unit handbrake before starting and several times I found that I hadn’t set the trailer handbrake when I left the trailer
I can be seen opening the cab door to check the unit handbrake, even if I have only just got out.
Although changing trailers is not rocket science, when it does go wrong it can go very wrong and I would be the one carrying the can.
Regards,
Nick
waynedl:
‘…if you select Neutral and turn engine off too soon, it thinks it’s still in gear…’
I agree that this isn’t a safety feature - although it is a warning that the clunking mechanicals are slow to respond to a deft switch selection. (By warning us that if air pressure fails with the donk’ stuck in gear then we’re in schtum?)
waynedl:
‘…you leave your lights on for whatever reason, and it makes the same noise, and then you forget the handbrake, same noise…’
I’m arguing that these are safety warnings: The first warning is to stop a parked-up unit, ie, on a bay, from obscuring another driver who can be blinded by them when he’s reversing alongside. The second example is to help warn about what happened to the poor dude who died when hooking up with brakes off.
waynedl:
‘…Problem is, you get that used to hearing the same noise, you don’t hear it anymore…’
That’s perhaps my point - and (without being critical) maybe indicates that a refresher check-run is due?
I’m prepared to ask myself why the clangers are clanging rather than becoming complacent & getting lulled into any false security as often presented by continually doing mundane activities.
I use the sound of clangers to mean ‘think, slow down & calm the rush, matey’. Sure they’re a nag and don’t take it in the head, but like a decent bint they keep me cushty when I could otherwise (read “accidentally” or inadvertently) be getting laid in a wooden casket 
Happy Keith:
waynedl:
‘…if you select Neutral and turn engine off too soon, it thinks it’s still in gear…’I agree that this isn’t a safety feature - although it is a warning that the clunking mechanicals are slow to respond to a deft switch selection. (By warning us that if air pressure fails with the donk’ stuck in gear then we’re in schtum?)
waynedl:
‘…you leave your lights on for whatever reason, and it makes the same noise, and then you forget the handbrake, same noise…’I’m arguing that these are safety warnings: The first warning is to stop a parked-up unit, ie, on a bay, from obscuring another driver who can be blinded by them when he’s reversing alongside. The second example is to help warn about what happened to the poor dude who died when hooking up with brakes off.
waynedl:
‘…Problem is, you get that used to hearing the same noise, you don’t hear it anymore…’That’s perhaps my point - and (without being critical) maybe indicates that a refresher check-run is due?
I’m prepared to ask myself why the clangers are clanging rather than becoming complacent & getting lulled into any false security as often presented by continually doing mundane activities.
I use the sound of clangers to mean ‘think, slow down & calm the rush, matey’. Sure they’re a nag and don’t take it in the head, but like a decent bint they keep me cushty when I could otherwise (read “accidentally” or inadvertently) be getting laid in a wooden casket
The warning sound for sidelights is idential to the warning for handbrake off, you don’t think that’s daft? Especially as it’s a legal obligation to have your sidelights on if parked on a road or in a layby that isn’t seperated from the road.
Or is it just if headlights are left on?? I can’t remember, but either way, headlights are left on during a vehicle check, hence you just get used to the sound.
waynedl:
‘…if headlights are left on … you just get used to the sound…’
Yeah, but I don’t have a problem in briefly thinking ‘why?’ - and then realising why.
I might only be a driver but I rate thinking and remaining engaged with my steed as being part of the job.
Just a thought: Why not turn the situation around and anticipate the clangers going off before you get out with lights on, etc? They’d maybe then stop being wallpaper music 