i read on here many times one guy who says he sleeps on the bunk when his co-driver is behind the wheel.
i have never done this as just presumed (may be wrongly) that it would attract a non wearing seatbelt fine if say traffic cops pulled driver over and you were asleep on the bed or you happended to transfer from seat to bed in view of a traffic car. have just fallen asleep in my seat in the past.
does the bed have to have that black safety netting or is it just turned a blind eye to by the authories? i realise your putting your life in your own hands should driver have to brake sharply and the bed doesnt have netting (mine doesnt)
is it because the bed doesnt a seatbelt (or what ever the wording is) it cant be worn so your not breaking the law in any shape or form.
Face down and toes between the mattress and the wall or recline passenger seat slightly, lie on your side and get your back against the seat. Works every night for me and I’ve not been through the windscreen yet. My co-driver does sling it about a bit with a lot of sudden braking so I have had to find various methods of staying in the bunk. None of the vehicles we use have a seatbelt, or netting come to that, on the bunk so I haven’t been able to wear one while napping.
I wouldn’t worry about the getting in and out the seat thing, those coaches with the hostesses on, they get in and out of the seat all the time.
You watch, now I’ve said that they’ll be scraping me off the M6 in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
gnasty gnome:
Happy to be corrected, but I’ve always understood that for rest taken in a bunk to count as a daily rest, the vehicle must be stationary.
yes it does but when double manning and not driving its classed as poa usually
gnasty gnome:
Happy to be corrected, but I’ve always understood that for rest taken in a bunk to count as a daily rest, the vehicle must be stationary.
yes it does but when double manning and not driving its classed as poa usually
often done it never a prob but depends oh how tired you to what sleep you get
was pulled in by vosa one day and three of us in the cab there was no prob
So far as I can tell from trawling the various items of relevant legislation, there is no legal definition of what constitutes a ‘seat’ in a large goods vehicle (i.e. design weight over 3.5t).
The ‘Heavy Goods Vehicle Inspection Manual’ (MOT testers manual for HGV’s) states that for vehicles first used from 1/10/2001 the drivers seat and front passenger seat(s) must be equipped with a lap-belt as a minimum. Rear passenger seats (defined in legislation as being seats which are positioned behind the line of the drivers seat) are not required to be fitted with seat belts.
Therefore, since it is not specifically prohibited in current legislation, the bunk could be used as a seat, and since it is not required to have a seatbelt fitted there is no requirement for you to wear one.
i always tell the missus when she comes for a run out that if she wants to get on the bunk she must wear her suspender belt , she never seems to believe me though
gnasty gnome:
Happy to be corrected, but I’ve always understood that for rest taken in a bunk to count as a daily rest, the vehicle must be stationary.
I take POA, with the first 45 minutes assumed to be break, in the bunk, rest I take at home. If I had a choice it would all be break but with my card in slot 2 it has to be POA and assumptiom
Posted from the bunk using Tapatalk after correcting many typos thanks to the M6 bumps.
Team driving is common here and I did a few trips doubled with another British driver who’s driving I trusted without a doubt. My first experience was a bit off putting but when you get really sleepy it’s easy. Trucks here are equiped with nets that clip into seat belt type fasteners, the nets do not fit tight but the straps are very taught so in the event of a sudden stop you will not fly out of the bunk (although I have never heard of anyone using them). I once had to pick up a bloke who was returning a hired truck in Chicago and he spent 3 days in my truck, we went to Iowa City to reload and I had him share the driving to get home by the weekend, during his terrible driving stints I never sleept a wink.
