Vehicle safety question (not truck related)

ASK THE EXPERTS SAFETY, LAW AND WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE FORUM (INTE
1

A couple of weeks ago this warning message came up on the dash screen (Mercedes Sprinter van)

Image is for illustration purpose only and not actually from my works van

My question is, if I was pulled by the police or VOSA, upon seeing this would they deem the vehicle dangerous or unfit to continue until fixed? I recently refused to drive it as the braking power when loaded was poor and scared my when I had to brake hard without a great deal happening, I have been using our second van which is pretty naff and also has the basic brake pad warning light on BUT the brakes are ■■■■ hot as they were done not long ago.

Also the same van has a very slow puncture on the osf tyre, would this be noticed by police/VOSA or would lower than expected tyre pressure be questioned?

My refusal to drive the newer van has caused a bit of a problem with my line manager but I don’t feel safe in it and don’t feel its safe to use, his answer was leave bigger braking distance…

2

problem is mate you will always get fools that drive crap thats why your having the problem, ie, pass the problems to the next driver, would you carry your kids in it if no then its vor thats my rule

3

defect it . get the defect report signed off the drive slower and leave more room works for me

4

Iceman, I’m generally the only person to drive the van as I’m the only full time driver for the company hence I just feel its not safe and don’t want to risk getting points or a big fine if the police or VOSA decide it shouldn’t be on the road.

It’s all been marked down on the van check/defect sheet since it was noticed, Nick, which was weeks ago so they’ve had plenty of time to fix it instead of waiting for me to refuse to drive it, the brakes started squealing which they’d never done before.

5

Brake pad/shoe wear warning lights are designed to come on long before the brake wear becomes dangerous, it’s simply a light that tells you that you should do a visual check of the pads/shoes.

Obviously you was right to inform your transport office and they should make arrangements for the brakes to be checked, but when the light first comes on brake wear should not be an immediate problem and I very much doubt that the DVSA would see it as such.

If the brakes are not effective as you say then that’s an entirely different matter and the vehicle should be checked immediately, to simply say “leave bigger braking distance” is completely unacceptable.

The fact that both vehicles have the same problem and one vehicle has a slow puncture suggests that your company have a very cavalier attitude towards their vehicles, personally I wouldn’t want to work for a company that had that sort of attitude.

6

Ghiabox:
Iceman, I’m generally the only person to drive the van as I’m the only full time driver for the company hence I just feel its not safe and don’t want to risk getting points or a big fine if the police or VOSA decide it shouldn’t be on the road.

It’s all been marked down on the van check/defect sheet since it was noticed, Nick, which was weeks ago so they’ve had plenty of time to fix it instead of waiting for me to refuse to drive it, the brakes started squealing which they’d never done before.

like I said the defect sheet as far as i’m concerned should be with the vehicle not any of this 1 book kept in the office. defect written, defect rectified and the book signed and printed by fitter stating what was done when and by whom, not signed it don’t go…

7

Ghiabox:
A couple of weeks ago this warning message came up on the dash screen (Mercedes Sprinter van)

Image is for illustration purpose only and not actually from my works van

My question is, if I was pulled by the police or VOSA, upon seeing this would they deem the vehicle dangerous or unfit to continue until fixed? I recently refused to drive it as the braking power when loaded was poor and scared my when I had to brake hard without a great deal happening, I have been using our second van which is pretty naff and also has the basic brake pad warning light on BUT the brakes are [zb] hot as they were done not long ago.

Also the same van has a very slow puncture on the osf tyre, would this be noticed by police/VOSA or would lower than expected tyre pressure be questioned?

My refusal to drive the newer van has caused a bit of a problem with my line manager but I don’t feel safe in it and don’t feel its safe to use, his answer was leave bigger braking distance…

its a sprinter.brand new sprinters have no brakes…most sprinters have no brakes…mercedes used to have to write to test stations explaining that the pish poor reading on the rollers were factory standards…sprinters have never ever had decent brakes…stop being a complete fanny…unless your tyre is well soft,then it wont matter anyway to vosa…so why worry…if it bothers you so much,let it down flat when your in the services,and rally it around till it rips off the rim,problem solved…

8

tachograph:
Brake pad/shoe wear warning lights are designed to come on long before the brake wear becomes dangerous, it’s simply a light that tells you that you should do a visual check of the pads/shoes.

Obviously you was right to inform your transport office and they should make arrangements for the brakes to be checked, but when the light first comes on brake wear should not be an immediate problem and I very much doubt that the DVSA would see it as such.

If the brakes are not effective as you say then that’s an entirely different matter and the vehicle should be checked immediately, to simply say “leave bigger braking distance” is completely unacceptable.

The fact that both vehicles have the same problem and one vehicle has a slow puncture suggests that your company have a very cavalier attitude towards their vehicles, personally I wouldn’t want to work for a company that had that sort of attitude.

Part of the reason their attitude is like this is because it’s a small operation, 2 vans 1 full time driver 3 brewers 2 sales and that’s it, small business attitude, I’m not saying its the right attitude hence posting my whinge in here but I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks it’s unacceptable, thank you for your advice!

I now feel like ■■■■ for telling the head brewer I was driving a defective vehicle :laughing:

dieseldog999:
its a sprinter.brand new sprinters have no brakes…most sprinters have no brakes…mercedes used to have to write to test stations explaining that the pish poor reading on the rollers were factory standards…sprinters have never ever had decent brakes…stop being a complete fanny…unless your tyre is well soft,then it wont matter anyway to vosa…so why worry…if it bothers you so much,let it down flat when your in the services,and rally it around till it rips off the rim,problem solved…

It’s a white sprinter too, has no indicators mirrors headlights and the accelerator is stuck open :unamused:

I was laughing along to your post til I read your location and realised you were probably being serious :laughing:

I’ll pass on the Irish advice though!