Wheely good

[speedyguy]

This may get Limeyphil and VOSA peeps wound up.

After dealing/listening in to a couple of jobs recently with wheels coming off trucks (it has happened with cars/coaches as well previously so you don’t all get wound up) the age old question what do you think is the main reason for wheels bouncing off, sometimes with fatal and life changing results, (for the wheel through the windscreen recieving person on the opposite carriageway as well as the truck driver and his/her family).

Is it a lack of maintenence/daily walk round check ?

Lack of training ?
Where do you learn about these things ? When i was a lot younger and possibly greener i asked the older drivers what the clicking noice was as i couldn’t find it, loose wheel nuts were pointed out. Ever since that day i always check my wheel nuts/tyres religiously for “defects”.

I’ve noticed on some wheels the “ovaling” of holes which is loose nuts or possibly very old wheel hubs wearing through, but the other night 2 wheels off a trailer, one completely lost, the other by the truck. Not a nut in sight but the “nut” holes looked fine (possibly the inner wheel on a double axle ?).

I think vosa/BIB take a dim view on such events what do you guys think.

Ps in one recent job the wheels came off while the truck was already under a PG9 for an other unrectified defect I reckon that would be a trip before our esteemed MS Bell

There were approx 300-400 passengers on the last vehicle, could have ended up with lots of fatalities everywhere . But a lifetime supply of mutton stew

[rog]

speedyguy:
Lack of training ?

It is one of the most important parts of the training - only a very bad instructor would not teach the trainee how to check and why.

[fastrantiger]

speedyguy:
There were approx 300-400 passengers on the last vehicle, could have ended up with lots of fatalities everywhere .

Bit of a squeeze, I trust they were all very good friends

Tiger.

[mark_h]

can be a number of things, firm i used to work for, 1 of the lads motors was in for service on a satdee, fitters fitted 2 new tyres/rims on the n/s/r torqued up nuts all job done an dusted, no problems, fitters fit wheel trims back on driver sets off monday morning as usual, come thursday, driver still hadnt been back the yard, and the n/s/r wheels fell off on the m62, now the boss gave the driver loads for not doing his walk around check as wheel trims were fitted and driver had said he had’nt checked as he presumed they would be ok !!

it turned out that the 2 tyres on rims that had been fitted, there was rust inbetween were the rims meet flush, now after the 4 days of running the rust had gone hence the rusty rims making the wheels coming lose an making them fall off, end result a whole new hub an 10 wheel studs an a very driver

not too sure what happened with the boss/driver etc with vosa tho

but it goes to show thats walk around checks r worth doing !!!

[dafmad]

Should wheel nut markers be compulsory ?, that seemed all the rage once, but, not seen that many of them lately.