WIND HAZARDS
Page 38
Page 39
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Taking a
atterin
Recent gales sweeping the country at more than 100mph have forced hauliers to take extra precautions to prevent their vehicles being blown over. Unfortunately, however, there is no sure route to safety in such unpredictable conditions...
ale force winds have made driving a truck a pretty hazardous occupation over the past few weeks, but there is little authoritative guidance about how to operate safely. Most hauliers leave it to their drivers to decide, and views about the best precautions differ sharply. Newly qualified truck drivers have undergone a baptism of wind rather than fire because training offers precious little preparation for coping with winds that have exceeded 100mph,
Peter Hodgson, managing director of West 1-lerts Training, which trains more than 350 LGV drivers a year, says that when a particularly severe gust catches a lorry "that vehicle becomes unstable and there are lots of different aspects such as the closeness of other vehicles and the width of the road which dictate how well or how poorly the driver copes".
Neville Clements is head of transport training for Centrex, the commercial arm of Road Transport Industry Training and Business Services. He says: "Training is only the answer to teaching people the basics of any job; there are a lot of things which only come through experience."
Don McIntyre, the Freight Transport Association's head of highways and traffic, says the basic rule of thumb for coping with high winds should be to slow down, allow plenty of room when overtaking, and take extra care when passing single-track vehicles. "If you are on a motorway or an open road and going in and out of cuttings, particular alertness is needed," he adds. "A vehicle is going to get caught when suddenly moving into high winds."
Cumbria Police generally advise drivers of high-sided vehicles not to use exposed roads in the county when wind speeds are above 25mph because these speeds can almost double where wind is funnelled through gullies and small valleys. And PC Colin Frood, a vehicle examiner with the force, says drivers should not wait for police advice before deciding whether to pull over, slow down or take a less exposed route. "I appreciate that wagon drivers have a lot to contend with," he says, "but they should be aware of the surroundings by watching how trees are
moving and where bits of litter are coming from. The behav iour of lighter vehicles travelling in front can also give an indication."
Frood's advice about preparing empty curtainsiders for windy conditions is contentious, and illustrates the difficulty of issuing formal guidelines. He argues that the curtains should not be tied back because of the danger of roof panels being blown out. "If kept taut the wind comes off it," he says. "But if slack, the curtain goes concave and acts like a sail. Nine times out of ten, curtainsiders are blown over because the curtains have not been properly tensioned and maintained."
But Chris Brown, transport manager of Carlisle-based Eddie Stobart, with a fleet of around 900 curtainsiders, expects his drivers to tie curtains back or take them off altogether. "We have never had a problem with the roof being blown," he says. "The restraining straps which are used to hold the load are fastened to the side of the trailer to give more stability to the roof."
Even the Driving Standards Agency, which sets the LGV driving test, failed to come up with a definitive answer when it addressed this issue last year. Project manager Bob Brooker says: "We were saying you should tie them back but then we understood from the industry that it may cause insurance problems for certain companies. Nobody could totally agree."
There is also disagreement about whether drivers should bunch with other trucks for wind protection.
Vulnerable
Frood believes this practice should be encouraged, particularly where larger trucks run alongside smaller vans. "We have paired them up in the past if the wind is a particular problem," he says. "You obviously try to put the vulnerable vehicle in danger of being pushed off course in the lee of the heavier vehicle."
But Terry Loveridge, manager of Training Force, a subsidiary of Lane Group which trains more than 400 LGV and PCV drivers a year, argues that air turbulence caused by the close proximity of vehicles can actually add to instability problems. "I would want as much as possible to be in a solo situation so that the danger of other vehicles swerving into your path is avoided," he says. "You should create as much space around yourself as you can."
Stobart's Brown says two to three of the company's vehicles are blown over every year, but giving advice about when to take precautions is difficult. "Being where we are based it can be quite calm and you don't think there is a problem," he explains. "But go a few miles out and it can be quite windy." Although customers exert considerable pressure to deliver on time, he says they sometimes have to be told that it is better for goods to arrive intact than end up on the side of the road. "We carry empty cans for Metal Box," Brown adds. "Obviously they're very light and we never take a chance with those."
Ruth Pott, head of employment and training for the Road Haulage
Association, says that employers have a general duty of care to their employees to ensure they are working in a safe environment. "My experience is that most employers respect the judgement of the driver and tell them to sit tight until it is safe to proceed," she says.
But Danny Bryan, the Transport & General Workers' Union national secretary for road transport, says slowing down in windy conditions is increasingly viewed by drivers as a luxury they can ill afford to take because of a trend towards "job and finish" contracts. This means drivers have to absorb the first hour of any delays in a day out of their own time.
"One of the major sources of contention in the industry as far as drivers are concerned is that in many cases they are responsible for delays that occur as a result of these sort of circumstances," says Bryan. Although drivers will supposedly make up lost time on days when deliveries go well, he points out that there are very few opportunities to do this because logistics planning is becoming so sophisticated.
by Guy Sheppard Peter Hodgson, WHT.