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Auction safety concerns raised
Page 51
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• Auction staff and bidders are being put in harm's way by the practice of driving trucks past the rostrum at sales. So claims Mike Gray, Fleet Auction Group's commercial vehicle sales director.
"With brake and accelerator play varying a lot more than on cars, and with a greater number of blind spots, driving these vehicles on a stop-start basis through an auction hall can be quite dangerous," he contends.
"As a consequence there have been a number of people injured over the years. Some of those injuries have been minor, but others have been much more serious.
"There's little doubt that more people will come to harm in future unless this policy is changed."
Fleet Auction Group has already taken action, says Gray.
All the commercial vehicles are started up and available for inspection prior to each sale, but remain Stationary. Bidders then adjourn to
a specially designed hall, and a picture of each lot and its details are projected onto a screen as it comes under the hammer.
Commercial Vehicle Auctions managing director, Chris Wright, doesn't deny that drive-through sales present potential hazards, but stresses that CVA takes every precaution to prevent accidents. "We don't admit children, for example," he comments.
"We believe that bidders like to see and hear the vehicles in motion," he continues. "What's more, if four or five virtually-identical trucks from the same source are going through, then it's difficult to pick out the one you were interested in if you're having to rely on a picture.
"You either have to have a very good memory, or have made copious notes. It would be a long time before I was convinced that a static sale was the right way to go where large volumes of vehicles are involved," he adds.