Pre-start check: an expired CoF, a bulged steer tyre and a 9 am deadline
Tama is doing the pre-start check on a 12-tonne rigid curtain-sider before a 260 km run. It is 5:40 am, dark and drizzling. He finds: the certificate of fitness label expired nine days ago; the left steer tyre has a bulge the size of a golf ball in the sidewall; the low-pressure warning buzzer takes about four minutes to stop when the engine is started from cold; the left rear outer wheel shows a wheel-nut indicator arrow pointing the wrong way; and one of the two straps holding a pallet of paint is frayed through about a third of its width. The truck was booked for a CoF inspection next Tuesday. The dispatcher says the paint has to be at the customer by 9 am and there is nothing else available. Nobody else has recorded the defects this morning.
1. Sort the findings. Which of them stop the truck legally or safely, and what does each one mean?
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Take them one at a time, because they fail in different ways:
- CoF expired nine days ago. A legal bar. A heavy vehicle must hold a current CoF to be used on a road. It cannot be renewed until the defects are fixed and the vehicle passes inspection, so the truck is off the road until then.
- Bulge in the left steer tyre sidewall. An unsafe tyre. A sidewall bulge means the cords are damaged; a steer tyre failing at speed means loss of steering. The vehicle does not move until that tyre is replaced.
- Air pressure taking four minutes to build. A brake system defect - compressor, governor or a leak. Air brakes are the primary stopping system on this truck, and slow build-up can also mean slow recovery during repeated brake use.
- Wheel-nut indicator out of line. A wheel may have loosened, or the indicator has moved. It needs re-torquing and re-checking before the vehicle is driven.
- Frayed strap. The load restraint is below standard. A strap is rated at full width; a third of it gone means it is not fit for the load.
Every one of these is a reason not to move; the CoF and the tyre are the two that make the decision for him.
2. What must happen before the truck moves, and what is the correct process for reporting and for the CoF?
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The truck stays where it is until every item is cleared.
- Record it. Log each defect in the operator's defect record with the time, and photograph them, so there is a clear record that the driver found and reported them.
- Notify. Tell the dispatcher and the operator immediately. They are the ones who can authorise repairs and a replacement vehicle, and it is their system that has let an expired CoF and a damaged tyre go unnoticed.
- Repair. New steer tyre by a qualified fitter, air system diagnosed and repaired, wheel re-torqued and indicators re-checked, strap replaced, load re-secured.
- Re-inspect. Book the CoF inspection now - the booking next Tuesday does not extend the label; the expiry date is the expiry date, and the CoF cannot be issued while the defects exist.
- Re-check. Do the pre-start again from the top and confirm each item before starting the engine.
A failed inspection means the vehicle is put off the road, so it is worth getting the repairs right the first time rather than presenting it with defects.
3. The dispatcher is pushing hard about the 9 am delivery. What is Tama's position, and what is at stake for him personally?
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Tama is the last line of defence and the person who will be behind the wheel, so the position is straightforward: he does not drive it.
- Land Transport Act. Using a vehicle without a current CoF, or with defective tyres or brakes, is an offence. 'The boss told me to' is not a defence for the driver.
- Health and Safety at Work Act. Both the driver and the operator have duties. The operator must have working vehicle-check and defect-reporting systems; the driver must not operate an unsafe vehicle. Commercial pressure is exactly the hazard the rules exist to control.
- The deadline is not a lawful reason. A bulged steer tyre at 90 km/h, or a brake system that takes minutes to build pressure, are the sort of defects that end with a crash report, not a late delivery. The fines, the off-road sticker and the lost vehicle time will dwarf the cost of a late pallet.
- Escalate in writing if the company will not act, and refuse the task. Nobody can lawfully require him to drive it, and a written record protects him if the pressure continues.