What you need to know as a Heavy Goods Vehicle Driver
This is the first in our series of helpful information for Vocational Licence Holders – HGV (LGV ) / PCV etc
There are many responsibilities of a vocational driver and these include being professional and law abiding on the road and also things like daily vehicle checks. For every vehicle on the road, it is down to the driver to make sure it is roadworthy and legal. Ultimately, the driver is responsible for the vehicle they are driving. Therefore, it is very important that prior to driving on the public roads, each driver thoroughly checks the vehicle for any defects etc.
The driver should spend sufficient time checking all the major parts of the vehicle in respect of safety equipment and routine items. At the very least each time a vehicle is taken out of a depot for example, the driver should have checked the following:
- Wheels (including nuts)
- Tyres
- Brakes
- Lights
- Bodywork in general
- Trailer Coupling
- Load safety and security
- Mirrors
Nowadays, driving a large goods vehicle on the streets of the United Kingdom is a challenging task to say the least. Especially in built up areas such as London. When driving in city centres, drivers rely heavily on mirrors and these should all have been checked prior to commencement of the journey. Furthermore, the required mirrors should be in place for example:
- Class II – normal rear view mirror
- Class IV – wide angle rear view
- Class V – side close proximity
- Class VI – front projection
These are explained in more detail on the TfL Safe Lorry Scheme website.
Here are some links to the TfL PDF documents:
Safer Lorry Scheme poster
Full wording of the scheme’s Traffic Regulation Orders
List of vehicles exempted from the scheme
Exemption for trailers with sliding bogies
Exemption for HGVs fitted with indirect vision devices
Vehicle compliance guide: class V and VI mirrors
Vehicle compliance guide: side guards
Cyclists are all too vulnerable to heavy goods vehicles and drivers need to safeguard themselves to prevent collisions. This includes simple things such as ensuring the indicators work correctly, the audible reversing and turning alarms work as they should and that there is sufficient view out of each window / windscreen which is not blocked by items such as satellite navigation systems and TV’s etc.
Keeping good clear unrestricted vision all around the vehicle is essential to prevent collisions and ultimately prosecutions.
The Gov website offers a large amount of advice for drivers and those looking to become vocational licence holders. For more information on the Heavy Goods Vehicle Daily Walk Around Check, visit the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310146/hgv-driver-daily-walkaround-check.pdf
Or CLICK HERE
