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Posted By TBC
What’s going on with drivers of heavy goods vehicles these days?
I was going North up the M1 yesterday and came across two instances where drivers had young children in their cabs. One was in a child seat strapped onto the front passenger side of a car transporter. In another vehicle a child was sat resting his face on his hands, up to the screen in a gravel carrying heavy goods vehicle, his dad was sat in a similar position driving with his elbows.
What’s your company policy? Do you allow it? Do your insurers approve?
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Posted By JF
Before my position as health and safety manager for a well known and respected warehouse and distribution company. I drove for them as an LGV driver for some ten years, we have a strict no passengers policy as our insurers forbid it. I also drove long distance for some time and the policy was the same.
Some LGV drivers will take a chance and take there kids with them and allow the most stupidest of actions to take place. Having said that, some companies do allow children to be carried and you will find most LGV drivers are safety conscious and respectful to their employers procedures. You obviously came across two rare idiots. I assume you drive this road on a regular basis. It would be nice to remark on the safe drivers you must witness.
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Posted By Barry Cooper
Our company regularly have HGV from around Europe, and travelling with their children, wifes, girlfriends is a regular occurrence.
Our policy is that their passengers remain in the cab at all times whilst on site.
These vehicles come from Italy, Spain, Germany etc.
In the past I have had children playing football in the laoding/unloading area. Of course you can imagine my reaction. Problem is our employees loading the vehicle, say nothing.
Seems the norm in Europe
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Posted By TBC
JF – You’re right there are a great number of good and careful drivers on the road – thank goodness, but roads these days are a dangerous place to bring a child to if it is not necessary and/or against company policy. What I’m trying to bring to the forum is what might be a growing problem of pressures on the family for two parents to work and one in what seems the easiest answer to childminding on the cheap.
Barry – I to have come across some continental and British women having a smoke around the vehicles whilst their partners are chatting whilst being off-loaded or waiting.
Are we being too strict or should we just ‘chill out’ like our continental cousins?
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Posted By Glyn Phillips
If the HGV is carrying dangerous goods and engaged on an 'in scope' ADR journey, the carriage of passengers is prohibited anyway. As the DGSA in a previous role in the petrochemical industry, I regularly refused entry to our site for road tankers carrying 'passengers'. These passengers were normally children and this predominatly occured during the school holidays. We even caught drivers that would hide their children in the sleeping compartments of their cabs, knowing that we would not let them in if we found them.
On one memorable occasion we discovered that the driver of a 30,000 lt petrol tanker had left his 10 year old in the local supermarket whilst he arrived with us to collect his load! He assumed wrongly that because he did not have his chlid in the cab with him, we would load his vehicle - we didn't.
Whilst i can understand the pressures that working parents are under (I have 3 school age darlings)alowing children to travel in the cabs of HGVs should be discouraged wherever possible. I know with my own that even if they are behaving, trying to carry on a conversation can be distracting.
Companies engaged in the transport business should have a Driving at Work Policy that should address issues such as these.
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Posted By Paul Bellis
I was on a site the other day - a metal fabrication company was loading a extremely large construction onto a large flatbed using a gantry crane -ok so far
then I spot a young lad in the cab of the HGV -Ok i can live with that its the hols, and hes staying in the cab - then when I go to have a closer look -the Vehicle has its engine running and little boy decides hes going to drive turning the wheel around and brum brum etc... PANICKING SAFETY OFFICER..
When I collared the driver - he wondered what the fuss was about!
20 tonnes of steel swinging from a crane and a lorry careering down the road being driven by a 6 year old - bad combination I think.
Sometimes its worth going to work!
Paul
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Posted By Linda Crossland-Clarke
Hi
Its the summer holidays - kids are off school.
regards
Linda
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By TBC
They maybe off school, but do they need to be subjected to the dangers of the traffic – probably unnecessarily. Maybe I’ve seen to much motorway carnage.
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