Good visibility is essential for safe truck driving – so why, asks Mick Rennison, do so many drivers still clutter their windscreens with flags, toys and suchlike?
Recently I read a complaint by a truck driver that he’d been stopped by the DVSA over the state of his windscreen, calling the officer a jobs worth and a whole lot worse. Apart from wondering why he felt the need to tell all and sundry his name, I saw the guy as a complete bonehead. He, along with all the others who decorate their screens with ‘been everywhere’ flags, cuddly toys, footie scarves and the like, obviously isn’t a professional driver.
As the law stands, anything obstructing the screen within the sweep of your wiper blades is illegal, which is why these idiots remove all that crap before the wagon goes for an MoT. They know it would fail.
The law also applies to satnavs, phones and delivery notes.
Common sense, maybe
Have these guys ever wondered why it’s against the law? Maybe the DVSA thought it up just to piss them off, or to raise a bit of cash? Or maybe, like most professional drivers, the powers that-be thought it common sense that every available inch of screen should be clear to enable us to go about our jobs safely and competently.
It can – and does – save lives. For instance, many years ago, while driving a Ford Transcontinental, a young girl on a bike rode out across the front of me as I pulled away from a zebra crossing.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2017 من Truck & Driver.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2017 من Truck & Driver.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Well forked Daf
Remember, we like to cover all sorts of different trucks here at T&D – like this impressive new CF rigid complete with Moffett Mounty forklift
King of the hill
Moving heavy equipment off road calls for a truck with plenty of power and traction, which is why M&J Plant chose a mighty 6x4 FH16 750
Time Machine 2015-2019
It’s the final part of our series on the history of UK haulage. Let’s look back at those innocent times before that pesky virus turned up
Original and best
There are few trucks which have been customised to the level of the Scania 143, but let’s not forget that the standard product was pretty awesome just as it left the factory, like this rare 420
GOING ALL THE WAY
Simon Rogers got behind the wheel as soon as he was able to, and nearly 30 years later, his company is going from strength to strength, with a striking all-black, top-spec Iveco S-Way 570 the latest addition to the fleet
Abnormal loads
In the distant past, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, truck drivers were a very different breed, made from sterner stuff than us mere mortals
Range change
After a gap of 13 years, Renault trucks have reappeared in the unique colours of MacRitchie Highland Distribution. T&D takes the high road to Inverness to meet owners, Donald and Catriona MacRitchie
Cutting a dash
Freshly showered and munching a healthy egg and cress sarnie in Gloucester North services, Chris has a Foden update
Air we go!
On Saturday 29 May at 6pm, 240 drivers gathered with their trucks at South Mimms Services for a parade to raise vital money for Essex & Hertfordshire Air Ambulance
A Cutt Above
From coal to turf to fencing and loads more, there’s not much the Calcutt fleet hasn’t transported over the years
