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Copyright
© 2001 FleetWatch magazine and FleetWatch On-Line.
No
part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written
permission from the publishers. Views published are not necessarily
those of the publishers.
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Readers will recall
from our last BrakeWatch
exercise that Wolfgang Lehmann, a trailer expert with
over 25 years experience in the industry, was on hand to cast his
trained and experienced eye over the trailers to spot faults. This
grand man of the industry was again with us in Middelburg where he
once again exhibited his enthusiasm and energy by climbing under, on
top of and all over the trucks to ascertain their state of
maintenance. The following photographs – with his comments –
serve to give an idea of the general state of the 35 trucks hauled
in on the day. There were many many more faults but these
photographs adequately tell the sorry story.
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There is
very little right with this truck...(1-4)
1. No fuel cap
- use plastic
2. No door handles on both sides
3. Hardly any hinge pins at the bottom of the drop side
doors.
4. The locking mechanism for the drop side doors only
closed on one door.
5. The doors were held in position in the lugs with
wire
6. The rear number plate was wired up
7. No number plate lights
8. The electrics were shocking
9. No number plate in front
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These two
(5) trucks
from Zimbabwe were only 25km from their destination and the
cops pulled them in. Thank goodness for that. They were moving
killing machines. |
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One of (6)
the reasons why the
trailers from Zimbabwe were put into a bonded area - no shoes
and linings. |
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"‘n
Boer maak ‘n plan".
(7) I’m
surprised he didn’t tighten the batteries all around. They
can still jump out. |
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Fairly
new (8) shoes
fitted to a drum with score marks, heat cracks and deep
grooves caused by the previous lining. This is false economy.
The drum is most probably scrap but the owner is too stingy to
fit a new one. Rather have somebody killed for the sake of
R500 once the drum shatters and throws bits through your
windscreen. A good lawyer will most probably get the owner out
of the mess. Lock them up…… |
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Here we (10) are
looking at the rear of a tipper. Notice the following:
1. Only one brake light working on the left side
2. Indicator light on the left side missing - the other one
damaged
3. No number plate
4. No number plate light
5. Very dirty chevron board 6. Missing reflective tape
7. No mud flaps
And this was
only the rear! Thanks to Traffic cops, this one landed in the
bonded area as well. Just because the brake lights come on
doesn’t mean the brakes are actually working. This one had
faulty brakes as well. |
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Comment
from Wolfgang Lehmann |
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SINCE OUR
first campaign at
City Deep, nothing has really changed. Looking at the 24 out
of 35 trucks/trailers which were rejected at Middelburg, I’ve
come to the conclusion that 80% of transport operators
couldn’t care a hoot about maintenance on their vehicles
or about the safety of other road users.
It is still
the same old story: Make as much money as possible, do as
little maintenance as possible, try to get away with murder
and hope that the cops will never catch you. But when
somebody does find out, then you deny everything, put on an
angelic face, try to bribe the traffic authorities, get a
good lawyer and if you reach the court, look the judge in
the eye and say: "Your honour, I was just trying to
make a living. I’m sorry that I killed two breadwinners
when the wheels came off but I really didn’t know that the
tyres were so smooth and that only two studs were holding
the wheels in position." It’s sickening! |
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By
the time you read this, the Brake & Tyre Watch team will
have
trained
some 20 cops from the Tshwane area and worked with them
on
vehicle inspections in and around the Jacaranda city.
Look
out for the results in a future edition. |
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