Dot Com Accidents

[Chairswan]

Ouch! I hope no one was seriously hurt in that accident  

I noticed during our last period of snowfall Occado were delivering around my area still.

[I.AM_a driver]

some of us haven't stopped with the snow

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(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs121.snc3/16843_665231065061_61016412_40321249_3746463_s.jpg)

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[gomezz]

A hypothetical question:  Should it be possible for the wheel to be knocked off a Mercedes Sprinter van if it hits a kerb?  Or does that suggest a design fault or poor maintenance?

[Chairswan]

That sounds to me like the wheel nuts havn't been tightened properly.
When a wheel hits a curb really hard, the wheel doesn't COME OFF, the suspension wishbone will break at such force meaning the wheel will become bent to a funny angle you can't drive it safely (I do know this as I once did this to my own car before  ).

[ali p]

I can remember once as a driver. A very concerned colleague ,driver, phoning to the store that his nuts had sheared off.  He had been victim of such incident. From what i remember some maintenance had taken place and the wheel not put back on properly!

[Youssarian]

phoning to the store that his nuts had sheared off...

Painful! 

[winxpert]

As a Dot Comedy T/L (drivers) I get to see a WIDE variety of 'accidents' and it never ceases to amaze me how the drivers manage to get themselves into the situations - from wrapping the rear end around a tree to simple wall scrapes, and the excuses range from the sublime to the ridiculous!  We run a fleet of 7 battle scarred 54 sprinters held together with duct tape and cable ties (far more reliable than a Pullmans repair!).  Last ARB filed was where a driver drove into a property to deliver and somehow managed to bring half the boundary wall down on his way OUT (you got in ok so why the problem on the way out?) 
My latest call was from a driver who said he had been clamped and it turned out that he had decided to pop to the bank during his run and straddled a double yellow and fell foul of a private clamper. Cost him £150 and a disciplinary!
Supposed to be getting a fleet of new Iveco's this month so it will be interesting to see how long they go without a scrape!

[snappers]

I think the policy is to only have one employee per van, if that person is unable to do the job then they should be found another job instore and a multiskilled (what are they again?) or other driver takes the van trip. Most of the vans only have one seat now anyway, so you'd be lucky to have a passenger seat.

I defected a (spare) van last week, both the AM and CH shutters were extremely difficult to open, had to use both hands and really force them up. By comparison our own vans only need one hand to open the shutters.

Almost every time a spare van is used, the shutters are difficult to open, the compartments are filthy, plus many other defects. We have on several occasions refused to accept it, which in itself causes more problems.

[gomezz]

Application of WD40 to the shutters should be part of the weekly van checks in my opinion.

[packhorse]

winxpert,
we hav just taken a delivery of 10 plates Iveco's. Had to telephone to ask why there are no reversing sensors. Accidents now waiting to happen as tesco in their wisdom have decided not to have them fitted (well thats what the told us anyway)..... have you got yours yet?
Going from the old style sprinters to these are a good two feet longer with quite an overhang at the back, can see a few brick walls/fences coming down. Personally I think its a bit of a "bone shaker". I liked my old sprinter.

[gomezz]

to be honest I never trust the reversing sensors.  Go off when they shouldn't and don't go off when they should.

[packhorse]

quite right gomezz, but the back looks soooooooooo far away, I just cant judge how close I am to anything, at least they would be a BIT of a help.
I still want my sprinter back tho, been driving the same one for five years now and we became quite close           

[gomezz]

What is it with some drivers and their van?  As long as the bloody thing works, including the radio (and heater in winter) I don't care which van I have - just so long as it is not one of those god awful automatic Transits which were lethal in my honest opinion.

[Bigfoot]

Another home shopping delivery company trialled cameras and sensors, but their reversing accidents increased following the installation. Now none of their vans have sensors, and you get a bonus for not damaging the vans...

If you don't know how long the van is, or what's behind you then get out and look!

[packhorse]

Blimey, give me a chance, only had the ruddy thing just under a week, and of course I get out and have a look (stooooopid), but I didnt need to before I just knew where the back was without relying on the sensors. and  I suppose I will get used to this one too in time.
I tell you what gomezz, when you have the same van most days, you do tend to look after it, I kept it clean inside and out (time permitting), and was never ashamed to open any of the doors in front of customers because of the filth and stench.  There is nothing wrong with having a bit of pride in the vehicle you are using.

[gomezz]

All our vans are kept clean, tidy and sweet-smelling.  Which is more than can be said of some of the spares we have been sent.

[adspackman]

Do the vans still have the reversing cameras in them or have they been done away with as well?

[packhorse]

Our 54 sprinters (which they are now replacing) had reversing camera's when we took delivery of them, but as the camera's broke down they did not replair/replace them. They were brilliant, clear as a bell and even quite good in the dark.
We all got this  letter, saying that Tesco believed having the camera's would in fact reduce damage to vans when reversing, it also said that they had installed air con. as they were concerned for our comfort during the hot weather!!!  (I can only assume that they don't actually give a s***e as none have it now)

[adspackman]

Why am I not in the slightest bit surprised?

[readers35]

To succeed is nothing-it's an accident. But to feel no doubts about oneself is something very different: it is character.
Marie Leneru

[redragon]

Our vans are always in for repair we have had more loaner vans than our own sometimes.

[winxpert]

Took delivery of our very first 10 reg in June and, to date, it has cost us over 4k in repairs! (a hole pierced in the rear panel into the chiller unit) We now have 2 60 reg vans as well and I am VERY particular who drives them but I have also noticed that a lot of drivers actually FEAR them! On a personal level, I quite like the new vans (apart from the clunk click gearbox and overheating clutch) against the 54 sprinters.  Our 10 reg was the first one that Pullmans had actually seen and as a result they were over it like a rash when I dropped a driver off to pick up a 'spare'.  The downside to deliveries with the new vans is that they will not go thru the width restrictors (something that the 'glorious' Paragon system does not recognise yet it knows ALL the UK speed limits), won't go down narrow driveways and are like a camel swaying when going down bumpy roads (we cover Biggin Hill and have quite a few of those up there!).  Only time will tell I guess and I wonder how long before they roll out the new 'green' vans that run on c**p nationally

[MrTescoDriver]

About the reversing issue, Never trust the sensors, dirt on the van even effects them! I have got into the habbit of putting my head out the window when I know I'm close to an object. The Mirrors on our 56 plate sprinters have been shortened over time due to the high numbers of drivers taking the original bigger mirrors off an cracking the hell forsaken indicators lenses on them. (Bet the designer who thought of it has been promoted by mercades, made them alot of money from tesco alone!) But these shorter mirrors make it more diffcult to judge the length of the van an also impare the rear vision, as I find I have to swerve ever so slightly as i drive down the road to see if there are any vehicles behind me, ie Police lol

[QNQ]

Hi sorry to post this here  , but for some reason I cannot start a new topic ,
 Are any other stores experiencing lots of unrouted deliveries  ,,

 If a moderator could move this topic , or another member could be kind enough to ask the question for me , I would be grateful ,

 Cheers ,


[admin]Try this, http://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?page=3
and this, http://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?topic=10467.0.

Nomad[/admin]

[The Mrs]

Four car crash closes M65 at Blackburn

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/8875250.Four_car_crash_closes_M65_at_Blackburn/

The Tesco delivery van, Hyundai Coupe, Fiat Cinquecento and Volkswagen Bora collided near junction five, Blackburn, on the westbound carriageway at about 5.25pm.