Why does a bit of snow stop them emptying the bins....

[patrick]

....is a question I'm often asked as the manager of 24 trucks and almost 60 refuse / recycling collectors.

Well here's the reason why.  "Ice Road Trucker" comes to Staffordshire! and watching 26 tonnes sliding backwards downhill  was interesting to say the least. But no damage was done and no one was hurt.









Roll on the thaw.... at least floods dont usually stop us working!

P

[JohnnyTh]

To be honest, as a norwegian i do t see the problem. You just need the gear for it. All trucks in norway use spiked snowchains

[O.C.]

In the U.K we simply aren't used to snow and the effects it has on the road network, as a consequence we don't have the equipment or experience to deal with adverse conditions that some of our Euro cousins have.

Its no fun being in an HGV that's sliding...believe me 

[patrick]

The driver of this one wasn't a happy bunny and in trying to get it off the slope I saw it slide again and it was a scary sight!

[JohnnyTh]

i know you dont. i have had a few laughs over my facebook friends when they post pictures of extreme driving conditions in the snow :P This winter we have not had much snow. but around new year we did get 2 feet in one night. that gave us some problems.
Mid desember there was a heavy snowfall. Some roads where closed for a few days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0xOsQwTfgk

[lord vader]

To be honest, as a norwegian i do t see the problem. You just need the gear for it. All trucks in norway use spiked snowchains

As a english man I dont see the problem with a few inches of snow we have over here in England,unlike a few feet of snow you have in Norway. The bin men over here are to soft now, i remember when the bin men where REAL MEN, no walking round in hi viz, lifting the bins up and carrying them on there backs and putting them back after emptying them. The bins over here all have wheels on, so if you cant get the bin wagon to the bins why cant the bin men take the bins to the wagon? to much health and bloody safety rules over here. I think you should send us some of your Norwegian refuge managers over here to teach our soft English refuge managers how to cope with a little snow and ice.  rant over. 

[Lonewolf]

Patrick, I understand totally what you mean, never good to have a large vehicle like that sliding.......
2010 I got sent to this, the refuse wagon slid down a hill and into the corner of a hotel. No major damage to the wagon, smashed screen, scratched paintwork but scared the living daylights out of the driver and crew!



The steep hill they decided to drive down, even I was wary in the 4 x 4 I was driving. An armoured Mitsubishi Shogun we were loaned by the RUC to get about in, weighed a bloody ton.



In all honesty they were a bit daft taking the wagon down to the hotel but they were just trying to help out as the bins hadn't been emptied for a while because of the bad weather.

[JohnnyTh]

Honestly buy a par of snowchains and its not much of a problem. I have tried a little sliding myself including the 6x6 Scania i drove in the army, a 20ton frontloader and otherstuff. In the army we did 90km/hr on snow and ice. Snowchains on all 6 wheels and used a digger to tighten them... But would not recomend that.
From time to time i drive a minibuss. Mercedes Vito and its usless on ice. I have ben sliding backward and sideways with it. Bought snowchains, takes 10-20 min to fit and the problem is gone. But your top speed is limiteded.
Over here sll HGV need to carry 3 snowchains at all time.
Its a big problem here with european HGV drivers whitout spiked tyers and snowchains.

[patrick]

Honestly

Think about the guys who have to work on foot around these 26T vehicles and also of the implications of taking chains on and off every time the truck comes in and out of untreated residential areas.

This was meant to be light hearted thread!

[JohnnyTh]

Anything armored is the worst thing you could drive on a snow coverd road. To dam heavy.

[JohnnyTh]

Honestly

Think about the guys who have to work on foot around these 26T vehicles and also of the implications of taking chains on and off every time the truck comes in and out of untreated residential areas.

This was meant to be light hearted thread!

We do that all the time. 

[patrick]

and finally.......

my responsibility under the H&S at work act means that I have to keep my staff safe and that safety must come before removing waste  :-)  My employers policy is that if we cant do something safely we don't do it until we find a way to reduce the risk

I once spend a long evening at A&E when an employee had been hit by a car. I should have been celebrating my wedding anniversary!  I 'd rather see waste collected late then have to tell a family that a husband / son/ father / brother is not coming home!

[JohnnyTh]

I have never seen waste that could not wait. It never go anywhere. 
I used to work on one of thise trucks here in norway. We still use paper bags that we colect at the house and cary to the truck

[O.C.]

Amongst other HGVs I've driven is one of these, which are 'great fun' to operate ~ and Left Hand Drive Johnny 

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRzxUBrx1vyFCr4fvOjLB8ecac_OjsZck7A77ijxqfl0WqqXHnX2w

[JohnnyTh]

looks like a big vacumecleaner  We had one of those at a plant i used to work at. It was right hand drive