Then the FleetWatch Brake & Tyre team visited the North West Province to train 80 or so Traffic Officials on ‘things trucking’, we really didn’t expect to have all the vehicles inspected taken off the road for defects. Out of the eight tested, six were served with
Discontinuation of Service notices and two interlinks were parked to have their tyres changed by service crews before being allowed back on the road.
While the state of the trucks inspected was – as usual – disappointing, the encouraging thing about the whole exercise was the unbelievable enthusiasm of the group of officers who attended the training. Probing questions to the experts from our partner companies and attention to detail came very much to the fore, especially on the second practical day when random trucks were taken off the road for testing.
From not knowing what a slack adjuster looks like – never mind its function – to spotting incorrectly set slack adjusters, or a mismatched set comprising a manual and automatic slack adjuster on one axle, they advanced tremendously in their knowledge. It was empowerment at its best and one could feel their confidence levels rise as the two-day exercise progressed.
And this is what it’s all about. Putting qualified traffic officials onto the road who are able to spot unroadworthy signs on trucks, take them to a test centre for verification and take them off the road if necessary. To do so, they don’t need equipment – just knowledge and the North West province now has 80 more traffic officials who possess that knowledge. All good stuff.
Download the full report of the Brake & Tyre Watch North West below.
After all: Knowledge is Power
View the full report here – DOWNLOAD
