simon57

iTrader: (2)

My better half got pulled into the M11/harlow roundabout road side check this morning.

Now they didnt check the co's (thank god) but she told me that they grabed the o/s/f wheel and tried to shake it........on the ground........is this right.?

5cby

i remeber when i got stopped in my truck he got underneath and was banging the front with a hammer while i turned the steering wheel
i think they can check what they like

steve

StickyMicky

sumbody started banging my car with a hammer i would have ended up in jail for a bit

simon57

iTrader: (2)

But surely if he was checking for any play the wheel needed to be off the ground.....

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

Simon you can detect wheel bearing play,some steering play & a loose wheel on the hub with the wheel on the ground.When I was looking at cars for my daughter you would be suprised at how many there were where you could get the play in the wheel bearing to click when you rocked it. For suspension & bushes etc the play is usually checked with the wheels hanging.

Mark

BedHog

What's the point? If they find something can they prosecute?

Fair enough if your tyres are bald or something, but a bit of play in a wheel bearing???

Presumably they want to make sure you car is in top shape so you can go flying past the next speed camera

ian_sadler

It just makes them look like they know what they are doing. Just a bit better then kicking the tyres

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

Taken from :-

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/hgvpsvop...cks.htm#P5_886

What happens at a spot-check?
Vehicles are selected for examination and are directed to the check site by a police officer or VOSA Enforcement Support Officers (VESO), who like the police are able to stop vehicles for checking. During mobile checks the police officer or VESO will direct you to the temporary check site. Once at the check site your vehicle will be examined by VOSA Traffic and Vehicle Examiners.

A Traffic Examiner will inspect your vehicle to ensure its compliance with construction and use standards. They will also check compliance with;

Any drivers hours requirements
Weight
Excise duty, operator and driver licensing
Documentation
When determining compliance with driver licensing Traffic Examiners will check the details given by the driver at the side of the road, against those held on DVLA’s database to ensure that the driver has the correct licence entitlement.

The Vehicle Examiner will inspect and check the roadworthiness of vehicles in terms of their mechanical condition.

He will kick tyres & then suck in breath whilst shaking head from side to side.

VOSA also takes part in multi agency checks which involves checks by other enforcement agencies including Customs and Excise, Department of Social Services, Immigration and others.

This multi agency check will show that the marital status of the said examiner's parents is of a dubious nature thus making him what we knew already.

Mark

highlander68k

My good friend was stopped for almost an hour while they throroughly check his car.

He is a middle aged man, smart in presentation and drives a K reg Mazda 626 which is in good condition.

He couldn't believe how throrough they were and it made him 45 minutes late for work too. Luckily his employer is understanding. He got an emissions check too.

They found nothing major wrong and only advised him that one of his tyres was wearing unevenly and he should get it checked.

stilover

Obviously they have solved all crime in britain, to allow them to harass members of the public with such treatment.
It cost money to catch a criminal. It earns money to make a criminal out of a otherwise law abiding driver.

SirFozzalot

My missus got stopped and had her car (Saxo) searched from top to bottom. Under the carpet in the boot, removed spare wheel to inspect under the car, under the seats, in the wheel arches, everywhere. They didn't find anything (as there was nothing to find! ) and sent her on her way after about 35mins.

Quite distressing to be made to feel like a criminal though. Especially as it was at the side of a busy road with plenty of rubber-neckers!

EVOVI

Unless it is Police officer pulling you in then just ignore them...Are they going to come chasing after you in there car with flashing orange lights???
They may report you but plead ignorance,they might have the same powers as the police but how many people know this??

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I don't know why they bother with cars (trucks, vans or caravans can understandably be overweight, plus caravans never ever get checked properly anyway ). We have a national MOT database, much like the insurance or car tax database. Police should, by now have access to see when a vehicle was last MOT'd. Perhaps because the system isn't automatied yet is the reason why they don't bother....Hopefully when the new star spangled all-singing and dancing "computerised" mot system finally gets on-line, these kind of checks may no longer be nessercery if a car has been recently MOT'd. Which will be in a few months if things go to plan. Typically they haven't so far, with some quite monumental ****-ups including accidentally sending every MOT station in the country a nasty warning letter about them not sending in their details/application when the already had, and accompanied it all with a swanky information pack...what a waste of trees! (not tax payers money though - thankfully)

I can't see the point in these checks anyway, all they can do is serve a defect notice, or in extreme cases condemn the car - in which cases most either don't have an MOT or had a fraudulant one issued. Somewhat like a needle in a haystack if you ask me.

2000 sport

iTrader: (1)

i got stopped on the A614 a couple of months back, had a check on all the lights, tyres, CO's.. think that was it, only took a couple of mins..

if that is all it is, then i dont see a problem with it as some people are driving around in cars which are not road worthy, and this is a good way of stopping them.. however, i dont think that keeping you for 30mins + is necessary and emptying the contents of your car ??

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

I could too understand it if the car looked like a bucket.

Oh thats prob why they pulled simons car then


Only joking fella

mart360

They,d have fun doing the Co on my car,,,

visible smoke check!!

Mart

mgcvk

Is it true that if they want to check emmissions you can say (for example) that you think your engine has been playing up and you would like to get it fixed first. I have heard that you can be given two weeks to get it independantly checked and send them the report?