Wet roads spell danger for van drivers

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of the rain. I don’t like driving with the windscreen wipers squeaking up and down and when the wind gets up, if you’re in a high sided van, then driving can be a real pain in the neck.

Wet roads can spell danger in a second for van drivers and I would hope that most private van owners check their vehicle regularly, but if you drive a firm’s van you need to do more than check they’ve got adequate fleet van insurance, you need to make sure the van is fit for the road.

In wet weather that means having a long hard look at the tyres to make sure they’ve got enough tread, are inflated to the right pressure and that someone hasn’t mixed up tyre types.

The tyre safety organisation TyreSafe has some really useful information for commercial vehicle drivers and fleet managers, as well as downloadable tyre safety leaflets for car and small van drivers which can help you understand the dos and don’ts in tyre maintenance.

I checked Vanessa’s van tyres the other day and found that the two rear ones were underinflated. I think I’ll print her off a leaflet and pop it in the cab – and while I’m there I’ll grab my jump leads back!  

Image © AlishaV via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Sandwich van wars

As a van driver I’m always on the look out for an interesting and durable commercial vehicle because you never know when you might need to upgrade from a small van to a panel van or even up to a Luton.

So when the latest sandwich van swung onto our industrial estate I was ready to have a look.

Up until then we’d had a number of small vans come round with their sandwiches and rolls in the back – first was Barbara with her baps, crisps and chocolate bars, but sadly she was ousted when Larry’s Hot Lunch van came round. His dark blue transit van was equipped with polystyrene boxes containing bacon rolls and pasties and we thought we were in snack-heaven.

Then, just a few days ago, a new breed of sandwich van tempted the workers out from their yards and workshops, and this one was a beauty.

Sandy’s Sandwiches turned up with shiny silver van which, when the sides lifted up, revealed a hot cupboard containing bacon rolls and jacket potatoes, and a cold section where the sandwiches were presented on shelves and the cans were chilled.

Suddenly there was excitement on the lot, people I had never seen before came out to investigate and within moments the van was surrounded as workers chose their lunches.

I’m sorry to say it, but I think Larry’s days are numbered here on the estate. Warm rolls and bottles of pop just won’t cut it now that Sandy has bought her wares to us. Oh, and the van is spanking!