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Aiming for test failure
Page 9
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It's a crushing indictment of how seriously operators take the annual test that the single biggest failure item for HGVs is headlamp aim. Not brakes, not suspension, not steering. It's something that can even be checked at your local VI test station before the test proper. Presumably those operators whose three-axle trucks failed on headlamp aim during 2001/2002 must dearly enjoy throwing away Az for failing, and then saying goodbye to another £20.50 for a retest. After all, it's only money...
The VI says it is "currently undertaking preliminary work to establish an exhaustive survey to investigate why headlamp aim has consistently been the most common test fail item since the early 19905".
We can save it a lot of time and effort. It's because operators are too damned lazy to check headlamp aim prior to a test—and think that a failure for this won't attract too much attention back at the Traffic Area Office. The answer to this is simple. Mark up the test failure ticket "BI" for Bone Idle, in the same way a PG9 roadside prohibition notice is marked "S" for a significant maintenance failure.
Then, when the Traffic Commissioner calls the haulier in to answer for his poor annual test failure record he can explain why he's too lazy to carry out a simple pre-test check. It's just as well that the industry's approach to annual test preparation isn't put under the spotlight Be honest how well would you do?