German police were shocked to see the catastrophic technical state of the articulated lorry photographed below. The vehicle had tyres with no tread, a broken brake system and a rusty diesel tank to name just a few faults. The load (four trailers) was simply stacked up, and even the driver was afraid it would fall down. However, neither the driver nor the owner of the vehicle received any fines as the set was parked just off the road.
The Polish tractor unit with a trailer was inspected by officers last Monday after locals reported the vehicle “looked severely broken”.
According to a press statement, construction workers had seen a lorry driver trying to leave a company site in the industrial area in Wildeck-Obersuhl. To do this, he would have had to pass a construction site in front of it, which he obviously hadn’t succeeded in doing because of the poor condition of the vehicle.
After a first look at the lorry, it turned out what the construction workers reported was quite an understatement – the lorry didn’t look severely broken, it was in a catastrophic technical condition! There were four scrap-like semitrailers on the loading area which, as it later turned out, were to be shipped to Africa.
Long list of errors in the tractor
The officials were shocked when they got closer to the tractor unit, as they said they had “never seen anything like this before”. At first glance, they noticed that the wheel bolt on the steering axle on the right had been torn off, and the tyre was already blistering on the left side of the vehicle.
Four of the drive axle tyres were also so worn that there was virtually no tread left.
The critically rusted diesel tank, which had also been unprofessionally welded, was fastened with a simple tension belt. The supply line, now without function, had been simply cut off. The reason for this is not known; this tank was probably only intended to serve as a reserve tank. If necessary, the contents would likely have been pumped over.
The trailer
As for the trailer, the inclined position in which it was parked was particularly noticeable. It could have tipped over at any time as it was loaded with four other equally worn and scrap-like trailers that were simply stacked on top of each other and „secured” with small loose metal and wooden parts by “laying on” them.
Due to the lack of securing equipment and the defective lower trailer, the load had already shifted during the first attempts at driving.
It was impossible to repair the faulty trailer for further transport, and it was definitely not possible to make it roadworthy.
The driver was afraid “that everything would fall over”
Fortunately, the unknown driver obviously did not dare to pass the sloping construction site with the trailer in such a poor technical condition. He uttered an apt sentence to passers-by: he was afraid “that everything would fall over” and left the location after he had parked the articulated lorry.
According to the construction workers on the site, the driver parked his lorry and told them he would drive it back to Poland later. When the construction work in front of the company premises was completed, he would come back and continue the journey with the trailer.
To prevent this, officers put the lorry on a chain.
At the same time, the Polish owner was informed about the measure. Neither the owner nor the driver was issued a fine, as the tractor-trailer is currently not in the public traffic area. However, further security measures are being taken.
Photo credit @ Polizeipräsidium Osthessen
