ADUK Archive

Perhaps I've got too much time on my hands, but recently (and due to a change in my circumstances, more of which in a few months hopefully) I've been thinking about the POWDERY check and cockpit drill. As I'm sure everyone knows, it goes something like this:

-Petrol (or diesel)
-Oil
-Water (and other fluids)
-Damage/Defects
-Electrics
-Rubber (i.e. tyres)
-Yourself

...followed by checking:

-The car is secured (i.e Handbrake and Neutral)
-Seat (and headrest) is set correctly
-Mirrors are set correctly
-Doors are closed
-Seat belts are fastened
-Set controls (e.g. ventilation)

But to me the order seems all wrong. For example, when doing POWDERY, you'd first need to get in the car and turn the key to see how much fuel you have, then take the key out and get out the car to check oil, water, damage, rubber, etc. I know you can say something to the likes of "Petrol, which I will check when I turn the key...", but the underlying order still seems like it could be more logical. Therefore, my suggestion is something like this.

BEFORE YOU GET IN...
-Yourself (and before you do anything you must be in a fit state to drive)
-Damage/Defects
-Tyres

THEN OPEN THE BONNET...
-All fluids (inc. oil, water, washer, brake, etc...)

THEN IN THE CAR
-Handbrake
-Neutral
-Seat (and headrest) position
-Seatbelt

THEN WITH ELECTRICS ON (i.e. first click of key)
-Electrics (i.e. dash lights out)
-Mirrors
-Petrol
-Set controls (and familiarise if need be)

THEN START THE ENGINE

I hope my theory makes more than a modicum of sense, and I haven't neglected something obvious (it has been known) that would invalidate it.

All we need is a snappy acronym (good luck with that one ).

Just because its in that order doesn't mean that you have to do it in that order!

playtent wrote:Just because its in that order doesn't mean that you have to do it in that order!

This much I understand. Therefore it would make more sense having it in a logical order. What makes it more confusing is that if you doing POWDERY and a cockpit drill, they have to be 'intertwined' to be put a logical order. Obviously once you know it well it's easy to do it out of sequence, but why not then have it in the right sequence to begin with - it's not going to make it any harder.

jameslb101 wrote: but why not then have it in the right sequence to begin with - it's not going to make it any harder.

Because

'YDROWEP' dosen't spell anything!

playtent wrote:Because

'YDROWEP' dosen't spell anything!

Yes it dose.
Regards
Brian Haddon

Looks like Welsh to me.

7db wrote:Looks like Welsh to me.

hyd da

It's a check list. The idea is that when you are sat inside the car preparing to drive, the point you get to, say, the 'O' of POWDERY is not the first time you have thought about whether you might have any oil. When you are in the car, its:

P - I've checked I have enough fuel for the journey.
O - I've checked the oil level
W - I've checked water and other fluid levels
D - I've checked the car for damage

etc.

Notice: "I've checked". You checked it all before you got in the cockpit. POWDERY is there as a backstop to ensure you didn't forget to check something. If you want to formalise the order you actually check everything then that's fine, but there's no need because if you forget something, all that will happen is:

P - I've checked I have enough fuel for the journey.
O - I've checked the oil level
W - Errr.... Bother! I knew I forgot something.

Just wait until you have to deal with the Observer's IDEALISM acronym - it's the clumsiest example I know of.

jameslb101 wrote:
...followed by checking:

-The car is secured (i.e Handbrake and Neutral)
-Seat (and headrest) is set correctly
-Mirrors are set correctly
-Doors are closed
-Seat belts are fastened
-Set controls (e.g. ventilation)

But to me the order seems all wrong.

Never mind the "powdery" thingy, look at the above list and spot the obvoius problem.......

Not a lot of good setting the mirrors, then finding the doors not shut properly.

Or for that matter fastening the seatbelt and then finding you can't actually reach the ventilation controls etc

Then again perhaps it me with too much time on my hands

Does anyone, who doesn't drive/change vehicles professionally, actually bother with the full drill before EVERY drive? I use the POWER/POWDERY/whatever as the basis for my (usually) weekly (or pre-long drive) checks with a very basic cockpit drill when I get in. Surely if a car is well maintained then the fluids & rubber elements are unlikely to seriously deteriorate over the period of a week?

Slink_Pink wrote:Does anyone, who doesn't drive/change vehicles professionally, actually bother with the full drill before EVERY drive? I use the POWER/POWDERY/whatever as the basis for my (usually) weekly (or pre-long drive) checks with a very basic cockpit drill when I get in. Surely if a car is well maintained then the fluids & rubber elements are unlikely to seriously deteriorate over the period of a week?

Would need to be a bit fanatical to do every check, every day!

By the way, if you ever watch the VOSA video for lorry drivers daily checks, it shows the guy walking to the lorry and checking the drivers door is closed, before opening it to start the onboard checks?