Are your trailer brakes up to scratch?

Merit Inspection Solutions specialises in trailer brake testing for farms, estates and agri businesses. Its goal is to save lives and reduce the risk of serious injury through ensuring your trailers have safe and efficient brakes that have been thoroughly tested.

Onsite trailer brake solution

Merit offers a high-quality mobile rolling road for onsite trailer brake testing at the location of your choice. The company says its leading technology provides detailed data and insights on the braking efficiency of each wheel on every axle.

Testing your trailer brakes ensures you can optimise braking performance, fuel efficiency and overall safety, while reducing any dependencies on tractor brakes, saving you money on servicing and maintenance. Merit tests up to 20 trailers in one day and offers a fixed day rate for clients with multiple trailers, or can offer a shared testing day at one location for those interested in running trailer brake testing with neighbours.

For any trailers that fail, many defects can be easily targeted and rectified on the day. The company provides you with proactive advice to support you in making your trailers safe and optimising their performance. There may be time to reinspect failed trailers during the same day of testing where remedial work is completed, or Merit can arrange follow-up days to conduct regular re-testing as required.

Following each test day, the company provides online and hard copy reports and will arrange the scheduling of further trailer brake testing to meet your business and safety needs, saving you time and money.

MeritAgCheck

The importance of undertaking regular trailer and machinery checks to document compliance and manage defects cannot be overstated. As part of Merit’s trailer brake testing service, customers benefit from access to MeritAgCheck, the UK’s farm machinery app. MeritAgCheck enables you to maintain the safe and efficient operation of all machinery on your farm, estate or agri site through the touch of a button.

There are two versions of MeritAgCheck available – Essential and Premium. Essential allows for daily checks of commonly used machinery and the ability to monitor defects. Premium starts at £7.90 per month for three users and gives you access to over 2,000 customisable checklists and the ability to add servicing, maintenance or inspections with the capability to link all of this via machine QR codes. MyFuel enables you to take control of your fuel and record usage across your machinery and other assets, identifying valuable trends and supporting you to make data driven decisions.

Following a trailer brake test, you can record your trailer brake reports and re-test dates, meaning that you can continually monitor trailer and machinery safety across your site, giving you full confidence in your operations.

Legal requirements

You are legally required to test your trailer brakes. The Road Vehicle Regulations, 1986, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), 1998, contain provisions requiring tractors and trailers, including braking safety, to be properly maintained and regularly assessed as safe for use. Further, you cannot rely on visual inspections and servicing to determine whether your trailers are safe for the road.

Using data collected from Merit Inspection trailer brake tests up to the end of 2023, a total of 62% of trailers tested were not safe to go above 25mph or 40kph. 16% of the trailers tested were deemed unsafe for use at any speed and couldn’t be used due to the risks associated with brake failure and overall poor braking efficiency. This included brand new trailers.

Failed trailers also create a serious strain on tractor brakes which can cost significant amounts to replace early. In most cases, trailers that failed required simple remedial work and a same day re-test before they could operate safely.

Merit has collected valuable trailer brake test data and insights covering a range of manufacturers and suppliers, and offers initial advice as part of any trailer brake testing day. Its trained trailer brake test operators work closely with you to ensure that a robust and thorough process is followed during each testing session.

Contact Merit Inspection Solutions directly to book your trailer brake testing or find out more. Download the MeritAgCheck app here or call Merit to book a free demo and overview session to explore the app.

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