Dropside (vehicle body)

1) Open-bodied goods vehicle on which the sides (sideboards) are hinged to drop down for ease of loading/unloading or to permit the carriage of wider loads – or which may be totally removed.

Drop-frame trailer

1) Semi-trailer in which the chassis (ie frame) can be lowered to ground to allow easy loading (of wheeled/tracked plant, etc).

Driver number

1) UK driving licences feature an identifying code known as the driver number which contains the first five letters of the driver’s surname, or if their surname has less than five letters the remaining spaces are filled by the number 9 (eg the surname Cox would appear as COX99).

Driver defect report

1) Required under provisions of ‘ O’ licensing. Licence holders must undertake to ensure they have a proper system for drivers to report defects in their vehicles - failure to do so could lead to penalty against the licence.

Driveline asset manager

1) High-tech terminology to describe the job of a truck driver - believed to have been originated by UK manufacturer, Foden Trucks.

Source: David Lowe. The Dictionary of Transport and Logistics. Kogan Page, 2002. – P.71 (288 p.)

Drive-in racking

1) This comprises vertical uprights linked by cantilever pallet supporting members at appropriate pallet heights. The fork truck drives into the racks to access pallets.