2 Lorry drivers arrested after nasty crash on the M25 today.

[Silent1]

Some of the more reputable/sensible foreign truck companies modify the far side steps on the lorry and fit a wide angle camera so the driver has a view at car height of the entire blindside of the lorry, IMHO some sort of solution should be a requirement, be it mirrors or ideally a camera, the same with RHD lorries abroad.

[croyde]

I don't know what happened and I'm not going to speculate but on my many 1000s of miles on the motorways over 30 years of driving you do see some stupid stuff re idiots in cars not taking into account the shear weight and momentum of 40 tonne lorries and not treating them as dangerous obstacles.

The majority of truckers are good drivers, they have to be, but they cannot perform miracles and defy the laws of physics.

[ZR1cliff]

Silent1 said:

Some of the more reputable/sensible foreign truck companies modify the far side steps on the lorry and fit a wide angle camera so the driver has a view at car height of the entire blindside of the lorry, IMHO some sort of solution should be a requirement, be it mirrors or ideally a camera, the same with RHD lorries abroad.

There are three mirrors, one wide angle, one conventional (electric tilt and turn) and one step mirror, on passenger sides of trucks. A fourth is at the front, covering the forward edge of the front passenger side corner.

[Digga]

croyde said:

The majority of truckers are good drivers, they have to be, but they cannot perform miracles and defy the laws of physics.

Sure, but there are times - when the motorways are very bsuy and congested (e.g. between about 6am and 9pm weekdays in the UK ) where cars in the middle lane get trapped, or boxed into the blind spots and the trucks fail to follow/count overtaking traffic, fail to anticipate the problem and ulitmately hit them. Happens a lot and it's not good.

[ZR1cliff]

Digga said:

croyde said:

The majority of truckers are good drivers, they have to be, but they cannot perform miracles and defy the laws of physics.

Sure, but there are times - when the motorways are very bsuy and congested (e.g. between about 6am and 9pm weekdays in the UK ) where cars in the middle lane get trapped, or boxed into the blind spots and the trucks fail to follow/count overtaking traffic, fail to anticipate the problem and ulitmately hit them. Happens a lot and it's not good.

See it all the time with foriegn truckers near or on the Dartford crossing. They've got the mirrors but fail to use them in a routine. I always use a marker vehicle when possible and gradually ease over.

Using the A406 on a regular basis, where it goes 2 to 3 lanes and back to 2 at regular intervals, plus driving in London, you can't look in the mirrors enough.

Some of the foriegn drivers seem too relaxed when driving, for my liking, with legs up and too many screens on their dash.

Edited by ZR1cliff on Wednesday 3rd April 15:28

[Digga]

ZR1cliff said:

Digga said:

croyde said:

The majority of truckers are good drivers, they have to be, but they cannot perform miracles and defy the laws of physics.

Sure, but there are times - when the motorways are very bsuy and congested (e.g. between about 6am and 9pm weekdays in the UK ) where cars in the middle lane get trapped, or boxed into the blind spots and the trucks fail to follow/count overtaking traffic, fail to anticipate the problem and ulitmately hit them. Happens a lot and it's not good.

See it all the time with foriegn truckers near or on the Dartford crossing. They've got the mirrors but fail to use them in a routine. I always use a marker vehicle when possible and gradually ease over.

Using the A406 all on a regular basis, where it goes 2 to 3 lanes and back to 2 at regular intervals, plu driving in London, you can't look in the mirrors enough.

Some of the foriegn drivers seem too relaxed when driving for my liking, with legs up and too many screens on their dash.

I did see that for a while, the police were using a tractor unit on the M6 (the idea being they were at cab height and therefore able to see how much driving vs. TV watching was going on) to nick some of these HGV jokers. Not seen or heard much recently and not seen it elsewhere.

I've not driven anything over 7.5 tonnes, or 4x4s with big twin-axle trailers, but even those teach you to 'count' the overtaking vehicles. Anyone not paying attention at 44 tonne up is a manslaughter waiting to happen. IMHO HGV/LGV driving is very difficult to do well - requires stamina and skill.

[ZR1cliff]

Guam said:

Although I dont run a truck, I do pull a very large Brian James tri axle car trailer, all up I am about 40 foot long, the sheer stupidity of many car drivers beggars belief. They seem to have no recognition of the size and the limitations it imposes on you <let alone the weight a trucker has to contend with>. It gave me an appreciation for what truckers are faced with every day

Digga said:

I did see that for a while, the police were using a tractor unit on the M6 (the idea being they were at cab height and therefore able to see how much driving vs. TV watching was going on) to nick some of these HGV jokers. Not seen or heard much recently and not seen it elsewhere.

I've not driven anything over 7.5 tonnes, or 4x4s with big twin-axle trailers, but even those teach you to 'count' the overtaking vehicles. Anyone not paying attention at 44 tonne up is a manslaughter waiting to happen. IMHO HGV/LGV driving is very difficult to do well - requires stamina and skill.

I've found it can get very tiring at times. Also there's a danger that affects all drivers - allowing your forward vision to be 'drawn in' with too much thinking. Something I'm always on my guard against and easily done.

[dunmow70]

speedy_thrills said:

I don't know. AB Texel seem to be UK based as is Downton. Who is Spath though, the truck at the rear that's avoided nasty things?

Take a closer look at the picture, just behind the Downtown trailer. Do you see what's left of a car? The Downtown truck appears to be the only one that stopped in a controlled manner.

[mondeoman]

The thing that gets me about the pics is the lack of skid marks...

And there are a bunch of cars and lorries stopped just up the road on the slip-road. Its not going to be an easy one to figure out.

[Kermit power]

airportparking said:

Euro or not trucks need to be kept in certain lanes , that's my view and I don't care about the flaming I will get, to big take too long to stop

They already are limited to certain lanes on motorways.

[MarshPhantom]

Kermit power said:

They already are limited to certain lanes on motorways.

True, although now a lot of the Motorway network is more than three lanes wide I don't understand why trucks aren't restricted to just the inside two.

[Digga]

A lex said:

Digga said:

speedy_thrills said:

I don't know. AB Texel seem to be UK based as is Downton.

AB Texel are Dutch.

With a large UK subsidiary.

Yes, but we all know that's usually a 'flag of convenience' for operators of continental trucks with Euro drivers - QED since the two drivers arrested were foreign.

[ZR1cliff]

dunmow70 said:

Take a closer look at the picture, just behind the Downtown trailer. Do you see what's left of a car? The Downtown truck appears to be the only one that stopped in a controlled manner.

Looks like the Downton driver's pulled in to avoid the wrecked car, along with the two cars in front of him.

[dunmow70]

ZR1cliff said:

Looks like the Downton driver's pulled in to avoid the wrecked car, along with the two cars in front of him.

From the position of the wrecked car behind the Downtown trailer, I'd say the Downtown truck and the two cars were probably already queueing on the slip road.

[mondeoman]

dunmow70 said:

From the position of the wrecked car behind the Downtown trailer, I'd say the Downtown truck and the two cars were probably already queueing on the slip road.

Could be a good call - stationary traffic on the slip road, Spath lorry piles into it, crushing the two cars between itself and the Downton wagon and kicking one of the cars into the other(inner) slip road / Lane 1, where it gets collected by the AB Texel truck, which then careers into the stationary queue on the slip road, picking up on of of the cars and stuffing it into the barrier.

Maybe