Bin Lorry crashes in Glasgow

[jamiem555]

What a tragic accident. Even on tickover, with no throttle I'd imagine these trucks would have enough torque to just keep going through most things. RIP to those involved.

[Moonhawk]

tim0409 said:

Another chap has just confirmed that he thinks the vehicle was travelling at 70mph...

Can bin lorries even achieve 70? I'd have thought they would be electronically limited to at most 56.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limiter#Heavy_g...

[Abagnale]

Pretty sure most big bin lorries would fall between 3,500 & 7,500 kgs which would require them to be limited under EU rules. Happy to be corrected on that as my end of the pond is 44 ton stuff.

[Willy Nilly]

Abagnale said:

Pretty sure most big bin lorries would fall between 3,500 & 7,500 kgs which would require them to be limited under EU rules. Happy to be corrected on that as my end of the pond is 44 ton stuff.

The rubbish in them will weigh more than that and they will be on domestic rules.

[Abagnale]

Yeah, I understand. The regs as I interpret them relate to unladen weights, but as I say, happy to take a school day.

[Super Slo Mo]

They are generally on 3 axles, so should gross out at 26 tonnes or less. Unladen weight of a 6 wheeler with the steel body on the back has got to be in excess of 12 tonnes.
That's just a guess, but our 18 tonne refrigerated rigids were around 9-10 tonnes unladen, depending on wheelbase.

[glasgowrob]

Would imagine empty its probably somewhere around 15ton probably double that fully laden

Awful incident

[croyde]

Horrible

[red_slr]

Most 6 wheeler bin wagons are 26,000kg MGW. Empty would be around 12-15 tonnes depending on spec.
This one looks like quite a short wheel base version so could be less - but still >18t if its on 6 wheels.

[red_slr]

Oh and I have no doubt VOSA will be *all* over that vehicle tomorrow and I expect the operator will get a lengthy visit to ensure everything is in order with inspections, brake testing etc.

[SkinnyP]

So 12 ton divided by 6 wheels is 2 tonnes per wheel (assuming even weight distribution); if a wheel so much as touches anything other than a limb you are fked.

[glasgowrob]

In fairness Glasgow City council are strict in maintaining their wagons. Can't imagine there would be anything wrong with the truck. Just an unfortunate accident

[Abagnale]

I'd also expect council vehicles to be well maintained. You don't have the same commercial pressures on them, it's a cultural thing too. I would be surprised if there was a defect related to this.

[Hugo a Gogo]

McWigglebum4th said:

Street parallel to the green arrow to the left is Buchanan Street which is the main shopping street in glasgow

The scottish version of Oxford street

George Square has a big wheel and ice rink leading up to xmas, absolutely packed with people at the moment

anyone else mentioned the weird fact that the scene from World War Z, where a garbage truck crashes through people and cars, was filmed right around the corner in Cochrane Street (which also leads onto George Sq)?

btw, last time I was in Glasgow I was waiting exactly at the point where this truck ended up

[croyde]

These things don't have to be doing any speed to do damage. It's why I wince every time I see a skip or aggregate lorry driven with aggression through the small streets of London.

It's not speed just tonnes of solid and sharp bits of metal coming within a hair's breadth, even at only 20mpg, is fekin' scary.

At a few miles an hour more than running pace, you wouldn't stand a chance.

Just how awful.

[Willy Nilly]

croyde said:

These things don't have to be doing any speed to do damage. It's why I wince every time I see a skip or aggregate lorry driven with aggression through the small streets of London.

It's not speed just tonnes of solid and sharp bits of metal coming within a hair's breadth, even at only 20mpg, is fekin' scary.

At a few miles an hour more than running pace, you wouldn't stand a chance.

Just how awful.

Bin lorries have to do much of their work at walking pace, then when they are loaded and go to unload at land fill will have to drag themselves, laden through mud, down to the bottom of the hole, across the landfill and back up again. Yes, some of it goes to incinerators, but they will be need to be specced for this, so will need a low first gear and final drives. This will give them plenty of push. If the driver had a heart attack his legs may have gone into spasm and off his truck would have gone. While they are not massively powerful, they will just keep pushing with their (probably) Allison autos.

[Gareth79]

croyde said:

These things don't have to be doing any speed to do damage. It's why I wince every time I see a skip or aggregate lorry driven with aggression through the small streets of London.

It's not speed just tonnes of solid and sharp bits of metal coming within a hair's breadth, even at only 20mpg, is fekin' scary.

In Guildford I wince whenever I see people standing at the pedestrian crossings with their feet (or pushchairs) hanging over the kerbstones, with trucks and heavy machinery going past at 30+ (the roads are pretty narrow). All it needs is a tiny bit of inattention or some chains or faulty equipment hanging out and somebody is losing part of themselves.

Hugo a Gogo said:

anyone else mentioned the weird fact that the scene from World War Z, where a garbage truck crashes through people and cars, was filmed right around the corner in Cochrane Street (which also leads onto George Sq)?

That was the first thing I thought of! One of those weird coincidences, the filmed crash was pretty much the opposite side of the square I think. The opening scene is on Youtube for those interested, probably not appropriate to link directly here.

Edited by Gareth79 on Monday 22 December 22:15

[CAPP0]

My heart goes out to all those bereaved today. Many years ago, when I was just over 2 years old, my mum died on this day. I've never quite been able to comprehend how my Dad got through that Christmas, or many more after. Unexpected death and loss is terrible at any time, but when there is a significant calendar event to tie it to, particularly one which is supposed, and expected, to be a happy joyful time, it's just that much worse.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Willy Nilly said:

Bin lorries have to do much of their work at walking pace, then when they are loaded and go to unload at land fill will have to drag themselves, laden through mud, down to the bottom of the hole, across the landfill and back up again. Yes, some of it goes to incinerators, but they will be need to be specced for this, so will need a low first gear and final drives. This will give them plenty of push. If the driver had a heart attack his legs may have gone into spasm and off his truck would have gone. While they are not massively powerful, they will just keep pushing with their (probably) Allison autos.

Yes not hugely powerful. Maybe 330 HP, which when the engine might be 10 litres is a pretty low HP/litre number. But the torque is another level. The Mercedes euro 6 12.8 litre we have in our test cells, will easily out torque a Veyron, at idle. At 1200 rpm it won't struggle even as you go beyond 2200 Nm.

[Tunku]

Horrible to think that if you were facing away from the lorry, there would be no warning like revving engines etc. just a relentless tickover with massive torque. Poor, poor people. RIP.