Tipper Truck incident in Bath

[shakotan]

bobfett said:

gareth_r said:

This is being discussed on Radio 2.

Nobody appears to have used Google to check the signs at the entrance to Lansdown Lane (6ft width limit except for access - August 2012).

Edited by gareth_r on Tuesday 10th February 13:55

Meanwhile, up thread:

ewenm said:

I drove down it about 2 hours earlier. As it happens the width-restriction sign at the top has been flattened by someone earlier. So I guess the tipper driver if not local may not have seen it.

Tragic incident.

Not the same sign.

[hornetrider]

Maybe it was hit by the wagon which was already out of control?

[gareth_r]

One of the questions on Jeremy Vine's programme was whether there were any restrictions on the road. I was surprised that nobody had checked.

[kev1974]

hornetrider said:

Shouldn't there be a set of 6' apart posts somewhere to enforce the width restriction or do they just rely on the sign(s)?

[RobinOakapple]

Access needed.

[bobfett]

shakotan said:

Not the same sign.

Doh.

[GloverMart]

hornetrider said:

Maybe it was hit by the wagon which was already out of control?

I think the one that EwenM refers to is at the top of the hill. Looking on Google Streetview, there are two signs warning of the 6' weight restriction... both of them are situated right on the junction with Lansdown Lane. You can see how one of them has been flattened if someone had decided to turn right at the last minute and turned too late. The other one is at right angles to the junction so wouldn't be as visible.

[turbobloke]

Recent reports suggest the loss of control followed from avoiding action in an incident immediately prior to the fatal crash.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/10/bat...

[Willy Nilly]

Digga said:

On a similar tack, I've had a few near-misses with tractors & trailers/implements travelling at unsuitable speeds whilst driven by very young steering wheel attendants wearing Ray Bans and rigger boots with the collars of their polo shirts turned up and talking on the phone

EFA

[Willy Nilly]

I doubt the hill had much to do with the crash, tippers have plenty of axles, with plenty of brakes, engine retarders and gears that a half decent driver should know how to use to descend any hill in the UK easy enough.

[Bluebarge]

Perhaps I am unduly suspicious but, so soon after the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy, this is what I thought of when I heard this story
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/runaway-driver-c...

Hope am I wrong, but lorries descend steep hills all the time without going out of control - low gear, no dramas.

[heebeegeetee]

Digga said:

Hooli said:

jogon said:

camshafted said:

Locals say the driver is 19.

I thought you might need to be older to have an HGV Licence but a quick google seems 18 is when you can apply. Used to be 21 though back in 2009.

I think under 21 you can only operate within a set distance from base, something like 60km from memory.

IMHO, whilst i think some of the regulation surrounding HGVs has become overly complex and unnecessarily controlling, 19 does seem incredibly young to have just huge responsibility.

On a similar tack, I've had a few near-misses with tractors & trailers/implements travelling at unsuitable speeds whilst driven by very young operators.

There is a young driver scheme. http://www.uk-trucking.net/driverdevelopment/yds.a...

[loose cannon]

When air brakes fail on a truck, the spring brake actuators at each wheel station
apply the brakes as the air disappears from the system I should imagine a sudden loss of air due to a bad air leak
Would result with the brakes being applied reasonably quickly without sudden lock up

[Quinny]

Willy Nilly said:

I doubt the hill had much to do with the crash, tippers have plenty of axles, with plenty of brakes, engine retarders and gears that a half decent driver should know how to use to descend any hill in the UK easy enough.

I think that before any official investigation takes place, we should all throw in wild uneducated guesses of what may or may not have happened.......one of em' s bound to be right

[Beyond Rational]

It's kind of correct though isn't it? The lorry is designed to operate on steeper gradients than the hill in question. It may be the case that he shouldn't have driven down the hill due to the restrictions, but the hill itself is not the cause without a contributory defect.

[cossy400]

It may also be the case that he d not long passed his test and as many companies do.

He arrived they chucked him the keys and told him to crack on.

There are so many variables to take on this sad tale of events but us lot on the internet are not the ones to do it.

[Claudia Skies]

Having worked for many years in industries where "big trucks" are very much part of the business I can assure you that these things are a constant source of concern.

It's not that the "principles" are any different from someone pottering about in their Nissan Micra. It's the physics which differ so massively. Once a big, heavy lorry is doing something it shouldn't, it's very difficult to make it stop. And making it stop often involves a great deal of energy.

The high speed train crashes in Germany and Spain are similar examples.

[General Price]

smifffymoto said:

The only people under 21, legally driving LGV's are in the military.

Or not.

http://www.laticsdrivertraining.com/blog/2009/09/1...

Just google before you type,saves posting rubbish.

[Willy Nilly]

Quinny said:

Willy Nilly said:

I doubt the hill had much to do with the crash, tippers have plenty of axles, with plenty of brakes, engine retarders and gears that a half decent driver should know how to use to descend any hill in the UK easy enough.

I think that before any official investigation takes place, we should all throw in wild uneducated guesses of what may or may not have happened.......one of em' s bound to be right

As I see so many tippers being driven in such a professional manner it's very unlikely to be driver error.

[miniman]

Just a spectacularly sad photo.