Is truck "elephant racing" against the law?

[NoNeed]

heebeegeetee said:

10 Pence Short said:

Or his employer should have provided a workable timetable.

Which involves no delays or problems during the working day.

(I'm loving how everyone is an expert on logistics now )

I like the way we can all see what you can't. Or is that because you are used to not checking your mirrors in order to ingnore the people that want to pass.

The only view is yours despite peopel giving you real world experience to the contrary.


Lorry drivers can and have been deliberately obstructive I now beleive you did this alot.

[Who me ?]

heebeegeetee said:

[quote=Who me ?]
I've always found Lorry drivers (from 7.5t up) appreciate a bit of courtesy ,and will often return it . Mentioning the M42, last time I went north onto the A42 there was an experiment restricting heavier vehicles to the inside lane .

I've got piece of film taken on that stretch of the m'way being fked up by a Picaaso. Picasso is doing 43, and so are all the trucks. Lane 2 is coming past not at 70 or 70+, but at approx 50-55mph. A bit slower than if the trucks were allowed to overtake, in other words.

It is the future, if the numpties have their way, which is why I dread it as a car driver.

Honestly - in all of my years of driving(45+), I've never had any problems with the big guys- 7.5T ,yes , anything biger , they return courtesy .And the stretch from north of J11 - is in fact A42, not not MOTORWAY ,as said. The M42 ends at J11. It then becomes the A42 .

[Flawless Victory]

It's easy to spot the armchair experts/commuter-types who've never set foot in an RDC, let alone sat in a driver's room for 6 hours whilst waiting on being tipped/paperwork.

[jmorgan]

All the experimental stretch I have been on have made sod all difference as once the wagons pull in the average car driver demonstrates their innate ability to show how to drive. Poorly that is.

And with reference to plod pulling speeding motorists further up, one could argue the speeders should have left earlier.

[Digby]

10 Pence Short said:

Someone with years of experience in road driving or logistics would know to plan expecting some level of delay.

The problem is, if a delay is not 100% certain, it may never be allowed for.Due to the costs involved in operating these vehicles and the current economic climate, we find ourselves in a world where suggestions of "see how you get on" are commonplace.I'm fortunate in that I am rarely put under any form of pressure, but delays still come thick and fast and from all angles.I don't think I have encountered many that could have been realistically planned for.

[Panda76]

Flawless Victory said:

It's easy to spot the armchair experts/commuter-types who've never set foot in an RDC, let alone sat in a driver's room for 6 hours whilst waiting on being tipped/paperwork.

Kin hell,my lot won't accept upto 3 hours never mind 6.The supermarkets get 2 hrs grace.If they don't get you tipped and in a position to be getting paperwork back in the 2 hours they normally pull you out.If your tipped and waiting for paperwork they will give them an extension.
But 6 hours !! No way costs too much to have us sat there that long.
They do want the stock so end up paying for a redelivery the next day/night.
The 2 hour rule is in the contract.

[Nickyboy]

Flawless Victory said:

This is what happens when a truck misses its booking time...the load is rejected and the haulier doesn't get paid.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-1662...

So if a truckdriver is constantly slowing down to let other trucks pass, it's increasing costs by using more fuel and putting jobs at risk. No company can operate like that.

Of course, the commuter-types don't care about this at all.

When i worked at Tesco our daily bread delivery was late, eventually turned up some 3 hours late. The whole lot was turned away even though it was needed as we had a plan for how many loaves would be sold and if we accepted xx amount but only sold xx amount then the store would have to bear the cost of the loss, if it was turned away then the carrier is responsible

[Nigel Worc's]

F i F said:

Completely agree heebee, especially about the people who are moaning having poor judgement, plus I'd be not that surprised to find most of them are the 85 plus mob. me me me me me!

OI , I resemble that remark !

I don't like your idea of speed limiters either, I don't pay the extra to drive my car so I can't use the power I'm paying for.

I also dissagree with the 70 mph comments, whenever I'm retested, and I have to practise 70 mph motorway driving, it's a pain in the bum, sitting with the lorries, or keeping up with the traffic flow are the two easiest and smoothest methods.

I also find I'll tend to drive nearer the speed limit on a quiet motorway, than I do on a busy one.

[F i F]

Nigel Worc's said:

I don't like your idea of speed limiters either, I don't pay the extra to drive my car so I can't use the power I'm paying for.

I also dissagree with the 70 mph comments, whenever I'm retested, and I have to practise 70 mph motorway driving, it's a pain in the bum, sitting with the lorries, or keeping up with the traffic flow are the two easiest and smoothest methods.

You've made my point for me there though. Speed limiters, aaarrgghh God forbid, agreed; but if you don't have the option of increasing speed to help with forming a plan and execution thereof, it all becomes a lot more difficult, especially on busy roads.

That is because all the others are OPL willy nilly. If cars were limited like trucks, most people would not cope well imo,

[cptsideways]

I had the pleasure of being stuck behind two elephant racers last night southbound on the A34

From the A44 Oxford juntion to the Newbury junction, a total distance of 29miles!!! or about 30 mins, I'd joined the queue at the A44 which was already some 50 cars long. Neither was giving way come hills or junctions


Lets just say I had time to ring the number on the back of the Lomas Distribution truck in the outside lane & have a fairly long chat to their transport manager whilst this was all in progress. Apparently I was not the only one to ring in to the company


I do believe said driver is being called into the office as we speak this morning to be dealt with accordingly by the MD & the transport manager who were very pleased I & others called in regards the driving standards of their company vehicles.


Any transport managers out there care to comment?

[GC8]

Unlikely, as they will be directly responsible for the issues that cause a lot of this behaviour. This assumes a reasonable driver under pressure of course, as opposed to a bell-end, of which there plenty, unfortunately.

[anonymous-user]

cptsideways said:

Any transport managers out there care to comment?

Probably not, so as a substitute I'll fill in....
"Look mate you don't drive a truck so you don't know what you're talking about. D'you have any idea what it's like trying to make delivery deadlines? Have you seen the price of diesel? And you don't have a limiter fitted. Don't you know the haulage industry is dragging the UK out of recession all by itself? If it weren't for us the shelves would be empty of thirty five different types of bread in your supermarkets. Think about that next time you want toast.
We're only trying to make a living, unlike everyone else on the road who is only going on holiday. Take the train next time"

[Randomthoughts]

Crossflow Kid said:

unlike everyone else on the road who is only going on holiday. Take the train next time

Sadly, this belief that they're the only people on the roads who deserve to be there is ever prevalent in their postings on here, too. Quite scary really that these people believe that unless you're in a wagon the only reason you will be on the road is to be on holiday or to drive to your desk to sit in misery doing a job that nobody cares about.

[anonymous-user]

Randomthoughts said:

Crossflow Kid said:

unlike everyone else on the road who is only going on holiday. Take the train next time

Sadly, this belief that they're the only people on the roads who deserve to be there is ever prevalent in their postings on here, too. Quite scary really that these people believe that unless you're in a wagon the only reason you will be on the road is to be on holiday or to drive to your desk to sit in misery doing a job that nobody cares about.

Like I said, didn't you know the UK's economic recovery relies soley on your nearest Tesco Metro getting a delivery of unripe bananas between precisely 05:34 and 05:37?

[Moonhawk]

DIW35 said:

When I've seen two trucks alongside each other for miles, I always wonder why the guy being overtaken doesn't just lift off the throttle for a few seconds. In the overall scheme of things, it's not going to affect his journey to any great extent, but it will allow the overtaking truck to complete his maneouvre more easily and help to prevent a long queue of frustrated car drivers.

Probably for the same reason many car drivers don't - they consider being overtaken as an affront.

[Moonhawk]

Flawless Victory said:

This is what happens when a truck misses its booking time...the load is rejected and the haulier doesn't get paid.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-1662...

So if a truckdriver is constantly slowing down to let other trucks pass, it's increasing costs by using more fuel and putting jobs at risk. No company can operate like that.

Of course, the commuter-types don't care about this at all.

But if we go by the example a few posts back - how much time would it actually cost them. If a car only loses a matter of seconds over a long journey having to occasionally slow from 70mph to 55 - then how much would a lorry lose by slowing 1 or 2mph a few times per trip? Are lorry deliveries really time critical to the second?

In terms of using additional fuel by slowing - would it really be that significant? Does slowing temporarily by say 1 or 2mph make such a huge difference to the fuel efficiency of a truck? Also isn't it swings and roundabouts - what little fuel they did lose by slowing slightly - surely they would gain back by being able to slipstream the lorry in front once it pulls back in?

[jmorgan]

cptsideways said:

Lets just say I had time to ring the number on the back of the Lomas Distribution truck in the outside lane & have a fairly long chat to their transport manager whilst this was all in progress. Apparently I was not the only one to ring in to the company

On the phone whilst driving? tsk tsk.....

[Scuffers]

Moonhawk said:

Flawless Victory said:

This is what happens when a truck misses its booking time...the load is rejected and the haulier doesn't get paid.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-1662...

So if a truckdriver is constantly slowing down to let other trucks pass, it's increasing costs by using more fuel and putting jobs at risk. No company can operate like that.

Of course, the commuter-types don't care about this at all.

But if we go by the example a few posts back - how much time would it actually cost them. If a car only loses a matter of seconds over a long journey having to occasionally slow from 70mph to 55 - then how much would a lorry lose by slowing 1 or 2mph a few times per trip? Are lorry deliveries really time critical to the second?

In terms of using additional fuel by slowing - would it really be that significant? Does slowing temporarily by say 1 or 2mph make such a huge difference to the fuel efficiency of a truck? Also isn't it swings and roundabouts - what little fuel they did lose by slowing slightly - surely they would gain back by being able to slipstream the lorry in front once it pulls back in?

if you were bothered about fuel, by being the truck behind, you are going to use less fuel than being in front.

to slow down to let another truck overtake, we are talking about needing just to lift off for a bit, not come to a stop.

but as said, apparently, only trucks on the road actually need to be there, the rest of us are just out there for fun.

[mp3manager]

Moonhawk said:

what little fuel they did lose by slowing slightly - surely they would gain back by being able to slipstream the lorry in front once it pulls back in?

And you think slipstreaming the lorry in front is a good idea?

[sherbertdip]

obviously not whilst watching DVDs at the same time!




Only joking!!!

ETA: Seriously on the A34 and M42 there are sections where HGVs are restricted in the outside lanes during certain times, but there are always some fk you attitude drivers who ignore them and go racing!

Overall though on busy sections I often drive on the inside lane with the trucks as they understand that momentum is key to smooth driving and fuel conservation. I enjoy watching the Audi A4's BMW 3 series and Merc 200 series nose to tail in the outside lane doing the "oh god a gap in front, must ACCELERATE, st gap's closed - BRAKE, and getting nowhere fast.

Edited by sherbertdip on Tuesday 19th August 15:20